We have always based our lessons policies on being fair to the students, the instructors, and the business, in that order. Over time, we've come to realize how strict and unfair the lesson policies are at many other music schools. Here's a quick list of some of the policies that set us apart.
- No annual membership fee - We could never justify what this fee covered. Yet so many other music schools charge an annual fee.
- 90-day makeup policy - So many music schools either don't allow makeups for cancelled lessons or only give 30 days to reschedule a lesson. Some schools only offer you a group lesson with all those students who cancelled their private lesson as a makeup. We allow 90 days from the date of cancellation so you can make up your lesson before or after your absence. We chose 90 days since there will generally be a public-school holiday within 90 days.
- We do refund lessons - It's shocking to see how many schools say they don't refund lessons for any reason. If an instructor is out and we cannot provide a substitute or if the store closes due to weather, we will give a monetary credit towards the next month of lessons.
- 12-hour notice to cancel lessons - Whether you need to cancel a single lesson or stop all future lessons, we only ask for 12-hours' notice. The most common required notice we see at other schools is by the 20th of the month to stop the following month. The worst one we saw was 4-weeks' notice. We also refund the remaining paid lessons scheduled that month. We don't refund any makeup credits on account. Students should make sure all makeups are complete before stopping lessons.
- We hold your spot while you're away for a month - We have a lot of students that take month-long vacations. Unlike other schools that don't allow extended absences, we allow up to 4 makeup credits on account at any one time so you can cancel 4 weeks of lessons and make them up before and after you are away within 90 days of the date of cancellation.
- No contracts - We don't tie you into a contract for an extended period of time like other places. You can cancel lessons at any time without penalty.
- Online scheduling - Most other music schools require you to contact the front desk or the instructor to find a time and schedule lessons. This back-and-forth conversation can take a lot of time, only to find that none of the available times work with your schedule. We show you up front our instructors' availability online. When new students are looking for a Trial Lesson, we only show times that are available for weekly lessons and that time will be held for you after your Trial Lesson for 2 days while you decide if you would like to continue weekly lessons.
- Automated waitlist - If you can't find an available time that fits your needs, let us know what days and times work for you. We'll put you on our automated waitlist. the system will email you as soon as anyone decides to stop taking lessons during the times that you want. You'll be able to book those lessons directly from that email.
- Online account management - Many music schools require you to contact the front desk or your instructor to cancel and reschedule lessons. We give all of our students/parents access to maintain their schedule online. Cancel individual lessons, schedule makeups, check your invoices for accuracy, update your billing and contact information, and manage all your dependents' (children) accounts in one spot. Permanent changes to your lesson schedule still do need help from the front desk. And of course, the front desk is always here to help. You can email schedule@moorebrothersmusic.com, text or call us at 425-836-2263, or stop by.
- We charge by the number of lessons in a month - So many music schools choose to charge a flat monthly fee even during months when the school is closed for holidays or breaks. They justify this saying that they charge the same when there are 5 weeks in a month. This works out if a student sticks around for an entire year but that is not always the case. Oftentimes, students need to change their weekly lesson time and that can result in paying for lessons that are never taken. We understand the reason other music schools do this is because most lesson scheduling systems have been unable to adjust for months that have 3, 4, or 5 weeks for a student. Over the last 20 years, we've always charged per lesson and never a flat monthly rate even when the software wasn't able to do this. We have since invested in the best scheduling software we could find that does it automatically.
We encourage you to check out the lesson policies at other music schools to see for yourself.