Obligatory Lesson Policy – Has anyone heard of this practice?

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

If she spent an additional hour with you looking at a harp she may have spent time looking for, even though she took your time to look at the other harps, that was something you could learn from, you got more than you paid for, so it’s pretty even. I say, either take a few lessons, or pay the fifty. You didn’t say how old or experienced this person is. The context makes some difference. Maybe she will find this policy doesn’t work, or maybe it has. People tend to do things based on experience, and she may have had a lot of bad experiences. I can say that when a student comes for a lesson, you tend to assume they will stay on at least for a while. It’s not fun when they don’t.

[Neka Borders]

Hi Saul,

I wanted to mention that the expectation for me to pay $50 in the event that I decided not to purchase a lesson package was not stated up front. The “policy” outlined a $50 fee for “cancellations/changes”. Also, along the way I made references to the fact that I would not be taking lessons right away. She never indicated a problem/concern in this. I certainly didn’t mind paying $75 for her time, but again I felt there was an exchange of value in that transaction. Also, there was good chemistry and I had no issues with making the stop (even though it was out of the way). I regret to say that I didn’t learn anything while there; it was mostly conversation directed at setting up future transactions, and exchanges of pleasantries. I mostly smiled and kept quiet.

As for the level of experience, it seems that performance is the focus rather than teaching (though many people can perfect both crafts) – I didn’t know this from the outset. Hopefully this provides some additional perspective?

Thanks,
N.

[dawn-penland]

Keep a copy of the letter you send her in case she turns you into a collection agent.

[Briggsie B. Peawiggle]

Can’t help but make a comparison here. My teacher is one of the best musicians I have ever known, studied at I.U. with McDonald, U of Mich. and in Paris with Borot. She understands music inside out and has played all over the world. She is also a wonderful teacher. I consider myself so lucky to study with her. Twice each year she runs a “harp class” for all her students which is really like a mini concert. We each play something we can play well that we’ve worked on with her. Friends and family are there as audience. When I tried to pay my usual lesson fee for this because it falls when my lesson normally falls, and she is spending her time, energy and expertise to sponsor it, she wouldn’t take it. What a contrast, huh? I think this might say something about the abilities of the woman in question who is stomping her little harpie

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

I just charge per hour, no matter what it’s for, though my twice-yearly student recitals are free, other than the potluck food that everyone brings. It’s not okay to send a bill for something that was neither disclosed nor agreed upon. It’s also not okay to charge for one’s own personal time. That’s why I do not answer the phone during a lesson. Not that I have ever done this, but if I had taken along a student to look at a harp, I would have timed when the lesson on selecting the harp ended. In fact, if the student had to wait around for me, I would consider that time discounted from what I could charge. Therefore, if we spent a half-hour looking at the student’s harp and a half-hour looking at mine, then there would be no charge at all. I wish our time spent in waiting rooms could be billable!

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Well, I would really like to hear from this teacher and find out her reasoning and whether the policy is working for her.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Meanwhile, I have no such policy, require only payment in advance of continuing lessons, 24 hour or more for cancellations, etc.

[harp guy]

It seems to me that this is a basically a problem of contractual obligations. You paid your $75 orientation fee. So there are no problems there. It said that “potential” students were expected… blah blah blah. “Potential” means that it is possible. It doesn’t cement whether or not you would take lessons. Furthermore, because you never signed up for lessons you did not agree to anything. Therefore there was nothing to “cancel or change.”

You aren’t contractually obligated to pay her under any circumstance (especially if you didn’t sign anything). The only loophole to that I can think of would be that if there was something in the document that stated that if you met with her for the orientation, by default you would be required to sign up for lessons. In that case, she would be entitled to her $50 cancellation fee.

I personally would not pay her, nor would I study with her. If this is the way she treats potential students, she must be a nightmare of a teacher to study with on a regular basis.

[Neka Borders]

Re: Loophole…

The document which was emailed to be the eve before we met for the first time (to do the orientation) stated that students were “expected to sign up” for a lesson package at the conclusion of orientation. So, by “default”, it does seem there is an underlying requirement to sign up. Therein lies a large part of how this dilemma began.

That said, while I didn’t sign off on anything… I don’t believe this sort of obligation is ethical, or legal. I paid for the services I received, but was unsure if this was an industry policy that perhaps I was unfamiliar with. I really couldn’t find any supporting reasons for paying for services not received.

N.

[Nadia Tjahja]

As far as I understand you didn’t even get the services she outlined in her orientation (harp care, string changing and assistance on tuning).
If you ask me you should be asking your 75 dollars back to begin with for not fulfilling her part of the ‘contract’, especially as she’s using your time for other people.

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