That wasn’t quite the OPs gripe though. The big thing was that the trainer continued on with her day. The trainer also said the payment could be a rain check which the OP declined. So really, the OP got mad the trainer kept working and declined the reschedule. The OP could have gotten a lesson for her money.
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I can’t believe OP wiped out all her comments. What a farce.
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Question for those of you whose trainers have formal cancellation policies (or anyone with an opinion!): what is appropriate if the trainer rather than the student cancels at the last-minute?
I’ve only had that happen in the case of an emergency, so I’d be willing to give the trainer a pass if it was someone with whom I had a good long term relationship. I had a trainer I was “interviewing” cancel on me twice at not quite the last minute; I declined to follow up for a third chance. One trainer regularly blocked out a month or so to focus on some breed show stuff for another long-term client. She was up front about it and frankly, I appreciated knowing where I stood in her priorities. It wasn’t a problem for years, and then it was just the cherry on top of other stuff so I left.
I think it all comes down to personal relationships; if a client really likes a trainer, and in general is treated well, they tend to put up with the occasional snafu. If the trainer really values a client, likewise. It’s when people consistently take advantage that I’ve seen tempers flare and bad break ups.
As the client, I would not expect to pay if the trainer cancelled at the last minute. If it had been pre-paid (like part of a package) I would expect a make-up at no charge.
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Mine has a cancellation policy and does not charge if she is the one who cancels. She also doesn’t charge if you’re sick enough that you missed work/school and had to cancel your lesson that same day. Any other cancellation within 24 hours is a $25 fee. In the case like OP where someone’s horse is lame at the last minute, they usually can choose to ride a lesson horse or one of trainer’s horses. Obviously that’s only an option where there are lesson/trainer horses of a proper level available.
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If trainer cancels, then student doesn’t pay any fees for the cancellation. If it was a package deal, then no cost to student. Basically, trainer takes the loss in revenue, but no additional costs to trainer or student.
I would expect that the lesson would be rescheduled at the earliest point in time possible (i.e. next day, or as soon as humanly possible). Even if that means reshuffling the lesson deck… unless student agrees to skip that week or month’s lesson.
I would also expect to be called, or at least text, to notify me as soon as trainer knows. Not just no show. There are extenuating circumstances that might make that impossible, but in general that’s what i expect.
Trainers lose revenue from cancellations, and there’s the potential loss of students if excessive, so their repurcussions for cancellations are fairly self-regulating.
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I’m betting the trainer enforced the cancellation policy because the OP was there for a trial so to speak, and it was a good way to see if the OP was a tire kicker or not. Clearly the trainers tactics worked.
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OP has taken her toys and gone home because she disliked the answers to her question. I hope she continues to read, there is valuable information here.
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WTAF is wrong with people?
I have a desk job and also do some lawyering and also landlord, so I am constantly going from the desk job to the clerk’s office for a closing, back to my home office, and then dropping by a rental to meet the contractor etc etc. I am constantly on the move and when I am between computers my smartphone is going non stop.
If someone schedules a meeting with me,
a.) I now have to be At A Particular Place
b.) I have stacked the whole rest of my day around being At This Particular Place At This Time.
c.) I guarantee you at least 7 other people want something from me at this very minute
I dont even know what I would do if someone said to me"oh, you’re just working anyway", but losing my ever loving mcshizzle is a good bet.
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I call this the good will bank account.
Timeliness, respect and general pleasantness adds to the bank account.
Cancellations or being otherwise problematic makes a withdrawals.
If your good will bank account is fully funded, most people really dont mind the occasional withdrawal.
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This is a powerful concept in human/professional relations. Such a shame that more people don’t appreciate it - is easy to put into practice and if done sincerely will reap dividends far beyond what you put into it.
I would add “pay your bills on time” to the list. A subset of respect I guess, but worthy of calling out on its own.
ETA: we also have no way of knowing whether the OP got her good will account into the negative zone before she even arrived. Sigh.
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Agreed.
