Here are the Chapters in this month's Newsletter:

RICK ARCHER IS A COMPLETE LOSER (must read)
SSQQ PRESSURES ITS CUSTOMERS TO TAKE MORE LESSONS (must read)

THE SSQQ DEMON DANCE CUSTOMER (must read)

WHERE IS THE HAWAII CRUISE WRITEUP?
SSQQ REPUTATION TRILOGY
FOUR NEW REPUTATION STORIES!  (Victoria, Alex, Cheryl, and Google)
SSQQ SLOW DANCE AND ROMANCE
LETTER TO THE EDITOR:  REPUTATION AND BRYAN SPIVEY
LETTER TO THE EDITOR:  COMMENTS ABOUT SSQQ
FORMER SSQQ INSTRUCTOR MARTY SHEA SAYS HI!
MARTY SHEA'S ARTICLE ON THE BENEFITS AND ETIQUETTE OF SOCIAL DANCING




COMPLAINT OF THE MONTH: 
DID RICK REALLY SAY WHAT MARIO SAYS RICK SAID?  (must read)


FAVORITE STORIES FROM PREVIOUS ISSUES

01.  
RICK ARCHER IS A COMPLETE LOSER

CHAPTERS

02.

SECOND STORY: SSQQ PRESSURES ITS STUDENTS TO TAKE FURTHER LESSONS

CHAPTERS

03.   

 

CHAPTERS

04.

THE SSQQ DEMON DANCE CUSTOMER Rick Archer's Note: We will begin this important story with a letter from 2006. THE OVERCROWDED SALSA ROOM Salsa continues to be an amazing success story here at SSQQ.  I cannot tell you how grateful I am that our studio continues to be the most popular Salsa studio in Houston.  However, as with all success, there are accompanying headaches that cannot always be foreseen ahead of time.  Here's one. -----Original Message----- From: Phil P Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 11:57 AM To: Rick Archer Subject: Re: 2006 February Newsletter My name is Phillip. I am currently a student at SSQQ for Intermediate Salsa 2.  Given the enormous attendance of students for salsa, I felt compelled to write you this letter of mild annoyance. I'll quote a statement that you made from the February 2006 Newsletter: Salsa is ridiculous. I have never seen so many students in all my life. That's the understatement of the year. To put it simply, there are too many students enrolled in the Salsa Intermediate classes. The individual classrooms are filled to capacity and the exceedingly loud noise level from the next door classrooms (also full of people) is making hearing the instructor and our music extremely difficult. I had hoped that going to all three classes on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday would help, but those classes are just as full and noisy. But, not all of us have the luxury of being able to attend multiple classes throughout the week as our schedules may conflict. I understand from a business standpoint that it's great having so many students as they are your source of revenue, but having that many people crowded together in small spaces where there the noise is amplified exponentially is distracting. Sadly, it's keeping the learning process from being the fun and enjoyable process it should be. I sincerely hope that you folks at SSQQ take this into consideration. Registration and class enrollment should be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once your studio reaches capacity, you should not continue letting people come in. Isn't that also a fire hazard? Again, I hope that something can be done about this in the very near future. I'm assure you that I'm not an angry jerk who wants to complain about every little thing. But I am a student who, like many others, is paying you all for a service, one of which is to provide us with an environment conducive to learning. I thank you for your time.   -----Original Message----- From: Rick Archer Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 1:03 PM To: Phil Subject: policy salsa overcrowding I wondered when I would get a letter like this. I will not apologize for the overflow this month. It took all of us completely by surprise. Please do not expect to action to be taken BEFORE I am aware there is a problem. I am not psychic. That said, I totally agree with you we have a problem this month. I have decided to cancel the Tuesday Merengue class for March.  That will allow us to combine rooms and create more space. However if this doesn't work, you may not like the next solution.  The NEXT solution is to limit the size of classes AND to prohibit switching from one night to another. For now let's see if canceling the extra Tuesday class does the trick.

 

"THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT": A MEDITATION ON THE DILEMMA OF DEALING WITH DIFFICULT CUSTOMERS

Rick Archer's Note: Here at SSQQ, I do not believe the customer is always right.  I believe that "MOST customers are right MOST of the time."

In the story above concerning the Salsa Overcrowding complaint, you have witnessed how a student handled the problem correctly.  By emailing me and addressing his concern in a factual, business-like manner, I was able to think about the problem and take action that corrected the problem. 

Students are not always quite as patient as this gentleman.  Contrast his email with this one:

July 2000

It has been made to our attention that all complaints regarding SSQQ rules and regulations be directed to you.

During the month of March, every Tuesday, my friends and I have duly reported to our Salsa dance class that was unbearable crowded. At one point we counted eighty people. Eighty. In a small room. Imagine trying to learn a new dance by lining up in three rows, snaking around the room. And with one teacher. Oh, I forgot, you don't have two.

When the class collectively aired our complaints, we were told that we could go to the Saturday class at 4:30 P.M. I think that suggestion is quite insensitive to the needs of your customers. We have chosen Tuesday nights to fit into our schedule, as I'm sure the other eighty people have done the same, so to tell us to move ourselves to Saturday is bad customer service at its best. And of course no other remedies was offered throughout the course.

What should have been done? There needs to be a limit to these classes. You can not enroll as many people as you can to make the most profit and let your customers “figure it out” for themselves. Please join the rest of the civilized business world and set aside some rules to SERVE your customers, and then maybe you'll make some money at it. And while you're at, what about “feed back” forms at the dance studio for those customers who are not electronically adapt yet? Because I know a hell of a lot of angry customers who do not have access to a computer to send you an e-mail.

So what about the four of us? We will continue to take dance classes, but not at SSQQ. Enjoy your profit Rick, while it lasts.

Irately yours,
Ms. Thuy Tran and friends
 

As you can see, Ms. Tran expected me to solve the problem 'yesterday'.  Since I was not at the studio on Tuesdays, I was unaware of this problem until her nasty email brought it to my attention.  If I interpret her correctly, among other things she indirectly accused me of being greedy and directly suggested I was uncivilized.  Interesting choice of words.

This particular 2000 letter led to the creation of the Hall Monitor position.   I also paid $20,000 to a programmer to create the SSQQ Online Registration system.   So please note I took serious actions to solve the problem even though this particular student was very ugly in her approach.

As of 2007, seven years have passed and we have not yet been forced to enforce course limits.  We have Rosters and we have Hall Monitors to watch the doors.  To this point, the rosters have only been used to catch people sneaking into Advanced Salsa after signing up for Beginner Salsa at half-price, but we have the power to limit class sizes should the time arise when we have more students than room space. 

My point is simply this - I hope my actions show that a student does not have to be rude to get their point across at SSQQ.  I do pay attention to my customer's needs.

I am very much aware that without my customers, SSQQ would not be in business.  Our customers get to 'vote' on a monthly basis whether SSQQ deserves to keep their support or not.  So far, SSQQ has clearly been winning the election.  And you know what?  I would really like to keep it that way.  I am grateful to my customers and wish to keep MOST of you around for a long time.

You certainly have picked up on the operative word here: MOST.

I am going to continue to use this same word. 

First I would like to share an article from the Houston Chronicle.  This article comments on Sprint's 2007 decision to jettison what they determined were their "worst customers".

