cancelling a lesson ( Short notice) whats the policy?

charlie76

charlie76

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I am a freelance instructor and I have a few clients who seem to cancel at the last minute time and time again. I often have put off other people to teach these ones which means I am missing out in the income. I also have to plan my day round the lessons. What is your or your instructor s policy on this? Thanks
 
It's a pain, isn't it? I don't have a fixed policy really: with private lessons people seem to just cancel (always for perfectly reasonable reasons) and it never occurs to them that they ought to pay. But when I organise clinics with groups amd times and so on, if people cancel late they usually seem to expect to still have to pay and I will charge them - partly because I've usually had to pay for the venue and partly because they have taken a space which I could have given someone else.

If you have certain persistent offenders I think I would publish a Cancellation Policy to all your clients - there is nothing to say you have to implement this policy acroos the board but at least if you do want to penalise particular individuals it gives you a framework within which to do so.
 
I *think* it's 24hr notice minimum... or pay in full, but I may be wrong. I would always generally offer to pay anyway if I had to cancel at short notice, unless the slot could be filled. That said, I'd usually rearrange everything else rather than miss a lesson, unless it was due to an emergency for example.
 
The policy is whatever you make it!

I'm not an instructor but have freelance instructors and would always give 24 hours notice or expect to pay in full. Common courtesy but then there's not that much about nowadays.
 
But how do you get them to pay if its less than 24 hrs? There are one or two that cancel more than they turn up! Thank you.
 
I would expect to pay for the lesson if I'd cancelled with less than 24 hrs notice. (Unless with my old instructor who thought nothing of cancelling on me with a couple of hours notice at best, I'd not have paid her if Id had to cancel)
 
My trainer is local, and lets me cancel if horse not right / loses shoe etc. Circumstances outside my control. I have offered to pay, but assuming I give some notice she is okay with this. And there was the infamous occasion where I was stuck on a train for two hours, with a phone with a flat battery - and missed my lesson by an hour and a half. I think if very regular clients cancel occasionally, for good reasons, it is at the trainer's discretion to decide whether to charge. But it relys on no one taking the piss.

I think most local regular trainers don’t charge for lame horse / lost shoe cancellations, assuming they havent travelled to the yard. But for a clinic slot - once booked, I think you are committed to fill it or pay for it.
 
I'm with TD. Realistically, most people who cancel on their regular instructor have a good reason to do so, plan to reschedule and don't really expect to pay. I usually file these under **** happens and remind myself people have been kind to me in the past. :)

The few repeat offenders I've had, I've usually just been very honest and told them if it keeps being a regular thing, I'll stop coming. Yes, that's loss of income but then canceling costs me, too. I tell them I won't give them a priority spot unless I'm sure no one else wants it and that I won't put them in at a time that is logistically tricky for me. If I really think they're taking the **** then we have a straight talk about how much my time is worth and how they would feel if their work didn't pay them every time a client didn't show. (I've never had to have the conversation with a self-employed client.)

Part of my USP is to be very upfront and deliver decent customer service (I hope!). I'm generally accommodating though, as sometimes I need people to accommodate me. This morning I was stuck on a closed motorway when I should have been at my first stop - that's no one's fault! Generally people are great about it - I presume if that didn't work for them, they'd vote with their feet and the same goes for me.
 
It's not an easy thing to implement and even if you issue your clients with T&C's you can't force them to pay. I would however inform all clients of your cancellation policy whatever you wish that to be and, if you can afford to, tell those who take the michael that you won't train them anymore.
 
Nicnac said:
The policy is whatever you make it!

I'm not an instructor but have freelance instructors and would always give 24 hours notice or expect to pay in full. Common courtesy but then there's not that much about nowadays.
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This. I've had instructors who stuck strictly to the 24-hour notice policy, while others have adopted a more "three strikes you're out" approach.

P
 
Mine doesn't really have a policy. I think if it is a good, regular client who cancels at last minute because of a disaster, she wouldn't worry about it. I'd imagine the issue comes if the same person or people are regularly messing you around. In those cases, I'd just tell them you won't take their bookings any more unless they pay in advance. Make them book blocks of lessons then it's up to them if they turn up, but maybe say if they cancel less than 24hours in advance, they forfeit the money. I think I have only cancelled once on current instructor, and that was because I fell and injured my back, so couldn't get out of bed. I cancelled the afternoon before, when it happened, and instructor schooled horse (he is on her yard) for me instead so she didn't lose money.

ETS - I think you might struggle to get money out of flakey people after the cancelled lesson, which is why advance payment maybe best.
 
