I’d rather strangle her than sing along

My playgroup decided to join a “Singalong with Karen” class on Thursdays. This session is only 4 sessions in July, and it really is perfect. I got a note from the other mommies this weekend confirming which class, so I went online to sign up last night (I was told by the other girls they had contacted Karen, let her know we were joining as a group, and we were all set). When I got to the website, it said that there was a $15 late fee for registering after May 15. I sent Karen a note saying that I was part of the group that contacted her, and since she just confirmed that the 10:30 class would be age appropriate for our group, I was ready to sign up. She very politely responded and told me that she had a late fee policy, and it was unfortunate I did not contact her sooner.

I couldn’t help myself. The price per class session is about $15, so a $15 late fee is the cost of another session. It isn’t that I cannot afford the $15, but the principle of it was irritating me. I sent her another note, again explaining that I DID contact her earlier as I was part of a group who initially contacted her in April. Here was her response:

Hi, Jessica!
I’m delighted that you would like to join us, and I have a wonnnnderful Sizzling Summer ’09 Session planned, too! Everyone who you have named (except for one), is already is enrolled, and each enrolled individually (they rushed in their registrations). It would be wonderful for the two of you to join us in our Thursday 10:30 class!

Please know that I always offer Early Bird Savings deadlines, and I’ve mentioned our next one is June 20th. In fairness to everyone who has registered early to gain savings, I need to be consistent. We still have room for you in our class, but there is a $15 late fee after May 15th. (If it makes you feel better, I too am paying late fees for the camps I am placing my children in this summer, as I did not register them early on.)

I am holding your space through the end of this week to allow you ample time to mail in your summer registration. As I’m sure you understand, I can only hold spaces for a few days. Let me know if you have any other questions. My best, 🙂 Karen

I have to say, I’m annoyed. I understand she has a late fee policy, but I do think that in this instance, she should waive it. Especially since I am certain that several of the girls in the group registered late, but did not pay the late fee. So, in fairness she really should waive the fee this one time. In this economy, most people/places are just happy to fill spaces in their classes! And to risk someone not enrolling over a $15 fee is ridiculous! Especially with the word of mouth we could create.

So, now I’m caught between a rock and a hard place. I think the $15 fee is outrageous, but Karen is clearly not going to waive it. All of our other friends are going to be in this class, and I think it will be good for Micah. So, it is a choice between standing on principle or doing something because it will be good for Micah. I’m probably stuck paying the $15 because I do want to have Micah participate with his playgroup, but I can assure you I’m going to do everything in my power to convince the ladies not to enroll in another one of these classes next session since Karen was so uncooperative about this. There are so many other teachers and classes, and I think any of them would be a better choice.

What would you do? Am I being ridiculous about her attitude towards the late fee?