SPRINT FIRES ITS WORST CUSTOMERS Why hanging up on 1,110 callers serves greater good/ Sprint's decision grounded in key management objective July 17, 2007, 7:18PM By RICK WARTZMAN Anybody who knows anything about business, whether a Fortune 500 CEO or a kid with a corner lemonade stand, can recite the mantra: The customer is always right. So what was Sprint Nextel Corp. thinking when it told 1,100 or so wireless subscribers that it was dumping them for chronically complaining to the company's customer-service department? The news hasn't exactly helped Sprint's image.  ABC's Good Morning America ran the story under a banner that proclaimed: "You Must Be Kidding!" One consumer watchdog called the company's action "absolutely outrageous." But, in fact, Sprint's move was not only reasonable, it may even prove laudable if it helps the company focus on offering better service to its remaining 53 million subscribers. Sprint is no corporate angel. The latest survey from J.D. Power & Associates found that the company ranks dead last in the wireless industry when it comes to "customer care." Yet that doesn't mean the company was wrong to drop the 1,100. We've all been there: forced to sort out an egregious billing error that requires multiple, maddening, Muzak-soaked phone calls. But when a relative handful of customers are calling in as often as 300 times a month - as some of these Sprint users apparently have been - it's clear that they should be looking for another cell phone carrier. From a management standpoint, a line gets crossed: There is no sense in trying to appease the unappeasable. Interestingly, support for this idea comes from the late Peter F. Drucker, the "father of modern management," who had a key role in spreading the notion that the customer is king. In studies of Henry Luce's Time-Life, Alfred Sloan's General Motors and other companies, Drucker attributed their success to a keen understanding of the customer. "There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer," Drucker wrote in his 1954 classic, The Practice of Management. Yet Drucker taught something else as well: It's crucial for every business to decide who its customers are not. In her new book, The Definitive Drucker, Elizabeth Haas Edersheim recalls how Drucker explained the concept to her: "Make sure you know the bounds you are assuming and that they are the bounds you want ... " In this case, Sprint concluded that its fractious fraction of consumers - 1,100 people who flooded its call centers 40,000 times in just six months - falls outside the company's bounds. As a business, "you can't please everybody - and you really don't want to," says management professor Joseph Maciariello, who worked with Drucker.  Some have cast Sprint's move in purely economic terms. These so-called Demon customers, it is said, simply became too expensive to retain, costing the company more in time and resources than their contracts were worth. Undoubtedly there is truth to that.  But this issue transcends dollars and cents.  Coping with the never-satisfied demon customers diverts attention from a key management objective: providing high-quality service to the 99.99 percent of Sprint users who the company says call with inquiries, on average, only once every two months. One of the hardest things in business is concentrating resources effectively.  By unclogging its customer service lines, Sprint now has a chance to make some meaningful gains. Arguably, Sprint "is serving a greater good," says Peter Sealey, a former top marketing executive for Coca-Cola. "You can't have these people impinge on the service level of everybody else." It is quite possible, as suggested by the Web site consumerist.com, that some of the 1,100 were "scamming Sprint," calling again and again just so they could pile up credits toward their bills. If so, that alone is a valid reason for a divorce. It also wouldn't surprise me if a few of the 1,100 shouldn't have been disconnected; their tales of woe are sure to make headlines and bounce around the Internet, further sullying Sprint's reputation. But those folks aren't the ones consumer advocates should be worrying about - at least not in large measure. The more important matter going forward is this: When we look at Sprint six months or a year from now, will it have seized this opportunity to improve service for the 50 million-plus who remain? That's where Sprint shouldn't be let off the hook. Note: Mr. Wartzman is the director of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation. This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

THE SSQQ DEMON DANCE CUSTOMER Written by Rick Archer September 2007 As I drove to the studio on Thursday, August 9, I was full of anxiety. I had no idea why I was anxious, but I literally feared going to the studio.  I do not believe I have any psychic ability, yet I was convinced something was going to go wrong tonight. As I parked and got out of my car, the first thing I noticed was a man standing in the parking lot of Dr. Joseph Hutchins' dentist office waving people away.  This parking lot is set directly across the street from SSQQ. Many of our students use this small lot.   I frowned.  This was not a good omen at all. Fifteen minutes into dance class, someone entered the room screaming they were towing cars across the street.  Alarmed, I asked my assistant to take over the class and walked out of the building.  I crossed the street and found the same man who had been waving cars away standing in the parking lot at 4820 Bissonnet.  There were no tow trucks to be seen, but as we spoke, SSQQ students were rushing frantically to their vehicles to move them.

I immediately recognized this gentleman.  He and I had spoken once before about problems that SSQQ students had caused for him in this parking lot.  I  went up to speak to the man.  He was not at all mean to me at all.  In a calm voice, this gentleman said he was the bookkeeper for Dr. Hutchins.  He said that no tow trucks had been summoned, but hastened to add that SSQQ cars were a plague.  He said he could not even use his own parking lot when he came to work during off-hours like Sunday afternoons.  I told him to come see me and I would gladly give up my own parking spot if this was ever a problem.

He continued by saying the presenting problem tonight was that he had a man on the way with several computers to install. He needed to keep several spots open to assist with the unloading of the equipment. There were several cars already in the parking lot when he arrived to meet the computer man.  So he began to wave off everyone else to keep at least some spots open (which is the same way I would act if put in a similar situation.)

One woman - an unidentified student from ssqq - tried to park in spite of his warning.  That's right.  He told me she ignored his gestures and parked anyway.  He went to her car and asked her to move. In return she gave him attitude.  He then said he would tow her car if she did not respect his wishes.  This time she got the message, but decided to offer a mouthful of expletives deleted in return.  She was very ugly towards this gentleman.

In addition, when this same woman came into the studio, she immediately began to spread the rumor that cars were being towed from 4820 Bissonnet.  This is what started the unfounded car towing panic that I had responded to.

As we spoke in the parking lot, this gentleman proceeded to relate past horror stories dealing with ssqq students including beer cans left in the parking lot, hostile confrontations in the past with ssqq students, and a suspicious broken window in the dentist's office considered to be retaliation from a previous ssqq incident.  This particular story broke my heart.

I apologized as best I could.  I think the man calmed down a little once he realized the name 'SSQQ' was not completely synonymous with the word 'monster' (in addition, the next day I put a formal note of apology in Dr. Hutchins' mail slot.)

As I crossed the street to return to the dance studio, Marla met me in the parking lot.  There was a woman in Room 4 who had come to her to complain bitterly.  This woman had come to the Registration Desk where she spoke directly to Marla (comparing notes, we later determined this was the same woman that was spreading the towing rumors). 

As Marla told the story, this lady was very hostile.  She angrily said her Salsa class was much too big.  She was positive we had exceeded the room capacity and threatened to call the Fire Department.  What were we going to do about the problem?  Why didn't we simply cancel the class next door (an advanced ballroom class in Room 3 with 6 paying students).  Marla told the woman this was not Marla's decision to make, but that she would talk with me.  Momentarily appeased, the woman returned to class.

Marla then went into Room 4 to observe the situation.  People were definitely jammed packed.  And the heat was very bad. Everyone looked miserable.  That is when she came looking for me to tell me the story.

I walked into Room 4.  I too was dismayed by how crowded it was.  (For the record, the Bellaire Fire Dept once measured each room for capacity.  The attendance did not exceed capacity, but nevertheless I completely agreed it was much too crowded for any real learning to take place.) 

I asked the students what they wanted to do. I asked them if they wanted me to cancel the Ballroom class next door.  No one said a word so we left it that.  It was a very tense scene.

I then asked the woman was who had complained to step forward.  No one came forward.  No one said a word to identify her nor could Marla identify her in the crowd.

However, as I left, a woman followed me out of the room. Marla identified her as the complainer.  I walked her to the front desk and asked Marla to issue her a refund on the spot.  I was preparing to do a Sprint: Fire a Customer. 

Unbeknownst to me, this woman threw us a curve.  She refused to accept a Refund!  She simply said she was signed up for Tuesday and would come back again on Saturday to get her extra free lesson.  This news angered me.  I didn't intend for this woman to have a choice in the matter.  I didn't ever want to see her at the studio again after her fire department threat.  Had I known at the time she was also responsible for the confrontation across the street, I would have personally escorted her from the building and told her never to come back.

There is a right way and a wrong way to handle problems.  Threatening us is the wrong way.  We are responsible people and do not need to be shoved around in order to get our attention.  She was correct that we had a problem, but no one likes to be threatened.  That crosses the line.

She got lucky; I still don't know her name nor do I have a clue who she is.  Maybe some of her fellow classmates know who she is.

At Break, several people who were visiting from the Tuesday class went home and the tension in Room 4 eased up a little.  How Maureen Brunetti kept that class together is beyond me.  Maureen is to be commended for her role in keeping the peace that night.

Now you know why I decided not to teach my own Ballroom class on Thursdays in September.  This has freed up an extra room for the September Salsa classes.  I decided the Salsa program needed the space more than my Ballroom class.  It is my understanding that in September the space problem is no longer an issue. Let me take this moment to thank every person who was in Room 4 that night for their incredible cooperation.  Your courtesy to me under pressure is deeply appreciated.  Thanks to your patience, you gave us time to solve the problem.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SSQQ AND ITS CUSTOMERS

I want all of you to understand that in my opinion 95% of all SSQQ customers are marvelous human beings.  I thoroughly enjoy the people who come to my studio. 

But you know as well as I do that not everybody who comes here is an ideal citizen.  This incident was a perfect example of the adage 'one bad apple spoils the barrel'.

There is a 5% element that badgers Hall Monitors, is rude to Registrars, complains about the parking, argues about the policies, and bitches about crowded Salsa classes that they attend three times a week for the price of one. And when people don't bend over backwards for them, maybe they threaten to call the Fire Marshall or maybe they trash someone's place of business. People like the Demon Dance Student give our studio a terrible image.   Perhaps you newcomers are unaware of this, but previous SSQQ students have made the parking situation much more difficult for all of us. One year ago, a nearby parking lot that held at least 20 SSQQ cars was suddenly closed to all of us.  Read for yourself.

-----Original Message-----
From: GCagnaP@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 8:52 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Cc: MikePackPC@cs.com
Subject: Parking

To Rick Archer,

I am writing to let you know that someone punched a window in our building at 4900 Bissonnet. Our parking lot is getting torn up and littered. Please tell your students that not to park in our parking lot. This is private property and towing signs will be up soon.

