In this episode of the Rock School Proprietor Podcast, John Kozicki (Michigan Rock School and RockSchoolProprietor.com) and co-host Mandy York (Music Time of Milford) dive deep into the topic of studio policies.
In this episode:
- Mandy shares her insights on how policies are essential for shaping and enhancing the culture of your studio.
- The importance of using policies to establish clear expectations for both families and students
- How to be an authority without an being authoritarian.
- The challenges of updating policies for effective change
- How to handle difficult conversations with parents who push back.
Tune in to learn practical tips on how to communicate your policies effectively, ensure they are respected, and use them to build a professional and thriving studio environment.
Join our private Facebook group, “Performance-Based Music Programs and Rock Schools,” a community for like-minded professionals to connect and share insights.
Episode Transcript:
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On this episode of Rock School Proprietor Podcast, we’re talking about studio policies.
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I know, nobody’s favorite, but Mandy shares how she uses her studio policies
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to shape and enhance her studio culture.
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Music.
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To use the policy to establish expectations and build your culture,
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tell your families and your students what you expect from them.
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You can be an authority. You don’t have to be an authoritarian.
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Being an authority is having the strength to explain this is how it is in a
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way that’s going to resonate with your students and your employees and families.
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I don’t know. I’ve never changed a policy. I’ll speak for myself and had parents leave on me.
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No one has ever like confronted a new policy, right?
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Welcome to the Rock School Proprietor Podcast. Once again,
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I’m John Kazicki, your host and joining me as always
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mandy york hey john how are
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you i’m pretty great today yeah so
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you right now are going through kind of a process of updating your policies
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at your studio yeah i am so we’ll talk about policies and i’m gonna be honest
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and maybe i i think you’re you’re probably going to talk about this too.
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When I looked at your outline for what we were going to talk about, I thought policies.
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I knew that would be your reaction. Yeah.
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And, but it’s not that, I mean, I’ve got like a lot of policies.
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Now I wouldn’t say like an excessive amount, but like I’ve got policies at my studio.
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They’re just not fun to work on. They’re not fun to enforce. Nope.
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And I think we’ll kind of get into all of that.
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But I figured since you’re in the thick of it right now with updating your policies,
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why don’t you kind of fill me in and everyone else in on what you’re going through?
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Yeah. Yeah, for sure. No, studio policies are not exciting.
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They don’t give you the feels, right? We talk about the feels in some of our other episodes.
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But it really is an important part of running your school or your studio.
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And I’m I mean maybe
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you know this I’m kind of like an admin nerd a little
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bit I love my you know my
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systems and my organization and not that
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all of it came really easy and it’s still a learning process but but this is
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important and I like to have this in place because when you when you have a
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good set of policies strong policies in place it gives you it lets you deal
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with all those things that give you the feels, right?
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Mm-hmm. Yeah. So over time.
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Sorry, go ahead. No, go ahead. What? Would the admin nerd in you buckle to hear,
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that when I started my first studio, I didn’t even have policies at first?
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Like no student policies whatsoever.
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None at the very beginning. Yeah. Yeah, I want to talk about that.
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Because I mean, just like you, Over time, I’ve learned how important that they
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are and what a really great tool that they are.
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So, yeah, when we start out, at least for me, it was like, everybody’s welcome.
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Come in no matter who you are. Right. You remove any boundaries to get people into the door, right.
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And into your studio, minimal policies, maybe not even any. Right.
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Well, and I think that’s, yeah, I think that’s where I was.
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I think, you know, I was so focused on, like you said, attracting students and booking the studio.
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And it was just me at that time, right? So it was just myself,
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single instructor studio.
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I was leasing a commercial space, small, but again, it was just me.
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And and like and i was doing everything
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i was doing the admin i was doing the teaching so any
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sort of you know friction i knew
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about it and i was having contact with the parents on a regular basis developing
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rapport i was more focused on my mission and what i wanted to do to To build
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and shape my studio into what I saw it becoming.
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Like, I just didn’t do it, you know? And it wasn’t important.
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It wasn’t until I hired my first instructor that I thought, uh-oh,
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I need something in place because I’ve got to protect his time.
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I’ve got to make sure not only am I protecting his time and,
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like, he has to understand what the expectations are, right? Right.
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And so that’s kind of when I implemented a student policy.
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Yeah. Right. Same. I mean, it was just me when I started out and anything that
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involves friction, you know, kind of falls to the wayside.
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But I also kind of saw it as like friction for the client.
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I wanted I didn’t want anything to turn people away.
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Right. You’re worried about kind of putting boundaries up that might turn people away.
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You just want to get as many, you know, you want to grow, get people in.
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And as I was thinking about that, I wondered, would you have done that differently?
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I don’t know that that’s such a bad thing.
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I mean, it was what it was. It worked out. But as you move along hiring teachers
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or as circumstances and situations come up,
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then you start to realize, okay, I need this because I’m growing and I need
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to set some boundaries and protect my time.
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Time is a big one, right? So it takes up your time to deal with these situations
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that arise, cost you money, it’s going to cost you money.
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And then another thing I felt was like, I started to feel this lack of equity. Yeah.
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Between families like someone wanted to bring a sibling to class oh okay sure the more the merrier,
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right but i charge for siblings but this was like yeah you know what i mean
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and then you’re like oh now everybody’s bringing siblings in like wait a second
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you know i thought this was a one-time special circumstance you know those kind
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of things come up all the time makeup classes somebody misses, they want makeups.
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I know that’s a big topic in the private private lessons, right?
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People don’t show they want to cancel. They want refunds, those kind of things.