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i'm self employed and if any of my customers cancel giving less than 24hrs notice i charge them in full and explain why , if i am teaching and some ones lesson is booked say 2-3 and im there at 2 ,if there still faffing about till 2.30 it is not my problem and i still leave at 3 and expect to be paid for the full hour
some people just take the complete and utter p*** but i do find if it happens once and there charged for it they don't tend to mess you about again

same if i have a lesson booked , if i have to cancel at last min (even if the horse is lame) i still pay my instructor , its her income her bills still need paid and she could have got someone else in my place
 
TarrSteps said:
I'm with TD. Realistically, most people who cancel on their regular instructor have a good reason to do so, plan to reschedule and don't really expect to pay. I usually file these under **** happens and remind myself people have been kind to me in the past. :)

The few repeat offenders I've had, I've usually just been very honest and told them if it keeps being a regular thing, I'll stop coming. Yes, that's loss of income but then canceling costs me, too. I tell them I won't give them a priority spot unless I'm sure no one else wants it and that I won't put them in at a time that is logistically tricky for me. If I really think they're taking the **** then we have a straight talk about how much my time is worth and how they would feel if their work didn't pay them every time a client didn't show. (I've never had to have the conversation with a self-employed client.)

Part of my USP is to be very upfront and deliver decent customer service (I hope!). I'm generally accommodating though, as sometimes I need people to accommodate me. This morning I was stuck on a closed motorway when I should have been at my first stop - that's no one's fault! Generally people are great about it - I presume if that didn't work for them, they'd vote with their feet and the same goes for me.
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this.
if they persistantly mess me around i only let them have slots that dont matter eg , on the end of the day so worse case scenario i just go home early instead of waiting around for an hour for the next one, or they have to come to me, and then if they dont turn up i can ride CS instead etc.
 
I would expect to pay if I cancelled at short notice. I had an incident where I had booked trainer for a couple of hours but due to a trailer problem only an hour was needed, but I paid for the 2 booked.

I think the odd occasion from a reliable client to postpone through sickness etc is acceptable - it's a 2 way street afterall and I don't object if my trainer has to cancel for a valid reason either.
 
Apparently I'm soft! :D

I have to say, my experience is the vast majority of times a client cancels at the last minute, it's because of something unavoidable and they have every intention of rebooking asap. The few flaky people I've had tend to book way in advance, so I organise around them, and then they change their minds, leaving me with a hole to fill in an otherwise set day. I had one woman who solved the problem by booking a month's lessons in advance and then telling me on the day if she was going to ride or not. I just made sure I had a book and a snack. :)

Mind you, I appreciate my situation is a bit different because of my area of speciality. If my clients can't ride for some reason they just let me l lose on the horse, which is slightly cheaper anyway.
 
I used to organise lots of clinics with the trainers coming in from a distance away
I always said if you cancel in the last twenty four hours you must pay .
If the clinic had plenty of people I would let them off I usually had a minimum number of places I had to fill .
Repeat offenders just did not get asked again .
 
I would expect to pay unless I gave a decent bit of notice - more than 24hrs I'd say. My one instructor, if you book, you pay so I tend to text last minute and say have you got a space tomorrow rather than booking weeks in advance when anything could come up.

The other is more flexible but I always offer to pay her if I cancel. She usually says no. The only time she's taken anything was when she was at the yard and I was the middle of 3 lessons so when my boy came in from the field lame 1/2 an hour before I was due to start there was no opportunity to rearrange the others and she was hanging around for an hour. She still only took half AND spent the hour (well some of it) pulling my horse's mane because she wanted to do something!
 
As a client it depends on the arrangement. If I had booked a one-off clinic with someone coming in from far away I would expect to have to pay even if I did not attend unless the organiser was able to find a replacement. If I had to cancel my set weekly lesson (often two lessons on two different horses, so at least one would go ahead) I would expect my instructor to be understanding as I have only ever cancelled due to the horse having health problems.
 
You either stop taking their bookings or politely ask for 24 hours notice unless its an emergency. My instructor and I have cancelled with each other with less than 24 hours notice, she has even forgotten that she had booked me in but its not a major to me so we just rebook for later that week or next.
 
I'm freelance, and my policy is it depends on the client! If i am doing a clinic away and someone just doesnt turn up with no notice, then absolutely they have to pay, the arena has been booked and as are 8 or 9 other people, so a no notice absentee must pay. With my regular clients, if they occasionally have to do a last minute cancellation it is for a genuine, unavoidable reason eg horse got kicked, train delayed etc then i dont charge, as i know they are reliable, dedicated clients who only do this rarely. When i have regular clients who are more flakey (the ones i teach, but wont put myself out for) they are charged if less than 24hrs notice. I've only ever had one who regularly cancelled, and i explained to them how much they were wasting my time, and that it wasnt viable for me to keep booking in a client who cancelled, they did take it more seriously then, and booked far fewer lessons, but did actually turn up for them!
 
charlie76 said:
But how do you get them to pay if its less than 24 hrs? There are one or two that cancel more than they turn up! Thank you.
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The trecking yard/riding school I've previously worked at used to take debit/credit card details over the phone for one off/new clients, and explained their card would be charged if they didn't show up on the day without letting the yard know. They only did this for people booking private slots, not those joining a group, as obviously they lost money if a family on holiday chose not to show up because it was raining or something. It also meant the space couldn't be filled e.g. with a lesson for staff/helpers/instructor exericising her horse, just in case they turned up late.

