Hi,
Here’s a tutor question. But I would definitely welcome parent input. I have not been charging, never considered charging for the initial visit with a parent/child. I felt that it was fair for them to get to know me and see if the kid would be willing to meet with me and so forth.
However, I am now having some second thoughts. To be blunt, I feel I am getting used. Perhaps it is because I am advertising as someone I know has not had these feelings, she is listed in the IDA local registry. I considered this, however this seems pretty impossible at my level of experience as it is specific dyslexia and specifically OG.
Here are some of my experiences: Parent A. Comes in with kid, we have nice discussion, kid and I click. This is not dyslexic kid, in fact, not disabled, wants her to do more reading, etc. I give some of my ideas on the subject, which includeds specific advice. Then she signs her up for sessions. She never shows up. In fact, never calls. I finally call her and a few weeks later and say that “if she does not call within x no. of days, she is cancelled”. She has never called. Parent B. Comes in with DD kid, actually MR, says she wants more stimulation for kid. We have 1 hr or so discussion. Mom signs up kid. I work very hard to get ready for this student, even buy a couple (fortunately cheap things) that I doubt I can use for anyone else; possibly put in 3 hours of prep. Student does not come in. Mom does cancel but at the last minute. Seems to indicate it was a one shot cancellation. Mom leaves me waiting for several days then finally I call and ask if she is cancelling and she says she is. Parent C. Comes in with kid. They are from some distance. However she does not bring this up. She says she has to contact dad. A week later (which she said she would call me in) she says that she has not yet gotten ahold of him. Then a week later she says she has found a closer tutor. This one at least seems to have an actual reason, however, I wish she had mentioned that she felt the distance was an issue way before hand. I feel the time spent “waiting for dad was ‘shopping time’ ”. These are just 3 in my sample of maybe 6. They have all been not so good at calling, and all obtained info and resources; and then left.
None of the people who came in, decided that we wouldn’t work well together or something like this.
I am toying with charging something for the initial visit and then refunding it if they actually come and see me. I have actually had to stop most parents from giving me money at the first session as they expect it.
What do you all think? Do you think I am being funny about this? Do you think that other parents would be paying for the lack of consideration of a handful? Do you think the fact that they are expecting to pay means that they are taking me as a patsy or something? I have heard that some places that do work that is essentially charity will charge a minimum amt. as they say people will not value what they do not pay for. Is this BS?
Is my experience this just NM?
This is really getting aggravating!!!!
Obviously I can’t and wouldn’t expect everyone who calls or even comes in to sign up, but I feel that they are being very inconsiderate— esp those who haven’t called back.
Anybody else’s experiences here?
Strangely the of the first 5 people who called, 4 of them signed up and are still students to this day. Now I have had quite the reverse percentage and it has been something like 6-7 to 1 new client.
—des
give it a try
You can always give it a try. I like your idea of charging something for the initial consultation but refunding it if they continue on with you.
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
There is nothing wrong with charging for the initial consultation. On one hand you may get fewer initial consultations, but on the other you may get more respect. It’s a funny thing, but people tend to respect services they pay for *much* more than anything they get free. This is especially true with tutoring, I think. I haven’t been able to bring myself to charge for initial consultations yet, but I think I will have to eventually.
You should not consider a family “signed up” unless you have gotten paid for a month’s worth of tutoring sessions up front. Having clients pay you for lessons up front is actually good for the child as well as for you, because it provides some incentive for the parent to actually show up. This is why piano lessons are almost always done this way. You should never schedule a child, or hold a place for a child, until you have been paid. If parents know they need to make a payment in order to secure a lesson time, they are fine with this.
You should have a printed policy statement that clearly states these payment terms, and it should include explicit rules about make-ups: i.e., 24 hours notice. You don’t have to enforce this if a child is sick, but having this kind of policy up front really cuts down on last-minute calls cancelling a lesson.
I had to learn all of this the hard way. Unfortunately, people live complicated lives these days and will be tempted to take advantage of you if you don’t provide yourself with reasonable protection.
