windshieldbug wrote:You can lead a horse to water, you can even make 'em play tuba, but a silk purse wasn't built in a day from a bloody stone!
I thought a silk purse was built from 2 birds in a bush with a pound of cure???
Seriously, come fall, I'd take them back and (agreeing with ThomasDodd) I'd definitely have no problem raising my rate to the level of the summer sub. What are they going to say??!!
Competition in whatever you do is a way of life. The thing you have to wonder about is how did this guy so easily tap into your student base?
I can think of several ways, but most take more effort than a guy like this is going to put forth. My guess is this guy got it from someone at the school. In any business you always try to protect your client list.
You might want to see if you can plug this leak. Many a business has been humbled by a clerical worker not seeing the harm in giving out info that they don't see as vital. A little talk with whoever you think gave out the info about "protecting students right to privacy and keeping potential lawsuits at bay" could go a long way.
tofu wrote:Competition in whatever you do is a way of life. The thing you have to wonder about is how did this guy so easily tap into your student base?
Making discoveries into who is serving who is not really rocket science. I have a couple of large companies wondering how I manage to stay busy with a one-man repair shop. It's simple... a small amount of talking around and a minimal amount of personal networking yields enough information to easily find out where the work it. Customers aren't 'stolen'. They simply stumble onto different resources. From my experience, it's usually the customer who is looking for better services.
As far as finding students is concerned, I would think it would be a rather easy task to phone local band directors and get the names of tuba players. From there, it's just a matter of one more phone call.
Dan Schultz
"The Village Tinker" http://www.thevillagetinker.com" target="_blank
Current 'stable'... Rudolf Meinl 5/4, Marzan (by Willson) euph, King 2341, Alphorn, and other strange stuff.
TubaTinker wrote:
As far as finding students is concerned, I would think it would be a rather easy task to phone local band directors and get the names of tuba players. From there, it's just a matter of one more phone call.
In this day and age if I were running a school district and had a teacher give out such info so easily they would be fired or mopping the floors. In the school districts around here you would not get such info on the up and up. It would have to be procurred from someone on the inside who to give you said info would put their job on the line. Of course there are always those people who think it will never be found out or traced back to them & they are always the ones who have that stunned look on their face as they do the perp walk.
tofu wrote:The thing you have to wonder about is how did this guy so easily tap into your student base?
Perhaps they did what I suggest all of my student teachers, who wish to teach privately. I suggest they go offer to teach a FREE sectional for the director. That way they get into the school, get on the good side of the director, and meet the kids. If they are charmimg and freindly, bring along some fun ensemble piece, and provide a positive experience - the kids will be glad to give them their names and numbers. Some will take lessons, some will not. If the kids do take lessons and discover it is a waste of time, they will usually seek out a better teacher.
TubaTinker wrote:
As far as finding students is concerned, I would think it would be a rather easy task to phone local band directors and get the names of tuba players. From there, it's just a matter of one more phone call.
In this day and age if I were running a school district and had a teacher give out such info so easily they would be fired or mopping the floors.
This is not a matter of a teacher being innapropriate. Lots of folks network through community groups, churches, and other social groups. All a person has to do is pay attention to get all the information needed to 'steal' students. I still contend this is all a matter of free enterprise. A teacher's main concern should be who is the best for the task.... not to protect his own or his fellow teachers interests. If you think the kids don't talk to each other about who is the 'best' teacher... think again
Dan Schultz
"The Village Tinker" http://www.thevillagetinker.com" target="_blank
Current 'stable'... Rudolf Meinl 5/4, Marzan (by Willson) euph, King 2341, Alphorn, and other strange stuff.
On more than one occasion I heard people who taught music comment on them actively passing on a student to someone else ´cause they felt that there wasn´t anything left for them to teach.
Other than that: A fine source of information is attending a school´s annual main concert. The program just might contain a list of names right next to the respective instrument...
plus you get first hand info on what to adress during the first lessons.
Hans
Melton 46 S
1903 or earlier GLIER Helicon, customized Hermuth MP
2009 WILLSON 6400 RZ5, customized GEWA 52 + Wessex "Chief"
MW HoJo 2011 FA, Wessex "Chief"
ThomasDodd wrote:You are surprized at that? Given the moral decay these days? Everybody is looking out for #1 and the hell with the rest.
So offering a service to a customer who already purchases the same service elsewhere is evidence of moral decay?
Not at all. But being shady about it, as appears to be the case here is. The lack of respect for the other instructors in the area comes to mind. Do all the students know that said teacher is leaving in a few months or have the been lead to believe this is a long term situation?
Morally decrepit slob that I am I have frequently gone to different car dealerships, different restaurants, and tried different brands of horns.
I did say that the new guy might have something to offer
And when you go to a new resturant, do you tell the old place first that you not comming back, and instead are going to go to the new place across town? Usually you end up going to both places in the future, finding something you like at both places.
Do you sell your old horn in order to try an different horn? That's more like what these kids have done. left their old teacher on a whim, to try something different. Why not take lessons with both for a while, or just be up front and honest, saying you want to try something different?
FWIW,
I confess to having had more than one private teacher in my 25 years of playing the tuba. Some of them were very big names in the biz. I learned something from ALL of them, even the smaller names (even the ones that were ack trombonists. Had I only had ONE teacher, from age 9 to present, I doubt I would have learned as much.
