10/31/09

Good instructors, bad business tactics, high pressure sales

by Beaker2009

Good instructors, but high pressure sales tactics and overpriced lessons: NDC in Murfreesboro is a nice studio with great instructors. The only problem I had was the high pressure sales tactics used to get you to book another package with them. They sell classes by packages and there is no negotiation. I did the introductory course and 2 out of the 5 courses, I spent half the lesson being sold on my next package. Then on your last class of your intro, I was taken to a manager's office to sign up for my next course of 10 private lessons and group classes for $1800. I felt very pressured by both my teacher and the manager to make an immediate purchase, they wanted a deposit on the spot and kept pushing for me to put something down. I insisted that I needed to go home and look things over, then they offered me their computer to look it up there. I found that completely out of line. I felt like someone was trying to pull a fast one on me before I realize what im getting into. So, all in all, my experience with NDC in Mboro is mixed. The teachers are ok, their business tactics are not. Very pushy, and you don't get as much out of your lessons as you wish as you spend it talking on future packages you need to buy. DanceWorld offers the same package NDC is offering at $1800 for only $650...one third of the price and you are not locked into a studio contract as you are with NDC. Also, on top of that, if you would like to perform in a Christmas show for NDC, they will charge you extra for performing onstage, and then an additional amount for a 12 bar solo. You should never have to pay for a show where you as a student, are helping the studio market their product. Bad business ethics. Good teachers. What can I say. I unfortunately it left a bad taste in my mouth and I will not be going back.

• Pros: Good teachers
• Cons: Pushy, bad business ethics, high pressure sales

05/29/09

High Quality Service

by hapE2B

I had gone to some other dance studios in another state before I moved to Nashville. I found the service severely lacking in those schools, so I was reserved when coming to National Dance Clubs. I had also heard about the high pressure-sales and the expense, but I really wanted to learn at a good school and was ready to pay for it if it was to be had. I am a teacher myself, and so I know a thing or two about teaching.

National Dance Clubs was the most friendly school I had been to...(I had tried 2 other schools). When I came to a party, everyone knew me...and if they didn't, I was introduced by the teachers. I always felt very welcome, which I definitely did not at other schools.

I never had a problem with the so-called high pressure. The first time I went, I left my purse in the car--but I went out and got it because I was so impressed with the quality of the service and the knowldgeability of my teacher. Yes, they did tell me about some things I could not do or did not really want to do because I could not afford it, and yes, they did ask more than once, but I am a big girl, and if I do not or cannot do it, I smile and say no thank you...once, twice, three times. Frankly, I would be a little insulted if they decided for me what they thought I could or could not afford and did not make me aware of opportunities they were offering to other people. They were never cold or mean...ever.

I have worked it out and the private lessons do run about $100/private hour. By today's standards, that is NOT expensive for private instruction. In fact my daughter's gymnastic coachings are just about as much, and this is for both me and my husband...who, by the way, has paid more for private golf lessons. I certainly think there is a LOT of value in the price, because not only do we get superlative instruction, but we feel part of the studio through their many events and parties.

Be wary of places that say they only charge $50 or $60 dollars per lesson. They do not tell you about the floor rental you have to pay to use the floor. Also, I have heard that because these are floor rental studios and do not employ their teachers, you are actually subcontracting help and may technically be responsible for the taxes. That was something I just did not want to even worry about!

Also, at pay-by-the-lesson studios, there is usually not an over-arching goal planned or lesson plan, which, as a teacher I value very much. I know exactly what I can expect to learn with a block of lessons. I know people who have had to stop lessons because of circumstance and were afraid that they had lost their money because of what they had heard from people who had never been at NDC, but the supervisors were very understanding and offered a payment plan, to put their lessons on hold, or a refund.

I just wanted to put my 2 cents in because I saw those harsh reviews--some from people who had never been there.

You get what you pay for. If you want to be treated like a valued customer with a lot of potential as a dancer, given lots of opportunity to really enjoy what you have learned, and get to meet a lot of really wonderful, positive, and supportive people, both teachers, supervision and staff, and certianly not least, the students, try out the National Dance Clubs. I go to the Brentwood location.