I am sure that you understand we have been very patient and accommodating for a long time, with no compensation.  Now it is costing us money.

Thanks for your attention to this matter.

Mike Pack

Gina Cagna-Pack
713 667-2857
 

We also have an enemy who lives on First Street.  Somewhere along the line someone parked a little too close to his garage, there was an argument about moving the car, and suddenly the studio acquired yet another enemy for life.  At this time, Mr. First Street makes a habit of calling the Bellaire Police Department any time he sees a car parked illegally.  It is no sweat off his back to call the police.  He probably has them on speed dial - one click. He wants to make sure every person whose car is parked out of position will suffer.  Now you know why we constantly try to warn all of you to read those signs very carefully.  This guy is just drooling at the chance to snipe at another unsuspecting SSQQ student.

Recently we nearly had an SSQQ car towed from in front of Radio Shack.  Even if those tow signs were not there, we should never park in front of Radio Shack while they are open.  We should be a good neighbor to help their customers have a place to park. Radio Shack was wrong to call the tow truck, but I can understand why they did it.  

And now somewhere in our midst we have a Demon customer whose rude behavior threatens the loss of yet another valuable place to park across the street at Dr. Hutchins' office. 

With incidents like these, now you begin to understand why we have a parking problem.

If there is one more negative incident regarding Dr. Hutchins, we might lose his valuable gift as well.  To this point, Dr. Hutchins and his staff have been remarkably patient over the years.  I don't know how much longer we can count on this gentleman's good will if someone else loses their temper and abuses this privilege.  (If someone knows Dr. Joe Hutchins personally and can think of a way for us to thank him for his kindness, please let me know.)

For the present, I hope you see just how simple it is for a single jerk among us to sabotage the entire studio's Reputation.  We are all at the mercy of some anti-social fool who shows up on our doorstep like the Black Plague.

On the other hand, the majority of you are marvelous representatives of SSQQ.  For example, I heard of a student who took the Security Guard over at the hospital some popcorn and a coke the other day to thank him for watching our cars and being there to keep First Street safe.  Apparently the guard really appreciated this thoughtful gesture.  Gee whiz, big hug for whoever did that.  Good for you. Take these men all the popcorn you want. 

The entire parking situation feels like Good Karma - Bad Karma in action.  Every time we anger somebody, they retaliate.  How we will manage to get back in their good graces is much more difficult.
 

CUSTOMER SERVICE I keep a pretty close eye on my Staff.  As far as I can tell, our Staff is polite and conscientious.  Considering how a few of our customers treat them, I think they do Remarkably Well.   The Hall Monitors and Registrars (and instructors) do a good job of biting their tongue on a daily basis, believe me.  In fact, there is no question in my mind that they do a better job than I would under similar circumstances.  Sometimes I can't believe what they have to put up with. You need to understand that I am very protective of my Staff.  I will not tolerate rudeness.  These people are not always appreciated because they are forced to uphold Rules by saying "No" to our customers at various times.

No, we don't allow guests to enter unless they have email permission slips from Rick.
No, we don't allow children.
No, we don't allow you to go inside and ask Rick to make an exception for you on the spot.
No, we don't allow people to stand and watch our classes.
No, we don't allow people to take classes for half-price unless their student record shows it is a repeat.
No, we don't allow people to refuse to switch partners.
No, we don't allow Refunds after the First Hour of class.

Naturally, people don't like the word 'No'.  So they try a second time.  And a third time.  The problem is, the Hall Monitors and Registrars have to sit there and listen to it all.  And some of the things the students say are pretty ugly. 

How would you like to be the person who gets to deal with the student who won't take 'No' for an answer?  I imagine you would soon agree this particular song and dance gets pretty old pretty fast.

Personally, I think the adage "The Customer is Always Right" is invalid.  I completely agree with this point from the Sprint article:

"From a management standpoint, a line gets crossed: There is no sense in trying to appease the unappeasable."

So when a Demon Dance Student shoots out of Room 4 to scream at the Registrar about the crowding problem and tells us to can a Ballroom class or else, I think we can all agree a line has been crossed. 

SSQQ has the right to deny service to any customer who behaves inappropriately.  In other words, for people like this woman, we will Sprint her butt right out of the building if something like this occurs again.  And I doubt seriously any of you would blame us.

You will be pleased to note that in the past year only one student has been asked to leave SSQQ.  This student was asked to leave after we discovered they were guilty of telling bald-faced lies to another student.  So it is not like we are on a witch hunt here. 

I just want people to understand that Customer Relations require the Customer to show Respect to the Staff just like the Staff Member is expected to show Respect to the Customer. Let me be clear that this "Respect" door swings both ways. If you feel that a Staff Member has been rude to you, send me an email.  Document the situation.  I always forward negative comments to the Staff member with the name of the student who sent the email deleted.  Your voice counts. I want this studio to be a happy place where people are kind to one another.  I can only do this if people keep me informed. One last thing: please be nice to everyone in the SSQQ Neighborhood.  Otherwise some day we won't have any place to park.

CHAPTERS

05. THE OCTOBER DANCE SEMESTER – CLASSES BEGIN the week of Sunday, September 30.

Remember – if you miss the first week of class, you can always start in the second week. The Second Week Review will catch you up.  SSQQ SCHEDULE

For even more detail on many of the classes listed below, please visit the EXTRA

07.

THE REPUTATION TRILOGY

A Lesson you fail to learn the first time becomes a Lesson you are doomed to Repeat.

ABOUT THE REPUTATION TRILOGY

On June 27, I happened to read a column in the Houston Chronicle written by Thomas Friedman, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who writes currently for the New York Times. Mr. Friedman's article absolutely fascinated me.  His main point was that never before in history has the potential for damaging our Reputation been greater.

By chance, the very same day as I first read this article, Alex, a young friend of mine here at the studio, was being publicly ridiculed for a salsa crash course he taught at the studio back in early June. Someone had videotaped his class and posted the video on YouTube.  For several days, dozens of people viewed the clip and offered various smart-ass remarks. I really felt sorry for the predicament Alex had gotten himself into.  His first mistake was allowing people to videotape his class even though my entire staff knows (and so did Alex) that videotaping is not permitted at SSQQ in any group class (private lessons are permitted).

Fortunately YouTube took down the video clip and the problem faded into obscurity (I will share the whole story with you next month). But my fascination with Thomas Friedman's article had been ignited. I began to think through my own past and realized just how correct Mr. Friedman was about everything he said.

In a flash, I realized three stories from my past would serve as the perfect vehicle to share Mr. Friedman's wisdom with the rest of you.

TRILOGY STORY ONE: SPIN

This is the story of how my first wife brutally slapped me three times in public. This dark 1986 event was very embarrassing.  24 of my best friends in the world were there to witness the event.

And who gets slapped three times? Most people only get one slap. What made me so lucky? Although no one is ever blameless, in my opinion I had done next to nothing to deserve this. Nevertheless through "Spin" - a careful manipulation of the facts - plus a glaring absence of communication on my part, this incident backfired on me to become my fault.  I fell into a dark depression.

I had just learned one the hardest lessons of my entire life.

So naturally your next question is, "What did you do to deserve getting slapped three times in a row?"


TRILOGY STORY TWO: HARVEST MOON

This story took place in 1998.  You will read how my second wife and I allowed a rival dance studio steal our once-dominant position as the best Swing Dance Studio in Houston right out from under our noses.  Our failure to properly respond to a Smear Campaign led directly to our downfall.

The story covers events surrounding a scheduled dance performance over at Rice by the SSQQ Swing Team.  Word leaked out that my second wife and I had deliberately snubbed the leader of the Houston Swing Dance Society.  Did our snub have something to do with the color of his skin? You will be amazed at how much damage these unchecked rumors caused SSQQ.

Small rumors soon became vicious rumors when I chose not to refute these ridiculous allegations.   But why not?  Why did I choose NOT to refute these allegations if they weren't true?  Good question!

You will have to read the story for that answer.


TRILOGY STORY THREE: VESUVIUS

This is the story of how I threw a horrible temper tantrum at the dance studio.  This incident took place in 2000.

I screamed at two students demanding a Refund and threw hundreds of dollar bills on the floor.  I was completely out of line. The next morning I awoke to find the students had sent a poison pen version of the story flying across the Internet.  They were going to take down my entire Western program for revenge.

Yet despite my terrible behavior, miraculously I managed to rescue myself from this potential disaster to emerge without a scratch.  I was completely forgiven and the studio didn't suffer a cent of damage.  

What was different?  Well, this time I stood up for myself and my Reputation. I had learned my lesson from the previous two adventures.  I paid attention to the lessons learned from my previous two adventures and used my experience to rescue victory from the jaws of defeat.

