Business ProfileforHammer & Strings Conservatory

This is a fairly new music school in *******, ** that offers music ******s to adults and children. They do not accommodate appropriate means of paying for ******s and insist on having students provide them with a bank account number only. When I refused to do this, then they relented and allowed me to use a credit card. This worked for a while and then they switched to a different 3rd-party company to manage credit cards and for a credit card transaction, **************** starting charging me $9 per month on top of their regular charge of $299/month for 4 ******s per month ($70 per ****** at one time a week). When I complained about it, they insisted again I give them my bank account so they could withdraw money and I refused. Then they relented and stated I could provide a monthly bank check mailed from the bank itself. When I did this, I sent money to cover the ******s I had per month (which are not always 4/month). Then, they insisted I owed them money for ******s I didn't receive. They charge $299/month whether a student receives 2 ******s per month or 4 ******s per month and they try to justify it by stating that some months a student will get 5 ******s per month. I don't know what sort of calendar they use, but months don't have 5 weeks in them and I have never had 5 ******s per month and I found out they have charged my credit card in the past for $299/month no matter what!. They do not allow teachers to provide ******s during school break sessions and so at least 4 times/year, only 2 ******s per month are given. They are doing this to all students who take ******s there. Then, I also found out they are not paying teachers what they should pay. **************** charges $70 per ****** but they only give the teacher $35 per ****** which is well below the standard hourly music ****** compensation a teacher should be getting. So, they are stiffing both students and teachers and are running a scam in the guise of a conservatory.

Thank you for your very detailed review. I am very sorry that you did not have a great experience at Hammer & Strings Conservatory. We really do care what our customers think, and we do our very best to accommodate our customers, as you kindly pointed out twice above. Most of your review was absolutely correct. We are a fairly new school that opened in 2019. At that time, as a small, locally owned business, we did not accept credit cards for various reasons. As you mentioned, we worked directly with you to make sure there was a payment plan for you that worked for both parties. We were happy to do that! We later moved to a 3rd party company which allows credit cards, and we were able to offer that payment option to our customers. We do choose to pass on the fees that the 3rd party charges us for CC use onto our customers, and we are very up front about that, as is the payment service when you sign up (we obviously offer other payment options that do not have the CC fees). Again, when you complained to us about that situation, we again made a special arrangement to assist you with your needs, offering another way to pay that did not require the CC fee. We really do try to take care of our clients! One very important point that you made which was incorrect was our monthly price. You stated that it is $299 per month. It is actually $310/month for 1-hour lessons which you were receiving, and so you were getting a price reduction of $11 on your monthly payments, which more than covers the fees that you would have been charged with your credit card (which you were not being charged, since we came to another arrangement). To your other points, we are a music school that charges a monthly tuition. We charge the same tuition each month regardless of the number of lessons (except in the summer), because we do not charge per ******* That is not how our tuition system works. This is all explained clearly in the Conservatory Policies that you signed and agreed to when you came to study with us. We do not try to hide that fact at all. In fact, this is industry standard with music schools, and most private music teachers. I will mention that this particularly poor review comes after we emailed you very kindly to please pay your past due balances. I am glad you are concerned about our teachers well-being (although your comments about teacher pay are not accurate and very much over-simplified), and as such, your refusal to pay your agreed-upon tuition was disappointing. I am happy to report that your awesome teacher got paid his entire amount, despite your unpaid balance. Taking care of our AMAZING teachers and providing them a fabulous place to work and teach is one of our highest priorities. We wish you the very best in your music studies! Keep pursuing Intentional Excellence!!-Hammer & Strings Conservatory