When a potential student violates the safety guidelines
If your potential student wants to break the rules...
TakeLessons Partners must meet high safety standards when messaging with potential students through Ask-A-Question. Though we do our best to help potential students understand what is (and isn’t) allowed in Ask-A-Question, some may still ask you to share information in violation of the TakeLessons safety guidelines or Terms of Service.
Here are some starter replies, to help you handle a few of these requests. We recommend you add your own voice to this text (or write your own) when messaging students.
“Can I email / call / contact you?”
"For safety reasons, I’m not able to share contact information until you book lessons. Once you sign up, I'll be able to call / text / email you directly, so we can arrange to chat or meet. In the meantime, I'm happy to answer any questions you have about my teaching or scheduling, to help you make sure I’m a good fit for you / <student’s name>. What can I help you with?"
“Can we meet in-person before I buy lessons?”
"I can’t meet up with you prior to lessons being booked, but there's no risk because TakeLessons offers all students a Satisfaction Guarantee. If for some reason you aren't happy or I'm not a good fit for you, you can contact TakeLessons and transfer any unused lesson credits to another instructor, or get a refund for the remaining unused lesson credits."
“Can I have a free / trial lesson?"
"I don’t offer free trials, but there's no risk because TakeLessons offers all students a Satisfaction Guarantee. If for some reason you aren't happy or I'm not a good fit for you, you can contact them and transfer any unused lesson credits to another instructor or get a refund for the remaining unused lesson credits."
If the student continues to insist on a trial lesson after you have politely declined mark their message as Not Interested to close the communication thread. (See: How do I report messages that are offensive or seem like spam?)
Learn More
How to handle students' most commonly asked questions
How do I report messages that are offensive or seem like spam?