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So as you grow, those are the kind of situations that come up, right?
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Well, yeah. And you mentioned something that I want to touch on.
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You said, yeah, and we’re both, you know, we’re both guilty of this and starting.
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We didn’t really have policies.
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And you had mentioned, would you have done it
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any different differently and you said maybe not i
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i’m gonna push back a little i think
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in hindsight again i didn’t know
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any better at the time but in hindsight i like
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because now i i kind of think i try
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and put my mindset from the perspective
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of like the future like what does
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the future look like and how do things
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work not when i’m here at
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like i’ve got 30 students and i’m teaching them all
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by myself but what does this look like when i have 200 plus students right and
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because act as if right act as if you have 200 students and then all of a sudden
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your perspective changes on the 30 students in your small little single instructor studio studio.
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And, and then this like kind of inevitably snowballs into a different conversation
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about like pricing and what is your time worth?
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And like, if you hire an admin, like, what is that?
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You know, how do you adjust your prices accordingly to, to pay an admin?
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So it’s all related, but it’s, you know, bringing it back around.
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I don’t know if I would have just been like, Like, yeah, no, no policies.
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Yeah. I know it’s hard when I think about that because I actually feel when
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I say maybe I wouldn’t have done it differently.
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That’s I feel like that’s still kind of like a fear based statement for me.
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I’m still a little fearful. I mean, I don’t know.
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Like, I don’t know. Maybe if I did have those policies in place,
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people wouldn’t have come.
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But I think your approach is really healthy and smart in that,
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you know, you’re setting up as if you were larger.
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And I think, I mean, this kind of goes to, like, our next step in creating those
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policies and what that does for you. It…
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It gives you this next level of professionalism too, right? The client respects that.
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And I think maybe for me, I think about being a female business owner sometimes. A little tricky.
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And there’s also this added layer of like, I play with babies.
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So isn’t that so sweet? Oh, how nice, right? Right.
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But, but I’m a professional and I, you know, this, I don’t do this just for
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fun. It is fun. It is fulfilling.
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We’ve talked a lot about that, but you know, lots of blood, sweat and tears
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and hard work and I’m a professional.
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So I think having these, since I have put more policies in place,
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I, I feel like I get a little bit more of that respect in that.
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Right. right? Yes. Okay. So taking this seriously, this is, this is cool because
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you touched on a couple of really interesting points.
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One, you being a female business owner to the nature of our business businesses
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is a bit more like it’s artsy. It’s fun.
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People want to be there. Right. So you would expect like a, a doctor’s office
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or like, you know, I don’t know, an accountant or an insurance agency, or whatever.
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You expect those things from those types of businesses.
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And as a consumer, and I’ll speak for myself, but you look at them as sort of
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authoritarian from those businesses, right?
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And so our challenge is how do we create strong boundaries with these things
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without making it seem authoritarian in that manner, right?
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Because the nature of what we do, it’s not that. It’s fun.
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But, you know, we need to be clear.
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And I think, again, going back to myself in hindsight.
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I think not having policies, I was doing a disservice, even when it was just
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me, I was doing a disservice to my clients and what their expectations should be, right?
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So if we’re laying these expectations out, then they understand,
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I understand, we’re on a level playing field.
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Now, I’ll pose this question to you.
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So does the word policy evoke that feeling of, you know, authoritarianism,
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rules, right? These are our rules.
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You got to follow the rules and it feels harsh.
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Do we need another word for it? I mean, not like officially,
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but, you know, if we if we call this like these are our I don’t know,
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these are our guidelines.
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Yeah. This is an agreement.
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Mm hmm. You know, this is what I’m going to do for you. This is what you’re
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going to do for me. And we’re coming to a common ground.
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Yeah, I I feel like I have to be strong on that word, actually.
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I feel like I have to call them my policies.
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These are my policies. We’re taking them seriously.
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Now, I have, I guess you would call them classroom guidelines.
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Those guidelines are in my policies because policy includes like illness,
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makeup, sibling fees, cancellations, all that stuff.
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But also within my policies is like what I expect of the caregivers to do in
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class, participate, you know, no talking, no cell phones.
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So it’s the nitty gritty business things, but it’s also expectation of how I
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expect them to participate and expect them to take our home materials and use them at home also.
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So all of that is in the policy, but then a piece of it, I guess you would call
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my classroom guidelines.
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Lines and on the wall it says like to get the most out of your music together experience,
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sing instead of talking no food in the studio walking feet keep us safe those
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kind of things so I was mindful about giving instructions um.
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About classroom behaviors as not
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these are our policies for when you
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are in the classroom you will behave this way it yeah
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to get the most out of your experience do these things but they’re also mixed
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into my policy form when when people sign up and they they read through those
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okay all right so yeah it does make sense softer side and the policy side and this is all related to
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the the students and their parents and
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it it’s weird because the i can see there the
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lines get blurred right so oh yeah like when i when
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we talk about policies i immediately think like okay
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well what are our you know we call them studio student
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policies student policies in our studio but it’s
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it’s stuff like here’s when you’re
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going to be billed here’s how it’s going to be how it’s going going
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to happen this is how much it’s going to be if you
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need to reschedule this is the process and these are
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like the this is how we do it this is
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what happens if you’re sick this is
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what happens if you need to discontinue your lessons it’s real like this is
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how it’s going to work okay the admin basics yeah and then like i’ve got on
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the instructor side we have like Like expectations, right? Employee expectations.
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This is, you know, so that would be a policy too.
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I think for the sake of our conversation, I mean, like it might make more sense
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to focus more on that, like the student side of it right now.
