Singing Teacher - What would you do?

[Doodoos]

Hi all

Need some advice please. I wanted singing lessons for DD awhile ago in a bit of a hurry and found a person, stupidly I emailed and said i was a bit desperate for her to learn a long for a recall and could he help. He told me it was so much per hour. As he was local and seemed good and I was pretty desperate DD went along. We were both immediately comfortable and he was a lovely person. I've since noticed on his website that he advertises lessons at £10 less an hour than he charges me and I'm beginning to think did he just say that price as he knew I was desperate at the time. £10 more per hour over the weeks really adds up! Anyway, DD was there the other evening and half an hour into the lesson she went deathly white and said she felt dizzy, it was quite clear she was very unwell and couldn't continue. She felt so ill she said she wanted to go home. I handed him the usual hours money but felt a little bit peeved that he took all of it given she was so ill. I fully understand he needs to make a living, I also want to ask him about the advertised price and the price he's charging me but I feel rather awkward! DD is usually there for an hour but he spends 15 minutes chatting nonsense, getting water, etc.. and then 15 minutes doing breathing exercises then the singing. It was after he took the full hours money for a very poorly child I felt a bit put out given that we spend a lot of money there and are always reliable. I'm wondering am I being taken for a fool or Is it me being selfish! After all the man has bills to pay! Any advice greatly appreciated!

[pg]

I don't think taking the full amount for a lesson your dd had to duck out of because she was unwell is at all unreasonable. Many singing teachers would charge if someone didn't turn up at all - if there wasn't sufficient notice to book someone else in. It will still have "cost" him the same amount in terms of time even if she couldn't complete her lesson.

However, the fact that he advertises lessons at £10 per hour less than you are paying does need addressing I would think. It would bother me... You will just have to bite the bullet and ask why and whether you can have lessons at the advertised rate. I can understand why you feel awkward about it, but it is a reasonable question

Best of luck!

[Welsh Mum]

I agree with pg - most teachers charge for "no shows" as they will not have been able to book someone else in that slot. However, it does seem a bit odd that he has an advertised rate and your rate. It may feel awkward but I think you can legitimately ask why - after all if you went to a shop and they charged you one rate and the next customer another you would ask why . Meanwhile, it is worth "looking around" for another teacher when you are not so pressed for time "just in case" you decide to switch - £10 per week soon adds up and in the current climate most of us would be reluctant to spend more than we need to.

[emi's mum]

Hi Doodoos. Hope she was OK? Sometimes the breathing can make you feel a little dizzy at first. I do hope it was just that and not a bug.
Pretty much the same response as PG. My students pay termly and if they let me know in advance if they are not able to make a session we rearrange so that they can however if they are a no show....which thankfully is rare with my regular students...then the lesson is not made up as I have already given my time and am sitting in the studio wondering if they will actually arrive and thinking that I could have given the session to someone else. There is nothing more frustrating than kicking your heels waiting for someone who doesn't come to their lesson.

However....charging you more than the advertised rate is not good. Is it possible he has not updated his site for a while? I really would address this with him.

Keep us posted. Hope D is feeling better now.

[Doodoos]

Thanks all, I think the price has started to bug me & now I'm reading into things! He does state clearly that no shows will have to pay unless 24 hours notice is given & I would totally honour that as it is a business he is running. The studio is in a room in his home and we were last lesson of the day. I think I will send an email, just not quite sure how to word it without sounding rude and I would hate to offend him as he is really nice.

[Flosmom]

Doodoos, my advice would be to talk this through with the teacher, ideally face to face or, if not, on the phone, rather than dealing with it by email. With email, if you don't get a reply, or not the one you want, you'll be left in a bit of a void.

It's OK to prepare what you want to say, and be clear about the outcome you want, though.

Good luck - hope this helps

Deb x

[islandofsodor]

If its anything like my dh he hasn't updated his website for over a year!