• Pros: Terrific service and a variety of different opportunities
• Cons: Leaves you wanting more

03/16/09

AVOID this place for dance lessons

by thebandit04

My 3 friends and I have all had bad experience at this place. When it comes to selling lessons here it can get pretty interesting. the manager watches you dance for about 10 seconds then calls you in there office and says your progressing really fast and should buy another lesson package. When they told me how much it cost ($6400) I said no i just wanted to learn the basic steps and that was it. They turned from fake and cheerful to mean really fast.. After getting hounded for about and hour to by more lessons i left there about 8pm. later that night about 10:30 PM the dance instructor calls me trying to sweet talk me into buying more lessons!!! A couple days later i go in for my last lesson and they changed my instructor hoping she would do a better job at selling me lessons, My last lesson i didnt even learn anything, the instructor sayed i had no communication skills and was unable to fuction in the real world unless i purchase the 6400$ pakage. So i got pulled in the other managers office i told them straight up no within the first minute then i was excused. PLEASE DON'T TAKE LESSONS HERE.

• Pros: Friday night parties are fun (open bar)
• Cons: very fake people,not serious with you. Its all about selling

03/03/09

Terrible Experience

by babyruth123

All we wanted was to learn a dance to do at our wedding. That is what we were told we would get, and it is certainly not what we got. These people care more about SELLING LESSONS than TEACHING DANCE. The instruction is a sales pitch in itself. The teacher is nice, but way over the top with high fives and fake smiles. They even have you stand in a circle and hold hands on guest night. I was starting to think I just stepped into a cult. Seriously, if you want to learn a dance, go to a dance school or hire a private dance instructor. NDC teaches you enough to get you interested, then they slow it down so you have to buy more lessons to learn more. We didn't even get to finish all the lessons we bought because they did the pressure sales meeting before our last group lesson. It was so uncomfortable that we never want to go back. We learned more from YouTube instructional videos than from NDC. If you want to learn a dance for your wedding, your money would go to better use by hiring a private dance teacher to teach you a dance. The introductory package at NDC was like $250, and they never even told us this was just an "introductory" package. The instructor had us believing the entire time that we were actually going to learn our wedding dance... at the next lesson. Avoid this place. Your wallet and patience will thank you for it.

• Pros: nice instructor, but made you feel bad for not buying more lessons
• Cons: everything else about it

02/23/09

Great Date Night For Me and My Wife

by Dancewannabe

We love the parties and all the activities once you have learned how to dance. If you want to use what you have learned this is the place.

• Pros: Friendliest place I have ever been
• Cons: parking

12/02/08

World Class Instruction

by gqornot

Was just browsing through and happened to see National Dance Clubs where I learned to dance...and where I still go regularly for lessons, great fun and entertainment. The instruction is top-notch...much of it world-class as are some of the instructors. There is Kellie Williams, beautiful, vivacious, and a top professional competitor and teacher. if she doesn't fit, try Kiah Pierce who could be performing on Broadway today if she so wished. There is regular coaching by Gary Pierce, a world-class ballroom choregrapher and coach who has coached national and world champions. And they regularly bring in world-class performers and national and world champions for special coaching sessions. If you really want to dance, this is the place to learn and to have a great time week in and week out. I often drive home from the Friday night parties and find myself exclaiming, "Damn, that was fun"! Expensive? It can be, but so is eating. I must admit that I saw the review by Dancer62 who said something like "NDC is 'aweful'. " Well, if you can't spell "awful", that's awful. I can only offer my experience. I simply love the place.

• Pros: It is so much fun there
• Cons: Like everything of high quality, it can be expensive

11/15/08

NDC will take all of your money. Instruction is AWEFUL!

by Dancer62

My husband and I took lessons @ NDC for almost a year. The lessons were boring. The "instructors" were young and right off the street. They had NEVER been trained in ballroom until they were hired by NDC. Nice? yes. Friendly? yes. But then they whisk you into the "office" acting like they have "no idea" what's about to happen in there, and that's when you get the sales pitch.( that the "innocent" instructor knew was coming, but he/she is not allowed to forewarn you or tell you about it beforehand) The manager will stroke your ego, tell you you're "the best dancers we've had in here in years" and that " no one has picked up these steps like you do. You're really fast". Then they stroke your ego some more and tell you about the next level and at the very end, only when you ask , they tell you the amount. It will be in the thousands of dollars. SO BEWARE. We left NDC b/c of the shady practices there. We weren't being taught HOW to ballroom dance and they DO HOLD YOU BACK to get you to sign up for more lessons and spend more money. After being @ Danceworld for the past 1 1/2 yrs, we KNOW that we weren't taught anything more than patterns with our feet. They do not teach technique b/c they don't know it. They say they do, but after Danceworld , they have no technique experience at all. Don't waste your money @ NDC. The parties might be fun ,but the dance instruction is aweful. Start with the real dancers @ Danceworld and LEARN HOW to dance. My husband and I did. We are so much better than we ever would be @ NDC.

