Does anyone else go to an Arthur Murray and have a hard time with the studio's customer-unfriendly policies? I have been at the Arthur Murray Ann Arbor studio for over two years but they have policies that make me wonder how they are still in business. For example, they will not allow me to take a lesson at a nearby Arthur Murray, nor will they allow my friend from that Arthur Murray to take a lesson at my studio. I never feel like they listen to any of my concerns. The teachers gossip about students behind out backs (and sometimes when we are in ear-shot). Going to Arthur Murray is VERY expensive and I am getting tired of such a poor customer experience. Anyone else have problems with their Arthur Murray?
Also, if you are in southeast Michigan and have a suggestion for a better studio, please share! Thank you.

If you look at old posts there are raging debates about the evils and perils of chains. Fred Astaire and Arthur Murray have a lot of enemies. You will notice that their friends:
A. tend to work for them,
B. are in one of those magical few places with decent instructors and managers,
C. is a haplsess soul. One of the people who are still in the thrall of finding dance and haven't figured out they are being ripped off by teachers who prey on their emotions and love of dancing.

I was a Fred Astaire student (read victim). It took me a long time to find the right independent instructor. You have to go out there and research them like you would someone you were hiring because that is what you are doing. Get on the internet and start researching your area. Go out and meet the instructors. Watch how they work with students and NEVER pay for more than one lesson at a time. There are great teachers out there. You can find them. If your area supports more than one AM than I can guarantee you there are independent chains. I just googled ballroom dance Michigan and there are tons of hits in the southeast.

Good luck!

Alarm bells go off as soon as I hear "they won't allow me". AM studios are like that all over the world. I have a friend who was very happy at an AM until she told her instructor about a dance she went to on a weekend. It was not associated with any studio. Her instructor told her she was 'not allowed to' go to any dance in the city without his permission. She reminded him that he had no control over her social life, she could dance where she wanted and she left the studio and found an independent.

Before you guys bash the entire organization too much, you should know that none of these are official policies of AMI.

One of the specific selling points of Arthur Murrays is interchangeable lessons. You should be able to buy lessons at one studio and use them at any other studio worldwide. This is true even in spite of the fact that different studios have different rates (and by the way, students can use that fact to their advantage). If a studio owner tells you otherwise, you should immediately report them to AMI headquarters.

As far as "not being allowed" to venture out, it's understandable why they might not want a student to do that -- the instructors are generally entry-level with a high turnover rate -- they nonetheless do not have a right to enforce any such policy. Again, this is not a reflection of the organization; It's simply a misinformed teacher or studio owner who should be set straight.

I fully support Arthur Murray, Fred Astaire, and all of the chain studios operating in the U.S. and worldwide. They bring tons of people into the business who would never have otherwise joined. And by the way, I'm one of them. So next time you're watching a video clip or posting a message here, remember that without Arthur Murray, this website wouldn't even exist.

True, they are extremely overpriced for the level of instruction, and to make up for that fact, there is an emphasis on high pressure sales tactics. But this is part of the method that indoctrinates so many students into the ballroom world, which trickle down to the independents. And they do provide certain services that no independent teacher alone can provide. So whether you love them or hate them, the chain schools are an extremely important part of our business.

There's my two cents. Now bash away.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com