When I taught private piano lessons, I had a studio policy I strictly enforced.  The parents paid me a flat monthly rate, whether they chose to attend or miss.  At the very first lesson, we always went over my policy, and they signed a paper that said, "I have read, understood, and agreed to the studio policy of Matthew Todd".  They signed and dated it.  That just protected myself legally.  I had one parent who was leaving the area for three months, but wanted to keep their time slot for lessons open, so they mailed me a check each month.<br><br>I am not sure how we can do this in our business.<br><br>Matthew<br><br><b><i>Willem Blees <wimblees@aol.com></i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> <wbr>Once I tried to reason with a customer to pay me for a missed appointment. I asked her how she would like it if she showed up for work one day, and after working for 3 hours, her boss told her to go home, and not get paid for the day. She said she didn't like that, but she didn't understand how that applied to me. <br> <br> My wife teaches piano lessons. She has students, and/or their parents, call at the last minute to cancel a lesson, and don't want to pay for it. They don't seem to understand that it is lost income that can never be repaid. <br> <br> If doctors can do it, why can't we? Maybe we're too "soft" on our customers. But then some of us need all the income we can get, even it it costs us a no-show once in a while<br> <br> <div style="clear: both;">Wim<br> <br> -----Original Message-----<br> From: Joey Recker <tech@onkeypiano.com><br> To: 'Pianotech List' <pianotech@ptg.org><br> Sent: Fri, 1 Aug 2008 12:32 pm<br> Subject: RE: No- shows..... again<br> <br> </div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1"> <style> @#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 font-face {font-family:Tahoma; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;} #AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 p.MsoNormal,#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 li.MsoNormal,#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 div.MsoNormal {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 a:link,#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 span.MsoHyperl ink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline;}#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 a:visited,#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:blue; text-decoration:underline;}#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 span.EmailStyle17 {mso-style-type:personal-reply; font-family:Arial; color:navy;}@#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 div.Section1 {page:Section1;} @#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 list l0 {mso-list-id:21714248; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:150119824 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}@#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 list l0:level1 {mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;}#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 ol {margin-bottom:0in;}#AOLMsgPart_2_1cd3934b-5dd0-4606-8ab2-17171c793dd1 ul {margin-bottom:0in;}</style> <div class="Section1"> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: navy; font-family: Arial;">I leave a bill for my minimum “trip charge”.  This results one of the following:</span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: navy; font-family: Arial;"> </span></font></div> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: navy;"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">They call with great apology and re-schedule and pay the additional fee20with no complaints.</span></font></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: navy;"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">They call to tell me of an emergency or something beyond their control.  At that point I decide whether or not to charge the “trip charge” based on my previous experience with the customer.  Many times I’ll forgive it if the appointment is close by.  </span></font></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="color: navy;"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Only once has a customer refused to pay and complained.  Amazingly she still wanted her piano tuned! But said that she didn’t do business “that way”.  Meaning she would re-schedule but would not pay the trip charge.  I refused to re-schedule until the charge was paid in full.  To date she has never paid and she is on my short list of customers I refuse to tune for.  As a matter of fact; a good friend of mine is an appliance repairman and I found out later that she was already on his list of customers he would not work for.  </span></font></li></ol> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: navy; font-family: Arial;"> </span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: navy; font-family: Arial;">Doesn’t happen often, but it works for me.</span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: navy; font-family: Arial;"> </span></font></div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: center;" align="center"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <hr align="center" size="2" width="100%"> </span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><b><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma;">From:</span></font></b><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma;"> <a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a> [<a href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org?">mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a>] <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">On Behalf Of </span></b><a href="mailto:VOCE88@aol.com">VOCE88@aol.com</a><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Friday, August 01, 2008 12:15 AM<br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> No- shows..... again</span></font></div> </div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></font></div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Just curious List,</span></font></div> </div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></font></div> </div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></font></div> </div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">How do you deal with a no show appointment? Do you bill them? Bill half? Not at all? Any other way to deal wit them?</span></font></div> </div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></font></div> </div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">TIA</span></font><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">,</span></font></div> </div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></font></div> </div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Rich</span></font><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"> Galassini</span></font><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></font></div> </div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">Cunningham Piano Company</span></font></div> </div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in;"><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"><br> <br> </span></font></div> <div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; text-align: center;" align="center"><font color="black" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;"> <hr align="center" size="2" width="100%"> </span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in;"><font color="black" size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Get fantasy football with free live scoring. <a title="http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020" href="http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020" target="_blank">Sign up for FanHouse Fantasy Football today</a>.</span></font><font size="2" face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></font></div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="u8CAC26D43C22280-954-688" class="aol_ad_footer"><font style="color: black; font-family: ARIAL,SAN-SERIF; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none;"><hr style="margin-top: 10px;">It's time to go back to school! Get the latest trends and gadgets that make the grade on <a title="http://shopping.aol.com/back-to-school?ncid=aolins00050000000007" href="http://shopping.aol.com/back-to-school?ncid=aolins00050000000007" target="_blank">AOL Shopping</a>.</font> </div> </blockquote><br>