Manassas Joe's Piano

What tuition is...Payments here at my studio are based on a monthly tuition Monthly tuition is not pay per lesson as many may think it is Tuition covers many services including:A weekly private lesson during a prime time slot that is reliably on a week to week basis completely yoursMake up lessons Many of my colleagues have a "No makeup policy" meaning if you miss it you lose it This is not me.Flexible day scheduling Lessons every day of the week except Mondays Extra Lessons I have had students take more lessons than their regularly scheduled lessons (4-lessons a month) with no additional cost If a student is having a hard time with a concept, I offer additional help with no additional chargeExtended Lessons All of my students at one points or another had their lessons extended Extensions of lessons have been from minutes to minutes Practice Room I have a professional model Steinway piano If there are no lessons, students of the studio can use this piano and studio space to practice Group lessons There are several group lessons throughout the year in addition to weekly private lessons.Recitals Two recitals per year are required with no additional charges Many of my colleagues charge for time spent organizing, venue charges, rehearsals and special guests.Parent meetings either phone or face to face are not charged They take time away from the students, student preparation and events when dealing with issues that need to be worked out All of the above services are part of tuition Instead of nickle and diming students on many charges throughout the year like a good contractor would do and does do, I charge one monthly fee that incorporates all of the above services It's a highly personable, tailorable and allows me to spend time focusing on curriculum and students instead of fiances, charges, missed payments, etc It's efficient time management It's easier on parents The IssueWith [redacted] leaving the studio in the middle of the tuition month the question is what should be refunded I released her youngest, ***, in the middle of the month He was inconsistent and often couldn't complete the simplest of tasks It was best for all three of us (Mom, [redacted] and I) to not continue teaching him Her oldest [redacted] is a great student who had assignments completed from week to week and then some A great student who was a pleasure to work with [redacted] decided to not continue with lessons for [redacted] This was not my call There are cases where teachers will not have both siblings from the same family There is a mother currently in the DC area who has one of her kids with [redacted] and another one of her kids with [redacted] *** I find nothing wrong with it at all Different personalities call for different teachers I knew this from a young teaching age and many renowned teachers are well aware of this and have written on the subject I take no offense to not being able to teach everyone In summery, I released *** [redacted] stopped lessons for [redacted] Both in the middle of the month My decisionI do not give refundsHowever, because I did release ***, I have no problem in refunding for half of the month for *** For [redacted] 's tuition, it was the decision of the mother, [redacted] She chose not to discuss it with me, and I can't help them if I am not aware of the issues or concerns that are on the table She hired me for the month and chose not to continue with my services despite not discussing it with me The BreakdownStudent Tuition for one student for one month is $120Student Tuition for two students for one month is $240I owe for one student I owe half a month's tuition for that one student Half of $is $ I have no problems paying $for ***'s tuition for half of a month due to my dismal of *** It's just fair and the right thing to do Respectfully,Joe A [redacted]

What tuition is...Payments here at my studio are based on a monthly tuition Monthly tuition is not pay per lesson as many may think it is Tuition covers many services including:A weekly private lesson during a prime time slot that is reliably on a week to week basis completely
yours. Make up lessons Many of my colleagues have a "No makeup policy" meaning if you miss it you lose it This is not me.Flexible day scheduling Lessons every day of the week except Mondays Extra Lessons I have had students take more lessons than their regularly scheduled lessons (4-lessons a month) with no additional cost If a student is having a hard time with a concept, I offer additional help with no additional charge. Extended Lessons All of my students at one points or another had their lessons extended Extensions of lessons have been from minutes to minutes Practice Room I have a professional model Steinway piano If there are no lessons, students of the studio can use this piano and studio space to practice Group lessons There are several group lessons throughout the year in addition to weekly private lessons.Recitals Two recitals per year are required with no additional charges Many of my colleagues charge for time spent organizing, venue charges, rehearsals and special guests.Parent meetings either phone or face to face are not charged They take time away from the students, student preparation and events when dealing with issues that need to be worked out All of the above services are part of tuition Instead of nickle and diming students on many charges throughout the year like a good contractor would do and does do, I charge one monthly fee that incorporates all of the above services It's a highly personable, tailorable and allows me to spend time focusing on curriculum and students instead of fiances, charges, missed payments, etc It's efficient time management It's easier on parents The IssueWith *** leaving the studio in the middle of the tuition month the question is what should be refunded I released her youngest, ***, in the middle of the month He was inconsistent and often couldn't complete the simplest of tasks It was best for all three of us (Mom, *** and I) to not continue teaching him Her oldest *** is a great student who had assignments completed from week to week and then some A great student who was a pleasure to work with *** decided to not continue with lessons for *** This was not my call There are cases where teachers will not have both siblings from the same family There is a mother currently in the DC area who has one of her kids with *** *** and another one of her kids with *** *** I find nothing wrong with it at all Different personalities call for different teachers I knew this from a young teaching age and many renowned teachers are well aware of this and have written on the subject I take no offense to not being able to teach everyone In summery, I released *** *** stopped lessons for *** Both in the middle of the month My decisionI do not give refunds. However, because I did release ***, I have no problem in refunding for half of the month for *** For ***'s tuition, it was the decision of the mother, *** She chose not to discuss it with me, and I can't help them if I am not aware of the issues or concerns that are on the table She hired me for the month and chose not to continue with my services despite not discussing it with me The BreakdownStudent Tuition for one student for one month is $120Student Tuition for two students for one month is $240I owe for one student I owe half a month's tuition for that one student Half of $is $ I have no problems paying $for ***'s tuition for half of a month due to my dismal of *** It's just fair and the right thing to do Respectfully,Joe A***