• Pros: Friday night party with band
• Cons: too expensive, deceptive selling, young inexperienced instructors with no training in dance

09/24/08

They get the job done

by isisalon

For those who have some experience with ballroom, you know that many studios go in and out of business. My experience with NDC is that they have persevered when many other studios have fallen to the wayside. Are their lessons bargain basement? No. But they get the job done. They guarantee you will learn how to dance, and they deliver. I'll pay a little more for that any day.

The staff are all full time and have an enthusiasm for their jobs that I rarely see. Coming to a lesson, class or party is to know that for an hour or two, I won't have to worry about anything but having fun. As for the pushiness - they are persistent, yes, but I don't mind because their pushiness is what caused me to finally realize my dream. I can now legitimately say I'm a dancer. I can't recommend them enough.

• Pros: Cheerful staff, guaranteed lesson plans, plenty of activities and practice opportunities, lots of partners

09/20/08

Great instructors, despicable business model, avoid!!!

by wordlife17

I agree completely with the negative reviews here. Instructors are friendly and make the lesson fun all round, although they are clearly under orders from the management to push more lessons on clients. Initially, my fiancee and I did the basic package which consists of waltz, rumba, swing, foxtrot and tango - without any of complicated elements. This package was three private lessons and three Friday night dance parties and cost about $250 with a coupon.

As we neared the end of our initial bunch of lessons, they started pressuring us to move to the next level which is termed "social ease". They make you fill out questionnaires - the idea that they are going to tailor the next lessons to your needs. The reality is that they require everyone to purchase 20 more lessons at this point in the process- for $1800. There's no middle ground - they said pay us this much or leave and don't come back. We chose the second option. The whole object of the place is to squeeze as much money out of people. As soon as we turned down the offer the manager's tone became quite different. He was astounded that we were unable to afford the lessons and told us that we were no better off than when we first came in to take dance lessons!

If you decide to go here for lessons beware of the pushy sales tactics - if you just want to learn basics and have a bit of fun, this place is not for you.

• Pros: Nice instructors
• Cons: Slimy, pushy sales managers

06/02/08

Be careful who you get!

by dancediva87

Watch out!!!! I took some lessons here with a friend of mine not too long ago, but the bad taste from this place is still in my mouth! I was greeted by a very friendly instructor that looked about 16, who then proceeded to talk to me throughout the entire lesson as if I were a kindergartener. Not to mention, the facility looked like a 1st grade classroom with all the posters and stars and stickers everywhere. I finally accepted that my instructor was probably told how to teach and act, due to the obvious way his words were "rehearsed." I wasn't crazy on the sales tactics, but I reluctantly purchased a "starter package" and was promised the basics to a few dances. I enjoyed the friday parties they had with a band and an open bar. There were some other, more experienced, teachers that helped when you messed up. I tried the group classes, but didn't really dig them all in all. My distaste came when I had to deal with the "supervisors" or the closers. They were cold, unpersonable, and it really seemed they were only there for the $$$. I enjoyed my lessons with my teacher, but I just couldn't deal with the crappy team of salesmen (and woman) they had. After the second set of lessons I purchased, I had become, what I thought, was a competent dancer. I was brought in, once again to buy more lessons. When I wouldn't purchase another HUGE set of lessons, I was immediately disregarded. I was ignored at the parties, and when I came in for my last lesson, they had put me with another teacher. As if he was going to do a better job selling me "Style, Grace, and blah blah blah" My advice, Travel a bit further and go to their sister school in Brentwood. They really know how to treat their clients. I've had some lessons there and I feel more apart of their family than I do my own. I gave them a shot and you know what?? that whole "Style, Grace, and blah blah blah" package is really turning me into a great dancer. Brentwood=5, Belle Meade=1.

• Pros: Great parties, Friendly Staff, Open Bar, Young vibe.
• Cons: Bad Sales Tactics, Expensive, Poor Management, Amateur Customer Service.