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And then maybe get into like the instructor side.
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We can touch on it a little bit, but I think we’ll just open up another huge topic there.
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But the way that you’re presenting it and i love this this is you’re kind of like also,
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presenting how you’re building your culture yes
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with the this is what happens in the classroom
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yes yeah and that’s on purpose and i think i i think it’s important to incorporate
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those things into your policy i mean i do it works for me that’s what i prefer
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like you said you’ve got billing and all of those items within your policy.
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But to use the policy to establish expectations and build your culture,
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tell your families and your students what you expect of them.
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I think it’s a good place for that.
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Now, you do a really great job because you kind of interview and you give your
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prospective families, like, a tour of your facility.
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So they’re verbally getting some of your philosophy and culture and expectations,
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like, directly from you. Correct? Right.
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Yeah, more or less, I’m selling that first.
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Yes. And then on the tail end, it’s like, okay, when it’s time to pull the trigger
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and they’re going to register, all right, now here’s how we do all this.
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Yep. You know, this is what the expectations are. This is these are policies.
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This is how it’s going to work.
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So I’m just combining that, you know, I’m putting it all together so that every
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time my families register for a semester, they see that they’re these.
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I make a hard copy and it goes home with them to along with their music books
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and things that they take home from semester to semester.
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Because I just want the expectations to be clear. I, you know,
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if you’re going to be here, you’re going to sing and play with us and sit on the floor.
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Every once in a while, I’ll get like a dad.
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I know this is different than the rock school, but I’ll get a caregiver that
00:17:02.945 –> 00:17:07.405
comes in and says, okay, do I just put my kid in the classroom?
00:17:08.065 –> 00:17:12.945
Oh, no. Like, kick your shoes off and come on in with us. I’m like, oh, I don’t know.
00:17:14.745 –> 00:17:18.905
But that’s, you know, maybe someone else registered the child and this is a
00:17:18.905 –> 00:17:22.005
caregiver that’s not privy to how things work.
00:17:22.485 –> 00:17:26.625
I want everybody to know what’s expected of them and how they’ll get the most of their experience.
00:17:27.625 –> 00:17:32.245
Because then it, like I said, it attracts the kind of clients that you want.
00:17:32.325 –> 00:17:36.705
And maybe it’s going to weed out the families that it’s not a good fit for.
00:17:37.405 –> 00:17:42.425
So, okay. You said you give them a paper copy of this when they register,
00:17:42.425 –> 00:17:45.165
which is fine. I’ve done that too.
00:17:45.325 –> 00:17:49.765
Yeah. We have it in our registration process, which is online. They have to agree.
00:17:50.425 –> 00:17:54.445
Yep. I do that also. There’s a little box. Okay. Now, here’s the thing.
00:17:55.105 –> 00:17:58.825
Who actually reads them? Okay.
00:17:58.885 –> 00:18:05.425
Because I know when I update my phone and I have to agree to the terms of service
00:18:05.425 –> 00:18:11.305
and it’s like 15 pages of text, I don’t read any of it.
00:18:11.345 –> 00:18:17.205
I just go to where it says agree and we’re off, right? My phone works again.
00:18:19.025 –> 00:18:25.045
So, and I know in my studio that, and my policies aren’t that long.
00:18:25.225 –> 00:18:30.185
It’s like if I can print it out on one sheet of paper, right? So it’s not that much.
00:18:30.265 –> 00:18:36.885
It’s not that much to read, but still either the parents don’t read it or maybe
00:18:36.885 –> 00:18:39.725
they read it quickly and they don’t even think about it again.
00:18:39.725 –> 00:18:45.185
And so they forget all the details, like, wait, when can I reschedule?
00:18:45.305 –> 00:18:47.885
How many hours? Wait, what do I do when I’m sick?
00:18:50.354 –> 00:18:55.894
So in your studio, is that consistent with my experience?
00:18:56.394 –> 00:19:00.394
Yes. You know, this is a whole thing. Communication, right?
00:19:00.514 –> 00:19:04.694
I feel I’ve learned, like, we just have to be redundant and repetitive and we
00:19:04.694 –> 00:19:07.514
have to communicate six different ways, right?
00:19:07.594 –> 00:19:13.854
In the Facebook group, on Instagram, via email, through a constant contact email
00:19:13.854 –> 00:19:18.394
blast, on a sheet of paper. I feel like, you know, when you say,
00:19:18.534 –> 00:19:21.094
oh, well, it was in an email that went out.
00:19:21.314 –> 00:19:25.274
I’ll have one family say like, oh, oh, I never check my email.
00:19:25.434 –> 00:19:26.734
Right. I don’t read email.
00:19:26.934 –> 00:19:30.394
It’s like, how can I communicate with you? It’s not my fault. I don’t read email.
00:19:30.654 –> 00:19:34.574
Yeah. Yeah. So you got to text. So this is why I combat that.
00:19:34.934 –> 00:19:38.714
So you’re actively sending that stuff out on a regular basis.
00:19:39.814 –> 00:19:45.894
Not policies, but like reminders or things like that. Okay. My policy is in
00:19:45.894 –> 00:19:46.834
the online registration.
00:19:47.174 –> 00:19:53.034
Yes, they scroll and they check the box. And then I also give them the hard
00:19:53.034 –> 00:19:55.614
copy because you’re right. People aren’t reading online.
00:19:56.274 –> 00:19:58.154
Maybe some are, maybe some are not.
