Expert: Timmy Chou - 5/21/2010

Question
My daughters were dance students for 4 years. Last week I had an arguement with the owners mother who works at the studio also. The arguement had nothing to do with dance. I was told by the owner a few days after this arguement that things were not working out and that I was bad mouthing the studio and gossiping, which is not true just an excuse for my daughters to leave the studio. The owner states that my daughter broke policy by missing classes which they did not. The owner has charged me for routines taught to my daughters but now are unable to use them along with costumes and other fees I was charged. I did not quit I was told to leave through an email. I am looking for a refund for all costumes that I have paid for and routines that I was charged for but are unable to use.  What should my path of action be to recover this financial investment from this point forward?  I am in Texas.  Thanks for any help or advice you can give me.

Answer
Thank you for your question!  

As I always note to questioners, mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.

I am not a lawyer and cannot give you legal advice, nor can I mediate this with you alone but I can respond to your question from my business consulting experience.

Note that this matter may have legal ramifications and you may wish to consult an attorney.

You are dealing with owners who are only interested in their own success or the path of least resistance in terms of how they manage the business.  I'm guessing they could care less about you so don't put too much investment in their position.  They don't apparently realize that there are concrete economic consequences to if they take a position that they "just don't like you" and want you to go away.  Perhaps you will be fine to go away, but they must make you whole first and compensate you for your economic harms.  They want to try to make up "so called" business reasons to justify their behavior and now you must create additional "business reasons" to deal fairly with you.

Please begin by documenting a very careful chronology of events as they have occurred.  Names, dates and locations.  Put things in writing at this point paying careful attention to any evidences of how others have been treated--good or bad. You want to be able to document patterns of practices to show that you are being singled out.

If there are any, please request a written copy of the policies and procedures pertaining to your membership in the dance company.  Make sure you get a specific copy of any grievance procedures.  Also ask in writing for a written explanation of the detailed reasons for the termination. Place your requests in writing and send them certified.  This will notice up the company that they have awakened a potentially serious problem.  

If you have any relationship you think you can salvage, perhaps you can try to cool everyone off and defuse the situation: "come on, let's all just kiss and make up before a larger problem becomes inevitable.  Our family has made a large financial investment in this company and we would much prefer to have that investment pay off rather than have a big fight."

If this is impossible now, you should send a demand letter certified, state your case, and ask for the dollar amount you are seeking.  You should think about copying your letter to:

State Consumer Office
Better Business Bureau
Local press outlets
Any licensing offices
Any trade associations or certifying bodies
Consumer websites

The company must see that their behavior can be quantified in specific economic harm to you, and it will cost a lot more to deal with all the problems you will cause them for their practices and then they will make a business decision and settle fairly with you.  Be cool, calm and professional, but be sure that they know you are serious as a heart attack and have every intention of seeking either to be made whole or you will be after them in every way possible.

These are some ideas.  Feel free to follow up with additional questions.


For your information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution methods follows.

GOOD LUCK!

Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation

Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system

Benefits of Arbitration:
 Confidential, no public record
 Limited exchange of documentation, information
 Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
 Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in conflict resolution
 Cheaper than litigation
 Preserves business relationships

Negatives of Arbitration

 It's a compromise, no 100% winner
 Complex arbitration can be costly
 If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
 Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
 Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process

Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a settlement of their dispute.

Benefits of Mediation:

 Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered before
 Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
 Can be quicker than litigation
 Less costly than litigation
 Preserves business relationships
 85% of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find successful solutions

Negatives of Mediation

 may not reach a binding decision
 unskilled mediator

Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes

Benefits of litigation:

 a clear winner and loser
 uses a prescribed set of procedures
 more predictable outcomes
 is final

Negatives of Litigation:

 waiting for court dates can do more harm
 usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
 part of the public record