Learning to play piano is no easy feat. Pianists like Kandice Kreutner can attest to the hard work piano students must put into their practice to master the talent. With a thriving group of students and wonderfully supportive families to go with them, Kreutner's music studio Keys with Kandice in Ontario, Canada, is where she teaches piano, keyboard and music theory lessons.
Over 24 years of teaching, Kreutner has tried to perfect the system of scheduling students for their lessons. With five children of her own and up to 60 families to coordinate with each week, if there was an opening, cancellation or make-up day to schedule, it could take a lot of time to coordinate. Make-up sessions were particularly challenging.
"I used to have to email each individual family and offer a day and a time, then wait for their response before contacting the next family and so on! Sometimes that could take a week or even more on summer vacation," Kreutner says.
Needing a simple solution, Kreutner discovered SignUpGenius via on online search. She was delighted to find an easy-to-use process that saved her time in scheduling. "Oh my gosh! [SignUpGenius] made scheduling so much easier! I just posted the days and times that I wanted to offer on SignUpGenius.com, did one mass-email to all the parents that had lessons to be made up…and voila, the parents and students booked what worked for them too! Done."
Kreutner works with many children, and she knew that there would be concerns from parents about what information a website would use or post to the online sign up. Quickly she learned from reading SignUpGenius' privacy statement along with reviewing privacy settings on her individual sign up that parents could feel comfortable with the system.
"I loved that I had the option to keep the names private and that it showed up as 'booked' to everyone else. The parents and students found [SignUpGenius] easy to navigate and liked how they could go on to the site at a convenient time for them, pick a day and time and be done with it. There was no personal information to fill out, no account needed, no fee, nothing. Also, no back and forth with me, trying to schedule around others. First come, first serve. Fantastic!"
The additional features Kreutner discovered were great as well. She adds, "I loved the option to print when it was all booked up so I had a hard copy to use as an attendance list. My favorite feature though was that if the parents chose, and they clearly had the option, to leave their email address, they received a reminder of their appointment the day before! That way no one could say they forgot!! Truly, well… genius!"
Using SignUpGenius for her first online sign up has had a direct impact on Kreutner personally and professionally.
Kreutner says, "Using SignUpGenius.com has made planning for makeup lessons an almost enjoyable task! No stress! That helps to keep my frustration level much lower when students cancel. Honestly, that was the first time in 20 years that every single one of my students showed up for their makeup lessons! Not one "no show!"
Because of the ease in scheduling, Kreutner's studio will be able to offer even more. "Now, I'm also considering putting together a camp for March Break and also some Summer Music Camps. I will DEFINITELY use SignUpGenius.com to book those quickly and easily!"
Piano teachers like Kreutner even have the option to collect lesson fees online through their sign ups with a useful payments feature. Not only will students easily remember their lesson times, they'll also no longer have to worry about forgetting to pay their teacher on time.
"SignUpGenius is the way to go! Hassle free, stress free, worry free — what more could you ask for when planning an event?" Kreutner says.