There is a valuable message at the conclusion of each story - if you don't stand up for yourself, you are doomed in the Court of Public Opinion.

There are some powerful lessons to be learned here. Thanks to the inspiration of Alex and Mr. Friedman, I have shared these lessons with you.

The Reputation Trilogy

METAMORPHOSIS With my Houdini-like escape from the deadly email, I had begun my Metamorphosis into a person who not only understands the need to stand up for his Reputation, but one who does it skillfully.

In the summer of 2007 I visited an active volcano site in Hawaii.  I could not understand why the guides forced us to walk single file and insisted on walking beside us to make sure we cooperated.  When we got to the active lava flow, I had my answer - the new hot lava is almost identical in appearance to the hardened lava.  We all know about the Red Lava from Dante's Peak and other volcano movies, but this kind of lava was a deadly, highly camoflouged assassin I knew nothing about. Without our guides, any of us could easily have lost a foot before we ever knew what happened.  The guides protected us. Now I am offering to be your guide in the Court of Public Opinion. I have a valuable contribution to share with the rest of you... A chance for you to avoid risking your own Reputation by learning from SOMEONE ELSE'S MISTAKES. You might just save your Reputation from going through a lava field some day.  THE REPUTATION TRILOGY

SSQQ REPUTATION ON THE LINE

After writing my stories about Reputation, I devoted a Chapter to answering several direct questions about the studio.

•  - IS THE SSQQ SALSA PROGRAM BELOW AVERAGE?
•  - WHY ARE THERE SO MANY EX-SSQQ STUDENTS?
•  - IS THE QUALITY OF SSQQ INSTRUCTORS POOR?
•  - DOES RICK RUN OFF HIS BEST INSTRUCTORS?
•  - DID RICK RUN BRYAN OFF?
•  - WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR SSQQ?

Read SSQQ Reputation on the Line

CHAPTERS

09. 2007 SLOW DANCE AND ROMANCE

aLTHOUGH I DON'T HAVE A PICTURE OR ANY DETAILS, BARRY NEWMARK, ONE OF THE SSQQ HALL MONITORS, RECENTLY MARRIED RENEE FULLER IN AUGUST 2007. 

BARRY MET RENEE AT SSQQ, PROVING YET AGAIN THERE ARE SOME MARVELOUS FRINGE BENEFITS TO WORKING AT THE WEDDING CAPITAL OF hOUSTON.

IN ADDITION, LINDA COOK REPORTS THAT RUBEN LAREZ AND CLAUDIA OCHOA WERE MARRIED EARLIER THIS YEAR, BUT I HAVEN'T GOTTEN THE DETAILS YET.

10.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:  REPUTATION AND BRYAN SPIVEY
COMMENTS ON THE AUGUST 2007 NEWSLETTER

12.

MARTY SHEA SAYS HI!

14. T
 

15.
 

16.  LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - Rick Archer

For many years, the most popular section of the entire Newsletter has been the Complaint section. 

One day it dawned on me that I get lots of email that is actually quite pleasant and almost as interesting as the much-loved complaints.

I hope you enjoy this new feature.

If you have something you would like to say or comment on, send it to dance@ssqq.com

LETTER ONE: 

LETTER TWO:

18. COMPLAINTS OF THE MONTH: Rick's Note: Historically the "Complaint of the Month" is the absolute favorite section of the SSQQ Newsletter.  Sometimes I think I would rather not know why.  COMPLAINT ONE - Air Quality of the Studio Here is one complaint that is sure to be a classic. -----Original Message----- From: Kirk Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 8:29 PM To: dance@ssqq.com Subject: My experience at your studio criticism Hi Rick, The purpose of this email is to give you constructive feedback regarding your studio. I attended last Saturday's crash course/party and it was my first visit to your studio. I think that the service you offer is terrific. However, I had misgivings about your studio from the minute I walked in the door, not because of the people there, or the courses offered, or the appearance of your studio. I immediately noticed what I can best describe as an old building, poorly maintained air system smell which is likely full of allergens and mold which could even be toxic. I stayed too long and I wish I hadn't because I am sensitive to indoor allergens. I had some mild chest congestion the following morning and I picked the red-tinted mucous out of my nose this evening. A fun experience is a healthy experience and I won't be back because I do not believe that your studio is a healthy place to be. If my suspicions are true, then I hope that you will consider overhauling your air system for the health of your patrons. There is nothing more important.

Rick's Response: I did not respond directly to this complaint. What is there for me to say?  It is the first of its nature in thirty years.  This man is correct that our building is old, but I have already decided we have no choice but to look for another building. 

Not to seem insensitive, I do actually care about the air we breathe.  After all, I breathe it too and so do all the people I care about.  For example, I made a decision twenty years ago not to allow smoking in the building.  At the time, my decision was both praised and criticized.  As smoking in public places is increasingly prohibited throughout the city, my position is now mainstream.  

At the moment, the air quality of SSQQ is good enough for most of us. As I teach classes, I do not see people gagging and wheezing.  I think my sense of humor causes a great deal more suffering than the air we breathe.
 

COMPLAINT TWO - TOO MUCH SWITCHING PARTNERS

12/10/2006
Posted by amy mcafee on City Search

My husband and I, along with two other couples, took the Rumba, Cha Cha, and Tango class. When we arrived at our first class, the Rumba had been replaced with swing. Although swing is fun, it was not what we signed up for. This would have been fine without the constant switching of partners. There were twice as many women as men in the class, and I was only able to dance with my husband 3 times throughout the two-hour class. We took a dance class in hopes of improving our dancing as a couple. The other two couples had similar complaints. In the future we will pay the extra money to take semi-private lessons at another studio.

Rick's Response:  Actually, I think this woman has a legitimate concern.  We have been asked on several occasions to have a "couples only" dance class.  It is only natural in a new setting to prefer to spend time with a friend or spouse.  I am completely sympathetic to the sentiment this woman espouses.  This is why in classes that I teach I give people every chance to pair back up with their original partners on a frequent basis. 

We do not have any plans for 'couples classes' for four reasons. 

The first explanation is we do not have the space to do so.  We constantly have demands for more courses than we have rooms.  Can you see DOUBLING our courses... one Twostep class for couples, another one for singles?

The second explanation is economics.  Since our studio is essentially half couples, half singles, each class would become half the size it currently is.  Not only would many classes no longer "Make", they wouldn't make enough money to stay in business.

The third explanation is practical.  SSQQ teaches people to lead and follow.  In the past, we learned that when we allowed couples to not switch, the couples had difficulty learning to lead and follow.  By creating a circle and forcing people to switch, the instructors were able to identify the areas that needed more attention.  In addition, the Circle allowed women to learn through experience how to follow all kinds of leads.  The Circle also showed the men they could no longer count on their partners to memorize patterns. 

But the practical reasons aside, the main reason you aren't going to see Couples Classes any time soon is because it goes against the SSQQ Philosophy of Friendship.  SSQQ teaches Social Dancing, i.e. Dancing for the Fun of It. 

A Group Dance Class at SSQQ is not just about learning to Social Dance, we also have a quiet agenda aimed at making friends.  Obviously "singles" want to meet people, but most couples are just as appreciative of making friends as well.  The SSQQ reputation for match making gets the headlines, but I think our studio's ability to help create friendships is just as important. 

SSQQ is a Community.  I take enormous pride that we have people who are black and white, brown and yellow, Christian and Jewish,  Protestant and Muslim,  heterosexual and gay, as well as earthlings and martians who all take dance classes together in peace and harmony.   Can you imagine me dividing SSQQ group classes over an issue like couples and singles? 

It won't happen.

That said, I am aware that not everyone wishes to be involved in a dance community.  Nor do I see any reason in forcing people to do something against their wishes. 

My only question to Ms. McAfee would be to to ask why she feels the need to go to another studio for the private lessons? 

We have six instructors who also do a thriving private lesson business:  Linda Cook, Jack Benard, Dakota Wilhelm, Jill Banta, Scott Ladell, and Marla Archer. 

I might add that I am curious to ask what semi-private lessons are.  Is that like a nudist colony where you keep some of your clothes on?

By the way, I have covered these issues in great detail in two articles.

One is titled SSQQ Group Classes. It covers the events that explain how we developed our Group Class Dance program. This section is actually something of a meditation on the nature of the Rights of an Individual Versus the rights of the Group. It covers in great detail the incidents that led to our policies and the reasoning behind the policies.  Why do we insist everyone switch partners?  Why can't people watch classes?  Why are children banned from the studio?

The other article is titled SSQQ Philosophies.  It explains the advantages of Group Lessons versus Private Lessons, and why Practice Night is so important to our dance program.

Two other articles of interest would be:

SSQQ At a Glance  gives a quick overview on the many facets of the studio.

