Lessons from a Ballet Teacher

I have a friend who is a ballet teacher. Frances is also, without a doubt, the most energetic person I know. She's on the go all the time and, in addition to teaching little girls (and boys every now and again) ballet, she works part-time as a real estate agent. She teaches from mid-day to about 7.30 at night, she arranges concerts including all the scenery, costumes, music, choreography etc, gets the kids ready for exams and often organises the venue and schedules for the regional exams…. No mean feat I can tell you. And then in the mornings and weekends, if she is not involved in ballet things, she sells houses which means driving people around, visiting new customers, sitting for show houses and here’s the remarkable thing….she still has an amazingly active social life (you have to book her weeks in advance) and... I don’t think I have ever heard her complain.

This last weekend I watched Frances in action at the “mock exams” she had put together for her students. And I realised that there are some really good lessons to be learnt from Frances.

Lesson 1- Brilliant Customer Service

Her customers are little kids ranging from 6 to 18 years of age. These kiddies need to be dealt with as if they are the most important person there. If the kiddies aren’t happy, Frances loses income. Her other primary customer is what is know in the trade as a “ballet mother”. Ditto…if the mother is not happy (and she is sometimes more unhappy than the student) the little girl will be whipped out of that studio so fast and….Frances loses income. Teachers….Frances has a fleet of teachers and she has to make sure they are happy…so this happiness trickles down to the students. She has to build and maintain good, happy relationships with schools and other studios because this is where she gets her students from. And, at the end of the day, she only gets her students as a result of her reputation… nothing else. If she didn’t have a brilliant and consistent reputation she would be out of business. Frances cannot afford to wake up grumpy and snap at the people (little children) around her, she has to be patient; she has to make all her customers feel special. She is always polite and gracious. She goes out of her way to pick up a child who can’t get to lessons; she goes out of her way to make a plan for people who can’t afford costumes. She goes out of her way to accommodate her customers.

Lesson 2 – How to Ask for Help

Frances knows she can’t do everything all by herself and therefore she knows how to ask for help. She has asked me a number of times to give her a hand….I have been the compere at a show, made little feathery swan costumes, scribed for ballet judges and a few other things – all great fun! I have also sat with her on a show house day (it’s not safe for one person) spending a hilarious day playing scrabble because no-one pitched to see the house….

The lesson: Frances knows how to ask. She phones and will say that she needs someone on x day, at such and such time, to do xyz and it will take 1, 2 or 3 hours. And unless it is a complete emergency she will give reasonable notice. She doesn’t whine about how busy she is, she doesn’t hint that she needs someone to help; and she never says she is too busy or overworked. She states clearly what she needs, thereby allowing you to decide if you either have the time or want to do it or negotiate another time with her. It is really painless for both parties.

She has perfected the “ask”…. It works to have all the info available (where, when, what, how) before you pick up the phone…. Don’t hint, and don’t be vague about what you want and make sure that if there is a change in plan you let the person know. ….. Frances makes it easy for you to help her…she gives you all the information you need to do the task and even goes as far as offering her elderly Dad to drive you wherever you need to be!