I should note before I go any further that I never actually had the opportunity to use the gift certificate that was purchased for me at this location because of the owner's behavior. This review is a caution to anyone buying a gift certificate from this location that you will want to read.
My girlfriend purchased a gift certificate as a Christmas gift for us from this location last year. The purchase price was $220 for three lessons. The gift certificate came with a requirement that it be used within three months (in hindsight, that is a very short window). Shortly after it was given to me, I tore my labrum in my shoulder and had to undergo surgery. When my girlfriend approached the owner about extending the expiration date, they requested a doctor's note (are you kidding me?!). I actually had to have my doctor write a note proving that I was having surgery and that it would be a six month recovery process. You would have thought that Fred Astaire was my employer rather than a dance studio that should be more concerned with customer service. They agreed to extend the gift certificate by another three months, which was still projected to be earlier than my recovery date from surgery.
I was cleared for most activities on October 7, but just before that, as the gift certificate was about to expire on the week of 9/23, one of the owners (Sayra Vazquez) communicated that we would have to use the gift certificate during the week of 9/23 or it would expire.
This prompted me to do some investigating. Upon a search of the law in Florida, I found that gift certificates that are purchased (not won or given away in a "promotion") in Florida cannot have an expiration date on them. However, if they are won or given away at a promotion, they may have an expiration date. I brought this law to Sayra's attention on 9/26 by e-mail. It took her three days to write back, and when she did, instead of admitting that they made a mistake, she instead tried to argue with me that she did some "investigating" and that the gift certificate that she sold my girlfriend was actually a "promotion", not understanding that a "promotion" is something that you don't actually pay for under the law.
Instead of admitting that she made a mistake, she instead tried to find a legal loophole to justify her illegal business practices. When I called that to her attention, rather than saying "I'm sorry, you're right, you can use the gift certificate at your leisure because that is how the law works in Florida", she instead said that my girlfriend and I were not the right "fit" and proceeded to give us a refund of the $220.
What a shame and a terrible way of doing business. Imagine having to undergo a surgical procedure and recovery and in the back of your mind have to deal with a dance studio on your a** trying to rush you to use a gift certificate before you actually have clearance from a doctor. What would be the point of that other than to try to screw the customer over and have them eat the cost of the gift certificate...
I see many positive reviews about the actual dance instructors and classes at this studio. That is awesome and I do not doubt that they are great at teaching dance. However, the people running this place, including Sayra, haven't a clue how to treat a customer. Be forewarned that if you dare by a gift certificate from this place with an expiration date on it (an illegal act by the owners), you better make sure that nothing comes up in your life that prevents you from using it in the short window that they give you, or else you will be met with the burden of having to get a doctor's note and possibly lose the money you spent on the classes.
What would even be a reason to have an expiration date on a gift certificate, albeit a three month window? You can come to your own conclusions on that one... read more