No need to ever explain anything. Do not offer any discounts. You do not want those clients who try to get discounts or exceptions.
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Riding is a luxury, not a necessity (well, c’mon, it’s not). Your time is your time (We are not a charity). You both work outside horses (good for you, vacation/retirement etc.) and you are not a charity…repeat this mantra often…“We are not a charity”.
Riding can be expensive…parents can come up with the money for riding lessons…if they can’t spend another few bucks (we are not a charity), perhaps they shouldn’t have been spending the money on lessons but on necessities. If they can only ride once a week, then so be it…(We are not a charity).
McDonald’s raises prices, look how many kids are fed at Mickey D’s…they aren’t a charity either. Your rates are too low. Your customers may whine…so what? “We are not a charity”. sorry, but domestic wine won’t kill people, neither will bottled beer, less cable TV, movies or designer clothes for the youngin’s. Charge what the market will bear (-$5)…and pay yourselves for your time, investment and all the things you can’t do if you’re keeping up your barn.
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I think a couple of these posters have been a little harsh. You do want to keep some of your clients, right? While the $ of the original proposed increase does not seem so high to those of us who are used to paying $80 or more for a lesson, for your riders, the percentage increase is quite large. Some of them will be able to afford it and some of them will not, even if they “cut out Macdonald’s” ( ugh)
That may mean they can’t ride anymore anywhere, particularly if you were under market that much.
Which is not your problem and you are a business but I would suggest that you try to be kind and not harsh if approached for explanations and requests for discounts etc. You can and probably should say no but there is a polite way of doing it.
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yeah I don’t think anyone with a lick of walking around sense will be trotting out that Mickey D’s line LOL.
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I think some are missing the point that it’s not just that the OP is not charging as much money as she could, but rather that the OP is LOSING money in the current situation.
These “clients” are actually costing the OP money in time, farm upkeep and horse keeping.
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Agreed. I, personally, would recommend raising rates to at least break even (and do a detailed budget to nail down these numbers if you haven’t already). Whether those new numbers are $5 or $30 below the going rate for your area is secondary.
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I wouldn’t do the multi-student family discount. That will negate the price increase and you’ll find yourself right back where you are right now, not breaking even. Raise the rates and be done with it.
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I believe the family discount was suggested because the OP decided to raise her rates less than originally planned because some families have more than one student.
Raising the rates more and then allowing a discount for people with multiple family members riding would bring more money in for the OP but still not hit the larger families too hard.
(I am in no way saying the OP owes these people a discount, just explaining where the comment came from.)
From post #34
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Correct, it was my suggestion to help with OPs desire to not hit multi-kid families too hard.
I also know many instructors offer quantity discounts ($50/lesson, pre-pay four for $190 or something), so offering a discount for the multi-kid families isn’t all that strange.
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I don’t get the expectation that some have for multi-kid or even multi-horse discounts for lessons or board. I did get the “package deal” discount so maybe that fits for the multi-kid situation.
Recently was asked if I got a multi-horse discount for board and was puzzled, it’s not like two horses eat and poop less than, well, two horses.
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I can speak to this, as someone who boarded multiple horses for years – sometimes four or five. As a reliable, low maintenance boarder who has owned only very manageable, non-destructive, easy-keepers who kept their stalls reasonably to very tidy, I was offered a slight discount, and took it.
My small horses definitely didn’t eat as much as other, larger or less thrifty ones, they didn’t destroy property, and they were easy to clean up after (barn help thanked me) and didn’t blow through bedding. A barn manager told me they were the kind of horses that are a dream to have, that everyone wants a barn full of ones just like them. My farrier said “they don’t come any easier than this.”
Not to mention, I didn’t take as much tack room space as three or four or five owners would have, I had a single trailer to park, it was one (on-time every month) board check to collect instead of chasing after several, etc.
So, there could be a reason a barn owner/manager might think it worthwhile to knock off a small amount to keep someone like that – or to offer a large family a bit of a break on lessons.
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You had me until the last line.
My 2 horses are also very manageable, sweet and non-destructive. I can see your point regarding paying on time, I do that too 
That said, that’s what late fees are for; to motivate people to pay on time.
