How much is too much?

[Rob Broad]

How much service is too much. I know several instructors who have bent over backwards for students and they all get screwed in the end, they often offered extra time for free when someone needed work, and the first time they didn't offer it or worse couldn't they lost students. So how do you decide how much service to give to your students with screwing your self.

 

[lvwhitebir]

I think you offer a fair trade of service for a fee. Generally when you do something for nothing you're getting into the arena of trouble. At the core, my students are my clients. I'm very friendly towards them and want to help them any way possible, as if they were my friends, but I should be compensated one way or another for those actions.

WhiteBirch

 

[OC Kid]

I too got screwed over by some students/parents. Any more now I teach the class. If they come late (and I had them come up till 10 mins left inna class) just end the class normal time. Last night the same one came with 20 minutes left in the class. I just kept working the class out. At the time she came we were through the instruction/basics and into the drills. i just had get in line and wing it.

Your only human. You can only do what you can. remember the saying "You can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink"

if you want to schedule privates with them at a small additional fee because if you do it for free and they dont show then you'll feel like you've been screwed again . if you charge they will show.

You can advise them to get into a study group on off nights also with some of the fellow students.

 

[The Kai]

There is a fne line between being your students instructor and becoming thier service person. Alot of the marking companies tell you to be more and more service orientated (which is fine). But (IMHO) we are a martial arts enviroment and protocals should be maintained. Questions I have wrestled with -how hard to try to get someone to join (if they need to be talked into will they make a decent student). If a student lapses how many tmes to call? (again if you beg him back will he respect the protocall?)

 

[OC Kid]

Very good questions one Ive been thinking about myself. My rec center gig is coming to a close the end of Aug so Im going to tell the students they can continue with me if they want at my home. Ive been wondering how to do this to prevent eroding the protocol. Ive been thinking about handing them fliers at the end of class and let them decide. BTW it wont be free but it will be inexpensive to them. So if they dont come then the heck with them.

 

[lvwhitebir]

Questions I have wrestled with -how hard to try to get someone to join (if they need to be talked into will they make a decent student). If a student lapses how many tmes to call? (again if you beg him back will he respect the protocall?)

Service is about providing the students with what they expect and perhaps a little more. My "service" is to provide an extraordinary class for a fair price. I then go beyond that by offering reasonable seminars, family events such as picnics, occassional movies out, "free" gifts (for achieving advanced rank), etc. I want the students to feel like this is a "family" rather than a gym.

I personally won't try hard to get someone to join. I offer very reasonable rates and an introductory class, so they can see what they're in for. Most of the companies stress that the "selling" is on the floor in the intro class. The official "sign up" is only a formality. If you have to really work at getting people to sign, then there's something that needs to be addressed in the introduction class.

As to how many times I call, most of my students are adults, so I won't call very much. I might call if I haven't seem them in a few weeks, just to make sure everything is all right, but after that I won't "bug" them. I usually send out emails to my current and ex-students, so anyone leaving will still be hearing from and about us if they desire to return. My only other contact is to try to figure out why they wanted to discontinue training; I want to try to "close the back door" rather than beg them to return. If they're leaving, there's something I'm not doing right.


OC Kid: Handing out flyers to promote the change and even having class at your house will not by itself erode the protocol. Just do it professionally and everything will work out. You can talk to them about it, promote it as a great move ahead. Think of it as just moving the school. When you teach at your house, make it as formal as possible, lest the next thing you know they're raiding your fridge. Make a specific workout area, make specific times for them to be there (if they're late it works into that time), don't let them just hang around way before or after class. Treat it like going to a job so that they don't invade your personal time.

I personally avoid having students at my house (maybe students that I've known for years or someone I'm mentoring) because I want them to see me as their teacher, not their buddy.

WhiteBirch

 

[The Kai]

I personally avoid having students at my house (maybe students that I've known for years or someone I'm mentoring) because I want them to see me as their teacher, not their buddy.

WhiteBirch

Ver good point!!!!