00:19:59.294 –> 00:20:02.294
And then i you know first
00:20:02.294 –> 00:20:04.954
class of the semester it’s like here are your
00:20:04.954 –> 00:20:09.354
take-home materials here’s the single sheet note bullet points one three and
00:20:09.354 –> 00:20:13.114
five you know a couple things you really want to touch on and then yeah you’re
00:20:13.114 –> 00:20:18.014
placing it in their hands it’s kind of a just you know covering your bases type
00:20:18.014 –> 00:20:23.654
thing too because when something comes up you reference the policies and And it’s like, well, right.
00:20:24.254 –> 00:20:28.994
Right. I mean, that’s why I do it. Okay. So a couple other questions.
00:20:29.174 –> 00:20:31.814
Now you are in the process of updating your policies.
00:20:32.294 –> 00:20:44.874
And I know for myself in the past, additions or updates to the policy have been reactionary.
00:20:45.814 –> 00:20:52.174
Circumstances in which I realized like, oh, this family found a loophole,
00:20:52.234 –> 00:20:54.934
right? And now they’re taking advantage of something.
00:20:55.534 –> 00:20:59.454
And so I better put that in the policies. And then once it’s in the policies,
00:20:59.554 –> 00:21:03.394
we’re good. Right. Right. Which I think is very naive.
00:21:03.974 –> 00:21:07.594
I think it’s very naive to say like, oh, well, I’m going to put this in the
00:21:07.594 –> 00:21:10.714
policy so it never happens again. It’s going to happen again.
00:21:11.034 –> 00:21:19.434
Yes. What you’ve done is you’ve just identified something that no longer works for maybe again,
00:21:19.534 –> 00:21:26.454
we talked about how you think of the studio as if right, maybe you hit a new growth stage.
00:21:26.934 –> 00:21:32.534
And now something in your policies doesn’t really jive with how things work.
00:21:33.194 –> 00:21:35.614
So you’re due for an update.
00:21:37.148 –> 00:21:41.128
Is that where you are right now when you’re updating? You said you’re updating your policies?
00:21:41.588 –> 00:21:49.828
Yeah, it is reactionary. And I think, I mean, that’s how when you set to create
00:21:49.828 –> 00:21:54.668
these policies, they’re kind of all reactionary from what you’ve learned so far, right?
00:21:54.788 –> 00:21:58.228
At least for me. No policy to begin with. Okay, this, this, and this is happening.
00:21:58.988 –> 00:22:06.468
I’m reacting by creating a policy. It is, but I think it’s always a dynamic document, right?
00:22:07.148 –> 00:22:10.788
That we update as we see fit, as we grow, as situations come up.
00:22:13.328 –> 00:22:21.088
Because now I have an admin that I love and it’s really great because it gives them autonomy.
00:22:21.468 –> 00:22:26.308
Like there’s no like, well, this situation came up, how should we handle it?
00:22:26.788 –> 00:22:30.008
My admin has the policy. They can just execute it, right?
00:22:30.428 –> 00:22:34.588
There you go. That doesn’t mean that it saves me time, right?
00:22:34.688 –> 00:22:38.148
That’s the whole idea here. it doesn’t mean that we
00:22:38.148 –> 00:22:41.248
can’t have exceptions right but by creating
00:22:41.248 –> 00:22:44.408
this policy and having a strong policy you’re giving
00:22:44.408 –> 00:22:49.028
the freedom to provide exceptions when necessary we’re human we’re people stuff
00:22:49.028 –> 00:22:54.968
happens you can you can make exceptions and decisions case by case basis but
00:22:54.968 –> 00:22:59.648
this is just going to help the overall process like i said time money energy
00:22:59.648 –> 00:23:03.328
yes for me that’s what it comes down That’s what this is going to help.
00:23:03.868 –> 00:23:08.848
Right, right. And okay, and this is going back to kind of like what I was trying
00:23:08.848 –> 00:23:14.188
to articulate when I was talking about policies feeling like authoritarian, right?
00:23:14.268 –> 00:23:17.428
These are the laws, right? These are the laws of my studio.
00:23:19.428 –> 00:23:22.988
Again, I mean, I think it’s easy to think of it that way, right?
00:23:23.068 –> 00:23:27.608
These are the laws of my studio and this is how things work.
00:23:30.228 –> 00:23:35.528
But again, I think that sets at least in my mind, it sets things up for like
00:23:35.528 –> 00:23:36.928
not a very fun experience.
00:23:37.208 –> 00:23:40.848
But if and like, yeah, sure, you call it a policy, whatever.
00:23:40.948 –> 00:23:48.828
But if you look at more like clear guidelines for what you are going to do,
00:23:48.948 –> 00:23:57.128
what your staff is going to do, like your students and families are going to understand,
00:23:57.808 –> 00:23:59.688
what you’re going to do.
00:24:01.068 –> 00:24:05.188
Then it’s like a roadmap, right? It’s like just another system,
00:24:05.248 –> 00:24:08.228
as you said. You like systems, right? This is how we do it.
00:24:09.588 –> 00:24:15.748
But I think, I mean, I see it a lot in some of the online Facebook studio owner
00:24:15.748 –> 00:24:20.188
groups where something comes up, right? Right.
00:24:20.368 –> 00:24:26.168
Oh, this parent did this. And this is like it’s clearly in our policies that
00:24:26.168 –> 00:24:27.568
they’re not supposed to do this.
00:24:28.408 –> 00:24:34.148
Right. And well, you know, I guess I got to tell them this is our policy.
00:24:36.928 –> 00:24:43.548
So what like how do you enforce it? Because I think I’ve got some tactics and
00:24:43.548 –> 00:24:45.748
I’ve got some like more delicate ways to approach it.