I don’t get the part about large family discounts. I’ve got nothing against large families, however, don’t think others should be expected to subsidize them for what is essentially a luxury item.
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So the multiple horse discount is not just for multiple horses but for multiple neat horses and only if the owner pays on time and they all share the same equipment?
In other words, one can not write that into a contract easily.
What if the next person with three horses has three messy horses who pee a ton and pulverize their manure into their bedding and each horse has two saddles and separate grooming equipment?
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My former roommate had 2 horses and received a multiple horse discount on board. If I recall correctly, it was $50 per horse so $100 per month. Considering that the total board bill is around $1200 - $1500 per month, it’s really not breaking the bank to offer a 10% discount because you keep multiple horses. I think the attraction of multi-horse owners to (some) barn owners is that they tend to be longer-term clients so they keep stalls full. Typically, it’s easier to find room for one horse than 2 or more so there’s less opportunity to move spontaneously. For some barns, those horses may also represent additional lesson and/or training income. Plus, the barn owner spends less time trying to fill multiple empty stalls if they have them.
If one has built reasonable profit margin into their board rates (I realize this is a big IF) or stands to gain from additional lesson or training income from the boarder, I can see why they would try to sweeten the pot with a multiple horse discount. That said, it doesn’t make sense for every barn owner’s pricing model.
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Why do people get a bulk discount on goods? Hay in bulk vs by the bale, for example.
Or stores like Costco that literally exist for this reason, to provide items in bulk at a discounted price.
Or, say, cosmetic jars - buy 1-300 for $1.29/each, or 301-600 for $1.09/each, or 601+ for $1.00/each.
Hair salons or nail salons with hole-punch cards where you buy 10 hair cuts, get your 11th free.
I write safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals. My boss offers a discount for a client to commit to a certain number of them or amount of work.
Or boarding barns near large show facilities that offer a monthly rate and a daily rate. Monthly board at $600/month, because it keeps the stall full for that month without a rotating door of horses, may have a daily rate of like $30.
Same principle between most people’s lesson prices. $30 for 1/2 hour, $45 for 1 hour, for example.
It may not cost less to provide the service or the good bulk vs non, but it’s about getting a large amount of the item gone at once, instead of dealing with multiple transactions. Or offering a break to someone who is currently or you are hoping to be a repeat, long-term customer.
Bulk discounts are pretty standard across nearly all industries, service and goods, so I really don’t understand some people’s reactions to such a suggestion.
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There is a difference between goods and services. Bulk discounts for goods make sense to me. Granted the hair and nail salons are essentially services, but given the competition in that market, I can see a loyalty reward program making sense there.
Horse boarding is mostly a service industry with associated expenses. And given the shrinking number of boarding barns, I don’t see there being the same competition as in nail salons so that’s why this person thinks it’s odd to have a multi-horse discount.
That all said, I have seen the person with multiple horses at a barn having more influence which makes sense. One would have to a major PITA for a barn owner to make a single horse owner happy over one with multiple horses.
What I’m thinking of is the family full of riders of various ages, which can provide a steady income stream for many years to come.
Usually, it costs more to got out there and find new customers than to keep the ones a business already has. Obviously, the business has to turn a profit to stay in business. But, if the barn management wants to encourage that family to stick around, then a slight discount for multiple members taking lessons, to my mind, isn’t different than offering a multi-lesson package deal to an individual.
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No, but it’s one fewer person to deal with maintaining a client relationship with. People are a pain in the butt. Especially horse people.
(I’m also for 30-60 days notice, and no more explanation given than maybe “due to rising costs”, but that seems pretty well covered.)
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Yes. This. And I’m not sure you even need to explain the why. (People might want to argue.) You are running a business.
If you don’t already have rates posted on Facebook or anywhere else, I wouldn’t post the new rates.
How are barn owners supposed to quantify this, anyway? One small horse who always poops and pees in the run may also be on special feed and a half-dozen supplements while a big horse who loves to pee in his stall just has a scoop of barn feed. Which animal is more work for the barn? And what about people who haul their horses somewhere else every weekend for clinics, shows, and trail rides? Do you give them a discount for those days?
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