Say you have to cancel a lesson due to you (the instructor) being sick. The family does not want a make-up lesson even though you are willing to find a time for them.. even in the summer, but they refuse. Do you give a refund?

I had a parent treat me like trash today over this issue, because I wouldn't give her a refund. Thankfully, they are already on their way out of my studio. (She accused me of things I didn't do and says she's going to be giving bad word-of-mouth to others about me). Just wondering what the majority of teachers do in this situation?

It's so sad to have such bad situations come up, when in general most of my clients are great to work with and respect my time, quality of lessons, and policy.

If I cancel a lesson, I will do a make-up and if that does not work, I will pro-rate the next month's tuition.

What does your studio policy say about this issue?

My policy states that in case of me being sick, I will give a make-up lesson. It does NOT say that I will give a refund. I'm going to be clarifying my studio policy even more for this next "year" and going to add in that- no refunds can be given if make-up lesson is refused. Or something to that effect.

Here is my current policy: "If you have to cancel a lesson, please call or email me at least 4 hours in advance. Basically, just let me know as soon as you know you need to miss a lesson, and I will do the same. Tuition will be credited for missed lessons if at least 4 hours notice is given. No tuition will be credited if adequate notice is not given. Lessons may be rescheduled within the same week, if possible."

and "Sick Policy – Nobody likes to get sick. Some of our students have allergies and asthma (myself included) and cannot afford to get sick. If you have stayed home from school or work due to illness, please cancel your lesson in advance. Students who give notice that they are ill will not be charged for lessons. Students who come to lessons visibly ill will be asked to leave, and will be charged for the lesson."

That was with a monthly tuition schedule. I will need to revise the wording to accommodate an annual tuition schedule. Several parents this year told me they felt my 4-hour policy was too generous(!). At any rate, in 5 years I've only had two abusers of the policy--neither seemed very committed to learning to play the piano, and both eventually quit.

My policy states the following:


"If a student misses a lesson, no make-up lesson will be available."
"I will be allowed one emergency cancellation per session. If the need arises for me to cancel more than one lesson, the student’s fee for the next month will be reduced."

It's always worked for me. No make-ups period. I've only used my one emergency cancellation one time for a death in the family. Nobody questions it.

April - it sounds like you are being tested by a number of parents, so now is the time to put on your Kick Ass Boots and show them that you are a Professional Piano Teacher, a person who takes her job seriously, who has invested much time, effort and money into her business, someone who cares about her students and whose students are blessed to have her as their teacher. However you choose to structure your studio policy is up to you, but keep in mind that you are in charge, not the parents! For me, I state in my policy that I do not give refunds, only make ups in the event that I must cancel a lesson. I took the advice of several here on the forum and went to a NO MAKE UP POLICY and love it! But I have always had a NO REFUND policy. Parents will nickel and dime you if you do that.

I have just had 2 school years in a row where I've had to cancel over a month's worth of lessons. My father passed away in May of 2011 then my mother passed away in March of 2012. Both times I ended up canceling a whole month, so I lost the income for that month. I have some parents that have a check sent out from the bank and one parent that paid the whole year in advance. This year, when I came back to teaching, I did a short month in April and charged less for that month. The parent that pays me the whole year, I offered to refund, but she refused the money and told me to buy something nice for myself. They are a wonderful family.

This is what my studio plicy says and has been this way for a few years now: Missed Lessons: Please let me know as far in advance as possible if a lesson will be missed. At that time we can try to schedule a make up lesson. There will be NO refunds, deductions, or make-ups for lessons missed without twenty-four hours prior notification.
If I must miss a lesson due to illness or other emergencies, the fee will be decucted from the next month’s payment.


I only lost 1 student due to too many breaksand the mom says she will come back in the fall, but I doubt it--getting her to practice was a challenge.

I was determined to take this summer off even if i couldn't afford it, but I have decided to teach only in July to those who want summer lessons. At this point I have only 5 for July and my studio has 16. I will start back in September. I am changing to 45 minute lessons with 30 minutes of piano time and a 15 minute computer lab time using Music Ace, so I will be charging more to help make up for lost wages earlier.

Yes, it appears to be a time of testing. I've read on this forum a few times that teachers say once they really get their policy strict/firm, then they weed out those who do not really respect them and often find more serious students. I'm hoping and praying this will be the case for me. I really hate when clients (parents.. not the kids thank goodness) leave with a vengeance and hate towards me, but I know it's not realistic to think everyone should like me or respect me/my policy. Refusing to refund some money yesterday was very distressing to me emotionally (not to mention I was sick in the first place and the mother showed no care for me). I hope that it gets easier with time and that this kind of thing will not happen very much. Thank you for your support.. it is really helpful to know I'm not alone on this. And I'm not going to back down!

Good for you, April!

The words "NO REFUNDS" are helpful ones to have in your policy.