Tuition Hero Singapore

Part 1: BEFORE AND AFTER YOU CONTACT THE CLIENT ++

1) Be prepared before you contact the client: First impression is very important. Generally, clients prefer tutors who are experienced, responsible and caring for their students. So, always be polite and professional. Explain your background so they get to know you. We also suggest you to prepare your answers to the possible questions on the subject or syllabus.

2) Understanding their needs: Most of the clients hire tutors for the following reasons: to score well in their exam, to learn better, to master a subject, to receive guidance, etc. As a tutor, you have to understand your student’s problems and expectations, then let him/her know how you can help. Try to ask him/her questions on what he/she needs and try to offer constructive suggestions.

3) Things you might want to discuss: Student's level, result, expectation, confirmation of the location/ subjects/ rate/ timing, payment, consistency of classes, etc.

4) Unexpected situations: Here are some sitations that you might encounter and ways on how you can address them:

a) They don't answer your calls- Try to whatsapp them and introduce yourself. Clients can be busy.

b) Clients can't confirm to you on the spot- Try to ask for an approximate timeline when they can get back to you for an answer. You can also tell them that you will temporarily block the slot for them until you get their answer.

c) Clients try to negotiate on the rate / change the schedule- Although we have confirmed the rate and time with the clients, it is inevitable for some clients to change their mind. It is then up to you to accept the lower rate or different time proposed by the client. If you do not agree with their proposal, please contact your tutor coordinator so we can assist you. We discourage tutors to increase their rates because clients will find this unprofessional.

d) Clients ask you to wait for 1 or 2 months before confirming the lessons- We understand that your time is precious, and that you cannot block the slot for too long with the risk of being rejected when the right time comes. Let your tutor coordinator know this issue so we can assist you.

e) Clients keep on ignoring you- If the client is busy and does not reply fast or if the client did not call back contrary to what he/she has promised, try to follow up. Try to wait for a few days for them to respond. If they keep on ignoring your message, contact your tutor coordinator so we can assist you.

f) Client ask for trial- It is normal for a client to request for a trial class. This can be because of the following reasons: they don't really know you yet, they want to see if you can teach well or they want to see if you can get along with kids. Please take note that it will be a paid trial, and based on our experience, tutors rarely get terminated by the client after the trial.

g) Client always cancel class- We understand that cancellation can happen at times. We do apologize that we are unable to control such situation, but we will assist you in trying to solve this type of problem.

Bonus Note:

1) Volunteer a 30 minutes consultation (face to face): Some tutors voluntarily offer a free 30-minute consultation before the class starts. During the meet-up, tutors typically ask questions so they understand what the clients want. They check on the student's textbook and results and sometimes they even test the student’s level. The best tutor will come up with a lesson plan on the spot based on what student really needs.

Part 2: AFTER YOU HAVE CONFIRMED THE CLASS ++

1) Be prepared: Before you start the class, be sure that you have communicated with clients or students the things they have to prepare on the first class. Try not to go empty-handed; prepare some notes or textbooks.

2) First class / session: First class is very important. It is the first face-to-face meeting with the client or student. Please be on time. However, if you really have urgent matters or if you bump into unexpected situations, you can provide some proof to the client so that your client will understand.

3) Punctuality and good attitude: As an agency, we deal with a lot of tutors, and the best tutors might not be the tutors with the most number of years of experience; they are usually the tutors with the good blend of sufficient experience and good attitude. There are well-experienced tutors who receive complaints from clients and who are terminated for reasons such as not being punctual or keeps on cancelling/postponing classes. On the other hand, those tutors with good attitude keep getting referrals from clients.

4) Voluntarily giving extra minutes: This action is voluntary and only out of good will. We think that giving extra minutes show that you are professional and that you really care for the students. There are some tutors who offer free 10-15 minutes for some of the classes just to finish the chapter. The good thing is that most of the clients treat these kinds of tutors like a part of their family, thus the clients put their trust in the said tutors. Once you gain the trust of the clients, they become very much willing to increase the tuition hours or add subjects in the future. They might even introduce you to their neighbour and friends.

5) Don't just teach from the textbook: When parents complain about the tutor's quality of teaching, one of the most common comments we receive is that the tutor just teaches based on the textbook; there are no exercises given, no extra notes given, etc. To teach more effectively and leave a good impression, try to give exercises and notes and teach something out of the book.

6) Consistent feedback: We believe that consistent feedback is extremely important. Clients will appreciate if they can monitor the student's progress from time to time. This will also make an impression that you are committed and professional. For example, we all know that most tutors do not guarantee good results, so if the student got a bad result and the parents do not receive an update on the progress, the parents might put the blame on the tutor. But if the tutor provides feedback, the client will know that the tutor is working hard to help the student.

7) Focus on teaching: : Home tuition is a comfortable way to teach students. There’s a big chance that no one will be there to monitor you, which makes the environment relaxed. We encourage you to practice professionalism all the time. Try not to use your phone a lot, and focus on teaching the student. Don't give a homework that you’ve never taught about to the student. Don't cross the line unless you receive permission (especially for new tutors), e.g. going to the bedroom, bringing the kid outside the house, going to the parents’ bedroom, playing games with the kids, etc.

8) Refrain from promoting or selling other services: We understand that tutors might have some good software or online learning platform that they want to share with the parents or students that require them to pay a fee. We believe there is nothing wrong with it if executed professionally. We just discourage tutors in being pushy in selling for this leaves a bad impression. We also suggest for the tutors to start promoting after 1 month of tuition or after the tutors have gained the trust of the parents or students.