My private student (since six years ago) went through a tough time this year. All kinds of distressing things happened in her family: she got cancer, her own mother got ill, her husband nearly died of Covid, and throughout it all she insisted on continuing our coffee shop lessons, because they were a kind of stress relief for her.
In the past few months we had to switch to online lessons.
The problem: previously with our coffee shop lessons she paid in cash, and she was *extremely* meticulous about it. The most reliable private student I have ever had, in that respect.
Since we switched to online lessons, we made an arrangement (at her insistence) to have the cash deposited in my account.
She hasn’t done so in the last four months, and I just don’t know how to raise the topic with her during our lessons. I think she has genuinely forgotten about it.
It’s not a great deal of money. We don’t have a formal contract.
Can you give me a sympathetic script for dealing with this?
4 comments
I’m not sure what you want to do about this. If it’s not a great deal of money and you can let it go, just let it go. If not just tell her she hasn’t been paying
Is it possible she thinks she is paying you but it is not going into your account? Based on your post it seems out of character for her to simply not pay you.
It is likely either a miscommunication has happened somewhere along the line OR she thinks she is sending you money into your bank account but in reality it isnt going through. For example she is not clicking the final “send” button from her ATM or internet account.
Im not so sure you need a sympathetic script here? Be courteous – as you have always been previously. It’s not as if you have never talked about payment with her before. It is a part of your business. She is a client. The longer you leave it the more uncomfortable for her it will be.
大変恐縮ですが、ご確認頂くことが可能でしょうか？
Just add the missing parts and you’re good to go.
You need to grow a pair