History of SSQQ  covers the events that led to the development of Houston's largest dance studio.
 

COMPLAINT THREE -  MORE ABOUT SWITCHING PARTNERS

12/17/2005
Posted by chart on City Search

A friend and I left after half a class. They give you all kinds of reasons why mandatory switching is good, but when you get stuck with the big greasy sweaty guy for 20 minutes, no reason is reason enough. I really just wanted to dance with my friend, and that's not possible at SSQQ.
 

Rick's Response:  I have two responses.  One is that I insist we switch partners constantly, but I imagine it is possible to get stuck with the 'big, greasy, sweaty guy' for 20 minutes.  So as nasty as this woman is in her criticism, I am sorry to admit she is likely to be telling the truth.

I have a note to all students, but mostly to men - Personal hygiene is a huge concern in Social Dancing.

I have to say occasionally my female instructors come up to me in despair about this guy or that guy who smells so bad they can barely tolerate it.  For some reason, people who have the odor problem don't seem to be able to smell themselves.  So they are not even aware of the problem while the people around them are about to faint.   What makes this problem worse is that no one wants to be the bad guy and talk to the offensive people. 
 

COMPLAINT FOUR -  DON'T TEAR YOUR HAIR OUT OR LOSE ANY SLEEP

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris M
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 1:22 PM
To: 'dance@ssqq.com'
Subject: complaint Praise for SSQQ

I've been taking classes at SSQQ since January of this year. I've enjoyed them all. The instructors I have had, Darrell and Loni and Maureen and Tom, Jill and yourself have been wonderful. I look forward to taking more classes and have encouraged others I know to take classes at SSQQ.

I only wish I could tell you a way for more people to stay for practice night. As you know, if you don't practice it won't stick.

P.S. - don't let the whiners and complainers get you down!  Who wouldn't want the perfect room temperature with wonderful dancers in an uncrowded room and their classes offered every night for the price of one and well behaved gentleman and this and that and the other......You'll never please them all but you'll rarely hear from the ones that are pleased.... which is most of us!

COMPLAINT FIVE -  SWITCHING GROUP TUITION TO PRIVATE LESSONS

-----Original Message-----
From: Jo
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 10:44 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: Switching group classes to privates

Hello -

My husband and I are enrolled in the Beginning Salsa class that started 2 Saturdays ago.

We couldn't make the 1st class so we went to last week's Thursday class to make it up.  We weren't able to make this past Saturday's class again, so we were going to go to tonight's class.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to make it tonight either.

We're wondering if we can switch our lessons to private ones after mid-Feb.

I couldn't really tell by looking on the site. In essence, we've only been to 1 class and it was the 2nd class. We'd really like to take salsa but have conflicts right now (and we also feel we're in need of more personalized attention because of our complete lack of dance skill :)).

And is there anything else we should know about that I haven't asked?


-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Archer
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 11:40 AM
To: Jo
Subject: RE: Switching group classes to privates

Group lessons cannot be exchanged for private lessons.

You are welcome to retake the Beg Salsa class at no charge. Just let me know when you are ready to do so.
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Jo
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 2:13 PM
To: 'Rick Archer'
Subject: RE: Switching group classes to privates

Hello -

I just saw that you have a beg. salsa class starting on Sat. Is it too late to sign up for it and use our credit?



-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Archer
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 4:09 PM
To: Jo
Subject: permission for two people to take Beg Salsa September 2007

By all means. Print this out to show the Registrar. There will no charge.
 

Rick Archer's Note:  Of all the rules we have, the least understood Rule regards switching tuition from Groups to Privates.

Without going too deep into the subject, switching tuition from Groups to Privates essentially amounts to Time Theft.  Not only do we have to keep showing up for our Group Lessons, now we have to show up at the studio to give an EXTRA Private Lesson for free.  If you are curious to understand our reasoning, click Tuition Switch 

19. 

DID RICK REALLY SAY WHAT MARIO SAYS HE DID?

It was twenty years ago today that Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play. 

The time frame 'twenty years' is significant because it also marks the time that has passed since my greatest single business defeat.

1987 was the year that the top dance students at SSQQ slowly but surely began to dump my studio to begin taking Whip lessons over at Southwest Whip Club.  30 SSQQ students from my Martian Whip class decided to switch to the class of Mario Robau, the Houston City Whip champion and Texas State Dance champion.  I was a very good dancer, but Mario was better.  I was a very good teacher, but Mario was better. Behind my back, the word spread that I had taken my students about as far as I could.  Now it was time for them to seek their higher destiny in the world of dance.  I watched helplessly as one by one they began to drift away.   What made this exodus particularly painful for me was that I was not only losing my best students to another teacher, I was also losing my best friends in the world.

It had taken a pretty bizarre set of circumstances to come to this point.  After my divorce in 1986, I stumbled upon an unusual self-therapy program whereby I went Whip dancing every night of the week for 201 Nights in a row. 

Since I had to have someone to dance with, I encouraged my students to come along with me. Every night a group of us went out dancing.  Different people joined us every night, but I was there EVERY NIGHT. Over the course of 1986 and the following year, the entire group of us became a tight-knit group indeed.  We became wonderful friends and we became wonderful dancers.

We were also slightly insane.  This picture alone should prove that much.

As they say, Practice makes Perfect.  Because I practiced the most, I will immodestly claim I was the best Whip dancer of the bunch.  However there were a lot of people who weren't far behind me.  Thanks to all that practice, this group of dancers had become talented dancers in their own right.

The elite dancers were Tom Easley, Mike Fagan, Ted Jones, Carol Gafford, Diane Head, and Margie Saibara.  These six people were my lieutenants so to speak.  They were leaders of the Whip Group in their own right.  People looked up to them just as much as they did me. 

As we frequently went out dancing as a group, it was just a matter of time until these elite dancers met Mario Robau in one of the night clubs.  Mario was just beginning to make a name for himself in 1986.  They marveled at his prodigious dancing ability. 

Mario is like one of those kids who sits down at a piano and starts to play immediately.  Seeing Mario dance, we would all gasp and wonder if this was proof of reincarnation.  Whatever the supernatural explanations for his ability, Mario was clearly gifted.  Over the course of the next year, Mario came into his own as the finest dancer in the city and perhaps the state.  If he wasn't the best, he was definitely gaining on everyone fast.

One day in 1987 Mike and Tom approached me about going over to Southwest Whip Club and taking classes from Mario.  Carol Gafford had been over there scouting it out.  Going over to Southwest would mean another opportunity to dance Whip, their passion, during the week.

Mike and Tom said they weren't going to go over there without clearing it with me.  I won't lie.  I was crushed inside.   We were close friends.  Friends stick together.  I thought to myself, 'Why do you have to leave me?'  But I also understood.  As their teacher, I knew in my heart that they wanted to improve as dancers and maybe enter dance contests.  They had that kind of talent.  Besides, I taught social dancing, not competition dancing.  How would I be able to face my conscience if I stood in their way?

So I gave them my blessings to go over to Southwest.  Ted, Carol, and Margie joined Tom and Mike in the big adventure.  The plan was for all of them to keep one foot over at SSQQ and one foot over at Southwest.  Diane Head, who had just begun to teach for me, decided not to go with them.  In addition, Sharon Crawford, my newest dance superstar, also chose to stay with me. 

Soon the word was out - Rick's best dancers had gone over to Mario!

Up till now there had been a barrier.  You were either Southwest or SSQQ.   But having Tom and Mike over there immediately signaled that I wasn't going to kill anyone.  The herd instinct kicked in.  Now a flood of my second tier students decided they too were going to go see what the 'enemy' was all about.  I was appalled.  Although I had done nothing wrong, my students began to desert me right and left.  Next the third tier of students left me too.  In all, I estimate at least 30 of my top dance students made their way over to Southwest Whip.  It was definitely not a coordinated effort, but more like little icebergs breaking off from the shelf and floating over there one at a time.

In a way, maybe the Group was TOO close knit.  Once the leaders were over there, the rest assumed it was the place to be.  One for all and all for one.  Mario was getting the entire package.  I was totally beside myself with exasperation.  I was their teacher, damn it!  I didn't want my students who I had been training for months and years to pick up and move on.  But it was too late.  The entire group was gone.   Poof.  Here today, Southwest tomorrow.

A recent letter from one of my best friends, Bob Job, made a brief reference to the Exodus.

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Job
Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2006 11:06 PM
To: Rick Archer
Subject: colorado state

Like a lot of the old crowd, Louise and I had deserted SSQQ to go over to the Southwest Whip Club and to the Space City Ski Club for social activities in the late 1980s.

I was sick with grief.  This may have been 'business', but how was that supposed to make me feel better?  The pain was intense. Not only was I losing the heart of my studio, in a sense I was losing my best friends to my biggest rival.

