I’m going to start doing it partly out of interest, and partly to make a little extra cash.
My question is: do you charge a full fee inclusive of things like drinks?
It seems most lessons happen at a cafe or such. So am I supposed to buy us both a drink from my fee? Is the student supposed to? Do we buy our own drinks?
Additionally, is it generally ok to conduct these at places like Mr Donut, Starbucks etc? I dont want to upset any store owners or other patrons.
9 comments
splitting meal bills is common in Tokyo, even when the other person is female. in fact some ladies would regard it as a sign of condescension to not split the bill.
confirm it by starting off with “warikan desu ne” — we’re paying for ourselves, right.
more formally, 食事代は割り勘にしよう
As long as it’s not a busy cafe with high demand for tables, or during the peak times, it should be fine. Basic manners – be polite, don’t spread papers all over common seating and don’t speak too loudly. The places I did it at came to know us and were friendly and accommodating.
They bought the drinks exclusive of my fee.
And me and “Papa” (Mr. Hoshika) ended up making friends with a couple that were also regular patrons at the same time as our lessons. They’d always eavesdrop so I started inviting them to join the convo. When Papa got sick, English was 2nd and us 3 making him forget and smile was first. Miss you, Papa.
Everyone buys their own drinks.
Avoid peak times (lunch and dinner, etc.) and nobody will care.
From what I’ve done, the student will pay for the drink or you’ll pay. Then just sit at a table and hold a lesson for an hour.
I’d meet then at a station or outside a cafe if it’s the same place again.
I’m also teaching a little girl at her house too. That’s always a possibility too.
Well, perhaps you should each buy your own drinks. Either of the other ways makes it seems a little like a date, and if your student is of the opposite sex, they **might**, just **might**, not actually be after you for English lessons. On the other hand, whoever is buying the drinks, make sure to agree on a limit to the amount of money spent on the drinks, as a precaution against feeling taken advantage of.
Usually did private lessons at McDonald’s during downtime. Grab a drink for ¥100 and sit at the table for an hour.
How do you even find potential students? Asking for a 友達
My students would always pay for my coffee unless I arrived first and was already seated with a drink, in which case they’d just get their own and then come and sit down. I never bought their drinks. I’m a woman though so I think that probably made a difference 🙂
I did lessons in all kinds of cafes and never had an issue. Even posh hotels and department store cafes (the students chose them usually). I kind of avoided Starbucks just because it’s often too busy to get a table, but I’d do other chain places!
(Also, a small questionable thing I used to do with regards to my transportation fee. I was mostly in central Osaka, so generally I didn’t charge the student for my fee as I would be travelling all over the city anyway doing multiple things every day. But if the student turned out to be not very nice, then I would add the fee on to either discourage them from continuing my lessons or make their lesson more bearable for me with the added ¥500 haha)
Private lessons are a lot of fun! It lead me to travel to lots of new areas, meet so many interesting people and get quite a few nice little working opportunities that I otherwise wouldn’t have come across 🙂
They pay for your drink and train fare. It shouldn’t be any other way.
But make sure you spell this out for them before they start taking your lessons