00:24:45.748 –> 00:24:52.488
But again, in the spirit of like you expect from your cable provider to say,
00:24:52.648 –> 00:24:55.548
nope, sorry, that’s how it works.
00:24:55.688 –> 00:24:59.228
This is our policy. You agreed to our terms of service. Sorry,
00:24:59.448 –> 00:25:01.508
pay your bill. I’m not going to credit you.
00:25:01.888 –> 00:25:05.848
You expect that from your cable provider, your cell phone or whatever.
00:25:05.848 –> 00:25:12.088
However, when we’re talking about music lessons, if you and I said that to a
00:25:12.088 –> 00:25:18.588
parent, hey, sorry, Center Policies, you agreed to this, they’re going to leave. Right.
00:25:18.848 –> 00:25:21.628
And rightfully so. I would leave too.
00:25:21.908 –> 00:25:26.108
It’s like what we’re talking about is conflict resolution at that point, I think.
00:25:26.628 –> 00:25:30.168
Right. So what do you do to enforce? worse
00:25:30.168 –> 00:25:33.148
yeah well i think you know i don’t
00:25:33.148 –> 00:25:36.248
know if everybody would have that same reaction john i
00:25:36.248 –> 00:25:40.308
mean of course it depends on the circumstances like there’s a lot of families
00:25:40.308 –> 00:25:45.288
that are like this is the policy it is what it is like we’re gonna move we’re
00:25:45.288 –> 00:25:51.948
gonna lose you know our security deposit for that event okay they know they
00:25:51.948 –> 00:25:53.548
know that’s how it is fine yeah.
00:25:54.883 –> 00:25:59.883
And I think about, you know, you’re kind of comparing our policies to like dental
00:25:59.883 –> 00:26:01.263
offices and other professionals.
00:26:01.723 –> 00:26:06.363
Sometimes I just think about what about our sports teams? What about the kids
00:26:06.363 –> 00:26:07.923
that are in all these other activities?
00:26:08.583 –> 00:26:13.163
And like if they miss their soccer game, are they asking for a refund?
00:26:13.423 –> 00:26:16.903
Like a partial refund for their soccer game that was missed?
00:26:17.023 –> 00:26:20.723
Right. You know, so a lot of parents get it. Life happens. You know,
00:26:20.743 –> 00:26:25.203
and they support us and what we’re doing. Like we missed that week.
00:26:25.283 –> 00:26:27.263
We’ll, we’ll be there next week, whatever.
00:26:28.383 –> 00:26:34.703
But to what you were saying. I agree. I agree that, and not all people are going to feel that way.
00:26:34.783 –> 00:26:39.243
But what I’m saying is if the conversation gets to that point where,
00:26:40.163 –> 00:26:44.123
where someone pushes back as a foreign, well, okay. Do you want a story?
00:26:45.023 –> 00:26:48.803
Going through it right now. Love a good story. Going through it right now with,
00:26:48.923 –> 00:26:54.843
with a parent who, And this is a private lesson student,
00:26:55.123 –> 00:26:58.423
which I think is important to understand the story because, again,
00:26:58.543 –> 00:27:02.443
with private lessons, we’re talking about like, hey, this is your lesson time. It’s on this day.
00:27:02.563 –> 00:27:06.063
If you’re going to reschedule our policies, we need 48 hours notice,
00:27:06.123 –> 00:27:07.723
and then we’ll look for a time to reschedule.
00:27:08.163 –> 00:27:11.463
You know, no surprises there as music studios go.
00:27:11.803 –> 00:27:19.063
Right. But dealing with a parent right now who, and this is not the first time,
00:27:19.183 –> 00:27:23.443
but just last week, kid got sick, right?
00:27:23.903 –> 00:27:28.203
45 minutes before the lesson, asking for a reschedule, right?
00:27:28.603 –> 00:27:33.043
That’s not how we do it. I mean, I’m sorry he’s sick, but that’s not how we do it.
00:27:33.783 –> 00:27:41.063
It then come to find out from my instructor in talking with him he also said
00:27:41.063 –> 00:27:47.523
like yeah the other day I was running about three minutes behind my schedule
00:27:47.523 –> 00:27:50.563
and when I came to get the student for his lesson.
00:27:51.994 –> 00:27:59.654
The parent said, well, you’re four minutes late. So are you going to make that up? Right?
00:28:02.294 –> 00:28:06.854
So let’s talk about that type of parent. Okay.
00:28:06.934 –> 00:28:11.234
Because I’m pretty sure I know where this is going in my studio.
00:28:11.834 –> 00:28:16.314
I’m pretty sure that I can see that this relationship is going to end.
00:28:16.974 –> 00:28:19.814
And I can see how it’s going to end.
00:28:19.974 –> 00:28:28.274
Now, under normal circumstances, let’s say it’s not this parent and we get someone that says,
00:28:29.134 –> 00:28:36.214
oh, hey, you know, I know the lesson is today, but we can’t make it. Can we reschedule?
00:28:36.694 –> 00:28:41.034
And say it’s a relatively new student. Maybe they’ve been in the studio for a couple months.
00:28:42.174 –> 00:28:47.074
Here’s my tactic. This is what we do. We say, oh, hey, you know,
00:28:47.154 –> 00:28:49.154
that’s, that’s, I’m sorry to hear that.
00:28:49.494 –> 00:28:52.494
We don’t normally reschedule. Actually,
00:28:52.594 –> 00:28:57.134
we generally will ask for 48 hours notice to reschedule a lesson.