This was not something we could talk about.  I think when Tom-Mike-Carol-Ted-Margie saw the rest of the group tagging along behind them, they were mortified.  This had been a private decision that they cleared with me.  They had nothing to do with the pack of 25 people shadowing their footsteps.  But the damage was done.  This was just far too awkward to discuss openly.

One person actually did talk to me.  One night I spoke with one of the 'defectors', an attractive woman named Ailene.  She came up to me at the end of class to tell me she had decided to begin classes at Southwest the following week.  Judging from her expression, she may have felt a little guilty.

I stared at her.  "Why, Ailene?"

I don't think Ailene appreciated being put on the spot.  Embarrassed, Ailene mumbled, "I don't have to explain it to you, but that's where all my friends are now."

That summed it up right there.  None of this had anything to do with me.  It was just a lousy twist of fate.  The fickle fingers of fate had snatched this Group from my tutelage.  Over a period of several months, I watched the ranks diminish one by one.  I was crushed. 

(Note: I wrote extensively about this period of my life once before in the article known as Matchmaker.  Look for the section titled "Heartbreak Hotel".)

As far as Mario Robau was concerned, I didn't think he had the slightest thing to do with this transfer of loyalties.  He didn't directly play any Pied Piper role.  He wasn't actively luring anyone over there.  Mario was simply the best dancer in the city who served as a shining advertisement for the glories of Southwest Whip.  He was in the right place at the right time.

I was bitter to be sure, but no one had done anything wrong.  These people had a right to do what they were doing.  It wasn't anyone's 'fault'.  There wasn't any one person to blame.  My value as a teacher had not disappeared, but someone better had suddenly appeared on the scene. 

We all know this kind of scenario happens in business occasionally.  A new theater goes in down the street and suddenly the neighborhood abandons the previous favorite.   Or a Mom and Pop hardware store goes under when a Home Depot shows up.  Fortunately we are shielded from the pain, but you know there must be people whose livelihood is damaged or even ruined.

When you put it into that kind of perspective, I should be grateful I still had my studio intact.  I had only lost 5% of the studio.  It was the most valuable part to be sure, but there was definitely going to be another day for me.

All I could do was shake my head and bite my tongue.  No point in alienating these people.  Someday they would be back.  But for now there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it but accept my defeat and lick my wounds. Call it a whim.  Suddenly SSQQ wasn't the 'In Place' to be any more.  The dance studio of the month award goes to Southwest Whip Club, voted the most popular new place to take dance lessons.  Ta ta, Rick, old buddy.  See you around. So I was left behind.  Reeling as I was, I didn't see the next blow coming either.  It turned out this Exodus had a second phase.  I became increasingly bitter when I discovered there was no two-way street.  Once they switched their loyalties to Southwest, they abandoned the social side of SSQQ as well.  Except for maybe the Halloween Party, they were completely gone.  That discovery hurt just as much as the original Exodus.  It was one thing to lose them as students, but now people I had hung out with for one, two, three years were gone from my life.  If I wanted to see them, I would have to go visit them at Southwest.  And that wasn't going to happen. The entire experience was about as humiliating as having your dog decide to go live with your next door neighbor.  My pride was ripped right out of my heart.

I handled the problem at the time by going into a shell.  Slowly but surely I disengaged from this Group that had been my closest friends.  I turned my energy into developing a new generation of dancers.  But from that time forward, I never let myself get that close to my students again.  This experience had been much too painful to allow to repeat. 

From that point on, I kept a distance from my students.  I was their teacher, not their friend.  I refused to get involved in their lives as I once had.  I entered a new, lonelier phase of my career.  A lot of the joy had gone out of this dancing stuff.

As I hinted before, the news wasn't all bad.  Believe it or not, my studio was flourishing at the time.  Financially SSQQ did not suffer much at all from the loss of its elite dancers.  Thanks to my mask, the new dancers at SSQQ did not have the slightest clue what I was going through.  The 1988 SSQQ group of dance students became fixtures at the exciting Studebakers Club.  They Jitterbugged the Night Away to the great music of the Fifties and Sixties.  They could not have cared less that the former leaders of the studio were gone.  The new group was having a ball. I was the only person who actually suffered.  You can't be a good teacher if you don't invest yourself in your students.  But I had made a mistake - I had invested TOO MUCH in the Whip Group.  Practically my entire identity was wrapped around these guys.  I had gone dancing with them 201 Nights in a row, the dance equivalent of a Great Adventure.  These people were not only my best dancers, they were my best friends FOR LIFE.  And now they were gone.  Their loss was a tough pill to swallow.   I had learned a terrible lesson the hard way - don't get too close your students.  They will all leave you some day.  But I wasn't going to cry in public or make a fool of myself.  I wasn't about to let the world see my shame.

For a while I considered taking up competition whip dancing and putting my own name in the spotlight.  But the time demands of running my enormous dance studio were just too great.  The studio had more than doubled in size practically overnight.  As I thought about it, I realized I preferred to be a teacher, not a performer.  I could have learned to perform, but it wasn't in my nature. Teaching was in my nature. 

Plus there was something else.  Shortly before the Exodus, we had a Whip Party at the studio.  Someone suggested we have a dance contest.  So for the first and ONLY time in the history of SSQQ, three couples competed against each other.  Yes, one couple won, but it was the faces of the 4 people who lost that I watched.  They were crestfallen.  In turn, I was sick in my stomach.

I would never again permit brother and sister to compete like this.  It tore at the fabric of what my studio was all about - Community.  It was plain and simple.  I did not like pitting one of my students against another.  I remember exactly what I thought to myself at the time. "Hell, if they want to compete, let them go over to Southwest Whip."

Now is that prophetic or what?   How does the expression go, "Be careful what you wish for..."

So even though I absolutely loved dancing the Whip and I was very good at it, I turned my back on the world of competition whip dancing.  I rendered unto Mario what was Mario's.  

Mario and I have never been buddy-buddy.  We were dance rivals back in the mid-80s. Then, starting with the Exodus incident of 1987, Mario and I became business rivals as well.  We have been in direct business competition for the past 20 years. Thanks to his superstar status, I say with regret that the balance of power has always been in his favor.  Therefore, from my point of view, I have not minded the distance that has always existed between us.  Who enjoys being reminded of an ass-kicking?  Quite frankly, I cannot hear his name without recalling the Exodus.  It is a wound that has diminished with time, but will never be forgotten.  That said, although we have never had a friendly rivalry, I don't think we have had an underhanded rivalry either.  There is one point I need to make clear.  Even though we were rivals, I respected Mario's immense talent as a dancer and as a teacher.  Mario worked wonders with my former students.  In fact, thanks in large part to my former students, Southwest Whip hit a Golden Era in the late Eighties and early Nineties.  Under Mario's tutelage, not only did people like Mike Fagan, Margie Saibara, and Ted Jones win major championships, as a group the X-SSQQ dancers joined Mario's dance team and dazzled people for years with their performances.  So I have to say that although I was the one who was left behind in the rear view mirror, it was the clearly the right move for the elite members of my group.  Mario did indeed help the group realize their dreams.

For the next twenty years, I went my way and Mario went his.  Houston is a big city.  Our paths rarely crossed.

During that time, I had two large regrets where Mario was concerned. 

In the very beginning, I often quietly wished to myself that I could join Mario's team and be reunited with my friends.  Heck, if I wasn't so busy running the studio, I could be there with the whole gang again.  It would have been fun...

The second regret was that Mario and I could not team up.  Sure I have an ego, but I am also realistic.  Getting beat at dancing by Mario is like getting beat at basketball by Michael Jordan.  There is no shame in that. 

When I was up in Dallas in 2001 to watch a dance competition, I developed a case of patriotic fever.  I suddenly realized I didn't have any moral misgivings about competing against strangers.  I also realized I didn't care about what happened back in 1987.  That was water under the bridge.  Why not team up with Mario and kick some Dallas butt? Think about it - Back in 1987, Mario and I had inadvertently cooperated to turn out the greatest generation of dancers Southwest Whip had ever seen.  I got them going and Mario took them to the next level.  What would happen if we worked together? On the spot, I decided to offer to come over and teach at Southwest Whip.  I wanted to help develop talent at the pre-Mario level.  I would help set the plate. So I stood in line for my opportunity to speak to him about my idea.  Mario noticed me and said he would be right with me.  While I waited patiently, Mario continued to talk to someone else.  Then without so much as a word or a nod in my direction, he abruptly walked away and left the building. So much for my idea.  All I wanted to do was contribute.

2007

Fast-forward now to September 2007.  Up at Dallas Dance over Labor Day Weekend, SSQQ Whip instructor Jack Benard and his girlfriend Jackie Chang enjoyed the performances and the workshops.  While they were up there, Jackie decided to purchase some private lessons from Mario Robau as a birthday present for Jack.

