Sitting outside a house at 4pm
An instructor drives across town to pick up a pupil at 4pm. Nobody comes out. After ten minutes she texts. At 4.20 the pupil replies that he forgot and is at a friend's. Earlier that week, another pupil cancelled at 8am for a 9am lesson because she had a cold, and the instructor did not feel she could charge.
Your terms say lessons cancelled with less than a set notice are charged. Some instructors charge every time, some never do, and pupils know which is which.
Why late cancellations keep happening
- Pupils book lessons weeks ahead and forget them.
- Rearranging means texting the instructor, which feels awkward, so pupils put it off.
- The cancellation policy is in the terms, but pupils do not remember it.
- Charging is left to each instructor, face to face, which is uncomfortable.
- A slot freed at short notice is rarely filled, because other pupils do not know about it.
What they cost
For a self-employed instructor, an empty slot is income gone, along with the fuel to get there. For the school, uneven charging causes arguments when a pupil compares notes with a friend. Pupils who repeatedly cancel also progress more slowly and wait longer for a test. And the awkwardness of charging falls on the instructor, in the car, which is not where anyone wants to have that conversation.
The reminder and cancellation process we build
- Every lesson in the diary sends the pupil a reminder by text or WhatsApp at points you choose, with the time, pickup point and a link to confirm or move the lesson.
- Moving a lesson in good time is easy: the link shows the instructor's other free slots, and the pupil picks one.
- The reminder states your notice period in plain words, so nobody is surprised.
- Cancellations inside the notice period are recorded against the lesson with the reason, and the charge applies automatically from your policy, whether that is a charge, a deduction from a block or a first-time waiver.
- Exceptions you allow, such as illness with evidence, can be applied by the office with a reason, so instructors do not have to decide in the car.
- When a slot frees up, pupils who have asked for extra lessons, or who are near test day, get an offer by message, first to accept gets it.
- No-shows are logged, and repeated ones are flagged to the office.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Lesson in two days | Reminder with confirm or move link |
| Moved with enough notice | No charge, slot freed |
| Cancelled late | Your policy applies, reason recorded |
| Illness exception | Office applies with a reason |
| Slot freed | Offered to pupils who want extra lessons |
Your notice period and charges are your terms. We apply them the same way for every pupil and every instructor.
Fewer wasted journeys
Pupils get a reminder and move lessons they cannot make in good time, because it takes a tap instead of an awkward text. Late cancellations are charged consistently, by the system and not by the instructor in person, which makes the policy easier to hold to. Freed slots often go to a pupil who wanted an extra lesson before their test. Instructors spend less time sitting outside houses.
Picture Monday afternoon. A pupil who knows he has a school trip on Wednesday taps the link in his Monday reminder and moves the lesson to Friday, which was free. The Wednesday slot is offered to two pupils with tests next week, and one takes it within minutes. Nobody has sent a text, and the instructor's diary for Wednesday is still full. The following week, a pupil who cancels an hour before the lesson is charged under your terms, and the message explains why in the same words as every other pupil receives.
Do late cancellations hit your instructors?
- Instructors turn up to pupils who forgot.
- Your cancellation policy is applied differently by each instructor.
- Pupils rearrange by text at the last minute.
- Freed slots go unused.
- Charging for late cancellations happens face to face in the car.