Quilt class dilemma

That would be a huge yes!!!!

Molly in MA

One of the neat techniques that the instructor taught was how to do this on cotton fabric as well as the weaver's cloth. She had some spectacular Christmas panels that were just stunning!

I would definitely send the e-mail, with an emphasis on "communication between teachers and show organizer needs improvement".

I can see the teacher's POV. It's easier to teach a class when everyone has the same (working, good quality) equipment. She communicated to the show people, who dropped the ball, and she doesn't feel she should take the hit for it. I can also see the student's POV. I'd be really POed if I had an unexpected $25 charge, especially if I was buying duplicates of things I already had at home. But ultimately, it's the show organizer's responsibility. It's not enough to say "the teacher should have proofread" -- they should have had the teachers signoff on a checklist (Is your class description correct? Skills required correct? Supply list correct?) That's why they are show *organizers*.

You explained it so much better than me, Kathy! I was trying to say the same thing, though of course we can't tell from the outside whether they may actually have had some check system and the teacher signed it off incorrectly.

Cheers Anne

Absolutely. But if the teacher did check everything off, the show organizers will know that when they get the email. :)

i certainly admire your sticktoiveness, Alice. had i paid and arrived with all the 'materials list' items in my hand and then be told i had to pay more for a class kit....i'm fairly sure i'd of requested a full refund and walked out. hmmm, might of even asked if anyone wanted to join me and get a cuppa tea, advising it was my treat of course, lol. dont wanna leave out that info if they take me up on the offer, lol. :))

other classes i've taken when the class description said 'other materials supplied' it meant that they were included in the cost of the class fee. her class description was the only one that didnt specify a comprehensive list and/or class kit(to be bought in class) for materials. some of her items on her website were rather vague descriptions too, i thot. one in particular seemed way overpriced to me as well.

j.

"AliceW" wrote...

Alice, I think you should send it. Otherwise, this same thing might happen again. If you send it, maybe someone will rethink their procedures so that such a nasty surprise doesn't occur again.

I had a similar experience once for a class, but the mistake was caught just about a week prior to the actual class. The organizers sent out an email to all of the affected students, apologizing for not having known ahead of time (they really hadn't) that there was going to be a required kit and offering us the option of paying for the kit or withdrawing from the class. It was still a shock, but at least we had options.

I am not sure where the fault lies for this, but I know it was not with the students. I felt really bad for two ladies - a daughter and her mom. She took her mom to the class as a surprise only to find out she would have to fork over another $50 bucks for 2 kits. They stuck it out for most of the class but when it came time to do the hands on part, they left. I think the instructor should have at least let them use one kit between them so they could at least get a feel for the needle.

I was not impressed by her website either. But I think this is her first year of doing shows on the road and she is probably spread pretty thin. Her techniques worked and it felt very comfortable holding the needle the way she indicated. She provided lots of hints and tips that I wrote down for reference. But then, I was prepared with my pen and notebook as instructed by the class description!

Thanks, Sandy. I did hit the send button after all of everyone's advice. I'll keep everyone posted if I hear back from them. Thanks for all the advice and recommendations!

leaving out the fact that 'supplied' means they have to 'pay more' for those supplies in class, imo, is fraud. i only carry ID when i dont 'expect' anything to buy? i would have gone to that class with the required things on the 'material list' and expected the other supplies to be there to use included in the cost of the class.

she should have specified 'all' the required materials for the class, adding they could bring their own or purchase on class day the kit she has put together and stated the price of the kit. her first class or not that is clearly stated on other teachers at that festival as well as other venues. surely she has been a student in a class in quilting or really anything that clearly states the required materials to have at hand or buy at class. its not rocket science. i guess for her it might be or we can just call her naive or whatever word seems most appropriate. :/

they 'had' to buy 2 kits? i dont see how they could be forced to buy two kits. for a mother and dd taking the class together, having both paid for the class already, making them buy 2 kits to me is ridiculous, thoughtless and greedy. why didnt they just say no, we only need one to work on together, the mind boggles. jeanne

Goodness, of course you should send it. How would they know otherwise? Feedback is the only way to prevent it from happening in the future.