As they discussed the details of the forthcoming private lessons, Mario said something unusual to Jack.  Mario told Jack that twenty years ago I had told Mario never to set foot on SSQQ premises again.  Jack was stunned.  He could not imagine why I would say something like that.  So Jack decided to play peace maker.  He sent me this email.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Benard
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 2:07 PM
To: Rick Archer
Subject: A few thoughts and rumors

Hi Rick,

When I was at Dallas Dance I talked to Mario Robau Jr. He mentioned to me that twenty years ago you told him to never set foot on your premises (that is why you get little or no contact from him).

I thought that was odd and told myself I am going to let Rick know about this. May I suggest that bygones be bygones and send him a letter to the contrary?  Unless of course you still mean it. (I don't know your side of the story, just letting you know what I heard from Mario.)

3. (FYI) These two items are second and third hand information, I did not hear it from Mario directly. I don't know how true they are.

A.) I have heard that Mario wants to be with his kids more so his kids go with him every weekend now when he travels. He has also decided to quit teaching at Melody for the rest of the year so he can spend more time with his kids.

B.) Brian is supposedly taking over for him. My second hand information source swears this occurred after Brian left SSQQ and was not the reason Brian left.

Jack Benard
SSQQ Dance Instructor

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Archer (dance@ssqq.com)
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 5:03 PM
To: Jack Benard
Cc: Tom Easley; Mike Fagan; Mario Robau
Subject: RE: A few thoughts and rumors


Thank you for your interesting letter, Jack.

As far as that comment about Mario, that is ABSURD. Absolutely ABSURD.  I do not recall saying anything of the sort.  This is the first time I have ever heard this story in my life.

If Mario is convinced it happened, then it may be possible someone told him I said something like that, but it is still not true. I do not recall ever saying any such thing. Furthermore, in my heart, I don't believe I even thought those words to myself, much less said them.

When would it have happened? Even back in the Eighties, the contact btw Mario and myself was extremely limited. Our paths rarely crossed and I do not recall one private conversation with him beyond a low-level argument over whether Whip could be led on the 1 or the 2. I said it should only be led on the 2, Mario said it could led on either beat. Mario was right. That argument happened at my studio, by the way.

Mario has been right about a lot of things over the years so I won't say my alleged quote did not happen, but I will say again that I DOUBT IT.

Mario delivered my worst business defeat in history many years ago (1988) when his reputation as a dancer and a teacher gutted my whip program. About 30 or 40 advanced whip students that I had taught from the ground up deserted SSQQ to go over to SW Whip.  Not only did I lose all my students and practically every friend I had, I also lost my girlfriend Janet to his circle as well. The entire experience was a tough pill to swallow and I was bitter about it, but I never "blamed" Mario.

He had more talent, so once my students reached a certain level, they needed a stronger teacher. It was a tough break, but I was man enough to accept that there are winners and losers in the business world.  I lost.  I didn't like it and I was bitter, but I don't recall ever doing anything inappropriate like ban Mario from the studio. I accepted my fate and got on with it.

By the way, this incident is no dark secret. I don't have anything to hide. I wrote the story of the incident. It sits in the Matchmaker article for the entire world to see in my section about the late Eighties.  Look for Heartbreak Hotel.

However, twenty years is a long time to remember things and I admit I was pretty hurt for a while there. So there may something to this statement.  I seriously doubt I said it and I would need to be convinced I said it.  When, where, who else heard me say it, etc.… then I would apologize to Mario from the bottom of my heart and I would be ashamed of myself.

I am not going to lie about something this serious, Jack. Yes, there has always been a tension btw Mario and I, but what else would you expect from business rivals?

Mario is a formidable business competitor who to this point has won all the major battles btw his organization and mine. But as far as I can tell, he has won everything fair and square. We have had several mutual friends over the years.  No one has ever come to me and said, "Mario did this horrible thing or Mario said that awful thing about you, Rick."  Never.

I have an anecdote for you.  About fifteen years ago, Tom Easley, Mario, and I met for a day of activities at some sports event near the Astrodome.  Mike Fagan might have been there too.  I think Tom's son Tommie was there as well.  We had an excellent afternoon together.  There was no animosity.  Tom is a witness and can vouch for me - please note that I have carbon copied Tom above.  I also remember talking to Mario about playing some sand volleyball, but it never came to pass.  If there was any bad blood, why would the three of us hang out together for an afternoon?  Why wouldn't Mario say something to me?

That said, I accept it is possible Mario really believes I said this.  If so, this might explain some things. It is my impression that Mario has always been distant towards me.

In 2001, I made a serious effort to talk with Mario up at Dallas.  I took a workshop that he taught and waited in line afterwards.  I had something important to say to him.  Mario said he would be right with me, talked to someone else, then walked away and left the building.  He literally left me standing there watching him walk away.  It was a serious brush-off to be sure.  What made his actions more peculiar was that a month earlier over at SW Whip, Mario had specifically said there was something HE wanted to talk to me about (I phoned him and left my number, but did not receive a call back.)

In 2005 I wrote an email letter of recommendation to Mario to help Bryan Spivey get his job over at SW Whip after that fiasco with Damon and Lisa.  Mario did not bother to respond to that letter.

In 2006 I emailed Mario to ask him whether in his opinion we should drop teaching Whip at SSQQ.  He encouraged me to continue, but added nothing else.

That is the complete summary of direct contact between Mario and I for the past twenty years. I assumed the guy wanted me to leave him alone, so I did.

As far as I can tell, Mario has never done anything unethical towards me or openly ridiculed my studio. So we are square one on that issue. On a personal level, I do not hold even the slightest grudge towards the man at all.  Live long and prosper.
…………….

Now, as far as Bryan is concerned, I have three things to say about him.

One, I do not know the truth behind his reasons for leaving. I just know that no man who is just getting started like Bryan is quits a good job to help around the house.  With a baby on the way, common sense says a man works hard to provide for his family. So his resignation remains a mystery.

Two, I spent 5 years doing everything in my power to help Bryan develop his career and that time is now totally wasted. I find Bryan's behavior to be incredibly ungrateful.

Three, I made an exception for Bryan to allow him to teach at SW Whip.  Despite all the wounds I feel towards SW Whip, I still gave my permission.  I did it for one single reason - Because it was in Bryan's best interests to do so.  I knew at the time it was a risky move (and history has proven me correct), but at the time I consciously chose to do the unselfish thing because I thought Mario would help Bryan develop as a dancer and a teacher.  This action alone should prove there is no grudge btw Mario and me, at least not from my end.

I also hoped that Bryan could form some sort of alliance btw SW Whip and SSQQ as he promised he would attempt to do, but we all know how poorly that panned out.

I won't say it was a mistake to trust Bryan. But I will say he disappointed me.
……………

Any other rumors?  If so, bring them on.

Since you have told me that Mario said these things to you directly, I will take the liberty of sending him this email as well. And I will say this, "Mario, you are welcome to set foot in my studio any time you wish. I would be honored to have you visit. And I apologize for any misunderstanding. If it is true I said those things, please accept that I was wrong to say them."

Thank you for taking the time to help mend fences, Jack. There is no point in having old men be enemies for no reason.

Rick Archer
SSQQ Dance Studio

I wrote two more emails.  In one email, I wrote to confirm that I had used Mario's correct email address.  I was told I had indeed sent my letter to the correct address.  

Second, I asked Sharon Crawford Shaw what she thought.  Sharon, of course, was my closest associate at the studio in those days.  If I talked to anyone at all, I talked to Sharon who more or less kept me glued together through this ordeal.

From: Rick Archer
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 11:54 AM
To: Sharon Shaw
Subject: mario robau and jack benard

Sharon, do you ever wonder if you are losing your mind?

Jack says Mario claims I banned him from ever setting foot at SSQQ again. My first reaction was to tell Jack that Mario's claim is ridiculous.

But I was so hurt at the time (20 years ago), it does seem remotely possible I would act like that.  I would be ashamed of myself if it did, but I was a pretty angry guy in those days.  Still, I have such a tendency to brood, I imagine I would have mulled over an incident like that for days and that it would stick in my mind.

I vaguely remember going to some dance competition with you back about that time.  Maybe something did happen.

So I am writing to ask if you remember anything that would either support my position that it didn't happen or Mario's claim.

Thanks.
 

 -----Original Message-----
From: Sharon Shaw
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 12:57 PM
To: Rick Archer
Subject: RE: mario robau and jack benard

Sorry, I don't remember anything like that happening.

I know you were really angry, but I don't remember any incident.

I actually don't remember you being angry with Mario, just at the whole whip/southwest whip thing in general.



 -----Original Message-----
From: Rick Archer
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:21 PM
To: Sharon Shaw
Subject: RE: mario robau and jack benard

Sorry? Why should you say 'sorry'?  That's wonderful!  You just confirmed EXACTLY what I remember myself.

