I got a new lesson request! What do I do now?

What should you do?

You should respond to a lesson request as soon as possible so the student knows if they will have a lesson or not. Your options are:

• Accept - If everything about it looks good, accept it to confirm that you will see the student at that requested time. 
• In addition, send a friendly message.
• Add the student to your Skype (or whichever communication tool you will use).
• Be prepared - often, students don't know what to do, so the teacher should start the call to begin the lesson on time.
• Modify - If you need to suggest a change to the price or the time, do not accept the request, but first, modify it and propose these changes. The student will have an option to cancel if he or she disagrees with your proposed change.
• Send a message, so the student understands the reason for the proposed change.
• Decline - If you are unwilling or unable to teach the student, decline the request right away. Now, the student's italki Credits will be available to make a request with a different teacher.

Note: DO NOT ignore the lesson request. DO NOT accept and then propose to reschedule (unless you have already talked to the student). Always propose changes before accepting the request.

Students can schedule a lesson 2 or more hours in advance. Teachers have to respond to the lesson request within 48 hours or the lesson start time, whichever comes sooner.

Otherwise, the lesson request will automatically expire and the italki Credits will be returned to the student. And the teacher’s attendance rate will be negatively affected.

Steps for processing a time change on the lesson request

1. Click "Change date/time" on the lesson request.
2. Select your new date/time. (As a Teacher, you can select any date/time, even if it doesn't appear in your Teacher Calendar. This is useful if you want to offer a one-off lesson outside of your regular teaching schedule or for students making special requests for a specific time.)
3.  Confirm the new time/date.
4. Wait for the student to accept the new date/time change. (The student has 48 hours (or until the original lesson time proposed) to accept your proposed date/time change.  If no action is taken, the lesson request will be canceled.)