People who go to clinics....

Barlow

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11 March 2012
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Can I please pick your brains?

I’m looking at setting up two clinics. One will be a regular monthly one, the other is a one off clinic to be held at a local competition venue as it has an indoor school etc.

- would you be happy paying in advance to secure your space?
- would you prefer a simple PayPal/bank transfer payment or would you prefer something like eventbrite, which looks more official.
- for the regular monthly clinic would you prefer to have several dates in advance, or just know when the next clinic is after the current clinic has finished?

I’m trying to make them as rider friendly as possible, so any and all thoughts/tips appreciated on things you think work well (and things you don’t!)
 
Personally speaking:
- Yes I'd rather pay in advance, so I don't have to worry about it on the day
- I prefer bank/paypal transfer, cba to faff around registering with Eventbrite etc
- I'd plan my schedule a month or so in advance but not much longer than that
 
Yes I would expect to pay in advance.
I don't mind how I pay - am signed up for most of the online entry management systems, but happy to use paypal/bank transfers.
I like to know what's on for a few months ahead so I can pencil things in my diary, then would book 2-3 weeks ahead once I have firmed up what competitions I have on etc.. It's useful if there is a regular timeslot, eg second Saturday of the month.
 
I organise a regular 4/6wkly clinic with 4* event rider, I take a small deposit from everyone who books in which is non refundable unless space is filled, and take full payment a week before the clinic, either by cash/bacs or paypal.
I try and get dates in advance off him however sometimes not always possible in a busy eventing season.
 
- yes, I'd be happy to pay upfront unless it is a business I have a relationship with (e.g. my own livery yard or usual trainer)
- I prefer to pay by bank transfer or paypal as I get frustrated by all the added fees that come with the likes of horse monkey (unless you show all the costs up front) but PLEASE don't ask me to send my money on Paypal Friends and Family option, if you are running a business build any costs to you in up front.
- give me as many dates in advance as you can. My diary fills up quickly as I try to balance horse/kids/hubby/job so if you only release them on a monthly basis I might have already committed to doing something else.
 
Yes I would expect to pay in advance.
I don't mind how I pay - am signed up for most of the online entry management systems, but happy to use paypal/bank transfers.
I like to know what's on for a few months ahead so I can pencil things in my diary, then would book 2-3 weeks ahead once I have firmed up what competitions I have on etc.. It's useful if there is a regular timeslot, eg second Saturday of the month.

This for me too, though I prefer if I can book and pay all through a website so that I can do it when convenient (which is inevitably late at night/early hours of the morning)
 
I would prefer to have the list of dates well in advance but horses being horses it's sometimes difficult to plan ahead. Paypal is great as remembering to bring cash on the day is just another thing on the list to pack.
 
Personally speaking:
- Yes I'd rather pay in advance, so I don't have to worry about it on the day
- I prefer bank/paypal transfer, cba to faff around registering with Eventbrite etc
- I'd plan my schedule a month or so in advance but not much longer than that

Same here.
 
having organised clinics in advance I'd say fgs take payment in advance-if they can't come and the place is filled, then they can have their money back. but no money, no place-learned the hard way!
 
-I'd prefer to pay in advance, preferably at the same time that I book in, otherwise I'd probably forget to do it
-Don't mind how I pay, though being able to do it when booking (paypal redirect or through a website) for the reason stated above
-The further ahead I can have the dates the better, but I'm not too fussed as don't tend to make firm plans more than 3/4 weeks in advance
 
I go to lots of clinics, some I pay in advance, some are cash on the day. I prefer to pay cash but it’s probably more sensible to take payment in advance. Usually by bank transfer, I have never paid with PayPal. I also like to have the dates in advance, so a list of maybe the next 6clinics, so I can put them in my diary and not miss them.
 
Thank you all for your replies!

Definitely need to get payment in advance, got flights and venue hire to cover!

I will investigate horsemonkey and Equo events as a good way of taking online payment. I’m not sure I’d want it all going through my PayPal.
 
Yes, I’d expect to pay in advance
The clinics ive gone to have all been through horse monkey. This suits me very well.
I rely on the dates popping up on horse monkey or Facebook. Tend to decide a month in advance.
 
-Yes happy to pay in advance
-Paypal would be my preferred method
-I think 3 months in advance would be great for planning around commitments/work
 
We run a lot of clinics and would 100% advise to get people to pay in advance. At EVERY clinic we run in the morning you get a call saying there has been a horsebox breakdown/lame horse/rider with flu etc. It means you still have a venue and trainer to pay for regardless, so letting people pay in advance fixes that problem.

We use itsplainsailing.com or paypal. Sometimes people post cheques if they aren't techy

A month is advance is usually enough notice. facebook events are a great reminder,
 
Something worth considering when choosing your payment provider - is how easy is it to cancel and provide refunds. It would make me nervous to do a bank transfer to people I didn’t know with this. PayPal or equivalent gives protection both ways.
 
its plain sailing.com is a brilliant system. I used to use PayPal for outside clinics but with itsplainsailing.com you can set up different classes/heights in the same clinic and it sorts out your entries as an excel sheet you can download. It also makes it easier to keep track of peoples contact details. You can also refund people easily through it. Its a great system and a lot of the riding clubs here use it for shows and clinics.
 
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