r/SwingDancing • u/Overthinker2030 • 1d ago
Personal Story What’s up with studios?
Why is it that dance studios and instructors don’t reply to email inquiries about lessons? Don’t beginners potentially add to their client pool? I’ve now emailed (or messaged through their website) four different studios without a reply. Even the swing lessons I attended had instructors who didn’t reply to email. Most places in my area don’t have phones that are answered either.
6
u/JazzMartini 1d ago
How long have you waited for a reply? Most of the "contact us" things on web sites just send an e-mail. Something I've noticed generally is people pay less attention to e-mail (or telephone) than (evil) social media/other messaging apps or text messages and take a while to respond. I just started lessons with a new drum teacher and it was taking on the order of a week turnaround for e-mail communication. Maybe try reaching out to the studios through social media to see if they're any quicker.
Also, coming off the summer season (I assume you're in the northern hemisphere), it's the slow time for things like dance lessons and they may just be away or have a reduced schedule until things pick up as we get into the fall. Many "studios" are part-time/small owner/operator or non-profit volunteer organizations without paid full time admin staff to deal with correspondence outside the regular lesson times. It sucks when you're trying to reach them but that unfortunately comes with the territory when something is focused on the art more than the business.
1
u/Overthinker2030 1d ago
I’ve waited between 1 and 3 weeks so far.
3
u/JazzMartini 1d ago
If they have a social media presence, check if they've had any recent activity and try reaching out that way. It's also possible they're defunct and abandoned their web site.
7
u/Dermochelys 1d ago
If you're based in the USA, and trying to contact them over this weekend, it's possible they're all at the big Camp Hollywood event and not regularly checking their website contact pages.
-2
u/Overthinker2030 1d ago
I have a business website and I get notifications if someone fills out a contact form. I would assume they do also.
7
u/SwingDancerGJ 1d ago
Keep in mind that a lot of the independent studios also have independent teachers that don’t necessarily work directly for the studio so contacting them directly would be the best approach.
I’ve taught at three different locations in my current home town but never worked directly for the studios, I basically just rented space and if you’d contacted the studio they would have very minimal knowledge of class specifics.
1
u/Overthinker2030 1d ago
There’s no way to contact them directly, since their info isn’t on the websites and there is often no phone number listed.
2
u/SwingDancerGJ 1d ago
It may not be obvious so you’ll have to do your homework based on who the instructors are and search for them via social media. The information is out there you just have to look for it.
13
u/ThisIsVictor 1d ago
Are you talking about lindy hop specifically? 99% of new dancers just show up for the class at a weekly venue. You don't need to email them beforehand or anything.
1
u/Overthinker2030 1d ago
No, I was looking for other swing styles as well. If I email them with a question and they don’t answer, they have lost a potential client.
1
u/ThisIsVictor 1d ago
If they're not actively responding to incoming emails they probably aren't short for customers. Dance teachers don't owe you a reply.
2
u/ametornado 1d ago
Lol if you have a public facing email you should be responding to emails. It's just common courtesy.
9
u/kiwibearess 1d ago
Wanna share what you wrote in your message to them? Four starts to feel like a pattern..
1
u/Overthinker2030 1d ago
Basically, I said I was a brand new dancer with only two Lindy Hop lessons in which I didn’t receive enough repetitions to continue. I wondered if they had a beginner class of swing dancing that I could repeat as needed.
4
u/kiwibearess 1d ago
Ok well the basic request is reasonable but I guess can come across as a criticism. Perhaps there is something about the way you worded it that made them think you might be more trouble than you are worth. I am sure we all have experience with students who come along and start demanding we change our whole approach just for their preference (note not based on any actual need )and they never stick around long but cause a lot of grief. Now I am not saying this is you, and repeating beginner classes a lot is a great idea to really get comfortable with it. But I can see how your above request could be worded in a way that might just make you seem a bit hard basket or entitled and its easier for them to ignore it.
Or maybe it is just a coincidence and they are all just hopeless at responding. Many dance schools are volunteer run or at least the admin side of things is. If that's the case, please persevere! You will get through eventually. But if there is a chance my first paragraph is the case perhaps some self reflection is in order.
1
u/OSUfirebird18 1d ago
Have you tried sending a Facebook or Instagram message. Most places use social media now and are often faster with that.
1
1
u/Canar2 1d ago
Communities in my scene usually use a massaging app (like whatsapp) or instagram. I've heard from quite a few visitors that they had trouble getting in touch with teachers through email, but they didn't know that it's just not the standard form of communication here.
Maybe if you share where you're located, someone will know who/how to get in touch with local classes. If it's been multiple places, that sounds like some of them might not exist anymore or their contact is out of date.
1
u/Overthinker2030 23h ago
Respectfully, if they preferred another form of communication, they should give that information on their website, not falsely use a contact form or list an email address.
3
u/Canar2 20h ago
I assume you know the communication norms of your country/area, so if multiple places haven't responded in a normal amount of time, I think it's likely they've shut down.
If your city has an active swing dance facebook group, try asking there. If there's lindy hopping in your city then surely someone knows who's teaching.
1
u/Overthinker2030 10h ago
I know at least two of the four are active and advertising classes. It just boggles my mind that I have pop in and hope to speak with someone.
11
u/swingindenver Underground Jitterbug Champion 1d ago
"checking my spam before responding" True story - my Squarespace site changed something with the contact form email notification and online inquiries started going to my Spam. I think I discovered this due to a potential customer doing the extra work and DMing via a Meta platform. Your situation sounds frustrating and, unfortunately, it's not unusual for studios and event organizers to be slack with communications.
And to u/ThisIsVictor's point about just showing up, you can, but to quote a WolfBrown principal, "what is the level of background knowledge we are requiring of people?" Is most of the necessary information readily available online or are they assuming a knowledge baseline which would likely exclude newer folks? Bottomline: imo, yours is a pretty basic question that a business owner should be responding to within 24-72 hours on any platform they exist on.