POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

TO BOOK A LESSON:

1. Click on the “Book an Appointment” button found on the homepage of the main website.

2. Select “Book Now” next to your preferred service, and your staff preference, and click “Add”.

3. The next screen will give you an option to add more to your appointment, but if you are happy with your selection, simply click “next”.

4. You will be shown a calendar with dates available in black, and the unavailable listed in gray. Select your preferred date.* Once you have selected a date, available times will appear below. Select your preferred time, and that will take you to the “Contact Info” page. (Appointments must be booked at least two days in advance.)

5. Fill out your contact information - this will create an online account for you via Square Appointments to book/cancel/reschedule lessons as needed. (Please see the “Cancellation & Rescheduling Policy” below for more information), and will also inform your potential instructor of your inquiry, where they will either accept the appointment, or reach out to you with alternate options.

ONCE YOUR APPOINTMENT IS BOOKED:

1. APPOINTMENT REMINDERS: Two days before your lesson, you will receive an automated text reminder that prompts you to confirm or cancel your upcoming appointment. If you do not respond to the text within 24 hours, an email will be sent out a day before your appointment with the same information. If you still don’t respond with a confirmation or cancellation to either reminder, then a final text reminder will be sent out two hours before your scheduled appointment, at which time, if we have not heard from you, you are expected to pay for the lesson, whether you are in attendance or not.

   THE DAY OF THE LESSON:

   1. Please review the “Commonly Asked Questions” page found on the homepage of the main website to prepare for your lesson.

   *If no dates are available that work for your schedule, you can select “Join the waitlist” at the bottom of the page, and fill in your preferred dates and times. Once you have input your preferred dates/times, it will take you to a “Contact Info” form to fill out. I highly encourage you to add a note giving context to your external time request so we can do our best to accommodate your needs.

CANCELLATION & RESCHEDULING POLICY

If you have to cancel or reschedule your lesson and it is at least 48 hours in advance, you can do so through my Book an Appointment page after you’ve signed in. That way, I am able to utilize your time slot and potentially have another student come in for a lesson.

 You will receive courtesy appointment reminders (via text, and potentially email, if the first text is left unconfirmed) to help keep you accountable to your commitment in bettering your craft. After 48 hours, your appointment will be fixed online and you are unable to edit it, so I require that you notify me (text is best, but phonecall/email/contact box is also acceptable) by 5:00p.m. the day before your lesson if you are unable to come in, or I will expect that you are intending to pay for that time slot whether you attend or not.  Uncontrollable circumstances sometimes happen, though, and each of my students get one “freebie” missed lesson per year for such occasions. In the case of an emergency where you miss your lesson, please make sure you are safe, and then contact me as soon as you possibly can.  If you miss & I don’t hear from you, I worry, and will probably hound you until I know that you are okay. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 A wise fellow music teacher shared a mindset with me that, and I’m paraphrasing, “A student is not paying to be taught, but paying for you to be near a piano and available, should they want to take a lesson.”  If you are a no-show and make no attempt to contact me, I would ask that you show me the respect to pay me for my reserved time I had made for you the next time we meet.

 If -I- am forced to cancel a lesson for any reason, I will do my best to give you as much notice as humanly possible.  If I have to cancel the day of for any last-minute unforeseen reason, you will not be charged for a lesson that day, and in thanks for your patience, your next lesson with me to be complementary.

IF YOU ARE RUNNING LATE

Please contact me (text is preferred, but never do so while driving) if you are running late.  I will do my best to accommodate you, but I cannot guarantee that you will receive your full lesson if you arrive late for your scheduled time.

REFUND AND PAYMENT POLICY

We will take the last couple of minutes in your lesson to handle payment and confirm our next appointment.  I accept cash, check, VenMo (@Samantha Francis), and PayPal (in the states). I do accept debit/credit cards to be kept on file for future payments, however, be aware that there is a one time payment processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 fee for first time card transactions, and a 3.5% + $0.15 fee for cards on file.  You can read more about Square processing fees here. If you are looking to pay for advance lessons in the form of credits, I have a form that we will go over together, which includes the aforementioned, along with my policy on refunds.

EXTENDED LEAVES AND APPOINTMENT RESERVATIONS

I reserve the right to refuse to teach any student that is contagiously ill, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or exhibiting violent behavior.  I also reserve the right to stop a lesson at any point should I feel it is necessary, and to ask any person or persons of my choosing to leave the premises at any time and/or not return. I hold the rights and discretion to change or amend any of the above Policies and Procedures if deemed necessary or unavoidable.