00:28:57.194 –> 00:29:01.374
And, you know, lessons today, I’ll tell you what I’ll do for you, though.
00:29:01.954 –> 00:29:07.494
I’m going to reschedule this for you, but in the future, could you give us 48 hours notice?
00:29:07.554 –> 00:29:10.534
And then that will help us to be able to find you another time.
00:29:10.574 –> 00:29:15.814
It will allow us to use that time that the instructor has on their schedule
00:29:15.814 –> 00:29:20.374
to reschedule another student who maybe did request, you know, in time.
00:29:20.954 –> 00:29:24.214
So what I’m doing with that tactic is this.
00:29:25.491 –> 00:29:28.331
I’m taking the fall. I’m taking the hit. Yeah, I’m going to pay my instructor
00:29:28.331 –> 00:29:31.611
for the missed lesson, but also for the reschedule.
00:29:32.731 –> 00:29:39.771
But what I’m doing is I’m reinforcing that policy in a way that the parent is
00:29:39.771 –> 00:29:42.331
going to remember and I’m going to look like the good guy, right?
00:29:42.371 –> 00:29:44.611
They’re getting what they want. They’re getting the reschedule.
00:29:45.231 –> 00:29:51.171
And I’m also saying like, hey, you know, I’m going to do this favor for you
00:29:51.171 –> 00:29:56.251
so that they’ll remember that in the future, right? They did this favor for me.
00:29:56.671 –> 00:29:59.631
I got to be better about this in the future.
00:30:00.131 –> 00:30:03.931
Yes. So that’s my tactic. No, that’s exactly what I was going to say.
00:30:04.091 –> 00:30:09.371
I think that these policies give you the space to make exceptions, right?
00:30:09.731 –> 00:30:16.231
I think it’s easier when people question your policies or they want something
00:30:16.231 –> 00:30:18.851
that is outside of your policy.
00:30:19.331 –> 00:30:25.091
It makes it easier to say no. No, you’re not just saying no, because I feel like it.
00:30:25.131 –> 00:30:29.631
You’re saying, no, actually, this is what our policy is. I’m really sorry.
00:30:30.851 –> 00:30:35.471
But I have an opening on Friday. If you can come at that time,
00:30:35.531 –> 00:30:38.931
does that work for you? You know, because then you’re making an exception.
00:30:39.551 –> 00:30:42.791
They feel like you’re giving them something extra, right?
00:30:43.051 –> 00:30:45.611
That’s special. And then you’re educating them, like you said,
00:30:45.651 –> 00:30:48.231
on what the policy is. It’s probably not going to happen again.
00:30:48.871 –> 00:30:53.071
They’re going to let you know ahead of time. Right. So now swinging back to
00:30:53.071 –> 00:30:58.551
the difficult parent that I’m dealing with currently, here’s what I think is going to happen. OK.
00:30:59.151 –> 00:31:04.611
And I think it’s going to play out like this because this is it’s played out
00:31:04.611 –> 00:31:08.711
like this for me in the past under very similar circumstances.
00:31:10.611 –> 00:31:13.431
So we’ve already done this for this parent. We’ve already said like,
00:31:13.531 –> 00:31:14.811
hey, you know, this is our policy.
00:31:15.371 –> 00:31:20.551
I’ll tell you what I’ll do for you. Right. Right? But I’m definitely getting
00:31:20.551 –> 00:31:22.991
from this parent that that’s not gonna be enough.
00:31:24.051 –> 00:31:26.051
So if it happens in the future.
00:31:27.850 –> 00:31:33.410
What I’m going to do is I’m going to ask them and try and understand,
00:31:33.550 –> 00:31:38.150
I’m going to get them to explain like what their expectations are, right?
00:31:38.210 –> 00:31:42.190
To spell it out. Well, I paid for this and I paid for this time and I expect
00:31:42.190 –> 00:31:46.710
this because I want them to say exactly what they expect.
00:31:47.430 –> 00:31:50.530
And then I’ll reiterate to them like, oh, okay.
00:31:51.550 –> 00:31:56.410
Well, let me explain to you now how our policies work.
00:31:56.930 –> 00:31:59.890
And then i’m going to lay out exactly what our policies
00:31:59.890 –> 00:32:03.650
say and say like you know maybe you didn’t see when
00:32:03.650 –> 00:32:06.870
you registered but this is all laid out in in
00:32:06.870 –> 00:32:10.490
the online registration i’m i’m
00:32:10.490 –> 00:32:16.690
sorry that your expectations are this and the way that we operate is this other
00:32:16.690 –> 00:32:22.990
thing i don’t think we can meet your expectations i’m sorry and then i show
00:32:22.990 –> 00:32:28.270
them the door because and it’s not like Like it’s not this emotional heated thing.
00:32:28.910 –> 00:32:33.250
It’s just this is what the parent is saying that they expect.
00:32:33.810 –> 00:32:37.850
And I’m saying that’s, you know, I understand that you expect that,
00:32:37.950 –> 00:32:39.830
but that’s clearly not what we do.
00:32:40.310 –> 00:32:44.350
And I’m sorry that your expectation is that, but we cannot meet your expectations.
00:32:45.310 –> 00:32:48.550
And if we can’t meet your expectations, then it doesn’t make sense to continue
00:32:48.550 –> 00:32:54.310
this relationship because you’re going to be disappointed, you know? Yeah.
00:32:54.910 –> 00:33:01.550
Yeah. And the policy helps you to have that, helps you take the emotion out
00:33:01.550 –> 00:33:02.630
of that conversation, right?