Nancy
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
Thanks all. I think that I will charge for the initial session and refund if they continue. I also like the idea of charging for the first month or at least some no. of sessions up front. (I hestitate to make it a full month, as I think at least one of my clients might not be a client if they had had to pay for a whole month first). As you all say, it may decrease my no. of casual visitors, but I don’t really want those anyway. I like the idea of having it all in writing, which I don’t really have. I do charge for missed sessions, unless I am called ahead fo time (I have made some exceptions to this, but at least it is on my say so). However, this has only
works if they are already signed up. Time to be more official. Do I need a lawyer?? I hope not!!
—des
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
des,
Since I am embarking on a similar venture, I’ll tell you what I have decided. I do intend for the first consulation to be free. The next appointment would be an evaluation session followed by a parent conference on another date after I have scored the tests. There will be a fee for the evaluation and conference. At that time I will present to the parent what I recommend for the child. I would not spend one moment planning until I get a signed agreement and advanced payment of at least the first lesson or first month.
Janis
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
I don’t do an initial consultation in person with new clients. I do it over the phone, and don’t charge for phone calls ever, regardless of length. I do charge for my first meeting with a student at my usual billing rate. At that meeting, I give students the GORT and WRMT-R. I also do some informal assessments. These assessments help me plan for my students, and gives me an idea of their personality/strengths/needs. It also gives the parents a baseline as to where their child is when they start with me. After about 3 months, I usually give students the alternate form of the GORT and WRMT-R, in order to demonstrate progress to parents.
I’ve never had a parent complain about paying for the initial session. One service I do not charge for, however, is attending IEP meetings. As long as the parents arrange meetings to meet my schedule, I think I owe it to them to attend and provide my input.
Karyn
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
More thoughts….
I don’t charge in advance, and don’t charge for missed appointments. I also don’t have any kind of contract for services with parents. The SLP I know who does have parents sign service contracts puts some people off. I don’t want to lock anyone into coming to me for even one hour if they don’t feel that the services they are receiving are worthwhile.
So far, parents have been terrific about paying at time of service (or a month at a time…whatever works for them). Maybe I should be more contract based, but at this point things are working for me, so I don’t see much reason to change.
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
keb, that is nice of you to go to IEP meetings for free. I would probably charge my rate for one hour for that.
I don’t intend to exactly have a contract, but I would like to have an agreement on a few things, like payment is due on date of service or in advance, missed appointments will not be charged if I am notified in advance (common courtesy, I think), and I would appreciate knowing in advance if they are stopping services so I can do some wrap-up assessment.
Janis
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
It sounds like the initial poster is being taken advantage of by parents who want a free professional opinion. The way to stop this is to charge.
it is frustrating
I have been taken advantage of people like Des states. Most of the people that I have had problems like this have been referrals from other professionals….a neuropsyche, an audiologist, I spend a long time on the phone listening to the parents, sometimes I have gone to their home to talk with them gratis. Many times I have discovered that the parents who do this to therapists have similar issues as their children, with disorganization, lack of committment, not wanting to face the music even when they know what they should do…. they choose to bury their head in the sand and think it will go away…
I had one parent book for therapy even after I told her my rates. I had a feeling that she would cancel and sure enough I got a phone call on my answering machine stating that she wanted to find someone “cheaper.” I called her back and said even though she had cancelled I still I wanted to send her something I had put together just to help her with her son. Furthermore, since the neuropsyche had referred me to her it was imperative that her son got the help he needed now and not later because her son was failing high school!
I sent her the information I had gathered and I never heard back from her…ethically, I did what I could; however, it still breaks my heart because there is a kid who is falling further and further behind because of wishy washy add-inattentive parents.
to original poster...
Have parents pay for the upcoming month’s sessions in advance; you may give them 1-2 “free” misses of sessions within a given amt of time. Do the first consultation over the phone for free, and charge for everything else.
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
You could allow “makeup” classes but no refunds for missed classes that have been paid for. I might apply the new “policies” to new clients if things are going well with your established clientel. There is no sense messing up a relationship that has already proven to be reliable. My daycare provider gives us many priviledges because we have always been generous and timely with our financial arrangements.
Terry
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
Do you mind if I ask a few more questions?
I’m curious to know how much people are charging per session and if you give a discount if they pay for the full month in advance. Do you typically work with students once or twice per week?
Where do you work with the students?
Thanks in advance.
