Call or not

[MartialArthur]

I send out humorous "come back to class" cards to students who have not been to class in a few weeks.

I also keep all former students on my mailing and email lists for newsletters and announcements.

..

[patusai]

Rick_72 make many good points. I have had instructors call and at times it was a matter of money. Some instructors I had the money did not matter. Of course, the fee was small but when you are young even small fees are a lot of money when you work retail (or at least it was like that in the early 70's...that $1.90 and hour didn't do much. It was a pay what you can and if there was a money issue there was no problem training. Of course, this instructor had the dojo in the basement of his home.

[cathal]

We don't call about that. What we'll do is call them to invite them to a get together. We socialize, talk shop, and maybe BBQ. That usually rekindles the interest.

[bushido_man96]

I never really called anyone about money. My main concern was that if they were a good student and just stopped coming, to let them know that we would love for them to come back.

[Rick_72]

I never really called anyone about money. My main concern was that if they were a good student and just stopped coming, to let them know that we would love for them to come back.

Yeah, I don't think its about money....its more of an issue of keeping the school base together in my mind.

[atalaya]

for me that depends on whether or not you view them as having benefitted from your martial art. a martial arts school is supposed to help people (in my limited mind) from all walks of life enjoy confidence, strength and direction that comes from practicing a martial art. of course i would love to pass what i know to someone else, but if it doesn't make them a better person, what would be the point? i feel that the reason we should stay in contact with a student who might be straying should not be for a financial pursuit (although money certainly helps further the cause) it should be because we honestly care about them and want them to do what's best

[bushido_man96]

for me that depends on whether or not you view them as having benefitted from your martial art. a martial arts school is supposed to help people (in my limited mind) from all walks of life enjoy confidence, strength and direction that comes from practicing a martial art. of course i would love to pass what i know to someone else, but if it doesn't make them a better person, what would be the point? i feel that the reason we should stay in contact with a student who might be straying should not be for a financial pursuit (although money certainly helps further the cause) it should be because we honestly care about them and want them to do what's best

Yes, very good points. I like to think that I am helping someone improve themselves in some way when I am teaching. I never liked seeing students go.

[scottnshelly]

I enrolled in a BJJ class for one month in January of this year. I had to stop in February due to my work schedule (I work in a holiday driven company and Valentine’s Day is our 2nd biggest). I decided after Valentine’s Day not to go back for several reasons.

I had only been there one month, never talked to the Instructor other than about money and never felt like I was part of the group. I received a voicemail on my lunch break in June or July from the Instructor. It was very impersonal and sounded scripted. He just asked when I’d be back. It sounded like he was coming up short on rent and needed my $50.

I was a little put off by this. It was very aloof and maybe even a little rude. A well written letter or card (or even email) would’ve been nice, but now I surely won’t return just because of that voicemail.

[kenpo4life]

I read once that 68% of all people quitting is because of perceiced indifference. In other words, most people think that nbody cares whether they come or not. Treat your school like a learning center where everyone is valued, and you will have a much better retention.

[jaymac]

We send out exit surveys. If the student left because of a "dojo issue" then we would want to see if it is something that we can prevent from happening in the future.