[Genevieve]

Personally...Id find another singing teacher, via a recommendation.
He's running a business, so he could have mentioned when he first quoted his fee to you that it is more than is on his website, for reasons because :
@my website needs updating@, and he didn't - He didn't because he's not being transparent, or he didn't because he's a bit disorganised, his website's out of date.
Asking him about the charges on his website now, when you've been been paying a higher amount, could be rather awkward, and such a pity you hadn't noticed the descrepancy from the outset, but approach it tactfully, ask him if he is aware that there's a different fee showing on his website, and phrase it in a way that you are doing him a favour by pointing it out, . .. see what he says, and if he gives you the plausible, but unprofessional explanation that he's just not updated it, then you can decide what next. I'd ask him face to face- but would you know if his explanation is genuine ? probably not, you'd just have to give him benefit of the doubt, or not, up to you. Worse case scenario is, he knowingly puts lower price on website, and when clients ring he quote's a higher figure. But then there's another issue ..........

You mentioned the quality of actual teaching time given in the 'hour', warming up is fair enough, to a point, but talking nonsense and fiddling about with water etc., suggests killing time, so I'd question whether you're getting value for money. Then there's another issue.....
I agree that if your dd misses a lesson without giving the required notice, then you should be charged, but I think charging you when your dd has fallen ill unexpectedly during a lesson is unreasonable -As your dd felt ill and stopped half way through the lesson, he could at the least have only charged half the fee,-as it's just one of those things that can go with the territory - you've been going number of times to him too - I think I'd be more likely to want to go back and also more likely to recommend him someone if he had been a bit more reasonable under those circumstances. I'd be put off quite frankly.

My dds first violin teacher when she was quite young, she had for about two terms, but it transpired that he spent a lot of his time during each lesson on his mobile phone He was not his own boss, so I complained and was told that he had domestic issues going on, hence the phone calls during lessons. I got an apology on his behalf and was offered a series of lessons at no charge with a change of teacher or a refund.
With another teacher, my dd was once taken ill during a lesson, same as your dd...she felt faint (went white,probably tired and low sugar levels) he offered a refund for that lesson as a gesture of good will due to the' unforeseen circumstances'. Afterall, these things are usually a one-off arn't they.

By the way, when my dd had singing lessons she used to take a dictaphone in with her, with teachers approval, and she'd tape her lesson, so she could listen afterwards and improve at home, it was very useful, and great for me !

[Doodoos]

Thanks for all your advice. I wasn't comfortable with speaking face to face as I didn't want either of us to feel awkward. I sent a polite email and he replied to say it was a complete oversight and that he hadn't updated his website since the fees were raised. It has immediately been updated. The nonsense talk the more I think of it to be fair is him trying to get to know DD on a personal level as she hasn't been there long. I think the issue of payment for the day she fell ill during class will probably vary teacher to teacher. I pay for each lesson individually as a term of lessons would cost a fortune! We haven't been with this teacher long so I'll stick it out for now and see how DD gets on. Thanks anyway for all your advice, really appreciate!

[DQsMum]

Hi doodoos,
I am really glad that you have resolved those two issues and left yourself feeling more at ease.

My comment is on the chat time....my DD has been seeing her teacher for just over 2 1/2 years now, the first 2 months...she didn't sing! chatting, music talk, exercises (lying on the floor), posture, breathing....and even now, there's always a bit of chat in the lesson (which is 45 mins long)...

Like you, I used to resent it a bit...pennies dripping through my fingers, but now she is Grade 5, I am really appreciating the value of that time; DD and her teacher know each other well, there is a mutual respect and as teacher is very old school (and 67), this is quite something and it really pays off in teacher being able to tap into DDs musicality and bring her on.

I would stick with it for a while unless you feel its really time-wasting....I draw the line at cuddling the cats..!!

My sorrow is having built this great teacher-pupil relationship that I thought would see DD to Grade 8, her teacher is sadly retiring this summer and I am having a very difficult time getting a suitable replacement.

I hope it all works out.
N

[Genevieve]

it's very hard finding a singing teacher that our dds have a good rapport with and it is really disruptive when they have to change from the good ones as they get to know songs that suit their voice. It boils down to whether your dd enjoys the lessons, and if you're ok with the time spent chatting a bit, and your dd is ok and its all part of helping her progress with her singing , great. Hope it all goes well, well done for sorting out the website fee business, you said he seemed nice, so it was a simple explanation - relief.