-Irene

I'm coming in late on this discussion but I'm glad you sent the message. It's easy to imagine someone saving for a long time to pay for the class (and other expenses to attend) and really looking for to it. I remember one time organizing life slightly less complicated than the Battle of Bull Run only to discover that the 'organizer' had substituted an heirloom sewing class with Sandra Betzina. Betzina is delightful if you're interested in 17 ways to embellish a vest or how to fit pants if you have a pudgy body. We wuz robbed. Polly

The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that you did the right thing by complaining. I am not interested in who was at fault so much as I am that several customers were extremely unhappy. Someone needs to do a follow-up and see what it takes to prevent a similar incident in the future. It's not uncommon for a class to require supplies, so there should have been some double checking, and perhaps in the future they will remember the incident and be sure of the communication between the instructor and the organizers.

Nothing can change the grief you and your fellow classmates went through with this unpleasant surprise, but hopefully the quilt fest planners can take note and make changes in communication levels to ensure it never happens again.

My lesson learned from this whole thing: when it doesn't specify a class kit, verify, verify, verify.

I've thought about this some more and think I have another way of looking at the problem. It doesn't change my conclusion.

One way is to think of the teachers as employees. In this case, Mancuso is selling a product (classes). They hire employees to deliver the product (teachers). The consumers (students) buy the product from the sellers (Mancuso), and if they have a problem with the product (price went up steeply once they were there and committed to buying) they feel ripped off. By analogy, if I buy something from Main Street Hardware, and it doesn't work, I want my money back from Main Street Hardware, not get a runaround about how it came that way from the manufacturer.

Another way to think of the teachers is as independent contractors. In that case, the teachers are selling the product and renting space from a department store or gallery or festival organizer. As is normal in these sorts of business transactions, the organizers have some responsibilities like advertising, insurance, the physical classroom, processing payments, and the contractors have other responsibilities, like delivering the instruction. By analogy, if I attend an outdoor festival where each artist has a booth, and if the painting I bought from Veronica P. Snoot turns out to be a fake, my beef is with Snoot, not the show organizers.

It seems to me that the students thought they were buying a product from Mancuso, and when something went wrong, they held Mancuso responsible. I believe Mancuso sees themselves as organizers, someone renting space to the teachers. When something went wrong, they said "hey, we did our job. Now it's Pierson's responsibility to make it right, and if she doesn't, we don't want her renting space from us any longer.

--Lia

If you were required to purchase the kit, it should have been included in the price of the workshop.

I wouldn't be real concerned about upsetting the teacher. She should have made sure her class was properly advertised.

Just my 2 cents and worth just about as much.

Cindy

i'm fascinated by this subject matter tho not sure i'm getting as close to the nitty gritty on the most accurate/efficient/legal result to get thru my brain, however....

if one was 'required to purchase' the kit in class... this was not stated in the advertising for the class, what if you've got no way to pay or dont consider you should have to pay for a kit, what happens? are you meant to sit there and do nothing but listen and look?

has the student broken their side of the contract? has the teacher broken their side of the contract?

as the required kit purchase wasnt in the class advertising, seems to me that the teacher broke the contract therefore she should refund the cost of the class in full. teacher would have been paid in advance for giving the class most probably so she ought to refund on the spot. just another 2 cents or is it 20 cents now with inflation and the cost of petrol to get to class, eeeeeeek. now there is another issue, what about your expenses to get to the mis-advertised class? so much to consider, j.

"teleflora" wrote...

Yes, yes, yes!!!

If I was in a class and had that happen I would be pissed as hell.

JM2cents worth,

Marsha in nw, OH

But the organizer is the one who puts out the website with the class descriptions and costs. The teacher said she sent the complete description to the organizer. I have no idea whether they received it or not. There should be a better process in place to verify and confirm that the required information is communicated to all parties involved and that includes the use of said information in any class materials.