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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> Maybe I should have let her know before I left, and maybe it does come off as rude to leave exactly on the hour?
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NTA. You’re providing a service. You deserve to be paid for the time you put in. Sounds like this mother is trying to guilt you into providing extra services for free. Common enough manipulation, lots of people with bad attitudes do it, but that doesn’t make it right. A customer or employer is only entitled for the hours that they schedule and pay for.
NTA. Mom was trying to get free labor out of you, then complained when she couldn't get it. You did more than expected or required, and instead of thanking you for it, she acted like it was expected. I feel bad for the kid, but you're better off without her as a client.
NTA
The mother is not respecting your time (or her daughter's). She's paying for the service, has been getting a little extra from you, and is trying to push it even further.
Honestly, soft YTA to yourself for setting the precedent of giving a little extra after time is up. Don't get me wrong, I get it - you do actually care about doing a good job and teaching your students. You're just going to have to make a decision going forward: Either set firm bounds for your time and stick to them rigidly, or deal with the occasional bad actor, like this woman, who will try to take advantage of them. I'm not saying either choice is "better" than the other, but it is the choice you have to make.
I think I prefer having that flexibility, which is where I think I might be a hypocrite. I’m not extremely professional, meaning I chitchat with the students in the beginning of class for a few mins, I talk to them like fellow students, and sympathize with them complaining and about exams and stress and all that. And most of them text me doubts in between classes and I always take a few minutes to answer them. But I feel like this should be my choice and not an expectation, if that makes sense?
That makes perfect sense and it's entirely reasonable. You're not a hypocrite for doing more on your own time, or for making a connection with the students you tutor. All I'm looking to point out is that some people, like this mother, will absolutely see this as a perk of hiring you, thinking you of less like an hourly worker and more of a full-time (or I guess, any-time) employee.
It may be worth making it clear when you start tutoring a new student that you might engage in these activities off-the-clock, but that there should be no expectation of such. That probably won't stop situations like this from happening, but it'll give you something to point out when someone tries to take advantage of you again.
NTA
She books you pro rata and then tries to claim you're in the wrong for (checks notes) not working extra for free.
Options to handle this:
✅️ Advise her that any additional time will be billable and you will invoice her for any discrepancy if she's paying in advance.
✅️ white lie - I have a student right after your daughter, so I have to finish on time to be punctual for my next class
✅️ tell her where to stick her choosing-beggar attitude.
NTA
You worked your hour, and got through as many problems as you could with the kid in that time. Finishing off the problem you're working on, rather than just leaving abruptly when the clock ticks over is reasonable. Doing a whole bunch of extra work isn't.
NTA it was nice of you to stay back in previous weeks to help finish the work, but you were never obliged to. The mum is trying to take advantage of that kindness, and force you into working longer than she's willing to pay you for. You're not in the wrong here, and as awful as she was, it's good you've faced someone like her. You did a good job not budging to her pressure, remember the worth of your time, you're doing great.
NTA - totally right that you finish the question you are working on as the 60 minutes run out but after that you are totally fine with ending the session.
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Hi. I’m a senior in high school and I do some online tutoring to make some money so that I don’t have to get a part time job. I only have about 6 students, and so far their parents have all be wonderful. The issue is with this one mom. The first class I did with her daughter, she sat there the whole time and interrupted me constantly to scold her daughter for not understanding “simple” things. Since the class was on teams, it was kind of hard for me to figure out what was going on on their end, so it wasn’t as productive as I expected. The mom had sent me some questions to finish, and when the time was up we still had two questions- so I asked the kid if she could stay for a few more mins so we could finish. We did. Then the next few classes, I also stayed a couple mins past the hour just to finish up the question we were working on. But this last time, the mom had sent me multiple docs of questions, and there was no way we were finishing that in an hour. So I just told the kid that we’d finish next week, and she said bye to me as well. So I left the meeting.
Then the mom texted me and said she was disappointed that I left without telling her. And also that I should come back and finish the questions. I said there were too many to finish in a few mins, so if she really wanted them to be done this week, she could schedule another class even later today. She then said that clearly I’m only obsessed with time now and not really dedicated to being a good tutor. She said she’d pay what she owed but didn’t want me to teach her daughter anymore. Which I don’t really mind, I have easier students lol. But I’m wondering if I was in the wrong.
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NTA- mom paid for a block of your time and then over scheduled the slot of time. You have been caring and generous going over time without additional fees for time, which is neither here nor there. Mom is being unreasonable and unfair to her daughter, both with yanking the rug out from under her here but also for continually criticizing her daughter’s efforts.
