ComplaintsforC.R. & Co. Dance LLC

• Initial Complaint

  04/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My 5 year old son is a competitive dancer at Cr&Co dance studio. My son had another event that he had to attend which caused him to miss rehearsal. Cr&Co informed me that due to my negligence as a parent my son would be removed from his final and last competition. I explained the reason more than once and was told it didn’t matter, it was my fault and she didn’t care her rules were standing and she wasn’t shifting nor making change to her decision, I asked due to there being no changes made to their dance if he could just still join, he explained that even though she didn’t make changes he could not be involved and due to him missing she would to schedule a practice with the other children to filter my son out of the dance now. I asked that since she would add a rehearsal I filtered my on out could he join that rehearsal and she still refused. I never signed a contract stating that a missed rehearsal would result in removal from a competition. As a parent I am paying a lot of money to attend competitions, costumes, accessories, and competition fees for someone to tell me my child is out due to a missed rehearsal.

  Business response

  04/30/2024

  Upon registering for the 2023-2024 competitive dance season, interview meetings were held with parents. Mrs. ******'s interview was held on August 3, 2023. Mrs. ****** was explained in detail the commitment needed for both of her children to be apart of the competitive team in prior to the season beginning. An orientation meeting was held for the entire team where the commitment was again explained and reviewed in detail on September 12, 2023. (Orientation Information attached). Each competitive parent then signed a commitment agreement for each child outlining the specific areas of consistency and commitment in regards to attendance, rehearsals, competitions, fees, etc. (Signed Commitment Agreement Attached). A competition season packet was administered in December detailing all competition dates. (Comp Season Packet attached). Lastly an email was sent on April 7, 2024 reminding parents that all rehearsals were now mandatory to prepare for the last competition. Mrs. ****** disregarded the rules and expectations of a competitive team parent and neglected to notify the studio of a prior engagement until after she was told that her son was ineligible to perform. Mrs. ****** was reminded of her commitment and how important rehearsals are especially for students as young as 5 years of age. An analogy was made in reference to similar commitments with sports players like basketball. Mrs. ****** responded that "I wouldn't know anything about that because I'm not a basketball mom". It is unfortunate that her son was unable to perform, however rules are in place for a reason and have to be upheld for every team member. We hope Mrs. ****** is able to understand this in the future so that it does not impact her children's abilities to participate in future opportunities.

  Customer response

  04/30/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Ms. L************ sent an email about the mandatory rehearsal on April 7th, stating that there will be a rehearsal on Tuesday, April 23rd from 5:30-7:30pm. On April 11th, Ms. L************ communicated through the team mom that the minis group will rehearse from 4:30-6:30. This was a last-minute change that suddenly shifted things for my son and me. When I recounted our experience to Ms. L***** ******, such as missing our initial train and having to take a later one at 3:56 pm, my phone dying before I can reach anyone and arranging for my daughter, who is also on the competition team, to make it to rehearsal using my son's **** to communicate these things, along with picking up my toddler from daycare, Ms. L************ was very rude and dismissive, stating that I was making excuses and I should have had someone else pick up my toddler so that my son could have made it to dance, and making an unnecessary point regarding basketball, which, Basketball will likely apply different standards to a 5-year-old compared to an older team member; a conversation about being removed from competition and blaming the parents would never happen in front of a 5-year-old basketball player. That I do know as they hold their professionalism to a very high standard!! I suggested to Ms. L************ that a private conversation would have been more appropriate than discussing the matter in the public area of her business. Instead of moving the conversation to a private location, Ms. L************ ended the discussion by walking away and later revealed she held an additional rehearsal to filter my son out of his group's dance. Had Ms. L************ approached me in a more considerate manner instead of simply stating that he cannot perform, as a parent I would have been able to better explain our situation. As a parent, I felt that prior notice of my son's engagement was unnecessary since we were scheduled to return in time for dance. Ms. L************ could have understood successfully if she had taken off her authority hat and put on her listening and compassionate ears. Without inquiring about my son's well-being, Ms. L************ approached the situation unprofessionally! As a team, we could have reached a mutual agreement on how to align for my son's success, including filtering him into the additional rehearsal the next day. Policies and procedures should be applied consistently to maintain ethical standards, but when they are only enforced for certain individuals, it creates an unfair and unethical environment. I have seen children arrive over an hour late to competitions and still be allowed to perform, despite Ms. L************' policy stating that failure to arrive two hours prior to call time will result in dancers being unable to perform. Ms. L************ implies the policy only when it suits her, such as canceling rehearsals weekly post-competitions with no corresponding calendar decision. While I understand that business decisions can be made suddenly, as a patron, schedules can also shift unexpectedly. This unfortunate incident led to my son's removal from the competition, a decision motivated by greed. While my son won't be able to have that experience again, I still wish Ms. L************ the best of luck and blessings with her dance studio.
  
  Sincerely,
  ******** ******

   

  Business response

  05/01/2024

  Many of the statements that were made in this rejection are false. I cannot respond to all of them however Mrs. ******'s remarks regarding there being special circumstances for other students are absolutely untrue. C.R. & Co's policies are in place for all students regardless of age. Mrs. ****** is unaware of students that have been removed from performances for the same reason as her son, or probation citations other parents have received for being tardy to competitions. These instances are not explained to the general body because that would in fact be inappropriate and unprofessional. The underlying issue is that Mrs. ****** neglected to notify the studio of her son's prior engagement. Even after the time of the mandatory rehearsal was changed on April 11th, that still gave her 12 days to notify the director about the scheduling conflict. There is no malicious intent to treat her son differently from any of the other students on the team, and it is unfortunate that Mrs. ****** feels that way.

  Customer response

  05/02/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  The statements made were accurate. In the previous competition where my son was disqualified, some participants were permitted to perform even though they arrived late, beyond the designated window. While I'm not aware of anyone’s specific circumstances, the policy states that arriving less than two hours before call time will result in removal from the routine. Ms. L************ made an uninformed decision about my son's performance despite not knowing our special circumstances and asking no questions. Since we were expected to return in time, I saw no reason to inform Ms. L************ of our engagement, and consequently, my phone died before I was aware we would not make it. I had to make paid arrangements for my daughter's transportation to and from dance using my son's ****, as previously explained. Ms. L************' actions left my son feeling sad and angry, causing him to leave out of the dance studio immediately inform family members of what had happened stating that Ms. L************ kicked him out of his Rugrats dance for competition. Even when an additional rehearsal was scheduled, my son was not invited nor were we informed. We learned of this practice from another parent following the competition. I let my son watch his team from home, which caused him stress and prompted him to rest his head on my lap, saying he was sad he was kicked out of his dance. My son's competition time has come and gone, and he won't be able to perform. I accept my role in the situation as a parent and will update the studio accordingly if there comes a time , even when it seems unnecessary, as it may be helpful. I pray Ms. L************ sees the error of her ways and learn that sometimes it's okay to step back, listen, and understand other’s special circumstances. I sincerely wish Ms. L************ the best with her studio as we approach the final month.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ******

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