Pay Your Tutor On Time: A Happy Tutor Is A Tutor Who Teaches Well

Here's a story-one fine day, a boy goes to the tuition centre for lesson as usual, except it wasn't lesson as usual for him. Sickened by his mommy's incessant (and often colorful) excuses for non-payment of fees, the tutor directed him to an empty classroom, sat him down with a comic book and walked off to teach students in the next room. THIS IS A TRUE STORY.


Moral Of The Story

Tutors, like regular salaried people, are earning a living to feed their families. To parents, imagine for a moment- what if your employer consistently delays banking in your monthly paychecks? Furious and frustrated would be good words to describe your emotional state yes? Why should the tutor you hire feel any different if you keep telling him/her you will only hand them the already due payment on the next session because you are out of the pocket at the moment?


Remember one thing leads to another. A tutor who is not paid promptly on a prolonged basis becomes an unhappy tutor. An unhappy tutor is less willing/motivated to assist the tutee and go the distance to ensure fruitful learning. In the end, ......well I think you know who suffers in the end.


Moral of the story? Pay your child's tuition fees on time! Plain and simple. All right, maybe not that simple, which is why some points to be taken note of have been laid out below:


1. Be Aware of Fee Schedules And Payment Modes

By and large, tuition centres collect fees at the beginning of each month, while individual tutors might choose to do so when the month's lessons are completed. Some though prefer payment on a per lesson basis. Regardless, create notes in your organizer to keep track of when and how much to pay. Documenting the number of lessons conducted during the active tuition season may also come in useful should you need to dispute any charges imposed. Please don't rely on your child to be the messenger going back and forth between you and the tutor where financials are concerned - it really doesn't reflect well on you as an adult. Talk about not setting bad examples, this is it.


If only cash is accepted, pay in cash. Don't pull out your chequebook just to stall time; it makes you look extremely foolish. In the event cheques are allowed, the decent thing to do is not let them bounce by replenishing your account with funds.

2. The Security Deposit Is Never A Means To An End

Some tutors might collect a security deposit from you at the very onset when you engage their services, so you reason to yourself: "Heck I can't pay on time, they can just take it out of the deposit; no big deal. Bad idea. Actually, very bad idea." The deposit should be consumed only in times of genuine need (ok, we do forget about the moolah on occasion), and not intentionally used to default on payment. Burn the bridge of trust on purpose, and you get burnt yourself (that includes your innocent child).

3. If You Can't Pay, Be Truthful.

In extremely trying times when tuition can suddenly become unaffordable, you should come clean about it to the tutor at the earliest moment. There are many big-hearted educators out there who are willing to continue helping your child for reduced fee rates; some might even do it pro-bono. Only if you come clean.

Then again, not every tutor will accede to a renegotiation of terms. In such an unfortunate instance, withdrawing from the class is the optimal course of action. Cancel the classes completely, and re-strategize from here. Dragging your ass across the floor and letting tuition-related debts pile up may instead result in you being served a lawyer's letter of demand (there's no need to look so surprised, like credit card debts they can become a real nightmare if mismanaged). Not to mention plenty of bitterness to top it off for both parties involved.

We really hope you get the picture. So pay your tutor on time, because a happy tutor is definitely incentivized to give his/her best.