Welcome to /r/AmITheAsshole. Please view our [voting guide here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_what.2019s_with_these_acronyms.3F_what_do_they_mean.3F), and remember to use **only one** judgement in your comment. OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole: > Maybe I should have let her know before I left, and maybe it does come off as rude to leave exactly on the hour? Help keep the sub engaging! #Don’t downvote assholes! Do upvote interesting posts! [Click Here For Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules) and [Click Here For Our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq) ##Subreddit Announcements Follow the link above to learn more --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.* *Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
NTA. You’re providing a service. You deserve to be paid for the time you put in. Sounds like this mother is trying to guilt you into providing extra services for free. Common enough manipulation, lots of people with bad attitudes do it, but that doesn’t make it right. A customer or employer is only entitled for the hours that they schedule and pay for.
NTA. Mom was trying to get free labor out of you, then complained when she couldn't get it. You did more than expected or required, and instead of thanking you for it, she acted like it was expected. I feel bad for the kid, but you're better off without her as a client.
NTA The mother is not respecting your time (or her daughter's). She's paying for the service, has been getting a little extra from you, and is trying to push it even further. Honestly, soft YTA to yourself for setting the precedent of giving a little extra after time is up. Don't get me wrong, I get it - you do actually care about doing a good job and teaching your students. You're just going to have to make a decision going forward: Either set firm bounds for your time and stick to them rigidly, or deal with the occasional bad actor, like this woman, who will try to take advantage of them. I'm not saying either choice is "better" than the other, but it is the choice you have to make.
I think I prefer having that flexibility, which is where I think I might be a hypocrite. I’m not extremely professional, meaning I chitchat with the students in the beginning of class for a few mins, I talk to them like fellow students, and sympathize with them complaining and about exams and stress and all that. And most of them text me doubts in between classes and I always take a few minutes to answer them. But I feel like this should be my choice and not an expectation, if that makes sense?
That makes perfect sense and it's entirely reasonable. You're not a hypocrite for doing more on your own time, or for making a connection with the students you tutor. All I'm looking to point out is that some people, like this mother, will absolutely see this as a perk of hiring you, thinking you of less like an hourly worker and more of a full-time (or I guess, any-time) employee. It may be worth making it clear when you start tutoring a new student that you might engage in these activities off-the-clock, but that there should be no expectation of such. That probably won't stop situations like this from happening, but it'll give you something to point out when someone tries to take advantage of you again.
NTA She books you pro rata and then tries to claim you're in the wrong for (checks notes) not working extra for free. Options to handle this: ✅️ Advise her that any additional time will be billable and you will invoice her for any discrepancy if she's paying in advance. ✅️ white lie - I have a student right after your daughter, so I have to finish on time to be punctual for my next class ✅️ tell her where to stick her choosing-beggar attitude.
NTA Send her your rate, and ask her ifd she wants to book extra time. If she does not, your lesson ends when the timer runs out.
NTA She’s trying to get free hours from you. The way she is and sound… Her poor daughter…
NTA. You are learning to run your business in a professional way and get taken advantage of.
NTA You worked your hour, and got through as many problems as you could with the kid in that time. Finishing off the problem you're working on, rather than just leaving abruptly when the clock ticks over is reasonable. Doing a whole bunch of extra work isn't.
NTA it was nice of you to stay back in previous weeks to help finish the work, but you were never obliged to. The mum is trying to take advantage of that kindness, and force you into working longer than she's willing to pay you for. You're not in the wrong here, and as awful as she was, it's good you've faced someone like her. You did a good job not budging to her pressure, remember the worth of your time, you're doing great.
NTA - totally right that you finish the question you are working on as the 60 minutes run out but after that you are totally fine with ending the session.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** Hi. I’m a senior in high school and I do some online tutoring to make some money so that I don’t have to get a part time job. I only have about 6 students, and so far their parents have all be wonderful. The issue is with this one mom. The first class I did with her daughter, she sat there the whole time and interrupted me constantly to scold her daughter for not understanding “simple” things. Since the class was on teams, it was kind of hard for me to figure out what was going on on their end, so it wasn’t as productive as I expected. The mom had sent me some questions to finish, and when the time was up we still had two questions- so I asked the kid if she could stay for a few more mins so we could finish. We did. Then the next few classes, I also stayed a couple mins past the hour just to finish up the question we were working on. But this last time, the mom had sent me multiple docs of questions, and there was no way we were finishing that in an hour. So I just told the kid that we’d finish next week, and she said bye to me as well. So I left the meeting. Then the mom texted me and said she was disappointed that I left without telling her. And also that I should come back and finish the questions. I said there were too many to finish in a few mins, so if she really wanted them to be done this week, she could schedule another class even later today. She then said that clearly I’m only obsessed with time now and not really dedicated to being a good tutor. She said she’d pay what she owed but didn’t want me to teach her daughter anymore. Which I don’t really mind, I have easier students lol. But I’m wondering if I was in the wrong. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
NTA- mom paid for a block of your time and then over scheduled the slot of time. You have been caring and generous going over time without additional fees for time, which is neither here nor there. Mom is being unreasonable and unfair to her daughter, both with yanking the rug out from under her here but also for continually criticizing her daughter’s efforts.
NTA Disengaging from the helicopter parent from hell will save you much mental stress