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response.Here is the boy Joe says "couldn't complete the simplest of tasks", playing Minuet in G major at age 6, *a year before* we met Joe: *** (assuming they allow links hereOtherwise, you can find it by *** "***" at ***)But Joe makes my point for meThis is a child who is more than competent whom Joe couldn't reachIt's obviously not the boy's abilities at issueAgain, the day in question, Joe spent a third of the lesson angrily repeating the same question "What did I say!" of a child who obviously hadn't heard himI wish I had recorded thatJoe's ego and temper are so close to the surface that I wouldn't trust him to work with any child, which is why I canceled the remaining lessons with my other son, something he both agreed with and said would be best for all of us.Despite all the perks he now claims to offer with tuition (none of which I benefited from), I reiterate that absolutely none of this is documented anywhere including the refund policy, which is more of a "gotcha" considering that even in his response above he never states outright that all money paid is forfeited, but seems to think it is implied by his other undocumented policies.Had it dawned on him back in June that refunding the lessons he himself canceled was "just fair and the right thing to do", we wouldn't be hereBut here he is insulting my child, completely unwilling to acknowledge his own issues in causing this incident, and digging in his heels over an indefensible policyI have had it.He will pay me what he owes me
Regards,
*** ***

What tuition is...Payments here at my studio are based on a monthly tuition Monthly tuition is not pay per lesson as many may think it is Tuition covers many services including:A weekly private lesson during a prime time slot that is reliably on a week to week basis completely yours. Make up lessons Many of my colleagues have a "No makeup policy" meaning if you miss it you lose it This is not me.Flexible day scheduling Lessons every day of the week except Mondays Extra Lessons I have had students take more lessons than their regularly scheduled lessons (4-lessons a month) with no additional cost If a student is having a hard time with a concept, I offer additional help with no additional charge. Extended Lessons All of my students at one points or another had their lessons extended Extensions of lessons have been from minutes to minutes Practice Room I have a professional model Steinway piano If there are no lessons, students of the studio can use this piano and studio space to practice Group lessons There are several group lessons throughout the year in addition to weekly private lessons.Recitals Two recitals per year are required with no additional charges Many of my colleagues charge for time spent organizing, venue charges, rehearsals and special guests.Parent meetings either phone or face to face are not charged They take time away from the students, student preparation and events when dealing with issues that need to be worked out All of the above services are part of tuition Instead of nickle and diming students on many charges throughout the year like a good contractor would do and does do, I charge one monthly fee that incorporates all of the above services It's a highly personable, tailorable and allows me to spend time focusing on curriculum and students instead of fiances, charges, missed payments, etc It's efficient time management It's easier on parents The IssueWith *** leaving the studio in the middle of the tuition month the question is what should be refunded I released her youngest, ***, in the middle of the month He was inconsistent and often couldn't complete the simplest of tasks It was best for all three of us (Mom, *** and I) to not continue teaching him Her oldest *** is a great student who had assignments completed from week to week and then some A great student who was a pleasure to work with *** decided to not continue with lessons for *** This was not my call There are cases where teachers will not have both siblings from the same family There is a mother currently in the DC area who has one of her kids with *** *** and another one of her kids with *** *** I find nothing wrong with it at all Different personalities call for different teachers I knew this from a young teaching age and many renowned teachers are well aware of this and have written on the subject I take no offense to not being able to teach everyone In summery, I released *** *** stopped lessons for *** Both in the middle of the month My decisionI do not give refunds. However, because I did release ***, I have no problem in refunding for half of the month for *** For ***'s tuition, it was the decision of the mother, *** She chose not to discuss it with me, and I can't help them if I am not aware of the issues or concerns that are on the table She hired me for the month and chose not to continue with my services despite not discussing it with me The BreakdownStudent Tuition for one student for one month is $120Student Tuition for two students for one month is $240I owe for one student I owe half a month's tuition for that one student Half of $is $ I have no problems paying $for ***'s tuition for half of a month due to my dismal of *** It's just fair and the right thing to do Respectfully,Joe A***