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Screwy teacher or is this normal?

#23
behemecoytl said:
Rates

NEW STUDENTS

$30 per 30 minute lesson

$35 per 45 minute lesson

$45 per hour lesson


*rates listed are for a 4- week month*
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Payments are figured by weeks in a year not by lessons in a month; therefore the payment amount is pro-rated.
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You have paid for (at least) four lessons. The so-called "pro-ration" calculation merely spreads the "per 45 minute lesson" charge evenly over a 12 month period, but the rate structure is still expressly calculated on a per lesson basis. I don't think that he really understands what "pro-rata" means, but in any event, nothing about these terms allows him to charge you for four lessons and provide only three. He owes you another lesson or a refund.
 
#25
adammazza said:
Even though the math works out, he does seem to be complicating things. How are make up lessons handled if you miss a week?

Adam
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I agree, it's complicated. I would say that he does have a monthly tuition, whether he wants to call it that or not. To charge the same amount every month, regardless of the number of lessons he provides, is a monthly fee.

I also agree that teachers who have monthly fees are obligated to provide opportunities for make-up lessons.
 
#26
Febs said:
You have paid for (at least) four lessons. The so-called "pro-ration" calculation merely spreads the "per 45 minute lesson" charge evenly over a 12 month period, but the rate structure is still expressly based on a per lesson basis. I don't think that he really understands what "pro-rata" means, but in any event, nothing about these terms allows him to charge you for four lessons and provide only three. He owes you another lesson or a refund.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree that the "contract" seems to misunderstand the term "pro-rated"...

and it clearly states it's based on a $45/hour rate.

I don't know that I'll ask for a refund (although I agree it's warranted). I may just chalk this up to a miscommunication, wish the teacher a Merry Xmas and look elsewhere for lessons in the future.
 
#27
A bit off topic, but If you're the one paying for your lessons you should think of it as a tradeoff. Let's say 4 hours of work gets you the money for that hour lesson. That's 5 hours you could have spent practicing, reading, watching youtube videos, jamming w/ other etc. Is the hour lesson worth the tradeoff?

As far as this guy, I'd say don't go back. If the contract's there, there's nothing you can do, but he's obviously a bit of a scumbag if he didn't tell you beforehand that you were only paying for 3 lessons.
 
#28
For such an elaborate billing agreement (almost 800 words), it seems like kind of a goofy loophole that has you paying $62.50 per for your first 3 lessons. :eyebrow:

If he's really good, maybe you could stick with it and it will even out some other month when you get 5 sessions for your $187.50 (at $37.50 per).

If it were me, I would probably check the field, see if there's anyone else out there who is as good a teacher and has a more straight-ahead payment system. (Don't **** me and we keep doing business - that's how I like to roll.)
 
#30
FunkMetalBass said:
By the way, you're actually paying less per minute for the 45-minute session than you are for the 30-minute or hour-long session.

If you want to stay with the guy, go for the $35/lesson option.
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Huh?

He's paying less for the longer lesson.They are encouraging taking 1 hour lessons.

30 bucks/30 minutes is 1 dollar/min
35 bucks/45 minutes is 77.8 cents/min
45 bucks/60 minutes is 75 cents/min

Thus, the hour long lesson is the best value.

Please excuse me and elaborate if I missed your point.
 
#31
It makes no sense that it says, "Rates listed are for a 4 week month" when the rates are listed as per lesson, not per month.

Perhaps your teacher has over complicated his idea of payments, and has confused himself by that, or wants money for nothing.
 
#32
Hmmmm . . . So I guess if a student starts in a 5 week month and then quits, he gets five lessons for the price of four. Instead of giving some people a windfall and others getting screwed, why not treat everyone fairly and charge for the actual number of lessons that month? You started at the worst time - two months in a row of paying for 4 lessons and only getting 3!!

Putting that aside, the real questions are (1) is he a good teacher and (2) are you totally comfortable with him? If you have any doubts about either, I'd try another teacher. I prefer paying by the lesson, but I live in Chicago so there are lots of good teachers. Don't be afraid to try someone else, and tell him/her you want a trial lesson (not free, but no commitment).
Just my opinion.
Gerry
 
#35
Why the heck is everyone being so nice to this scam artist?

Here are some things to think about:

-Contract law is not black & white. There are many grey areas, and this may not be a legally binding contract. However, I'm from Canada so things are different up here.

-Did he tell you this when you signed up? Did he say to you "You can pay for November, but I'll only give you three lessons" ?

-His rates say $45 / Hour. You paid 4 times that amount. He gave you 3 hours. He owes you a refund.

-In what universe do teachers charge their students for lessons on Christmas and Thanksgiving, which they never give?

-Get a spine. You need to stand up for yourself. Who cares if they get mad and try to scare you off? You probably worked for 3-5 hours to earn that money.

-Take him to small claims court if he doesn't give a refund. This may be the only way to make sure this never happens to anyone else.

And please, stand up for yourself.
 
#36
I kinda wonder if he doesn't have another way of looking at it in the five week months so it still works out in his favor. If he's Ron Carter or if Ray Brown has returned from the grave to give lessons I'd sign up, otherwise his business flummery would annoy me more than the knowledge was worth. That's just me, obviously. How does he seem to be as a teacher?
 
#38
The whole "contract" looks ridiculous to me. It should be straightforward and simple to understand. $45 bucks an hour is pretty high. He better be damn good and have you playing like fricken Jeff Berlin or Jaco in a year for that. If your a beginner all he is going to do is teach you rudimentary stuff at first, things you can teach yourself with good instructional materials like books and cds. Save yourself a few hundred bucks and learn as much as you can yourself then find an experienced teacher who won't screw you like this clown
 
#39
yeah, I'm going to request a refund. the teacher is credentialed, music degree, and mostly a jazz-double bass player. I didn't really connect with him, and was rather disappointed with the 3 lessons. The lessons were very theoretical, with emphasis on knowing the name of each note as I'd play it- knowing the circle of 5ths and all the sharps and flats of each key sig. I've played bass for about 10 years now, and I play in an instrumental funk band and a cover band. we play James Brown, P-funk, Motown, etc... and I have a decent understanding of music theory and I'm always open to learning more, but I had mentioned that my main focus was to develop finger-style funk in the Jamerson vein. He said he could do that, but all he gave me to work on were major scales and 3rds exercises and info on the circle of 5ths... and it's given my personal practice times a structure than I didn't have before, which is good...

but he was really more into double bass-- he even let it slip once during the 2nd lesson that he thinks bass guitar is "boring" and never plays it save for while teaching- a comment that made me question whether he was the right teacher for me, since I was there to learn the boring ol bass guitar.

this guy is not a scam artist- he's a legit teacher, just not my style, and he really could have been more clear about the payment situation. And when I told him that I was only signing up for one month of lessons, he should have mentioned that November was a 3-lesson month, and either amended his payment accordingly, or allowed me to consider taking lessons in a different month... but he didn't, and I paid for 4 hours and got 3, so I'll be asking for a refund.
 
#40
"mostly a jazz-double bass player. I didn't really connect with him, and was rather disappointed with the 3 lessons. The lessons were very theoretical, with emphasis on knowing the name of each note as I'd play it"

I have that same tutor! Ha. Why did my college give me a Jazz tutor when I'm studying in a Popular Music course? As much as I'd love to learn every note by name, it would be much faster to just give me scale patterns. I could have learnt a year's worth of stuff in a year rather than a week's worth. Give me a tutor who will teach me what I want to know, not what they want me to know.
 

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