<p>While the adjectives used by the OP might be a tad over the top, I get why he/she is ****ed. Bad enough to waste all that time, but the lack of return phonecalls or texts is unprofessional. I agree that (a) OP should not have paid up front, (b) that OP should have gotten refrences (did you?) and (c) you should have considered skype if the tutoring would involve so much travel. Malapropisms approach is the right one-- unless the tutor offers to more than make up for the late cancel and poor communication, move on and find another tutor.</p>
<p>Jym, just a note on using Skype - there are a number of reasons that I feel tutoring in person is more valuable, mostly due to the ability to write things down, draw attention to things, whip up some nifty diagrams, etc., especially with subjects like math that are tough to explain without the use of paper.</p>
<p>Yes, there aer advantages to face-to-face for sure (even though it might be hard to talk if they were meting in a library). My DS has done tutoring face to face, as well as via skype and even phone when necessary. It depends on what it was for, but it can be doable, and better than hours of travel and a po’d client :)</p>
<p>Join Angie’s List. File your negative report, find a new tutor, move on. And try not to get so bent out of shape by the normal vicissitudes of life. People will disappoint you over and over again and you’ll just shorten your own life by getting this angry when it happens.</p>
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<p>As a note, there is software out there that lets you share a virtual canvas with another person. I used to use these sorts of things a few years back when I’d help out some of my friends at other colleges with learning some material.</p>
<p>D2 did SAT tutoring via Skype for a year - math, english, writing. It worked great.</p>
<p>You are getting wound up over something that is inconvenient, but not the big deal you’re making it out to be. The guy missed an appointment, however the fact that it took up so much of your time is your issue, not his. If you choose to travel so long to make an appointment it’s your decision not someone else’s. He cost you the time of the appointment, not the travel time. Find someone else. Your attitude is such that you are not going to be able to have a good working relationship with this person, but understand when you agree to a commute that’s your decision and your concern, not the other persons. It’s no more a concern if the other person has to cancel if you are traveling 10 minutes or 1 hour. They should give as much notice as possible and I assume he did. It is unfortunate, but not something he did intentionally to be rude. If you choose to leave this person a poor review, make sure you are factual and fair. They gave notice of X time for a missed appointment and either they refunded the appointment fee or not. It doesn’t matter how far you were traveling. They didn’t return phone calls. I do agree with others that finding a tutor nearer your home would be a good idea.</p>
<p>What if you traveled in a car for 5 hours to go to interview in completely unfamiliar city and person who was going to be waiting for you is not there. It is getting very late and very dark, person is not answering you phone calls for about 1.5 hours, and your interview early tomorrow morning. If you are enraged at this situation, would it help you? No. It will make situation much worse. Got to be prepared for something like this. Plan ahead. And even with plan it will not work in many occasions. This was not a hypothetical example. It was my D. who was a bit older but she was only 20. And the only thing she could do is to call us. No, she was not enraged. If she was it could comletely destroyed her interview. Learn to stay cool and make the best of it. In your case, the best is to forget about incidence, move on.</p>
<p>RacinReaver, are the programs free? I’d love to know about them, if you don’t mind me asking.</p>
<p>Unfortunately I can’t remember the name of the program I used to use (though I do recall one being a standalone program where you needed the IP of the person you’re connecting to and whatnot, while the other was a Pictionary-style online game where we just used the screen as a way of communicating).</p>
<p>[Here’s</a> a google search with a few different options.](<a href=“collaborative online drawing program - Google Search”>collaborative online drawing program - Google Search)</p>
<p>For some reason I want to say there may be addons for AIM or Skype to let you do these things with voice chat, but I don’t way to say that for sure.</p>
<p>It’s a simple mistake. This could be the greatest tutor who had one emergency. Give it just one more chance and then move on. Not a huge deal.</p>