Ok, so they aren't really des élèves, they are professional adults doing English training. But still, sometimes they are as irresponsable as my lycéens when I was an assistant, so the word is fitting. I am just sick of them cancelling. They cancel constantly. It is so unprofessional. Don't they realize this is part of their job? And the worst part about it is, every time they cancel, I can just see my end-of-the-month paycheck getting smaller and smaller. And yet I have to grit my teeth, smile, and tell them "oh, no, that's not a problem at all, thanks for letting me know in advance" when actually I wish they hadn't let me know in advance because if they cancel at the last minute I still get paid. Instead, they tell me a week in advance and I'm screwed out of hours, screwed out of pay and stuck sitting around Paris bored in the middle of the day because I don't want to spend money and because it can never be my students who are first in the morning or last at night who cancel so that I can at least sleep in or get home earlier. It's always the ones in the middle of the day.
So far this week I've had to cringe, grit my teeth and force smiles through half of my Monday and Tuesday students telling me that they need to cancel for next week. And I'm not happy about it. I was hoping not to have any cancellations from Dec. 1 - Dec. 17 since my pay is already going to take a hit because I'll be on unpaid vacation for the second part of the month. Things seemed to be going well. When I told my students about my vacation, no one had a problem having lessons next week. And then all of a sudden that has changed and next Monday and Tuesday are going to be miserable. They now all have important meetings and trainings and business trips (you mean to tell me they didn't already know about these things!?!?!). So I'll be working no hours (therefore earning no money!) but still stuck out in the city all day long. Here's hoping that none of my Wednesday people cancel and that some of my Thursday and Friday groups want to get an extra lesson in before I go on vacation so I can schedule them for Monday or Tuesday! Otherwise December's pay is going to be pretty miserable, and right before we move.
An American living her life in two languages, first in Paris, then in Cincinnati and currently in Bordeaux, and talking about all the trials, tribulations and successes along the way.
I feel ya! I teach part time at a Uni and part time at a company (only one, which is nice) but on Monday and Tuesday I had 4-5 hrs of cancellations in between my first and last classes, so I just had to sit there under the fluorescent lights of my windowless office and read.
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