It is very important in any business or organization to establish ground rules. Ground rules give you a baseline from the very beginning and help you to set the expectations of everyone that you deal with and work with. This is especially important with parents who might try to bend the rules for their child. And believe it or not, being a stickler about policies will help you keep smiles on the faces of your swimmers. Just like this little guy from Charlotte Aquatics.

There are a couple of points that you already realize:

• Most of the excuses for missing classes are pretty lame. They range from “Suzy had a birthday party to attend” to “Mommy didn’t feel like driving over in the rain”.
• The percentage of your customers who will actually try to schedule make-ups is very small – less than 10%. And of that 10%, most of them will be fine with a make-up policy when it is explained to them. So you’re looking at a minute portion of your customers that will actually take issue with any policy you establish.

So when you set your policies, draw the line where it makes sense for your staff and your school. Ground rules help people and take away the questions that cause them to ask for concessions that they are not entitled to.

After all, the even though make-ups are a pain for your staff, the real losers are your other students. They are the ones whose classes and the instructors are encroached upon by those who are irregular with their attendance. Make-ups create unbalanced class situations and are just plain unfair to the students who attend regularly.

How to do proceed to put your Make-up Policy in place?

1. Establish your policies. Make sure that all staff know and understand them and agree with them.
2. Post the policies in your facility, on your website and in the enrollment materials.
3. Enforce them. Don’t waffle for anyone. You have a policy so that there is no question about how absences and any potential for make-ups is handled.

Protect the investments of your regular students, eliminate headaches for your staff and lower the stress and drama that loose (or no) make-up policies can have on your swim school.