11th November 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The most frustrating task we have is when a tutor decides that he/she is simply going to declare any lessons; either by lying and telling us that a student doesn’t require lessons, or by not communicating with us at all. Obviously this is a small minority, but over the years we’ve found a way to cope, and we do so by adding lessons according to our estimate, something all tutors agree to before beginning their lessons.
This week, a tutor for whom we had added lessons in this way, got in touch with us and followed the standard pattern: 1) ignorance, claiming never to have known about their responsibility; 2) anger, accusing Blue Tutors of being unprofessional with the way we dealt with the situation; 3) honesty, finally admitting to the number of lessons taught; 4) self-righteousness, demanding that he/she pays only what would have been owed had he/she been honest and diligent from the start.
These situations are obviously unpleasant, but I completely understand the first 3 stages; people are only human, and we like to think that we’re quite good at understanding everyone’s difficulties. Tutors and students. It is the 4 stage that always makes me chuckle; having spent a number of hours cleaning up after a tutor, I can’t believe the tutor can’t accept that he/she should pay for those costs. I’m pretty sure that if it was me, I would be too embarrassed of my actions to argue.