Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Lil' Guppies located?
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Lil' Guppies serves both the Los Angeles and Sarasota area communities!
Where is the Lil' Guppies pool?
In Los Angeles, Lil' Guppies is a mobile school only; you must have a pool or access to one in order for us to provide services for you. In Sarasota, if you do not have your own pool, a private heated location can be provided for you!
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What are the cancellation and makeup policies?
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1) 24-hour Cancellation Policy: The 24-hour cancellation policy is in place to protect both clients and the company. Both parties are responsible for giving 24-hours notice of cancellation. A full refund will be issued to the client only in the case that a make-up lesson cannot be scheduled. The 24-hour cancellation policy does NOT apply for major emergencies (i.e., unforeseen sickness, family emergencies, traffic accidents, death), and this of course is valid for both our clients and instructors.
2) Cancellations due to weather: Day-of weather-related cancellations must be decided at minimum 3 hours prior to lesson time. Otherwise it will be counted as a lesson. For Florida clientele, we know short thunderstorms are very common in warmer months of the year. However, again, instructors’ time commitments and traveling expenses must be taken into consideration. If an instructor is already en route to your house, or in the middle of a lesson when the weather shifts, it counts as a lesson. Please check weather often since this is something to be expected in FL.
3) Cancellation of Lessons/Packages:
** There will be an allowance of 6 weeks from the time of the missed lesson to make up the missed lesson. There will no longer be carry-overs of missed lessons to the following season/year or refunds after that time.
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If cancellation of the package occurs before the start of lessons, a refund is provided, minus a 10% administrative fee, within 30 days.
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If cancellation of the package occurs after 1 or 2 lessons, a 20% administration fee plus the amount owed to the instructor for lessons completed will be charged; you would receive a refund for the remaining amount within 30 days.
If cancellation of the package occurs beyond the 3rd lesson, there is no refund. *
If the instructor is not a good fit for us, what happens?
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The 60 minute Welcome Session serves not only for skills assessment but also for sufficient time to meet your instructor and see if it feels like a good match. Once a package begins, please refer to the above cancellation and refund policies.
What if an instructor cannot come to the lesson or cannot continue working with us?
If an instructor cannot continue providing lessons as originally agreed upon due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness, family emergency, etc, the same refund policies as above will apply and Lil’ Guppies will do its best to provide a replacement instructor in a timely manner. If the client makes a decision to dismiss the instructor during their package and requests a replacement, Lil’ Guppies Swim School aims to do their best to provide a replacement instructor for the client in a timely manner. Please note in either of these cases, there is no guarantee that the same days and times requested originally will be able to be fulfilled. Lil’ Guppies aims to please and will do its best to provide quality instruction & options of days and times for lessons, in attempts to meet their clients’ requests as much as possible.
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Substitute instructors: It is not Lil’ Guppies Swim School policy to send a substitute instructor in the event your instructor had to cancel a lesson. We always provide makeup lessons and are flexible with those schedules to accommodate our clients as best we can. If a client is under specific time constraints, they may request a substitute. We will do our best to accommodate, but this is not a guarantee and does not qualify as an opportunity for a refund.
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Group lesson cancellations: Cancellations and makeups for groups must occur in those groups. If a single participant of the group cannot attend a lesson, there are no individual makeups or refunds provided.
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Are the instructors certified?
Absolutely! All instructors are infant, child and adult CPR & FIrst Aid certified; all instructors have been teaching for multiple years and have experience with a wide array of ages, skills and developmental needs.
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Do I get to choose my instructor?
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You are welcome to make requests; however instructors on staff serve specific areas and will not always be able to come to your location. Lil' Guppies carefully matches each family based on location, ages & skill levels of the students, and any special needs or concerns expressed by each family.
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How warm should my pool be for lessons?
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This will obviously depend on climate and time of year; however Extensive research has proven the optimal water learning temperature is between 86-94°F. Little bodies lose heat fast (and many times so do the instructors!) We encourage all clients to check their pool temperatures and heaters the night before, as well as the morning of the lesson. This will assist in lessons running as smoothly and effectively as possible.
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