ketachi dake! Any Ideas

[japslapper]

As well as a wee bit of stress from Greenpeace hippies I also am pissed of with an eikaiwa customer of mine........

A doctor( geka - arnt they all? ) and his nurse wife (not running a good practice because it has no customers! - not popular apparently ) - have me teach them on Thursday evenings - 6000yen for 2 x 45 mins of eikiwa plus supper thrown in as well - and since I am a relaxed/kind FG should they cancel in due time no problem (normal eikaiwa school make students pay a months dues once a month in advance, no refunds) - they cancelled(non emergency) once before 4pm - an hour before the 5pm start and I got cross and told them that they should consider things from another persons point of view and at least give me 24 hrs notice. So now over the last three months they have cancelled a five times - but always phone 4pm on the Wendesday - I mean 4pm to the second! A mutual friend told me they had made alternative arrangements on the Monday - so why do they wait until the "requested" 24hr period? Why this inflexability - well I know from my lessons they like NHK grammer translation and cant think to follow my suggestions and change their learning techniques hence no improvement!!!

I have used this doctors medical services/advice a few times(not anymore ) - I had the flu and he puts me on a drip (nice to claim on the health insurance that one - and his wages) - ask for a referal and he will boast about all his wonderful connections, promise he will find out when his "friend" is open and make a priority appointment - and ofcourse let me know when we meet for the eikaiwa lesson - which is subsequently cancelled

Maybe I have just gotta come to terms with the fact that the detritus of Japan calls South Wakayama "home" because the big city is too much of a challenge or really is this normal for the educated "elite" of Japan?

The keitai rang a few times around 4pm today, I didnt answer, and wont turn up tommorow......

Any ideas?

[Taro Toporific]

Maybe I have just gotta come to terms with the fact that the detritus of Japan calls South Wakayama "home" because the big city is too much of a challenge or really is this normal for the educated "elite" of Japan?

The keitai rang a few times around 4pm today, I didnt answer, and wont turn up tommorow......

Any ideas?

Nooooooooooooo! That doctor crap sounds like my first 10 years in Tokyo. Because I was an EMT, assistant ME, radiation biology lab manager, etc., every MD in the my old Tokyo neighborhood used to try to pull that eikaiwa crap on me too.

Brace yourself: it gets worse.
I finally had to move to Yokohama to escape. I suggest you should move to because sensei-sama will not take "NO" for an answer.

[Nagged]

Not much you can do if they are the ones who pay the money.

If you have the time, you could give them the option of changing the day. (Yeah, I know this will still suck if you get called at the last moment but just how much do you want to be paid?)

Sounds like they are playing games after you told them off that first time. I show my privates a bit of flexibility but to be honest they never ever take advantage of me.

In the past I have had some students that had second thoughts and quit once they found out learning a foreign language takes a bit of real effort. I may be a little accommodating regarding lesson times etc if there is real cause, but if they want to live in a world of make-believe I'd prefer that they go to a regular English academy.