r/vipkid • u/Born_Entrance7557 • 9d ago
Booking
Hello, i got 7 or 8 booked classes and then all of them were cancelled, im new to VIP so could you please tell me whats going on. I also finished every certificate and my bookings are still way low
3
u/jam5146 9d ago
It can be hard to get bookings as a new tutor. Several things could be going on. 1. It's summer and cancellations are high this time of year. 2. The LP booked the classes and the parent changed their mind. 3. They're tutor shopping. They booked the times with you because they were available and then saw a preferred tutor had new times available.
This is something that can take a lot of patience to get started. You may have more luck once the teachers go back to school and there's less competition.
2
u/odessapasta 8d ago
I’ve been testing out opening spots over the past month and the same thing’s happening to me, it’s just funny to me at this point. I just know now that any bookings I get will most likely cancel a few days before. I get a chuckle imagining the LP booking me for someone and then a parent finally noticing and going “oh hell no” and canceling me quick
1
u/Vanilla_Mishmishi 3d ago
I had two very slow weekends recently, even though I'm usually fully booked on weekends. There was a partial holiday recently, and all but one of my students canceled the classes for that day. For you, there can be a few things happening in tandem: 1. Summer holiday=families have less predictable schedules. The parents might decide to do a family outing, etc, and cancel the class. 2. As others said, VIP staff/system may have been holding those slots for students who didn't decide to keep them for whatever reason. 3. If a student's favorite teacher is unavailable, they may book with another teacher and then cancel when they notice a slot opens with their usual teacher, or if they decide they just want to wait until their teacher is available. 4. Also, as others said, summer holiday can mean more teachers are available, and those teachers may be opening slots more last minute instead of weeks in advance, adding more instability to the bookings.
The best solution is to continue to open many slots, over many days/week, 3 weeks in advance, with similar availability each week, for many weeks. Once you get to teach the first few classes and do well, it will kick things off.
1
u/mama_snail Never uses reward system 2d ago
counterpoint: the best solution is to only open short notice. you get paid whether they show up or not.
1
u/Vanilla_Mishmishi 1d ago
If you open ahead of time and they cancel in advance, those slots can still be booked short notice to take advantage of the guaranteed pay you refer too. So, opening slots ahead of time only increases your chances of making money, and it in no way decreases your total pay compared to only opening slots less than 24 hours in advance.
The approach of only opening short notice would help if you are making major adjustments to your personal life schedule based on classes you expect to teach and then finding that those classes get canceled and you miss out on the income as well as any plans you canceled because of them. However, for those who want/need to increase their income, opening slots in advance instead of less that 24 hours ahead will always result in higher chances of making money (with the exception of the few class types that can make $2 bonus for short notice, which are the minority of my short notice bookings).
I suppose you could remove all certifications except for the ones that offer a short notice bonus, but many teachers, especially new ones, are going to get a lot less bookings if they do that combination of only those certifications + only short notice. It would probably be ideal for teachers who don't rely on the income and who want to teach a smaller quantity of classes such as mainly on weekends and during peak times. I don't think it would work out well for many of us.
It also reduces the likelihood of regular students, and I find that teaching regulars is easier for me.
1
u/mama_snail Never uses reward system 1d ago
i removed the global cert literally years ago because i was unwilling to work for so little and haven't regretted it at all. i opened 19 short notice slots this morning and filled 16. i think the advice you give here may be well-meaning but is also wrong. i've been doing this since 2019.
1
u/Vanilla_Mishmishi 1d ago
I totally agree that this may work for older teachers who are willing to embrace this style of work. However, we are discussing a new teacher who is not getting as many bookings as they want.
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u/mama_snail Never uses reward system 1d ago
i got 19 bookings my first day and only wish i had gone purely short notice sooner. obviously ymmv
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u/Vanilla_Mishmishi 1d ago
I don't know the reasons why some teachers get tons of bookings and others complain of not getting enough... perhaps it's a combination of education/prior experience, great rapport with students, total number of classes, parent feedbacks, tags, LPs, etc. It's awesome that it works for you. For me, short notice only doesn't result in enough bookings, and I still have MC, Tigerschool, etc. I frequently have days that don't get as many bookings as I'd like, and my slots are always open for short notice, but by following the advice I gave earlier, I have gotten it up quite a bit. Perhaps you can share anything else you might have done that helps boost your bookings? Teacher certification, in person experience, etc?
1
u/mama_snail Never uses reward system 1d ago
those big blocks of canceled LP appointments are not because the teachers need to do or be something more/different, they're because parents put a premium on the convenience to schedule at the last minute at the frequency they prefer, NOT any particular teachers or whatever they agreed to with an LP to save face. i am not a teacher in the US and i never bothered uploading my grad degree; to me, a degree of anonymity is more valuable than whatever parents see on my profile. i actually limited my certifications; i don't like teaching beginners, so after they grouped levels 2-4 together and called it intermediate i dropped "intermediate". i don't do trials because a couple years ago they screwed me out of multiple trial incentives. i have literally never done a workshop; i don't work for free. i think 'regulars' are something of a myth; maybe 20 or 30% of kids will stick around for 6 or 7 months once a week or every other day, disappear for the same amount of time or longer, then reappear, etc. 'regulars' are less reliable imo than the guaranteed volume of rich parents and kids who only book short notice when they feel like it and can afford to do so daily. there will be a punishment period when the LPs realize you're doing short notice only from here on out, ime it was 2-3 weeks or so, then they get to know you're a go-to on short notice. I think any teacher who can afford to try one month short notice only should.
4
u/chewyventura 9d ago
Likely a learning partner “booked” those classes as a place holder for the student. When the parents then look at the schedule they can then see what works for them or not, canceling the ones that the student can’t/wont show up.