Every piano teacher listed on Palliser Music has been vetted by Linda before appearing on the site. This page explains what that means — what we check, what the “Verified by Palliser” badge stands for, and how our review system works.
What we check before a listing goes live
Every listing is reviewed by hand. The applicant either submits a listing through our online form or is invited directly by Linda, and then Linda goes through the following before publishing:
- Photo — a real, current photograph of the teacher. No stock imagery, no logos in place of a face. Parents need to see who’s teaching their kid.
- Contact verification — the phone number connects to the teacher, the email address is theirs, the studio address (if listed) exists.
- At least one teaching credential — an RCM grade or diploma, an ARMTA or MRMTA membership, a music degree, a Certified Teacher designation, or a documented teaching history the teacher can vouch for.
- Business standing — where relevant, we confirm current membership with associations the teacher claims (ARMTA, MRMTA, RCM examiner status, etc.).
- Direct conversation — Linda talks to every teacher before their listing goes live, either by phone or video. It’s a short conversation, but it filters out anyone who isn’t actually who they say they are.
What the “Verified by Palliser” badge stands for
When you see the Verified badge on a listing, it means the five checks above were completed and Linda approved the listing. It’s an honest signal: this person exists, they teach piano, their credentials are real, and they’ve had a direct conversation with us.
Two things the badge is careful to stay narrow about:
- Fit is personal. A great teacher for a chatty 6-year-old may not be a great teacher for a shy 14-year-old, and vice versa. That’s a conversation to have with each teacher directly.
- We verify credentials; the reviews verify the teaching. Observing every teacher through a full lesson isn’t a scale we can honestly commit to. The reviews on each listing (from real families who took lessons) are the ongoing signal of how a teacher actually teaches. The badge is the entry gate; the reviews are the running commentary.
Credential chips — the specific claims we verify
Underneath the Verified badge you’ll see one or more credential chips: things like ARMTA Member, RCM Grade 10, ARCT (Piano Performance), Bachelor of Music. Each chip is a specific claim we’ve confirmed. Where a chip includes a year (e.g. “ARCT — 2018”), that’s the year the teacher earned it.
If a teacher says they hold a credential we can’t verify, we don’t list that chip. This mostly comes up with older credentials from institutions that no longer exist or don’t respond to inquiries — in those cases the chip is left off and the teacher’s bio can describe the credential in prose.
How reviews work
Reviews come from families who’ve actually taken lessons with the teacher. Each review has:
- Five sub-ratings — Teaching Quality, Reliability, Communication, Student Progress, Value — each on a 5-star scale.
- A written comment (minimum 30 characters), so reviews contain some substance rather than just a star count.
- Email verification of the submitter — every reviewer confirms their email before the review is considered for publication.
Every review goes through moderation before it’s published. Linda and Spencer read each one. We approve reviews that appear to come from real families; we hold reviews that look like they might be from a competitor, a family member, or the teacher themselves; we reject reviews that are abusive, defamatory, or off-topic.
What teachers can and can’t do with their reviews
Teachers listed on Palliser cannot delete reviews from their own listings. They can respond publicly to a review if they want to add context, but the review itself stays up. This is a hard rule — a directory where teachers can quietly remove critical reviews isn’t a trustworthy source for parents.
Reviewers themselves can edit their own review within a short window after submitting (typically 48 hours), in case they want to soften wording or fix a factual error. After that window the review is locked.
Where reviews come from
Palliser reviews come from three sources, all of them intentional:
- Teachers invite their own students’ families to leave a review when they think it’s earned.
- Linda sometimes suggests to a family that they leave a review after hearing them speak positively about a teacher.
- Parents find the review link on their teacher’s listing and leave one on their own initiative.
That’s the whole intake channel. The result is fewer reviews than the big US directories — reviews on Palliser tend to arrive slowly and read like something a real parent would actually write.
What happens if a teacher stops meeting the standard
A teacher can lose the Verified badge (or be removed from Palliser entirely) for:
- Losing an association membership we’ve listed as a credential (the chip comes down; if it was their only credential, the Verified badge does too).
- Multiple substantiated complaints of unprofessional conduct.
- Misrepresentation — a credential turns out to be false, a photo turns out to be someone else, etc.
- Attempting to game reviews (creating fake accounts, offering discounts in exchange for 5-star reviews).
Removal isn’t punitive; we just don’t want a listing on the site that we can no longer stand behind. Any teacher who wants to correct a misunderstanding and restore their listing can reach out and we’ll walk through what changed.
Who to talk to
If you have a concern about a listing — a credential you don’t think is accurate, a review you think is fake, or a teaching experience that fell outside what the listing promised — email hello@palliser.music and we’ll look into it. We respond to every message from a real parent, usually within 48 hours.
Related reading: About Palliser Music · Review policy · For teachers — how to list