Also, I like to hope that when I need trainer’s help and expertise in an emergency, others won’t begrudge trainer’s time.
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Yes! Due to this, I am not subjected to late fees because I’m typically there, regularly, 5-6 days/week. If my work got crazy where I was canceling more often, I would expect to be charged. Similarly, I expect if my trainer has an emergency he will cancel on me, and all I think about it is concern that everything is ok.
The other thing I would point out - this is a BUSINESS relationship - too many people forget that about their trainer. They are not our friends (although they may become our friends too - which makes it even trickier). We pay them (we are the CLIENT) for services performed. There should be a contract with rules spelled out to protect both sides of this business relationship. For example:
-Lessons can be cancelled with 48 (24, 72, whatever) hours notice, otherwise you pay the full (or partial?) cost of the lesson.
-Horses in full training will be ridden X times/week - make up will(will not) be offered when trainer can not ride.
-Extra services (list the out - such as blanketing, bandaging, supplement feeding, extra hay, etc) will (will not) be provided (and any charges that will be incurred).
-When payment is due (and what happens if payment doesn’t occur on time)
These are just examples of things that should be spelled out in the contract relationship. Good will or not, there are trainers who take advantage of the relationship, and their are clients that take advantage - and that is where a contract has to limit those situations.
I work under contract (not as a horse trainer), and I am NEVER paid when I don’t do the work - most contractors are not paid for work not performed, but some horse trainers are paid whether they ride or not. It is a rather unusual contractor/client relationship. And there is an ongoing relationship, which is kind of unusual for a contractor relationship. AND of course, there is a horse involved - so a living creature that we are emotionally invested in.
It is very typical in any professional services contract situation that you pay for the services if you don’t provide a certain amount of notice. Doctor, dentist, personal trainer, etc - all of them have rules for this because - they have set aside time for YOU, and if YOU don’t show up, they have lost that income. And - most make exceptions for long term relationships, but not so much for new or sporadic clients… I’m guessing OP is a new or sporadic client - so industry standard would be, yes you are charged unless you gave sufficient notice.
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In that case a make up time would usually be offered
I offer times where the student is able to reschedule. We also employ a 24 hour cancellation policy. I usually give each client a “gimme”, even though they are made aware of our policy at the first lesson, at the facility tour, etc. I know I have lost clients this way, but they have historically also been clients who seem to think I sit around all day on a hay bale just waiting for someone to drive up wanting a lesson and that my time isn’t worth being paid for.
Cancelling with less than 24 hours notice, no matter the reason, mucks up the schedule for the rest of the day, whether its instructor time, staff responsibilities, or horse use. It was generous of your trainer to offer a makeup, OP.
I will say, if one of my REGULAR clients, who rides on a consistent basis, who does not expect me to schedule lessons for them at the drop of a hat with no notice (i.e. “can I schedule a lesson tomorrow” and it is 9pm the night before), is sick, or something comes up, I am always happy to offer a makeup.
if a rider cannot understand why my 24 hour policy is important, chances are they will not respect other rules or policies I have either and life is too short to argue with someone about why those policies are in place.
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Make ups can be pretty challenging to fit in, if the schedule is full. I have developed some coping strategies:
If I have reserved a school horse for a lesson, anything less than 24 hour’s notice is a full charge, no make up offered.
If a client with a horse in Training cancels, I offer them the option to jump into another compatible client’s lesson that week, if there isn’t a private spot available from another cancelation. I have several women who enjoy riding together, and we make an hour lesson instead of 45 minutes, assuming I have the space to add the fifteen minutes.
I also have a standing caveletti class on Sundays (I primarily teach dressage), which is a perfect make-up opportunity. It a fun cross training opportunity, and people/horses like to change it up a bit.
if I cancel, I either do a make up, or we prorate to the next month’s bill.
if I cancel, but the horse is in training, I’ll often slip in a training ride on one of my day’s off. I do this instead of a lesson because I can do it at any time of day, at my convenience…so I convince myself that it’s “stolen time”. Sometimes it’s after dinner.