00:33:03.070 –> 00:33:06.010
Yeah. It just is what it is. This is how it works.
00:33:06.430 –> 00:33:10.010
Yeah. I mean, it is always kind of a bummer when stuff like that happens because
00:33:10.010 –> 00:33:13.310
typically, well, I’ll go back to what I said.
00:33:13.370 –> 00:33:18.650
I said the policy can sometimes weed out families that aren’t a good fit for your studio.
00:33:19.150 –> 00:33:24.050
And I really, truly feel like there’s no child that my studio isn’t a good fit
00:33:24.050 –> 00:33:25.830
for. Oh, it’s always the parent.
00:33:26.130 –> 00:33:28.130
It’s always the parent. Yeah.
00:33:29.250 –> 00:33:33.250
So, but it is what it is. Right. Sometimes.
00:33:33.950 –> 00:33:39.250
And, you know, sometimes through like conversation and explaining policies,
00:33:39.410 –> 00:33:42.210
explaining why we do what we do.
00:33:42.270 –> 00:33:46.210
I mean, sometimes you can like fix that relationship, change it.
00:33:46.250 –> 00:33:50.370
And they, they start to understand, you know, by educating them and they’ll stick around.
00:33:50.730 –> 00:33:53.710
But if they, if they don’t, and if they can’t.
00:33:54.350 –> 00:33:58.150
You’re right. I can’t meet your expectations so that…
00:33:59.430 –> 00:34:03.630
Probably shouldn’t continue. Yeah. Yep, is what it is. It is.
00:34:03.670 –> 00:34:05.250
And no one likes that confrontation.
00:34:05.710 –> 00:34:11.570
No. And I think that’s, I can say for myself in the early days,
00:34:11.790 –> 00:34:13.470
I didn’t want the confrontation.
00:34:15.070 –> 00:34:20.930
And I had to develop these tactics so that I didn’t feel like,
00:34:21.030 –> 00:34:23.970
oh my God, this person’s taking advantage of me. You know, oh,
00:34:24.010 –> 00:34:24.710
they’re taking advantage.
00:34:24.850 –> 00:34:27.590
They don’t respect my instructor’s time. They don’t respect what we do.
00:34:28.150 –> 00:34:30.970
I couldn’t get like I couldn’t allow myself to
00:34:30.970 –> 00:34:34.270
get in that headspace so I had to come up with different ways
00:34:34.270 –> 00:34:37.430
to address this like you
00:34:37.430 –> 00:34:41.290
said to take that emotion out of it and again
00:34:41.290 –> 00:34:43.990
going back to this this experience I’m dealing with right
00:34:43.990 –> 00:34:48.170
now when my instructor mentioned that
00:34:48.170 –> 00:34:51.090
the parents said like oh well you’re four minutes
00:34:51.090 –> 00:34:55.350
late right that’s that’s the
00:34:55.350 –> 00:34:59.290
that’s the cell phone carrier mentality that
00:34:59.290 –> 00:35:02.350
he has right there that’s the like that’s your cable company
00:35:02.350 –> 00:35:05.470
well four minutes late you know i had to
00:35:05.470 –> 00:35:08.730
explain to my instructor also like you you
00:35:08.730 –> 00:35:14.990
know that’s not fair you know you can you don’t have to be so regimented that
00:35:14.990 –> 00:35:19.210
you start at exactly the top of the hour and you end exactly the bottom of the
00:35:19.210 –> 00:35:24.110
hour because if you’re doing that guaranteed the The kid’s going to get shortchanged
00:35:24.110 –> 00:35:26.730
at some point, you know, and that’s not cool.
00:35:28.310 –> 00:35:32.510
So I had to make sure as kind of the, you know, the studio owner,
00:35:32.650 –> 00:35:35.030
I told my instructor, look, I’ve got your back on this one.
00:35:35.690 –> 00:35:41.150
Here’s what I’m going to do. Keep me in the loop if this stuff continues to transpire.
00:35:41.670 –> 00:35:45.170
And then, you know, we’ll probably have to have a conversation with this person.
00:35:45.890 –> 00:35:49.190
Yeah. Yeah. And you have a larger staff than I do.
00:35:49.790 –> 00:35:52.570
But these policies protect your teachers. like you said at
00:35:52.570 –> 00:35:56.350
the beginning of this episode this is really important for your teachers yeah
00:35:56.350 –> 00:36:01.930
right well and the admin staff yeah right i’ve let people go because they were
00:36:01.930 –> 00:36:11.750
not nice to my admin also weird they’ll be fine with me the owner of the studio but not nice to my admin,
00:36:12.290 –> 00:36:20.310
so and that’s not okay either no no good so we agree no matter what you want to call it.
00:36:31.690 –> 00:36:31.770
Yeah, yeah.
00:36:32.361 –> 00:36:39.041
Because it’s going to save you time, money, energy, attract the clients that you want,
00:36:39.881 –> 00:36:49.681
help you weed out those that might not be a great fit, and focus on the other good stuff.
00:36:50.141 –> 00:36:53.901
The good stuff, like the community and the teaching and the philosophy. Yeah.
00:36:54.181 –> 00:36:59.461
Yeah. Yeah. So, moral of the story, it sucks to do, but you got to do it, right?
00:36:59.621 –> 00:37:06.901
Yep. But I think there are ways that once they are in place to gently remind people.
00:37:07.341 –> 00:37:10.501
And like you said, this is part of the culture.
00:37:10.661 –> 00:37:17.241
This is like, it’s a bigger document than when you’re signing up for a cell phone plan.
