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How does your studio handle
Pole reservations?
We are a small studio. I have 6 poles and only have 1 student per pole, 1 for the instructor. So I accept 5 at a time in a typical class.
My problem is that people reserve a pole, class fills up and I have to turn some people away then students either don't show or cancel 10 minutes before class.
Does your studio have pole reservations? If so, what is the cancellation policy?
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8 Replies
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My studio uses an online business website…. Mindbodyonline.com……. Everyone signs up online.. There’s a 3 person waitlist.. People can cancel up to 4 hours before class and then the waitlist people would get notified
If they cancel within 4 hours of class.. They are still charged for class.. Since we use online sign up.. There credit card info is in the system
If they have have some sort of an unlimited website.. They have 3 late cancels/ no shows then they are charged $15 each time
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I too have the mindbodyonline.com system. Last year however, I didn't have it, but I still used the same policy. We had a standby list, and students would get charged if they didn't cancel at least 5 hours before class (in order to give us time to inform the students on standby). It worked pretty well, but the online system is easier, since you can blame the charged "no shows/late cancels" on the system, and avoid hard feelings. Students don't often understand how detrimental it can be to the studio when they reserve a spot they don't show up for.Plus it saves you time from all the phone calls for booking classes, since students can book themselves online!
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My studio also has mindbody and we routinely have wait lists and half full classes. It is annoying!
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We have a friend who formatted our own system online so we dont use MindBody but…
We run our classes in 6-week sessions. Students must pay in advance and commit to the 6 weeks. If they have to miss a class they do not get credit or a refund.
If they call to let us know they cannot make it we will try to fit them into a class later in the week but if there isn't room they lose the class.
We explain that we cannot hold a spot in class and wind up with vacant spots which other students coud have taken or spots unfilled and resulting in lost income.
We have online video reviews for our classes so if they miss they can see the video and once they get to advanced and have been with us longer then we allow up to 6 make up classes within a year.
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Don’t turn anyone away until 5min after class starts. Tell them to wait and see if a pole opens up
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We have a key tag at the studio I go to. You have to call and reserve your pole, you can only do that if you have the key tag. If not, you will go on the waiting list. They will take down your name and key tag number. If you cancel 2hrs before class your off the hook, if not they will charge you your class.
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We pay in advance for 6-week blocks. If anyone misses a class they don't get a refund on their payment, but most of the time they can make the class up another time for free. We don't have people turning up on the day to join in, so it doesn't matter that a spot is now vacant.
That's one of the reasons I love my studio; I never know until I'm due to leave work whether I'm actually going to have to get out on time or whether I'm going to have to work overtime, so giving 4 hours' notice of missing a class just isn't possible. This way, if I miss a class it doesn't affect the studio negatively. They've already got my money, and they haven't had to turn anyone away that could have joined in.
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The studio I teach at uses MindBody but we have monthly or yearly memberships like a gym so it's a constant problem of girls signing up for classes and then not showing…..but we don't penalize them because they pay for a membership. To combat it (somewhat) we 'over book' the class sizes and expect some aren't going to show. If they do, then we double up on poles. It's not a perfect system but that's how we do it….
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