If people cancelled with a genuine reasons that was ok.

It is obviously different because you have a long standing relationship with these people. For the ones that cancel more than they turn up, are they really worth keeping as clients?
 
I don't teach but if I cancel a lesson within 24hrs I always pay, more often than not the instructor refuses the money but that's really not the point.

Could you not set up a paypal type of account and get payment up front ?
 
charlie76 said:
I am a freelance instructor and I have a few clients who seem to cancel at the last minute time and time again. I often have put off other people to teach these ones which means I am missing out in the income. I also have to plan my day round the lessons. What is your or your instructor s policy on this? Thanks
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I'm not a riding instructor but am a professional musician and own a music school- our cancellation policy is that full fee is chargeable if less than 24 hours notice is given to cancel lessons. We are based in a studio so don't travel to our clients, so given that you are much more inconvenienced, I'd definitely charge in full (and give no further tuition until monies owing we're settled).

It took me years to be this tough, but I am definitely feeling the benefits now! Have you thought of having a contract/ terms for your clients? I find this imperative as it lays down the law very directly for the start. Those that take issue are not worth the hassle and will ultimately cost you money in my opinion. Good luck in getting this sorted :-)
 
Interesting thread- was wondering about this only this morning. Had a lesson booked and it was pouring rain. Wasn't sure if lesson was going to go ahead or even if I wanted to ride in the torrential weather. Or indeed if trainer wanted to teach in it! As it happened the rain died right off about 10 minutes before and I was at yard to tack up. But wondering if everyone who teaches would expect a client to pay for a lesson that was cancelled due to adverse weather? Because even if one didn't mind teaching in it, it's not always very pleasant to ride whilst feeling like a drowned rat.
 
elliefiz said:
Interesting thread- was wondering about this only this morning. Had a lesson booked and it was pouring rain. Wasn't sure if lesson was going to go ahead or even if I wanted to ride in the torrential weather. Or indeed if trainer wanted to teach in it! As it happened the rain died right off about 10 minutes before and I was at yard to tack up. But wondering if everyone who teaches would expect a client to pay for a lesson that was cancelled due to adverse weather? Because even if one didn't mind teaching in it, it's not always very pleasant to ride whilst feeling like a drowned rat.
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It would not be the instructors fault it was raining, if they are prepared to teach in it then you pay unless you give 24hrs notice, the same as any other profession their bills do not go away cos it is raining
 
Most places I have ridden at will offer a discount for block booking in advance. If you cancel with 24h + notice your money will just roll over. If less than 24h notice you get charged for the lesson (unless exceptional circs etc).

My instructor has cancelled on me due to bad weather (to be clear, I ride his horses on his property), but only if it's unsafe - frozen, flooded school etc. I would feel it's totally out of order for me to cancel due to bad weather (unless I was snowed in or something). His horses, his livelihood, his call.
 
elliefiz said:
Interesting thread- was wondering about this only this morning. Had a lesson booked and it was pouring rain. Wasn't sure if lesson was going to go ahead or even if I wanted to ride in the torrential weather. Or indeed if trainer wanted to teach in it! As it happened the rain died right off about 10 minutes before and I was at yard to tack up. But wondering if everyone who teaches would expect a client to pay for a lesson that was cancelled due to adverse weather? Because even if one didn't mind teaching in it, it's not always very pleasant to ride whilst feeling like a drowned rat.
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The problem is here, you're likely to get months of bad weather! I think it does come down a bit to mutual agreement. My general feeling is if people are competing they need to get on with it as they won't cancel a competition for anything short of an apocalypse. If there are special circumstances or if the client has been upfront about being a fair weather rider, then I would probably be less inclined to push. I figure they lose out, too, so no one has any incentive to cancel unless it's going to be a waste of time.

When I lived in Canada we had an agreed upon minimum temperature and were mindful of road conditions in the winter. Occasionally we had to worry about excessive heat in the summer, as well, but that was less of an issue. If the lesson was cancelled because of weather then it just rolled forward until the next time. Over all, though, people tended to take more regular lessons and had their own slots so if we had a "snow day" is was likely to be the same for everyone.

Re having a similar policy to other businesses, I see the point but the fact is the horse business is not really like "other businesses". Maybe it should be, but it isn't. The relationship with a regular client CAN be much more along the lines of a mentoring situation and likely to be a bit more flexible. Clinics and one offs (especially with big names) are a different situation.
 
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