I was just worried I had suppressed some horrible memory of a time I had insulted Mario and buried the ugly incident for twenty years in my subconscious.

I feel much better. Maybe I am not losing my mind after all.

Thanks, Sharon!

After Sharon's email, I had private phone conversations with other people who shared the same arena twenty years ago.  They agreed they never heard anything about me angrily banning Mario from the studio. 

However, my friend Tom Easley said something curious that stopped me in my tracks. 

I was talking to Tom about how well Mario and I had gotten along at the Sports Expo at the Astroarena fifteen years ago.  Then I asked Tom if our friend Mike Fagan had been there.  Tom didn't think so.  Then I pointed out that Tom's son Tommie had been there.   Tom thought about it and said there was a kid there, but it wasn't Tommie.  After a moment's pause, he decided it was Alan Brown's son.

Tom recalled beating Alan Brown's son in a footrace that day.  Then Tom said, "I wonder if Alan Brown was there?"  Then he answered his own question.  "I guess Alan Brown had to be there if his son was there."   I told Tom I vaguely remembered the footrace.  But truth be told, I was embarrassed that I had completely forgotten about Alan and his son till now.

Then I asked Tom about playing sand volleyball with Mario.  Tom laughed and said one time he had played sand volleyball with Mario and had gotten drunk afterwards.  So that night when he got home, he was so tired he passed out on the bed still covered head to toe with sand.  We both laughed.  Tom said he was amazed Margaret stayed married to him after that one.

I told Tom I would have enjoyed playing volleyball with both of them.  That's when Tom reminded me that I had played water volleyball at Tom's house with Mario one Saturday. 

"No, Tom, I would remember that.  I never played water volleyball with Mario at your house."

Tom continued to insist I had played water volleyball with him and Mario at his house.  The more Tom insisted, the more I was quietly convinced that Tom was wrong.  Mario may have indeed played water volleyball with Tom, but not when I was there.

But what was the point of arguing?  Who cares?

After we finished the phone call, I gave it some thought.  I said Tom's son was at the Astroarena.  It turned out to be Alan's son.  Tom said I played water volleyball with Mario.  I said I didn't.

Mario said I forbade him from setting foot in my studio twenty years ago.  I don't remember any such thing ever happening.

If Mario believes I said what he said I did, then maybe it really did happen.  Or maybe someone said something to him and over the course of time, Mario decided it was me who said it.  Besides, considering how hurt I was in those days, I am quite sure my hostility conveyed that message loud and clear whether I said anything or not. 

The only thing I am sure of is that none of us have a good enough memory to be sure of anything that happened that long ago.

Mario Robau is welcome at my dance studio any time he wishes to visit.  I would be flattered to have him visit. And I apologize to Mario for my animosity towards him back in the late Eighties.  As I have said repeatedly in this story, Mario has always behaved professionally towards me.  Southwest Whip stopped being the enemy in my mind many years ago.  I have no grudges towards Mario and I have none towards Southwest either.  I think this story should make that perfectly clear. As Jack Benard suggests, I would like to let bygones be bygones.

 

CLIMBING YOUR WAY TO THE TOP There is a great deal of Mythology regarding the WAY to becoming a good West Coast Swing dancer.  The first question to ask is whether to take Private Lessons or Group Lessons.  When I learned to dance the Whip, I first took Group Lessons, then I took Private Lessons.  Both systems had their advantages and disadvantages.  Given my overview, I suggest you start with Group Lessons.  The reason is that West Coast Swing begins as a Social Dance.  Learn this dance as a way to have fun before anything else.  It is a way to meet people, to make friends, to socialize, to enjoy a new hobby, to practice and get valuable exercise.  Learning to dance in a Group not only gives you valuable social contact, it lends itself to built-in opportunities to practice all the way up the ladder with your class.  Now hanging out with your friends becomes just as much a reason to continue as the class itself.  You are literally part of a dance support group who will encourage you to continue just as you will in turn urge them to practice and get better. On the other hand, people who learn via private lessons turn into bubble boys and bubble girls.  In private lessons, you only learn to dance with your perfect instructor or with a partner who knows exactly what you are going to do.  Once you are exposed to dance viruses like poor rhythm and bad leads plus threats like new patterns and different styles, you will realize why private lessons are impractical for beginners.

If you show a particular gift for your dance, your Group Class teacher will let you know.  Then you can decide for yourself how far you wish to pursue the dance.  If you wish to shoot for the stars, then Private Lessons become the preferred route.  But for the vast majority of dancers, a top-flight Group Class combined with plenty of practice and repetition is sufficient for the 90% who prefer to be social dancers.

THE DARK AND DANGEROUS WHIP

One of the biggest misconceptions about SSQQ is our constant allegiance to the mysterious dance known as the Whip. 

Even though the Whip is not considered the easiest dance to learn, we continue to teach Whip at SSQQ for a single important reason - the Texas Whip is really hot!  No dance where a woman works her body inside a man's arms should ever be ignored, trust me.  Besides, the Whip has so much in common with West Coast Swing that I have discovered it only takes a few brief detours in our curriculum to add it to your repertoire.   Considering the payoff, you will be glad for the side trips, believe me. 

How about a little background about the Whip?

The Texas Whip came into being shortly after World War II.  East Coast Swing danced to Big Band music was the style of the day.  However, during the war the floors out in California had grown so crowded they invented a new style whereby they danced East Coast in a straight line to save space.  Hence the origins of West Coast Swing.  After the war, Texas GIs returning from California brought back the rudimentary West Coast Swing to Texas soil. 

Once they exposed this dance to Texas Blues music, the California version quickly changed from a fast-paced footwork dance into a raw, sensual bump and grind featuring some pretty sexy hip motion.  In other words, the look of the dance was influenced by the nasty stripper-style music that played in the background.  Thus was born the Dirty Whip, a legendary pickup dance used in smoky, pressure-cooker lounges and rough blue-collar honky tonks across Texas.

By the Seventies, the Dirty Whip had been cleaned up quite a bit, mostly because the nice girls wanted to get in on the fun.  The sanitized version still raised eyebrows, but at least it could finally be danced with the lights on.  Whip hit its heyday in the mid-Eighties thanks to a perfect storm combination of two successive movies: Saturday Night Fever and Urban Cowboy.  SNF got America dancing again, but here in Houston, Disco died young thanks to Urban Cowboy.   Filmed right here in Houston, UC fueled an unprecedented interest in Western Dancing.  The early part of the Eighties was the Era of the Western Swing until people started to get bored.  They looked around for a new dance challenge. 

Over there sitting unappreciated in the corner was the Texas Whip. This dance had been almost totally ignored for the past six years.  Now all these talented Disco and Western dancers picked up this new toy and began to play with it.  Suddenly there was a huge movement to learn the Whip.  That's where Mario and I came in to begin our strange parallel careers.

The Whip enjoyed its greatest day in the sun throughout the remainder of the Eighties.  However the Nineties brought on hard times for this dance.  The first natural enemy was the music.  Rap Music and Whip do not mix very well.  Then came Garth Brooks to lure people back to Western Dancing.  Garth was followed by Zoot Suit Riot Swing Dancing. 

Meanwhile the Whip acquired a new threat: West Coast Swing.   For fifty years, the West Coast Swing had followed its own development path in other parts the country.  Free from the Blues traditions of the South, West Coast Swing found its own music.  WCS had more movement, footwork, and speed.  It was a flashier dance that allowed more interpretation to the music and more variety of things for the woman to do.  In short, West Coast Swing looked better in the daylight.

During the Nineties, the West Coast Swing tried to cross our state boundaries.  Thanks in part to videotape and to a growing interest in National level Swing competitions plus new WCS-trained instructors moving to Texas from other areas, by the turn of the century West Coast Swing had rudely pushed the Whip to the side.  Here in Houston, the Whip began a slow descent into oblivion.

I can only speak for myself, but until you have danced the Whip, you have no idea just how much fun it is.  I love West Coast, but the Whip adds an entire new dimension. What most people fail to realize is just how easy it is to mix Whip and West Coast together.   There are certain gaps in West Coast such as the Closed Basic, the Hammerlock, and the two-hand Basic where quite frankly the Whip variations are SUPERIOR.  Those 3 gaps are exactly where SSQQ trains its students to use the Texas Whip.  There is no need to choose.  You can have your West Coast and your Whip too.  Together, they are a lethal combination to watch.  Here at SSQQ, we start with West Coast Swing just like everyone else.  Then we show you how to blend in the Whip.  Get yourself the right partner.  Then some night when the floor is dark and a steamy song comes on the jukebox, you will begin to understand what I have been talking about.  That is when you will smile and be grateful you learned the secrets of the mysterious Texas Whip.

20.