Contracts are used in most every martial arts or Karate school in the Knoxville area besides mine. They are not actually a money making scheme as some may claim or dishonest as a business practice.
They are in place to allow the business owner to be able to plan for upcoming expenses, which can be a lot more than you may think. You can’t imagine how expensive martial arts mats are. Then there is the evil monster called a marketing budget. Scary stuff.
Do Contracts Change Levels Of Service?
The short answer is: They can and that is the problem.
There are great instructors and schools all over the country, yet when a school has all of their students on contracts, the classes can be ‘toned down’ energy-wise and techniques withheld and given to students buying ‘add on’ programs without immediate repercussions.
In effect, contracts allow owners and instructors to relax more and not have to continually look to the satisfaction of their customers.
This doesn’t mean that all instructors do relax all of the time. It just takes the pressure off of the owners and instructors to ensure a great customer/parent/student experience every time.
Here’s an example.
If you were on a contract to buy your groceries at a specific amount, from the same store location each week…
- Would the produce be as fresh?
- Would the meat always be the best quality if they knew you had to purchase it there each week?
- Would the variety on the shelves always be acceptable or in stock?
I think you can see my point.
When anyone is not required to constantly work to keep the customer happy (that’s you), it is human nature to default to the path of least resistance. If you are not able to stop coming or paying for 1 to 3 years, what kind of customer service do you think you will consistently receive over those years?
My students have regularly stayed in my classes without contracts for an average of 4 to 6 years. These are young children that parents bring back again and again. They keep coming back month after month, year after year because of what they learn and how they get to learn it.
Are Contracts Dishonest?
Let’s be clear, I am not putting down any school using contracts. There are many good martial arts studios around the world that use the contract model. They are not inherently dishonest in and of themselves; there is just a better way for me.
The problem is, many of them have grown so large that the owner rarely if ever teaches the classes and cannot service all of their student needs with a personal touch. In these cases, there may be teens or even lower ranked students teaching a majority of the classes and addressing customers.
If this is the case, quality standards are nearly impossible to keep high. They must allow for some dissatisfaction in their student population and lock them into attendance with agreements to do it. This also attaches parents to a school where the price structure increases over time with no way out.
Why Don’t You Use Contracts?
At Master Booe’s Karate Kidz in Knoxville I don’t use contracts as a promise to my parents and their little treasures that I will always put in the effort to keep every class Fun, Fit, and Functional. I don’t hire teens or part time college students to teach my classes.
I teach all of my classes because I love to teach martial arts not simply running a martial arts business. This way you can be assured that your experience is my top priority. I am not perfect, but since the business is mine, I am the only one that will care enough about every customer.
And when these customers are you and your young children, there really is no other acceptable way.