Question: Hi, Micki. My question is about how to work with an annoying tutee. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but one of my tutees is, well, really irritating.
A few examples: last week we had a 2:00 pm session scheduled. I got there at 2:00, but according to his watch, I was 3 minutes late. He said that, at the end of the session, he wanted a partial refund for the missing time.
On another occasion, he got angry at me because he had received a B on his last exam. He said that, since I was tutoring him, he should have received at least an A-; of course, he wanted some kind of refund for his trouble.
I am seriously thinking of dropping him as a client, because every one of our sessions together seems to leave me incredibly frustrated. What do I do?
Signed,
Ellen - a frustrated tutor in CA
Answer: Sorry to hear about your tough time - this tutee doesn't sound like too much fun to be around.
Unfortunately, there have been an increasing number of people who use the current economy as an excuse to abuse and intimidate businesses and freelancers (including tutors) into giving them refunds even when they are not legitimate. The current economy seems to be a gateway for people who feel entitled to everything under the sun and see no problem with making ridiculous demands.
Sorry to rant, but this is one of my pet peeves, and one that I have seen way too much of recently.
If you feel like you want to work this out with your tutee, sit down and have a quick talk with him about your expectations for the sessions, how perfect grades aren't guaranteed, how learning the material is just as important as the grade, how learning the material will gradually increase his grade point average over time, etc. Get his input on how he thinks things are going.
It would also be a good idea to mention that, while you can't refund minutes from a session, you would be more than happy to stay a bit longer to make up the time.
If none of this works, and you are still having problems with him, I would suggest dropping him from your client list.
People like him are stressful to work with, and in the long run your energy would be better spent finding new (better) clients, developing learning materials for your existing customers, etc.
Don't let this bad tutee get you down! There are plenty of wonderful tutees out there just waiting for a great tutor.
Good luck, and as always, happy tutoring!
