How to Handle Missed Lessons and a Makeup Policy
Write a makeup policy with four parts: a fixed allowance (commonly one or two makeups per term), makeups offered only at times you choose, expiry at the end of the term, and a clear split between instructor-cancelled lessons (always rescheduled or credited) and family-cancelled ones (charged unless inside your notice window). Publish it at enrollment, restate it on invoices, and apply it identically to every family — unlimited or case-by-case makeups are the single most common way lesson businesses give away a full day of unpaid work every month.
What you’re actually protecting
It’s the slot, not the hour. Thursday at 4:30 was reserved for one family, turned away from others, and you can’t resell it at short notice.
A makeup isn’t a neutral reschedule — it’s a second hour of your time given away for one payment, at a time you’d otherwise be free.
The four-part policy
- An allowance — one or two makeups per term, not per month, not unlimited
- On your terms — offered from times you make available, not times they request
- With an expiry — end of term, never carried forward
- A clear split — instructor-cancelled always rescheduled or credited; family-cancelled charged unless inside your notice window
The split that matters most
| Who cancelled | Result |
|---|---|
| You (illness, travel, weather) | Rescheduled or credited, always |
| Family, outside notice window | One makeup drawn from the allowance |
| Family, inside notice window | Charged, no makeup |
| No-show | Charged, no makeup |
Fairness here is really the whole thing. Families accept being charged for late cancellations precisely because you hold yourself to the same standard when it’s you who has to cancel.
Credit, don’t refund
A credit keeps the relationship. A refund ends the transaction and takes the money with it.
Reserve refunds for failures that are genuinely yours.
Offer a freeze for real life
An extended illness, a surgery, a season away — life happens. A stated hold (slot reserved, rate reduced or paused, requested in advance) is what stops a temporary problem from turning into a cancellation you never get back.
Publish it three times
Put it in the enrollment agreement, the invoice footer, and the lesson confirmation. A policy seen three times just gets applied; a policy seen once gets negotiated, and that negotiation always seems to happen on the day you have the least patience for it.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just be flexible with good families?
Because flexibility applied unevenly becomes the thing families compare. A policy that everyone gets is experienced as fair; discretion is experienced as favoritism, even when you meant it generously.
Should I ever refund a missed lesson?
Credit, rarely refund. A credit keeps the relationship and the money in the business; a refund converts a scheduling problem into a revenue loss. Refunds belong to genuine service failures on your side.
What about long illnesses or extended absences?
Have a stated hold or freeze option — a month at a reduced or paused rate, requested in advance, with the slot held. It's the humane version of a policy and it prevents the family from cancelling outright and never coming back.
How do I enforce it without the awkward conversation?
Put it in the enrollment agreement, on the invoice footer, and in the confirmation. When it's been seen three times, applying it isn't a confrontation — it's a rule everyone already agreed to.