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You should have
seen me yesterday! It was my turn to chaperone at
my kid's ski school and, since I love to ski, this
was a request I was looking forward to! Although I
had not skied for a couple of years, due to warm winters
and a heavy work schedule, I was pretty convinced
it would come back to me pretty quick. But first,
I had to find my ski outfit!
There it was, hidden back in the
closet. Why would my wife hide my ski outfit? I slipped
on the pants and to my surprise, they fit! Well almost...
but I managed to squeeze into them. The pants are
bright red with black side panels and a realllly cool
multi-colored jacket. I took one look in the mirror
and knew I would be the best dressed dude on the hill!
So, we get there and I go into the lodge to buy my
pass and what do you think I saw? EVERYONE WAS IN
BLACK & WHITE BABY!! I heard the teenagers snickering.
It was like a bad dream!! You know, like the one where
your dancing and you suddenly realize that you forgot
your pants! Everyone turned to look at this big red
neon creature and it was me! It would be like competing
at a competition wearing your outfit from 10 years
ago! UGH! At that point, I had to make a decision.
I can either run back to the car and put on the black
pants my wife insisted I bring, ("just in case
the red ones rip"). Or, I can stand with my head
held high and ignore the looks and ...and......Oh
hell, where did I park the car?! Red pants off , black
pants on, and a fun day was had by all.
So, the big talk on one of the internet
sites this week is franchise dance studios . There
are many scary stories about people who were ripped
off, buying thousands of lessons and walking away
several years later, broke, wondering what is it exactly
that they bought, and why they still can't dance a
#%@ rumba on time to the music! Unfortunately, there
are too many true stories like this. When I think
about the dance studio (Independent) that was investigated
on 20/20 last year, I cringe! Students were being
swindled into buying excessive amounts of dance lessons,
paying outrageous fees to attend a competition or
take a dance vacation. It not only bothered me that
a dance studio owner would be so crooked, it also
disturbed me that the student could be so blind as
to what was happening to them!
Currently, there are no regulations
one must follow in owning and operating a dance studio
and that is a big part of the problem. When 20/20
asked the NDCA to give a response they basically stated
that they would look into it and take action. But
what kind of action can they really take? How feasible
is it for the NDCA to watch over every dance studio
in the country and enforce strict guidelines for studios
to follow? This would definitely be one huge task!
Finding a good, decent dance studio
is left up to the customer. There are some who look
for, and want, a studio that is the whole package.
They want, not only dance lessons but weekly parties,
group classes, trips etc.. and they are willing to
pay a higher price for it. Franchise schools are more
likely to provide these services. The only problem
I have with schools like this is when the student
is paying these high prices for a teacher who is fresh
out of training class. Unfortunately, the burn-out
rate for teachers in some franchise schools is high
because they are required to work long hours with
so-so pay. When they leave, to perhaps open an independent
school, this forces the owner to train a new teacher
at an accelerated pace in order to replace the more
experienced teacher who is now gone. One other thing
I will say about the franchises is they typically
have the best training programs, and most independents
have benefited and launched their dance careers from
their time spent there. I think, once an individual
is out on their own, trained and ready to begin an
independent school, they typically will run that school
in the way that suits them best. They will implement
those policies that they personally believe in. Some
will run their school similar to a franchise, some,
as I did, will rent space to other teachers and run
occasional groups and parties. (ala carte) Either
way, it is highly important that an owner run their
business in a highly ethical manner.
Shopping for a studio is no
different than shopping for a car. The buyer is always
told to "shop around", ask a lot of questions,
and look for referrals before making any decisions.
There are plenty of good dance studios, franchise
and independent Unfortunately, there are dishonest
ones too. I would like to think that the fair and
honest ones outnumber the bad!
Dan Messenger
01-15-2001
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