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
Thanks for the vote of confidence guys. I agree that I am being taken advantage of and I wanted to see what other people had to say. Apparently everyone has lots to say!! :-)
The reason I have the conversation with the parent and child is to make sure the child and I have some sort of contact with parent there. I think the parents feel good if I have some rapport with their kid initially. I have both done this at their house and mine. I am now not advertising that I will work at their house. A. It costs me more money. B. I don’t like hauling stuff. (Gosh I guess I would be a bad iternant. :-))
I do charge for the missed sessions. I at least like a phone call. To me it is just courtesy. I’ve also found it is a nice deterent to missing again.
OTOH, I have done make up sessions when possible. There are times when I have had to miss sessions. I try to contact the parent a week in advance.
As to what I charge an hour, I think a lot depends on where in the country. I have weighed making a living with what I think parents can pay at this end of the country. So I think this would vary tremendously. If I did get money ahead of time would this make any difference? I mean could I drop the rate? I think the big thing in dropping a rate would be taking a time I would have trouble scheduling.
—des
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
Oh yeah, as to once or twice. I do 2-3 sessions. If the kid is far behind I don’t think a once a week session is too useful. If the kid is very far behind or there is more than one subject it would be 3 times.
—des
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
I agree, two sessions a week is my preference. I did a survey on reading tutoring rates and it averaged between $30-60 an hour. The higher rates were people who probably had more overhead liek an office. I am thinking about trying to charge $40 for once a week or $35 each for twice a week (small town).
Janis
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
The ALTA standards (academic therapy assoc) are going from 3 times a week to 4. OTOH, I don’t know any parent who would be able to handle that.
The rates run here from $23-65 or so. I am charging right in the middle at $35. I believe that I will do what Janis is with the 1 session at $40. I am only doing this in one situation anyway. I think that the min. where you can get anywhere is twice a week really. The kid who is doing LiPS is 3 times and I have another I have on two subjects 3 times a week.
—des
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
des, I totally agree about 3-4 times being best but also agree most people can’t afford it. I figure if I “reduce” the rate a little for two or more visits a week it might encouage them to choose twice over once!
Janis
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
Janis, I actually started out offering a discount for multiple times a week, the more times/week, the greater the hourly discount, from $5-$10 per hour. However, I found that parents don’t seem to care, so I stopped doing it. My bookkeeping is much easier charging a single rate, regardless of number of hours/week. It also didn’t seem to impact the number of hours people book for. During the school year, the max I see students is two hours a week, mostly because homework demands in my area are outrageous and the kids couldn’t handle more time, but last summer I saw most students from 2 to 5 times per week with no discount.
I’m basically lazy when it comes to accounting…it’s really not my thing, so I like to keep it simple!
Just some thoughts,
Karyn
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
I charge strictly by the hour. In most cases I drive to the house, carry the books in the car/mobile office, and make photocopies, and I expect to be paid. Because I am a teacher, not an accountant, I keep this to the absolute minimum; payment in cash or cheque at the end of each hour.
Occasionally a family pays by the week, but that’s it.
I have taken a few contracts in teaching second language, English or French, to people who are relocating, and they are sometimes paid by employers; one of these was OK, and another was incredibly bad, losing one pay for two months and paying as a habit three weeks late, so I try to avoid this.
The free consultation is offered by several “centers” as an advertising ploy; I don’t do it. I come in and start working with the child, finding out what can and can’t be done, and I get paid for it.
On the other hand, I keep my fees very low, $30. Canadian including travel, trying to keep affordable for most families in the area.
Most people find this quite reasonable. One was insulting, but there are others who are nicer to work with. I find immigrants keep trying to bargain the prices down, and I do understand that they don’t have that much money, but after a couple of bad experiences I draw a hard line and set a fixed price; yes, you do get the respect that you ask for, and if you sell your services off at bargain-basement rates that is what people will think of you.
I do consult by phone before starting, no fee, and oddly enough, the same experience, that the people who have the longest most detailed phone discussions are the least likely to keep up with it, I don’t know why.
In general I don’t worry about a few cancellations, I’m pretty flexible and I cancel a few times myself; after several misses I assume that hour is free and tell the next client that it’s available.
