Beware the Hidden Fees

More than ever, we are receiving more and more complaints about Martial Arts school's belt test fees which in most cases are hidden fees. I touched on this in my last post. For the most part, it is just a deceptive business tactic to fool the public to think they are paying a cheaper tuition but then get "nickle dimed" after they enroll. The people I talk to get furious about these fees just on the principle of it. The school gets people to enroll thinking they are getting a deal on tuition, gets them to like what they are doing(mostly out of ignorance), then hits them with these fees thinking people will just pay it because they will not know better. Schools that charge them will try to justify the fees by saying that their tests are done separately from class time which may or may not be true. With people's schedules stretched more and more, do you really want to attend a special session every time a student advances every month or so? Then what do the instructors do when the student cannot make this "special test" because of a soccer game, ccd, cub scouts, hockey, baseball, basketball, school play, family vacation, dance, girl scouts, etc. Maybe they will offer a "private" test that costs even more.

I agree with a ceremony of some sort but why can't this be done in class when the students are supposed to be there anyway. I also agree with having a separate test time for the higher levels like brown and black belt. Even these can be a real challenge to schedule. When we have these tests, we give as much as 6 months of notice.
They will also try to justify the fees by stating that they may not test every single month which will cost you less. It does not matter if they test every month or not. Simply add up how many tests they will take in a given year then factor how much each fee will be for each higher level (the fees almost always go up as the student advances), then add this to your annual tuition cost. Then you will have the real cost of training at a school with deceptive business practices and in most cases, questionable integrity. There are few more "justifications" they use that are weak and I will not get into in this post.
Think about it, do college students get charged extra to take an exam? Final exams are outside of class.
There are more hidden costs you need to be aware of. One school in our area requires students to buy a different uniform for each belt promotion. This means they not only charge for the belt test, they require a new type of uniform for that new belt level. It is fine to offer the option to wear a different uniform for a different level program but to require it at each belt level is just another excessive hidden fee. You will be looking at 3-6 new uniforms per year at $60-$100 each. Add that into the "cheap" tuition.

Another popular hidden fee is annual membership dues. This is a special fee that allows you to belong to an "Association" of some sort. For the record, this is a complete rip off. This fee goes to nothing except a pin, patch, or certificate of some sort.

These school owners simply don't get it. They are charging these petty fees at the expense of their clients questioning their integrity. I know this for a fact because before I knew better, I charged them. It was the way I came up. It just makes much more sense to make the advancement fees and other fees part of the tuition. The reality is that these schools are usually too set in their ways and keep driving themselves crazy. That is the definition of insanity. At American Kempo Karate Academy, we do not believe in deceiving the public nor do we want the integrity of our staff to be constantly questioned. To my knowledge, we are one of the very few Martial Arts Schools in the area that does not charge for advancement nor any sneaky hidden fees. We are completely up front about all costs involved in training in our programs. For more information visit http://www.akka.com/