Instead of just cancelling a course and losing a customer, think about offering options to your participants. It’s also important to find and then train front line staff on the best customer service approaches and words that will maintain customer loyalty to your program.
Offer a LERN online course
When you cancel the course, offer the affected students a LERN and UGotClass online course instead. The continuing education program at the University of Richmond, for instance, always offers a LERN’s UGotClass course if an in-person class is being cancelled. UGotClass courses are never cancelled.
Offer Vouchers
When you cancel a course, you are morally, if not legally required to give a refund. BUT, before you take the time and cost of writing a check, offer a voucher to the participant for a future class.
At least one program even offers 1.5 times the course cost in the voucher. What programs report is that only about half the people will actually redeem the voucher for another class, yet all participants accepting a voucher feel positive about receiving the voucher.
Offer them another F2F course
One time a French class was cancelled, but a student was happy to take Urdu instead. No, we don’t know why – don’t ask. Just give your students the option of taking another course instead.