Customer Service Tips

Earn $30k to $70k as A Math Tutor Part Time

We've all heard the customer is always right. But what does that mean? Jeff Bezos said when he was starting Amazon he would sit an empty chair at the table during meetings. And that would represent the customer. For every decision he thought about the customer. How is this going to benefit the customer? And really, that's why we are tutoring. We want to help the customer. They should have a seat at every decision we make. Any website we're making, or ad we're writing, or tutoring session we're doing is about the customer.

Adopt the attitude that you work with the customer and together you're going to decide on a good plan for them. That's going to make you stand out from other people. Because customers are actually pretty savvy. They're going to subconsciously realize they have a seat at the table with you. They can feel that. And this attitude doesn’t just make the best business sense (which it does, Bezos is the richest man in the world), but it's also just the right thing to do. The customer should have a seat at the table. It's not about what you can get. It's about what you become and what you're able to contribute in the process.

Keep a long term orientation and focus on how you can contribute to these people. How can you make a difference today?

I've interviewed people who said the reason they wanted to tutor was because they were trying to make some extra cash. Wow, okay. Maybe they'll be a decent tutor. But if all they want is money they're probably not going to be amazing. I’m looking for the person who says, “I did tutoring in high school, and I loved helping people.” That's a better tutor, someone who cares about not only mathematics but about helping people.

Develop the mindset of you're in this to help people. Give the customer a seat at the table. When you do this, customers are going to want to buy from you. They're gonna want to do business with you. And it starts to change every aspect of your business.

There are businesses that refuse to refund people when they aren’t happy. They get argumentative with customers. And that's because their mindset is, “What can I get from this?” Well, no one's gonna want to do business with people who are trying to get things out of them. A better mindset is, “How can I contribute?” People are going to want to do business with that person. They are also going to refer you to more clients automatically.

Imagine you are emailing someone and they tell you they have already found a tutor. My mindset is, “That's wonderful. I'm really happy for you. If you ever have any questions about education at all, or need some resources or anything, send an email. I'm here to help. Even if you need help finding other tutors or something.” Focus on how you can actually help the person in any way. It's morally right. It feels good. And it's great for your business.