Deborah G.
Yelp
Potential students beware. It seems to be all about the money!
I registered and paid for a stained-glass class at Studio 34 through the Rochester Brainery for $295. The class was supposed to have been taught by a world-renowned glass artist, and the class description read that it included all the glass and all materials except for protective eyewear.
On the first day of class, the instructor, who was not the professional glass artist listed in the course description, had us look through bins of glass scraps after we'd decided on a pre-approved design. While I found some pieces I could use, I could not find green or blue glass that matched and/or were large enough for the design. The instructor looked too, couldn't find any, then brought out some sheets of glass for me to choose from. At no point was there a mention of having to pay more for the glass.
When I showed up the following week, I was told that I had to pay for the green and blue glass I'd picked out the week before. I objected, and the instructor said I had to call the owner, who said that the bins had copious amounts of glass for the projects. They did not. They were inadequately stocked. I was not the only one having difficulty finding glass. Every student had trouble.
The owner said that my options were to pay for the glass or take a refund for the class.
I will not be forced into paying for glass that was supposed to be included in the class cost so I took the refund.
If there was an additional cost to the glass, that should have been said upfront when the sheets were brought out by the instructor. And it turns out that this class does not even provide the finishing piece so we couldn't actually hang our stained-glass projects. We could only leanthem against a window. The finishing piece is part of another class and this was not mentioned in the course description. Another class and more money to finish one piece.
When a course description says we're going to be instructed by a glass master, I expect that it will be unless I'm notified in advance that it's not the case and offered a chance to opt-out at that time.
When a course description says the class includes the materials, I expect to be able to find glass that I can use to create an integrated piece, rather than random scraps that result in a mismatched mess. The only other option offered was to open my wallet and pay more.