these people seem to rip me off sometimes

[Patty]

I happen to go to a music store to take guitar lessons and they seem to rip me off alot.One time they never told me they needed another 15 dollars from me and I didnt understand why. One time they owed me change that never got returned.When I was ready to pay for my lesson one time they asked me how much money I had on me.I could not understand what they were up to.One time I said " I wasnt here last week" "they said"I know but we still need the money" or something like that.Sometimes I still get charged for when they cancel or when I cancel.This dont seem fair.

[kikie]

so go to a different place & take lessons ... i find that private teachers are good - u get lots of attention and never have to pay much in advance ...

 

or make it clear that u'r only paying for lessons u actually got. and make the price of a lesson clear too.

 

have fun

[Miss Mojo]

hi patty,

 

i can't help but feel, particularly from your previous posts, that you have a tendency to feel victimised by other people's actions. the reason i say this is because you worry about what people say in chat rooms (the "potty" for example), your pen pal, your guitar teacher....

 

i can understand that for some people it is hard to stand up for themselves because they don't want to make waves, but the only way you won't worry about what people say, is to confront them calmly. for example, when this person asked you how much money you had on you, a possibly way of handling such a rude comment, could be, "enough to pay for this lesson", or simply, "that's my own business", or even make light of the situation and dodge the question altogether by ignoring that comment. alternatively, you could have confused the hell out of them by asking what colour underwear they are wearing today, which probably would have led them to say something like, "what relevance does that have?"....about as much relevance as how much money you have on you.

 

i guess what i'm trying to say is that there are many alternatives to responding to someone who has said something that you feel uncomfortable with. generally, i find humour is the best is approach in uncomfortable situations because i don't feel so uncomfortable afterwards.

 

after all, we are the ones who make us feel victimised, not anybody else. they rip you off a lot, because you let them. they know they can rip you off, and they will continue to do so.

 

and finally, in response to your question, is there anywhere else you can go to play guitar? go for your next lesson, ask for your change and tell them you want to go and learn elsewhere. if they ask why, tell them it's because you want to make a few changes in your life!!

 

good luck