Anotherowner:
I thought by saying "many professionals", it would be enough of a caveat, but guess I should have phrased it differently! (Although I have my own specific issue with some extrememely unbusinesslike and unprofessional FADS personnel, I know that other FADS people are ethical, responsive and professional - thanks, Ben Smith! - so I'm not referring to my FADS experience now.)
Over the past 6 years, I've been involved with 3 studios and it always amazed me how the studio owner and some of the teachers had so little business sense. Although info calls were returned relatively promptly, students usually had to call twice to get responses to questions, last-minute changes were the norm (parties cancelled, new time for group classes, comp costs changed after payment, etc.). Other things like losing receipts (travel or other tax-deductible expenses). Having to call comp organizers myself because they lost some of the comp info or promised to call the organizer but kept forgetting. These aren't necessarily a big deal and the studios certainly had plenty of business, but I was surprised.
More coaches than you'd expect who never return calls (now that I think of it, it could be that the teacher had never called them and was trying to cover up....hmmmmm!) or cancel lessons. I know things come up, but when it happens fairly often that they forgot they were supposed to be at another studio and our studio has to reschedule all the lessons for the following week.
Obviously, Sam and the others you mentioned couldn't run such huge, successful comps unless they were good businessmen (or hired a great second-in-command). But, some of the smaller comps are disorganized - no one knows where the programs/tickets/numbers are, or the extra trophies, etc.
So that's my observation - you're right, I should have worded it better but I didn't mean to impugn all dance professionals (after all, there are a lot of unorganized, no common sense folks in the corporate world too!)
[This message has been edited by QueenVee (edited 04-05-2001).]