what to do when your pro cancels you

C

Cashmere

New Member
What do you do and how do you handle it when your pro cancels you a lot and I mean a lot 50%+++ before competition?

I don't know what to do this is my first competition and he just keeps cancelling. I am starting to not believe all the excuses.

Yesterday was the one day I knew it to be true, but other than that, I've heard it all, and I just can't believe them all

I'm in a funk, depressed, competiton is in 10 days. What do you do?
 
Post his name and town and studio.
Hire another pro.
Add a "cancellation=twice the refund" clause in your next contract with him.
Cancel the comps he had not cancelled (wait until the last minute).
Recommand this pro to all the ams in the same category than you.
Watch him starving and having to take a second job as a janitor when no am wants to hire him.
 
newbie - pretty funny!

First, ask him if there is something significant in his life that is distracting him. Dance is important but other things can be mosre so - a sick mother, partner or child; financial troubles, even an addiction or legal problems etc. If any of these are the case ask how best he wants to handle your dance partnership/relationship. Of course, he should have said something himself but I would tend to be fogiving if they are the reasons and see how to best move on. If there is no such reason I think you're best option is to find a more reliable teacher/partner.
 
Just maybe he does have a good reason that is personal and he doesn't want to share it with his students!

Or, he could be a flake.

Or, he could be filling his time with another competitor or his own practice, if he is competing.

At any rate, it's crummy for you to be abandoned before your very first comp!
I always took extra good care of my students before a comp.
 
I would sit down and talk to the pro. You shouldn't feel unprepared for a comp because of missed lessons running up to the comp, especially your first one. As you get more experience with the dancing and competitions, you can handle some unexpected bumps in the road before comps. But since you're new, you'll want to feel somewhat comfortable going in.

I would hope either your pro makes time in his schedule to make up enough lessons to make you comfortable before the comp, or gives you an option to skip this comp and do another.
 
These are all good suggestions and advice.
Ok, the reasons he gave is : stomach flu a few times, hurt his back working over the weekend. I've been flexable with time. he tells me monday am that he can't make it and says how about thursday and I say ok, and then bails on thursday because he has car probs. Car probs another issue. Weather, ok we did have bad weather yesterday, but today was fine, i know it was fine even where he lived I checked the internet and he said it's bad.

I've been fairly flexable becuase of the competition, infact I'm rearranging my schedule for him.
Once I showed up and waited for 20 min and he didn't come and I didnt get a call, he said his phone was broke.

What do I think it is? I think it is his new house in the country, his dogs, he has other commitments, I don't know. i know he is not addicted or that.

I like him, a nice guy, I enjoy dancing with him, but I'm just feeling bad because he is cancelling all the time. He asked me for a schedule to commit to a schedule to him for the competiton, I did, and now no. I told himmondasy wednesdays fridays, 11 - 1 or 2, last wednesday the only day of the week I gotwednesday 12 - 2 because he said he was already booked for 11. That doesn't seem right to me. I gave him the set schedule and now he is not keeping to what he asked of me.

He does not charge the couple of times I was really sick and had to cancel but he cancelled more than I did last min. All his cancellations are really last min.

Thank you for your replies. they are most appreciated
 
Cashmere said:
These are all good suggestions and advice.
Ok, the reasons he gave is : stomach flu a few times, hurt his back working over the weekend. I've been flexable with time. he tells me monday am that he can't make it and says how about thursday and I say ok, and then bails on thursday because he has car probs. Car probs another issue. Weather, ok we did have bad weather yesterday, but today was fine, i know it was fine even where he lived I checked the internet and he said it's bad.
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Excuses, excuses and more excuses. If you were an employer (in reality you are) would you tolerate this behavior? Miss work because of flu, hurt back, car problems, weather, etc. If it were me, I would end this relationship. It will be painful, but not as painful if you let this go on and on and on as he takes advantage of your goodwill. I have found that talking about it will get a "yes, I will improve" answer, but they revert right back to doing the same thing in the near future.

The sooner you do this, the sooner it will be behind you and the sooner you can move on. It's probably best for him, too.
 
elisedance said:
newbie - pretty funny!

First, ask him if there is something significant in his life that is distracting him. Dance is important but other things can be mosre so - a sick mother, partner or child; financial troubles, even an addiction or legal problems etc. If any of these are the case ask how best he wants to handle your dance partnership/relationship. Of course, he should have said something himself but I would tend to be fogiving if they are the reasons and see how to best move on. If there is no such reason I think you're best option is to find a more reliable teacher/partner.
Click to expand...

I think the truth is that he moved into a new home in the Country with his partner who has a regular 9 - 5 job. They have one car. He has 2 or 3 dogs, and basically I think the house needs work.

For some reason I also think he does something for someone on mondays. Once he was booking mondays for me and he talked to himself and said "am I opening for her this monday".

