Canceling swim lessons again!

[Tinkermommy]

If you have your child in swim lessons, how does the facility handle holidays? Do they have a make-up class or are you just out one class?

Here's my situation.

I put my son (3 almost 4) in a weekly swim class in late June. The gym cancels swim class for the entire week of June 27th for Independence day. Not sure why they did the week before! So we went out of town the week of July 4th. I expected that we would miss one for the holiday but not two since they took off the week before.

So now they are taking of the Saturday (which is when his lesson is) for Labor Day and no make-up classes or refunds available. I am so mad we are paying for another lesson that they have canceled. I may cancel altogether and find another location.

They charge by the month and their rationale is that some months you get 5 weeks. I wish they charged by the class or a 6-week session with holidays not charged.

FWIW, my daughter takes martial arts at the same place and she has a lesson on Saturday, so no missed class for her.

So how does your facility handle holidays. Do you have to pay for it?

 

[cabanafrau]

Dance studio is monthly tuition. Same amount from September through June, even though September starts 2nd week, November has Thanksgiving, Christmas has the holiday breaktime, Feb. has short winter break, April or March has spring break, May has Memorial weekend & June is only 2 weeks.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My kids are not in swimming now, they are older, but in the past I would pay for a session with printed dates up front.

I have never seen a place that signed you up "month to month" with no planned dates up front.

Odd way to run a business to be honest.

 

[padams]

My kids are not in swimming now, they are older, but in the past I would pay for a session with printed dates up front.

I have never seen a place that signed you up "month to month" with no planned dates up front.

Odd way to run a business to be honest.

Same experience as Mystery Machine.

 

[SaraJayne]

My kids are not in swimming now, they are older, but in the past I would pay for a session with printed dates up front.

I have never seen a place that signed you up "month to month" with no planned dates up front.

Odd way to run a business to be honest.

Same here. I'd be finding somewhere else.

 

[Tinkermommy]

My kids are not in swimming now, they are older, but in the past I would pay for a session with printed dates up front.

I have never seen a place that signed you up "month to month" with no planned dates up front.

Odd way to run a business to be honest.

Yes, I am going to ask them for the dates which I agree I should have asked for when I signed up. My daughter has been taking martial arts there for 2 years and it is not set up like this.

In the email they said they only have 4 holidays a year. I don't buy it. So far the have taken off for Independence Day and Labor Day. I am guessing they are going to take off Thanksgiving and Christmas. But what about New Years, Memorial Day, etc.

 

[golfgal]

Are the lessons for a year or how are they set up? When our kids were in swimming lessons the lessons were usually for a block of time, 6 weeks I think and you paid whatever for those 6 weeks. If there was a holiday in there it was just a skipped week and start to finish was really 7 weeks.

When the kids were in Tae Kwon Do and dance-which was really "year round-following the school calendar anyway) you paid the same each month and if one was canceled because of bad weather or there were holidays in there you still paid the same amount.

 

[design_mom]

DD just started dance (on Mondays), which is paid "monthly" and the session runs from August 30-June 11. I asked about next week because DD's class will fall on Labor Day. At first, the director said the same thing about the 5 week month. We'll still have 4 lessons in the month, even without next Monday's. But they're only closed on Monday, so non-Monday classes will get 5 lessons instead of 4.

I asked about making the class up on a different day and the director said we could... but I'm not sure if that was standing policy, or if she's letting me do something special because I specifically asked and I am a brand new customer. It was kind of like "Uh... okay. Sure. I guess we could do that."

DD has also taken gymnastics and ice skating. In those cases, fees were pro-rated if classes were cancelled on your class day.

 

[golfgal]

DD just started dance (on Mondays), which is paid "monthly" and the session runs from August 30-June 11. I asked about next week because DD's class will fall on Labor Day. At first, the director said the same thing about the 5 week month. We'll still have 4 lessons in the month, even without next Monday's. But they're only closed on Monday, so non-Monday classes will get 5 lessons instead of 4.

I asked about making the class up on a different day and the director said we could... but I'm not sure if that was standing policy, or if she's letting me do something special because I specifically asked and I am a brand new customer. It was kind of like "Uh... okay. Sure. I guess we could do that."

DD has also taken gymnastics and ice skating. In those cases, fees were pro-rated if classes were cancelled on your class day.

But the Thursday class will miss for Thanksgiving and you will have your class that week-which is what they are talking about. It all pretty much averages out in the end.

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

I would find somewhere else! Our son's swim school charges by the month but if class is cancelled due to holiday or their yearly week long shut down then we are only charged $60 instead of the usual $78 ($78 x 12 months = $936 / 52 weeks = $18 per weekly lesson) It shouldn't make a difference whether some months have 4 weeks and some have 5 - each lesson has a value and if you don't get the lesson you should get the value back either in cash/credit or a make-up. Even when my son took Gymboree classes and they were cancelled for holiday we would get a voucher for a free class of our choice good for up to a year.

 

[design_mom]

But the Thursday class will miss for Thanksgiving and you will have your class that week-which is what they are talking about. It all pretty much averages out in the end.

I agree, it probably evens out... I wasn't *demanding* a make-up lesson. I was just asking how it was handled (we are new to both dance and the studio). Other lessons that we've had have let you make up during a different class (provided space is available), if you miss due to illness travel, etc.

I was really asking as a question, but since she offered I plan to take her up on it. If the Thursday kids join our class during Thanksgiving week, then that'd be okay, too.

 

[bumbershoot]

It all probably would have felt better to you if you had the list of lesson dates when you signed up. At least you wouldn't have been surprised.

I really like the Y for swim lessons! They are included in what we're already paying, so I don't feel I've lost much if they do cancel a date (which they don't really do, but IF they did). Some sessions are short, some are long, but it's all included (apart from dance and cheer and higher level gymnastics).

 

[PrincessBelle39]

If our dd's class falls on a holiday, we are offered a makeup class. They run classes 7 days a week so its not a problem to reschedule if we want to.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

Not related to holidays but I finally stopped swimming lessons at the YMCA for my kids when they went 5 lessons in a row without entering the water

Their policy...understandably...was to close the pool when there was thunder or lightning in the area. I didn't have a problem with that policy for safety reasons but they would teach a SWIM lesson on a racquetball court and refuse to reschedule or refund money. I finally had enough after one very stormy month.

 

[mjkacmom]

My kids have been in numerous activities (dance, swim, gymnastics, skating, pretty much every one out there), and holiday cancellations are scheduled at the beginning of the year, and the cost spread out throughout the year (for example, it seems like the kids are never in preschool in November, with Thanksgiving and NJ teacher's convention, but the monthly tuition is the same). Some activities are cheaper if they're on certain days, some allow make-ups.