Refund policy

Last updated: 25 August 2026

Courses, Classes & Workshops — Refund, Rescheduling & No-Show Policy

Our classes are intentionally small so that every student gets real time on the machines. Many of our students also travel from out of town or overseas, so a change affects their plans as much as ours.

That is why the windows below are timely — and why we would almost always rather move you to another date than lose you.

Changing your date

If you cannot make your class, tell us as early as you can. There are two ways to change it, and one of them is free.

Send someone in your place — free. If a friend, family member or colleague can use your seat on the same date, we will put their name on it. No fee.

Or pass your credit on. If you would rather give the value to someone else for a different date, we can move your credit to them to use against any CBI course. Credits are valid for 12 months from the date you registered, and are also subject to the date-change fees below.

Move to a different date. What this costs depends on how much notice you give us:

• More than 72 hours before your class — $55 to move. If you later need to move again, each further change is $75.
• Within 72 hours of your class — moving costs 50% of what you paid for the course.

New dates depend on availability, and students already enrolled in a future class get first choice of seats.

Refunds

The refund window runs from the moment you register and pay — not from your class date.

• Within 48 hours of registering: Refunds are available upon written request via our contact form. A 25% administration fee and a $40 processing fee apply to all refunds.
• More than 48 hours after registering: Refunds are no longer available. Change your date or transfer your registration instead — see above.
• Discounted or promotional purchases are final sale and cannot be refunded or returned.
• Partial refunds and retroactive discounts: Tuition fees are final at the time of registration. We cannot adjust for later price changes or promotions.

How refunds are paid. An approved refund goes back to the card or account used to pay, usually within 5 to 10 business days of us processing it. Where someone else paid for your registration — an employer, or a gift — the refund goes to whoever paid, not to the student.

Books and equipment are not covered by this policy. See our Shipping Policy for returns of physical goods.

If you miss part of a multi-day course

Our courses are taught and priced as a whole, and each day builds on the one before. If you attend part of a course and miss the rest, we cannot refund the days you missed — but tell us and we will do our best to fit you into the missing days on a later date, subject to availability. Rejoining the missing days is charged as a date change: $55, or $75 if you have already moved a date. Your certificate is issued once you have completed the full course.

Travel disruption

Many of our students fly in. Cancelled flights, weather and border delays are outside everyone’s control — but they do not fill the empty seat either. Let us know as soon as you know: we will treat it as a date change rather than a no-show, and the applicable change fee will apply.

No-Shows

If you do not attend your class and fail to notify us in advance, you may re-book based on availability by paying 75% of the original course fee. A seat we were never told about is the one seat we could not offer to anyone else, which is why re-booking after a no-show costs more than moving your date.

A second no-show forfeits your registration entirely. Because our classes are small, instructors will hold the class start time briefly for you, which affects everyone in the room — please let us know if you expect to be late.

Cancellations by CBI

On rare occasions, a class may be cancelled due to equipment issues, teacher illness, force majeure, or other extraordinary circumstances. You will be notified by email or phone as soon as possible and may choose between:

• Re-booking at a later date, or
• Receiving a full refund.

Minimum Age

Our classes are designed for students 16 years and older. The minimum age is 14 if they are accompanied by an adult who is also registered and paid for the same class.

A student who has not reached the age of majority cannot register themselves. A parent, guardian or other adult who has reached the age of majority must complete and pay for the registration, agrees to our Terms of Service on that student’s behalf, and remains responsible for the registration.

Consulting & Foster Barista

These terms apply to consulting and Foster Barista engagements. Where you have signed a written agreement with us for a specific engagement, that agreement governs, and these terms fill any gap it does not address.

Unlike our courses — where students come to us in a controlled environment we manage entirely — Foster Barista and consulting work happens inside your business. We enter your space, work with your team, and operate around your equipment, your permits, your timelines, and your readiness. That is a fundamentally different commitment for our staff, and it carries real risk on our end that we need to be transparent about upfront.

We are asking our trainers and consultants to show up — sometimes across the city, sometimes across the country — prepared to give your business their full professional attention. When something on your end prevents that from happening, our time has still been committed and often cannot be recovered. The policies below exist to protect that commitment fairly for both sides.

Refunds

• Within 48 hours of signing: You can cancel for a refund by contacting us through our contact form. A 25% administration fee and $40 processing fee apply.
• After 48 hours: No refunds. Instead, you can re-book for a later date, or transfer your credit to a staff member, friend, or family member toward any CBI course.
• Promotional or discounted contracts are final sale — no refunds.
• Fees are fixed at the time of signing. No adjustments for later price changes.
• Packages expire 12 months from signing. Unused hours after that are forfeited and cannot be refunded, transferred, or extended without written agreement from CBI.

Travel & Non-Refundable Confirmed Sessions

Unlike a classroom setting, every on-site session requires our trainer to travel to you — whether that is ten minutes away or a flight across the country. In all cases, once a session is confirmed and a trainer has been assigned, our commitment is real and our costs begin.

• All confirmed on-site sessions are non-refundable once a trainer has been scheduled — regardless of the reason for cancellation on the Client’s end.
• When a session requires travel and/or overnight accommodation, the full session fee plus all travel and accommodation costs incurred are due in full — whether or not the trainer has yet departed.
• Rescheduling is not available once travel has been committed to. When a trainer is travelling or has already departed, we cannot reasonably ask our staff to extend hotel stays, rebook flights, or hold days that may conflict with other committed clients. The session fee stands in full.
• There are no exceptions based on circumstances at the Client’s location, including but not limited to:
  • Equipment not working or not yet installed
  • Electrical, utility, or infrastructure issues
  • City permits, approvals, or inspections not completed on time
  • Construction delays, fit-out not ready, or landlord-related issues
  • Staff unavailability or scheduling conflicts on the Client’s side
• We will always do our best to work with you on re-booking at the earliest available date, but the financial commitment for that confirmed session remains.

Cancellations and disruption on our side

On the rare occasion that we need to cancel a session — due to consultant illness, force majeure, or other circumstances genuinely outside our control — we will notify you as soon as possible and make it right. You will have the choice of:

• Re-booking at a date that works for you, or
• Receiving a full refund for the affected session.

Travel disruption on our side. The same terms apply if our consultant cannot reach you because of a cancelled flight, weather, a border delay or any other travel problem on our end. We hold that risk, not you.

If disruption on our side shortens a session rather than cancelling it, you choose: we complete the remaining hours on another date at no charge, or we refund the hours we did not deliver.

Where we have to cancel or cut short, you are never charged for travel or accommodation costs we incurred.