I never refuse a client who is present in order to hold time open for a potential client who hasn’t shown a steady interest yet. I tell new clients what times are presently open, tell them that the next semester present clients will get first choice, and other than that it’s first come, first served.
This is what your doctor and your lawyer and even your hairdresser do after all; they don’t sit all day in the office hoping you will come in and they don’t refuse other clients in hopes you will come, they take people who show up .
Yes, you want to be supportive, and flexibility and patience are necessary, but this is a business for you and you deserve the respect of any other professional business person.
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
Thanks for your comments, all. Virginia you sound like you go to the client. That way they HAVE to show up. If they aren’t there that’s another thing. I have people coming to me (with a couple exceptions). I do not like to go to other houses to work, as I think it is more expensive (travel, and the time spent in travel could be used to see someone). So it is expensive two ways.
One thing though if you go to their house then you don’t need that initial session so badly. I feel that the parents and kid should see me first before they drop their kid off. It is a security thing. I doubt *I* would drop anybody off if I didn’t have a good feelign about them.
I am going to charge for this but will take the charge off the first session if they do sign up. This didn’t turn off my last caller at all.
I also am calling the person before this session and asking if they still plan to come in. That way I don’t sit around waiting for someone who will not show up.
I have worked to keep my rate affordable but high enough to live on. It is a bit of a balancing thing.
I usually charge for the week. So far this has worked out ok. I have one parent who is sometimes a little late, however I just started giving them receipts for tutoring with what they owe. This serves as a little reminder, now I hope I can get this straight. :-)
I haven’t noticed any correlation between time on the phone and whether they actually become a client. No I have no intention of EVER charging for that. Anymore than I would expect to get charged by any other service provider. I also don’t charge for calling parents and any kind of discussions i have with them. (I know doctors and therapists charge for this but I just have not felt any desire to do this. I have not felt “used” by doing this. Parents are usually so happy that for once they are hearing good thigns about their kids that these are very pleasant conversations.)
The initial visit is where I have felt used.
—des
—des
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
Travel: I used to have a fair number of people come to me. However, in my present area it works a lot better if I go to them. There are a lot of families with several children and others with sitters; sometimes I tutor one and sometimes two in the smam family; it makes for nightmares of commuting and child care if they try to go out, so it is a sales advantage for me to go to them. I also like the break in between as I go to the next place. Yes, it does increase the cost, which is why I can’t offer the bargain basement prices some people want. I do offer a five dollar discount if they come here but so far only a few older teens have taken up this offer.
Dropping off: I remember when you were planning to start this that I gave you my thoughts on the matter. I mentioned then that of the people who call, about half carry through and come to tutoring, and of those who start, about half continue through on a long-term basis. I’ve improved those numbers a bit over the basic idea still holds; be prepared for a lot of lookers and a lot of people who quit when they realize they still have to work.
The ones that are frustrating me now are those who plan for the summer or the next year, book time in the future, and then change their plans.
Re: Charging for initial visit with parents?
I think if I had more than one in the same family I would go to them.
I haven’t gotten such a call yet. I suppose some day I might.
>Dropping off: I remember when you were planning to start this that I gave you my thoughts on the matter. I mentioned then that of the people who call, about half carry through and come to tutoring, and of those who
Hmm not sure I am getting so many! It seems the more severe the problem the more likely they are to carry thru. For example, I have gotten 3-4 people who called that their kid was a slow reader, took a long time, needed work on reading, that type of thing. They have never carried thru. The ones who are really concerned about their kid, they carry thru.
As for how many drop out who start, well so far I have had two. Neither of those kids had any problem in reading. One wanted enrichment for a bright child, the other wanted enrichment for a MR kid.
Of course I haven’t had much time to develop any figures. :-)
>The ones that are frustrating me now are those who plan for the summer or the next year, book time in the future, and then change their plans.
Yes, well I expect disruption over the summer. I think this would frustrate me as well but I haven’t had the problem YET.
—des
Hi, I’m a parent. I think that you should have them pay for a month of sessions at a time. There should be some fee for the initial visit and if you want to refund it or deduct it from the 1st months fees then that is fine also. You have a right to feed your family. This is a business. Whether it is art class, gymnastics, or dance we always pay by the month and there is often a registration fee.
Terry