YOGA STUDIO: The Customer is Not Always Right
Dear Yoga Teacher,
An angry student once told me that I was uneducated
and ignorant because “The first rule of business is that
the customer is always right!”
That’s what she said.
I agreed with her about the education part. Turns out
she was a lawyer and had spent about 10x longer in
school than me.
But I wasn’t trying to prove that I was smarter than
her. I’m not. Actually, I wasn’t trying to prove anything.
I simply told her that she needed to stay in class until we
finished Savasana or she could not come back.
This was the 3rd time I’d told her this, so I had to be
firm.
“But I have so many things to do, and so many places
I have to be. And I paid for class, and you don’t know
anything about business because I can do whatever I
want!”
That’s what she said.
Now I’m not a confrontational guy. I like to leave people
alone, let them find things out on their own. I don’t
freak out if a cell phone goes off in class. I don’t yell
or preach.
But if people don’t figure things out, I tell them. And
if they don’t follow the rules, I kick them out.
Why? Because in my world, the student (a.k.a. the
customer) is only right if they’re playing by my rules.
The job of yoga teacher is NOT the same as a waiter
or bartender. The teacher’s job is to create a space for
practice, to lift people up, and help them find whatever
it is they came to class looking for.
And a sweaty woman jumping over a silent roomful of
people who are mindfully resting is not acceptable.
So if someone wants to send text messages, snack on
a banana, or invent their own series in the middle of
class (all have really happened), then I quickly tell
them to stop.
How? I walk over, squat down, and say “You can’t
do that in my class.” And then I walk away. If they
do it again, I don’t whisper, I make an announcement.
“You can’t do that in my class.” I just let everyone
know.
And in the rare case that someone still wants to play
Tetris on their mobile phone during the floor series,
then after class, I tell him he’ll have to stop or else
not come back.
It’s the 3 strikes you’re out kind of thing.
I’m not talking about being nasty here. Just the opposite.
I am talking about having very clear boundaries so that your
class is your class, not a circus where you’re the lion
jumping through hoops.
It’s better for your, better for your students, and ultimately
better for the occasional trouble maker as well.
Live outside the box,
Lucas
Yoga Studio Business Coaching
p.s. After I offered to refund that woman her membership
fees and asked her politely not to come back if she couldn’t
say for 4 minutes in Savasana at the end of class; she then
admitted that she left class early so she could be first for
the showers and hated waiting on line.
She apologized and remained a member for a long time.