No flack here ... never having loaded a quilt onto a frame I appreciate knowing the *things* that can happen to it. I used a LAQ once and I might do it again in the future. It's nice to know the area's where I can improve and not hinder the job of the LAQ.
I also agree about certification ... it's really worth the paper it's printed on (ONLY the paper). If a person wishes to know the abilities of an LAQ ... look at their work, preferably in person.
I would like to add though that if someone is in business of quilting on a LA for others (ie a professional), THEY should also understand that not all piecers are going to know these things and a good professional LAQ should preview the quilt before it is on the frame and before giving the customer a quote to tell the customer "I might run into problems in these areas and the result could be puckers" and give the piecer the option to fix it first. To call upon your previously mentioned professions ... a good doctor is going to tell me all the side effects of a prescribed medication, and a good hair dresser is going to tell me if my hair will not behave like the model's hair in the picture.
This is where I'm coming from. I had never seen a frame or a long arm, never knew how one operated. I had a quilt top that I wanted quilted in a way that was beyond my abilities at that time so I contacted an LA in the area who was recommended by my LQS (and I saw many of her quilts displayed there as well). I phoned her, described my quilt and what I wanted, made an appointment and brought her my quilt top, batting and backing ... ALL BASTED TOGETHER! She had not told me not to, how the heck was I to know quilts were loaded onto frames separate? Never having seen one, I thought they were loaded together. To make matters worse the poor woman was so horrified that I had basted it that she didn't hear me when I told her that I basted it with water soluble thread. She could have just spritzed it with water and it would have pulled apart ... she picked out all the basting threads! Yes, we had a good laugh about that, and fortunately my quilt turned out gorgeous and we are all happy.
But yes, thank you again for your post. I have certainly learned a few things about how to prepare a quilt for a frame (and for that matter - your suggestions should be employed when quilting on a DM as well).