How do I deal with a student who forgets to bring their money?
If you receive cash from your students, there will come a time where a student forgets to bring their money. It can be frustrating to deal with as a teacher, but how you deal with it will play a big part in future problems.
Read through BQA-02 as it explains how to try and prevent the issue from happening as well as different ways you can deal with the problem.
There are three important principles to remember when dealing with this issue:
- You need to be professional
- You deserve the money on time
- Every situation needs a different approach
The first principle will make sure you don't accidentally treat a student poorly when they forget to bring their money. Sometimes people forget because they were running late or they're having money troubles and feel embarrassed about it. Treat people poorly and you'll likely lose a student and gain a poor reputation.
The second principle will remind you that you should get paid for the lesson. It's not okay to let a missed payment slide and the student to get something for free. If a student misses a payment, you deserve that payment - even if it's late. Missing a payment doesn't mean they don't owe you in the next lesson.
The third principle reminds you that what worked for one student may not work for another. For one student a gentle reminder may be all that's needed while for another student you may need to give them an ultimatum or place lessons on hold.
Keep all three principles in mind any time you deal with this situation.
Asking for payment
Asking for payment has a lot to do with confidence as well. If you're a new teacher, then it can be extremely awkward to ask for payment when a student has forgotten. As an example, if a student normally pays at the end of the lesson and he forgets to pay you at the end, how should you remind him?
It's easy to tell you to say 'do you have your payment for this lesson?', but until you feel comfortable asking this, you might feel really awkward asking.
A good way to work on this confidence is to practice it with somebody. Give a friend or family member a large bill (eg: $50 or $100) and tell them to hold on to it. Tell them you will ask them later for the money back and they need to try and come up with excuses why they can't give it back to you. Then an hour later or so, go up to the person and ask them for payment. It sounds like a silly exercise, but it gives you practice in how you word your request and the confidence you display when you ask for payment. The reason you hand over a large bill is to make it feel more real - that's your money! It's the same at the end of a lesson.
Another way to prevent this type of issue is to change the routine. If a student tends to forget to pay you at the end of lessons, ask for payment at the start of the lesson. Again this depends completely on your confidence and how you word your request, but once the student is used to paying at the start of the lesson, you will find it easy to continue that habit.