r/OnlineESLTeaching

I booked a trial lesson with a native English-speaking tutor when her rate was around $9. Before I even had the trial, I noticed that she had already raised her price to around $34. Since I booked at the old rate, though, I can still continue studying with her for about $9 per lesson.

Then I had the trial lesson, and I was actually quite happy with her. I really like her accent and pronunciation, and she’s very easy for me to understand, which is important because my English listening and speaking are still pretty weak. I also felt comfortable talking to her.

She doesn’t seem like a very outgoing or energetic person, but I think that’s just her personality, and I’m completely fine with that. I liked her enough that after the trial, I decided to continue with her and booked her as one of my regular tutors. Being able to keep the $9 rate was definitely another big reason, especially since she’s a native speaker.

But there’s one thing that makes me a little unsure. After the trial, even after I booked more lessons with her, she didn’t really say anything. No message about the next lesson, what she thought I should work on, or what kind of direction she had in mind for me.

I’ve tried a few other tutors, and after the trial they were usually quite proactive. They would tell me what they noticed about my English, what they thought I should focus on, and roughly how they wanted to continue. So the difference stood out to me a little.

I know she hasn’t done anything wrong, and maybe this is simply her personality or teaching style. But because her current rate is much higher than the rate I’m paying, I can’t help wondering if that has something to do with it. Maybe she’s just less enthusiastic because I’m still studying with her at the old $9 rate?

I might be completely overthinking this, of course. I’m still quite happy with the lesson itself, especially her accent and pronunciation, so I’m not sure what to think.

Has anyone had a similar experience? Would you keep studying with her?

Edit: I think I should clarify one thing because a lot of people seem to think I expect constant messages or extra unpaid work from tutors. I don’t. I’m not asking anyone to message me every day, give me homework, or provide detailed feedback outside lesson time. What I meant was much simpler: after a trial lesson, when a student decides to subscribe and become a regular student, I think some kind of acknowledgment is normal professional communication. It doesn’t have to be “Thank you so much for choosing me!” or anything like that. Even a simple reaction like “Great, see you next lesson” or “Next time we can work on…” is enough to show that the tutor noticed the transition from trial student to regular student.
I also booked trials with three other native-speaking tutors around the same price range, with roughly similar levels of experience. I liked all three lessons and decided to continue with all three. In every case, I got a positive response after subscribing. Again, not some exaggerated gratitude, just a normal acknowledgment and some indication that they were ready to continue working with me.
That’s why I don’t really think this is simply a “you’re paying $9, so you’re getting a $9 tutor” issue. To me, this is more about communication style and professional attitude than price. A higher price doesn’t automatically mean someone communicates better, and a lower price doesn’t mean basic communication disappears.

I joined amazing talker last week, and so far, have been super busy, working a full class load of 6-12 classes per evening, and taking home the whopping sum of $73 US Dollars during the past 7 days!

My first day on the platform, I made my prices extremely low in order to attract business and build rating etc. 50 Minute classes were set to the minimum of $2, and 25 minute classes were set to $1. My take home was like 69 cents for the 25 minutes and 1.60 for the 50 minute. This was a goodwill gesture, and my intention was to share my expertise with families in need while at the same time building my presence on the platform by finishing classes and getting good reviews.

A mom booked my trial class, and while I was teaching her kid, she booked like 100 classes at the $1 rate and scheduled them all for 5am and 4am in my timezone, and five days a week. I tried to communicate with her, and offered to honor the price agreed upon, but mentioned that I would be unable to teach English at 4/5 AM for the meager sum of one whole dollar on such a committed schedule. I was hoping to reach an agreement, like I could teach the kid during morning hours in Asia, or on weekends, but she was stubborn and seemed angry, claiming that she had already planned her child's full schedule, and this time was the only one available.

She is a piano teacher on the platform, and I even asked her if she would like to get up at 4am to teach piano for 7 yuan five days a week. I ended up cancelling every class she booked for the next four months, then blocked her so she cant book more. My understanding is they will refund her money, and she wont be able to revise her 5 star review she already posted.

Since then, I have raised prices a bit mainly to slow demand. I even offered customized rates for other parents at the low rate, but this parent had no consideration for my time and seemed only to want to take advantage of me. She could have gotten essentially a free ride; quality native speaker instruction for almost zero cost for her child, but instead she had to try and take advantage of my gesture of good will.

My question is this: When she complains to their trust and support team, will amazing talker reprimand me? I know I'm in the right in this issue; it's completely insane to think a person would commit to waking up at 4am for the next four months for next to zero compensation, and to get frustrated that they wouldn't accept this arrangement is telling of a high degree of shortsightedness, selfishness, or whatever you would call it.