00:37:17.561 –> 00:37:23.481
It’s more important, right? It’s less, the cell phone plan is more about like,
00:37:23.701 –> 00:37:27.621
you know, this is how much money I’m going to pay every month and,
00:37:27.661 –> 00:37:30.301
you know, blah, blah, blah, legalese.
00:37:31.121 –> 00:37:37.501
We’re doing something similar, but I guess it is more touchy feely, right?
00:37:37.981 –> 00:37:41.621
In the spirit of what we do. It is. It’s people, it’s emotions.
00:37:41.821 –> 00:37:43.621
Music’s emotional, right? Yeah.
00:37:43.921 –> 00:37:49.801
Well, and we didn’t even get into, I know, like, you were talking about policies for your instructors.
00:37:50.321 –> 00:37:53.661
Oh, yeah. And I had mentioned, I had mentioned that…
00:37:55.082 –> 00:37:58.762
Yeah, we have responsibilities and expectations and, you know,
00:37:58.802 –> 00:38:01.262
they’re signing that, I’m signing that.
00:38:01.442 –> 00:38:05.562
So it’s very similar. We’re laying that out for the instructors too.
00:38:06.822 –> 00:38:10.702
Yeah. Yeah. Great. I like what you said at the beginning too,
00:38:10.782 –> 00:38:16.382
towards the beginning that like, you know, we’re an authority in what we do, right?
00:38:16.462 –> 00:38:19.822
And we’re professional and laying out these policies.
00:38:19.822 –> 00:38:22.942
Yeah it’s not i mean really
00:38:22.942 –> 00:38:26.482
it’s it’s not something that
00:38:26.482 –> 00:38:30.062
the the client doesn’t expect right like
00:38:30.062 –> 00:38:36.082
they they respect and when we lay these policies out it’s not a surprise to
00:38:36.082 –> 00:38:41.662
them it’s they do this everywhere else when they’re you know in business so
00:38:41.662 –> 00:38:46.882
yeah i i find like i find myself repeating this to myself often lately and and
00:38:46.882 –> 00:38:49.162
to my staff like you you mentioned you’re an authority.
00:38:49.362 –> 00:38:52.462
Yes, you can be an authority. You don’t have to be an authoritarian.
00:38:53.862 –> 00:39:00.102
There’s a difference. An authoritarian is like, this is how it goes, like it or not.
00:39:00.482 –> 00:39:08.962
Being an authority is having the strength to explain this is how it is in a
00:39:08.962 –> 00:39:13.922
way that’s going to resonate with your students and your employees and your families.
00:39:14.602 –> 00:39:17.802
So yeah, be an authority, not authoritarian. libertarian yes
00:39:17.802 –> 00:39:20.942
very good cool well
00:39:20.942 –> 00:39:23.782
it wasn’t as bad as i thought it was going to be
00:39:23.782 –> 00:39:27.782
like don’t love the policies but we’ll change
00:39:27.782 –> 00:39:33.502
it up next episode yeah yeah so should we i mean is there anything from our
00:39:33.502 –> 00:39:39.162
conversation that you think like might benefit our listeners as like a download
00:39:39.162 –> 00:39:45.022
or like some notes or anything like that i don’t know what do you think i think your advice you know
00:39:45.122 –> 00:39:49.302
about looking ahead as you begin, you know.
00:39:50.600 –> 00:39:54.260
Don’t be afraid to start off with some strong policies in mind,
00:39:54.360 –> 00:39:56.140
if that’s where you’re at right now, if you’re a beginner.
00:39:56.400 –> 00:40:00.000
And don’t be afraid to revise your policies.
00:40:00.140 –> 00:40:05.620
If you feel like you’re being taken advantage of or it’s causing too much stress
00:40:05.620 –> 00:40:10.220
or taking too much of your time and energy, don’t be afraid to do these things.
00:40:11.140 –> 00:40:14.380
I don’t know. I’ve never changed a policy. I’ll speak for myself.
00:40:14.920 –> 00:40:20.300
And had parents leave on me. No one has ever confronted a new policy, right?
00:40:20.600 –> 00:40:27.040
Right. And I would guess that you your experience would be the same. So do it for yourself.
00:40:27.200 –> 00:40:30.440
Do it. Do it for your studio. Love it. Love it. Yeah.
00:40:31.340 –> 00:40:35.460
Great work, Mandy. Well, so I think that’s going to wrap it up for this episode
00:40:35.460 –> 00:40:38.860
of Rock School Proprietor podcast. We’ll see you next time.
00:40:40.520 –> 00:40:43.400
If you have questions about policies or maybe
00:40:43.400 –> 00:40:46.600
you’ve got suggestions for future shows please contact us
00:40:46.600 –> 00:40:49.720
at info at rockschoolproprietor.com we’d love
00:40:49.720 –> 00:40:53.680
to hear from you and consider them for the show show notes and transcripts for
00:40:53.680 –> 00:40:57.860
this and all episodes can be found at rockschoolproprietor.com i’m at rock school
00:40:57.860 –> 00:41:02.240
proprietor on instagram and you can find me on linkedin as john kazicki love
00:41:02.240 –> 00:41:06.200
to connect with you if you enjoyed this show and gained insight from our conversation
00:41:06.200 –> 00:41:07.620
that we count that as a win.
00:41:07.900 –> 00:41:11.560
All we ask in return is that you pay it forward and share the show with someone
00:41:11.560 –> 00:41:12.880
you think needs to hear it.
00:41:12.920 –> 00:41:16.140
When you can, we hope you apply what you hear on the show, and we’ll.
00:41:16.080 –> 00:41:27.802
Music.