My problem is I like him. I'm now used to dancing with him. He is a great dancer, won a lot of trophies when he competed as a pro. He no longer competes for himself.

He is basically a nice guy. I also have hours coming. My hubby buys me a lot of hours at a time to get the discounted rate which is a good thing.

I don't get it, he owns the business, he knows I love to dance and that I book a good bit of time. I'm not difficult or demanding. I let him disucss the two dresses for the upcoming comp with the desinger he recommended. I take his advice except for 3" heals at the moment but we are working on that.

I don't understand why he would just willingly loose all this money. I asked him if he doesn't like me, and he said not at all.

But I do think there is something like Elsie says. I can't put my finger on it but there must be something, and I'm starting to think more than the house. Which pro works so hard around the house when they know they have 5 students in an upcoming competition to hurt their back and have to cancel? I mean it's just not logical to me in any profession if that makes sense.

Either that or he overboked and took on more and is now juggeling appts?

Anyway, thanks for listeing. I really am grateful for y'all letting me vent and giving me thoughts and ideas. I know I will have to decide, but I can't afford to loose the hours I have with him either.

I also do believe in giving second chances. Maybe if I have a real talk, if I get off my cowardly *** and we have a nice talk. Good people deserve second chances.
 
Cashmere said:
I also do believe in giving second chances. Maybe if I have a real talk, if I get off my cowardly *** and we have a nice talk. Good people deserve second chances

.
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Sounds to me like you have already given him TEN CHANCES !!!!

How many times do you have to put your hand on a hot stove before you realise it burns ?? :headwall:

I have employed teachers with those qualities ( for about 5 minutes )
 
tangotime said:
Sounds to me like you have already given him TEN CHANCES !!!!

How many times do you have to put your hand on a hot stove before you realise it burns ?? :headwall:

I have employed teachers with those qualities ( for about 5 minutes )
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You are quite right of course and I know it. ROTFL, that head banging aginst the wall is me yesterday after my upteenth cancellation. Love it. That's how I feel.
 
Cashmere said:
You are quite right of course and I know it. ROTFL, that head banging aginst the wall is me yesterday after my upteenth cancellation. Love it. That's how I feel.
Click to expand...

From your answers I would agree with the above that its time to pull the plug. There comes a point where one can not avoid the terms 'disrespect' and even 'humiliating'. I assume that this pro has another line of work....

From now on think only in terms of what is important to you, not to your pro. Its too late to change pros for Classique so do whatever you have to to get through the comp. My worry is that, with his current behaviour, he may not even turn up in which case you have an awful mess - but at least you can be mentally prepared. I believe you are in a studio - I would request a meeting with your pro and the studio manager/owner. You are much more likely to get responses that will mean something.

Immediately after the comp :bkick:
 
elisedance said:
From your answers I would agree with the above that its time to pull the plug. There comes a point where one can not avoid the terms 'disrespect' and even 'humiliating'. I assume that this pro has another line of work....

From now on think only in terms of what is important to you, not to your pro. Its too late to change pros for Classique so do whatever you have to to get through the comp. My worry is that, with his current behaviour, he may not even turn up in which case you have an awful mess - but at least you can be mentally prepared. I believe you are in a studio - I would request a meeting with your pro and the studio manager/owner. You are much more likely to get responses that will mean something.

Immediately after the comp :bkick:
Click to expand...

To answer some questions. No he has no other line of work. I'm sure of that.
He is the owner of the studio. I can only talk to him. He does not have a lot of teachers. I think he has one teacher who does group once a week as he does have another job.
And he has a couple who dance together who are pros who teach for him sometimes I think and that's it. It's his sole source of income to the best of my knowledge all he wants to do is dance.

I think he will show up. he has 4 other students competing in La Classique. These 4 have been with him for a while and all have competed before even flew to Vegas with him last year for a comp.

I LOVE your "pic" so good, put a smile on my face.

I want you to know that y'all are helping me here. Mentally I'm in a better place than I was yesterday.
Whatever happens happens, I feel better listening to all of you and for what it's worth, it's done me a lot of good.
Thank you
 
Your teacher DOES have another line of work - studio owner. It is not the same as being a teacher. Sounds to me like the studio owner part of him is 'juggling' the lessons for his financial and personal well being. This impacts you since when a change in his plans or his business happens, he simply changes yours.

I suggest that you find another teacher. One who takes his responsibilities as a teacher seriously. Which is, among other things, responsibility for showing up.
 
Ask for a refund on the lessons you have already paid for. (Check your agreement for the package you bought first to see if there are any stipulations about refunds.)

If he agrees, you're free to find another teacher. Or at least, it will let him know you are very serious about your objections to his cancelling your lessons. Dance students tend to be very loyal and if he has a group of students who put up with this behavior, he may feel it is "normal" and that it won't impact his business. Let him know otherwise.
 
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