Julija
Feedback
Julija's Feedback
From Karina
Julia is a good and engaging tutor however the issue I had was communication regarding fees. Julia's fees on the website were £40 per hour. We were looking for a tutor to come to our house and since on Julia's profile it was a service she provided, we contacted her. She said that to come to our house, she'd like to get £55 per hour to cover travel and parking. Since parking on our road is free, we agreed on £50 per hour and that she'd come to us every other week. After 2 sessions, Julia contacted us to cancel a session and also to say if we'd like her to continue coming, we need to pay £60 per hour. This felt unfair as our 7 year old daughter already had two sessions with her - she should have told this to us explictly before starting and also make this clear on the website. Julia was also late for her second session without acknowledgement or apology.Dear Karina,
Thank you for your comment. Your feedback is important so I have an opportunity to reflect.
I am sorry it left you feeling this way.
Here is my view.
When I came last time, and was 5 or 7 min late, your husband said they literally just came back from school, and he wondered if I had to wait outside, that’s way I didn’t say anything. But of course, I could. However, it’s not always possible to arrive on time while driving, and I always give extra time at the end of a lesson in case if I am being late. But that day your husband and Naomi had to leave 5 min earlier we normally finish, and notified me 10 min before so there was nothing I could do to give an extra 5-7 minutes of me being late.
First of all, I straight away expressed my professional opinion that having lessons fortnightly might not be that beneficial for Naomi as having them weekly, especially being a complete beginner. We would need to catch up every lesson, and to try to remember what we were doing two weeks ago.
I cancelled the lesson but offered online instead which I guess was not an option for you.
As regards my fee, I checked my profile, and there’s nowhere I could put this information that I charge for travel. But I assumed it’s makes sense since I am spending my own time and petrol to get to someone’s home as it’s very convenient for students, and it was not a 10 min drive. Otherwise, students need to spend their own time and money to get to my home. My fee doesn’t include any travel, it’s just hourly rate for a lesson itself. Majority of my students are coming to my place or we are having online lessons.
I also didn’t think that an extra £10 fortnightly will be such a big deal, given that we had a good connection with Naomi, she appreciated my style of working with her, which is very important and not always what children experience.
I then suggested you to come to my place, then it would be £40, but then you’d need to spend your own time and money for travel. I also offered to continue online (during the pandemic children done home schooling and got used to it), at least we could try. I also suggested to continue doing one lesson online and one in person a month. You haven’t even replied my last message.
Sometimes it’s hard to understand from the beginning if the travel will feel comfortable enough, plus petrol suddenly became very expensive too. I am sorry it took me two lessons to realise that driving for more than 30 min each way (which means I was spending more time in my car than teaching Naomi for 1 hour) for £50 is not something I can do, especially given we do lessons fortnightly and that means I wouldn’t be able to put any weekly student as this time slot will be partly occupied.
But I feel it’s better if I let you know how it felt to me after two lessons rather after establishing a solid attachment with Naomi and then saying it.
I am wishing you good luck in finding an experienced tutor who will come to your house for a cheaper price, and best of luck for Naomi with learning and progress in Russian. I am also happy and open to work with Naomi for £60 per hour at your place or £40 at mine, or online.
With warm wishes,
Julia
Thank you for your comment. Your feedback is important so I have an opportunity to reflect.
I am sorry it left you feeling this way.
Here is my view.
When I came last time, and was 5 or 7 min late, your husband said they literally just came back from school, and he wondered if I had to wait outside, that’s way I didn’t say anything. But of course, I could. However, it’s not always possible to arrive on time while driving, and I always give extra time at the end of a lesson in case if I am being late. But that day your husband and Naomi had to leave 5 min earlier we normally finish, and notified me 10 min before so there was nothing I could do to give an extra 5-7 minutes of me being late.
First of all, I straight away expressed my professional opinion that having lessons fortnightly might not be that beneficial for Naomi as having them weekly, especially being a complete beginner. We would need to catch up every lesson, and to try to remember what we were doing two weeks ago.
I cancelled the lesson but offered online instead which I guess was not an option for you.
As regards my fee, I checked my profile, and there’s nowhere I could put this information that I charge for travel. But I assumed it’s makes sense since I am spending my own time and petrol to get to someone’s home as it’s very convenient for students, and it was not a 10 min drive. Otherwise, students need to spend their own time and money to get to my home. My fee doesn’t include any travel, it’s just hourly rate for a lesson itself. Majority of my students are coming to my place or we are having online lessons.
I also didn’t think that an extra £10 fortnightly will be such a big deal, given that we had a good connection with Naomi, she appreciated my style of working with her, which is very important and not always what children experience.
I then suggested you to come to my place, then it would be £40, but then you’d need to spend your own time and money for travel. I also offered to continue online (during the pandemic children done home schooling and got used to it), at least we could try. I also suggested to continue doing one lesson online and one in person a month. You haven’t even replied my last message.
Sometimes it’s hard to understand from the beginning if the travel will feel comfortable enough, plus petrol suddenly became very expensive too. I am sorry it took me two lessons to realise that driving for more than 30 min each way (which means I was spending more time in my car than teaching Naomi for 1 hour) for £50 is not something I can do, especially given we do lessons fortnightly and that means I wouldn’t be able to put any weekly student as this time slot will be partly occupied.
But I feel it’s better if I let you know how it felt to me after two lessons rather after establishing a solid attachment with Naomi and then saying it.
I am wishing you good luck in finding an experienced tutor who will come to your house for a cheaper price, and best of luck for Naomi with learning and progress in Russian. I am also happy and open to work with Naomi for £60 per hour at your place or £40 at mine, or online.
With warm wishes,
Julia
From Jackson
Julija is an excellent communicator who is strongly reliable and very flexible with her approach.From Laura
Julia is a true find. My son is really enjoying his lessons with her. Obviously her knowledge of Russian is exceptional, but she is also a brilliant teacher.From Owen
Julija came in as an examiner for GCSE Russian speaking first and helped our student to prepare for her Reading, Writing and Listening exams, our student achieved an A* in her GCSE Russian. We were very happy with Julija and would recommended her highly.Thank you Owen, I was happy to work with you and Elizabeth!
From Jonathan
Julija was so helpful for the stage where I was at in Russian, A Level. She has the ability to listen, to respond and most importantly be patient and understanding in the difficulties of this most difficult language, which she helped to iron out very efficiently! I really enjoyed our time together and my grade went up by at least 2 stages from B to A* with her help!! A must-recommend!Thank you for your kind words Luke! I was happy to work with you! You are a very talented student and just like you said - I really enjoyed our time together!
From Neil
Juija introduced me to Russian language and is an excellent teacher. She has the ability to explain things very clearly and is extremely patient and encouraging. She is able to instill an enthusiasm into the learning process which makes the lessons a lot of fun. I really enjoyed our time together.Neil, thank you very much! I enjoyed our time together too!
