Season 3, Episode 5: What do I do with the client who makes class hard?

Tania Huddart: Most of your clients are a gift. They're gracious. They're glad to be there. Some of them are even excited to work with you. And then there's the one who never quite gels with you. You do everything you can to please them, and it's never enough. And before long, you're dreading that name in the diary.

Host: Welcome to Build Confidence and Purpose with Pilates. I'm here with Tania Huddart: Pilates teacher, teacher trainer and author of Teach Pilates with Confidence and Pilates & Purpose. Both voices you'll hear are made with AI. Every word Tania says is her own, and she's approved each one.

Last episode was about making a class flow. This one is about the person who can stop it flowing. What do I do with the client who makes class hard?

Tania Huddart: First, stop thinking you're the only one who has one. Every teacher meets this client. I've met a few myself. Not often, but often enough. And I'm grateful to every one of them, because of what they taught me.

Host: Grateful isn't the word most teachers would use.

Tania Huddart: No. Not at the time. At the time, it's a knot in your stomach.

Working with clients is the best part of this job. Sometimes it's the worst part too. Nothing is more rewarding than helping someone solve a movement problem. And nothing is more draining than someone who leaves you feeling you're never enough.

But I got curious. Not about how to fix them. About the effect they were having on me. Why did one person get to shape my whole morning? That question taught me a lot about my business.

It showed me my values, and who I want to work with. It showed me where my time and energy should go. It taught me to set boundaries that protect me and the business. I didn't learn any of that from the easy clients.

Host: Before we get to what you learned, how do I tell a difficult client from a client having a difficult day?

Tania Huddart: That's the first thing to sort out. Most of the time, it's a hard moment, not a hard person.

Remember what it took for them to walk in. They've made a big decision to come to Pilates. Many of them have high hopes for what it will do. So when something goes wrong, be patient. Be polite. Be fair. Maybe there's a mix-up with a booking. Maybe the class wasn't what they expected.

Don't try to work out whose fault it was. Apologise for the confusion and sort it out. Even when it looks like they got it mixed up. It's much easier to lose a client than to find a new one. And an unhappy client tells people.

Host: So patience comes first.

Tania Huddart: Patience comes first, every time. The difficult client is a different thing. It's a pattern. It's week after week of feeling that nothing you do is right.

You'll know it, because your body tells you before your head does. That sinking feeling when you open the diary. That's your signal to stop and look at what's going on.

Host: Let's take a common version. The client who wants more than their body can give right now.

Tania Huddart: I still have clients like that. Someone wants to run a marathon, when what they can reasonably expect is to walk without falling.

And it's tempting to go one of two ways. You promise them the marathon, which isn't honest. Or you tell them it's never going to happen, which crushes them. Neither one helps.

What I've learned is to help them celebrate what they can do, without crushing the dream. You don't have to argue with where they want to go. You keep pointing at what's changed. Maybe they got up off the floor more easily today. Maybe they walked in without reaching for the wall. That's real. Name it.

Host: And does the dream ever change?

Tania Huddart: Most of the time, yes. Given time, most people arrive at a more realistic view by themselves. That's the important part. They get there. You don't drag them there.

If you take the dream away, they stop listening to you. If you let them find their own way, they stay with you. And they trust you more for it.

Host: What about the client who pushes on everything? Turns up late, wants a refund, argues about the cancellation fee.

Tania Huddart: That's where boundaries come in. And for a lot of teachers, that's the hard bit. We're caring people. We don't like saying no.

But here's the thing. In a small Pilates business, you're often two people. You're the teacher, and you're the business manager. Clients find it hard to see you in both roles. In class, you're the kind person who helps their back. So when you ask for a late cancellation fee, it can feel to them like a different person turned up.

So be clear from the start. Payments. Attendance. Cancellations. Write your policies down. Make them easy to find. And apply them the same way to everyone. Consistency is kind. Nobody gets a surprise, and nobody gets special treatment that someone else doesn't.

Host: Most people don't think of rules as kind.

Tania Huddart: No. But look at it from the client's side. Clear policies tell them what to expect. They show you value their commitment, and your own time. A client who knows where the edges are can relax.

It helps you too. When the policy is written down, you don't have to make it personal. You're not saying no to them. You're pointing to what everyone agreed to. And if you have teachers working for you, they're protected as well.

It's the unclear studio that ends up with the arguments.

Host: You said difficult clients taught you something about your business. What was it?

Tania Huddart: Where to put my energy.

There's a well-worn idea in business that twenty per cent of your clients create eighty per cent of your business. I'd heard it many times. But difficult clients made me feel it.

So I looked at the clients who make me excited to teach. The ones who walk in curious. Who are glad to be there. And I learned to nurture them, and to market to them. My website, what I wrote, how I described my classes. I aimed all of it at the people I wanted to spend my energy on.

Host: Does that keep the difficult ones away?

Tania Huddart: It helps. When you're clear about who you're for, the right people find you more easily. And people who want something else tend to look elsewhere. It's not a wall. It's a signpost.

Host: And if they still end up in your diary?

Tania Huddart: Then, once in a while, you let them go.

You'll always have the occasional client who seems to make it their life's work to leave you feeling that you and your business aren't good enough. That's the moment to ask yourself one question. Is this a client worth having? And usually, the honest answer is no.

Host: That sounds simple. I'm guessing it isn't.

Tania Huddart: It isn't. It's a hard call. And it's harder still to do it gently.

What helps me is to refer them on. I find someone whose personality and approach will suit them better. Another teacher. A different kind of class. Then it's not a door slamming. It's me saying, I think this person can give you what you're looking for.

That's why a referral network matters. Get to know the teachers and practitioners around you, and what they're good at. Then when the day comes, you can pass someone on kindly.

Host: And the teacher who feels guilty even thinking about it?

Tania Huddart: I'd say think about the long term. Think about what that one relationship is costing you, week after week. Your mood before class. Your patience with everyone else. Your belief in your own work. Then think about the clients who want to be there, and what they'd get from that energy instead.

It's uncomfortable. But it's necessary. Be brave. End the relationship. And put that energy into the people who want to work with you.

Host: So, three things to take away?

Tania Huddart: One. Most hard moments aren't hard clients. Start with patience, an apology and a fix.

Two. Be clear from the start. Write your policies down and apply them the same way for everyone. That's kindness, not coldness.

Three. Build for the clients who light you up. And when someone isn't a client worth having, refer them on, gently and bravely.

Host: And a question to sit with?

Tania Huddart: Think of the clients who make you excited to teach. What do they have in common? Now read how you describe your classes. Who is it really speaking to?

Host: You'll find Tania's article, How to manage difficult clients in the Pilates studio, in the Journal at taniahuddart.com. And if you'd like help writing clear studio policies, there are sample ones at the back of Pilates & Purpose.

Next episode, a question about you, not your clients. Am I short on time, or short on energy?

Tania, last word?

Tania Huddart: A difficult client is a teacher in disguise. They show you your values, and where your energy belongs. Thank them quietly for that. Then give your best to the people who are glad you're there.