I wrote the following a couple of years ago, but never posted it. I see that Scott Tubbs is still out there scamming people so I decided to post it now.
Preface
During the summer of I responded to an ad in the Dallas Morning News for New Car Salesman at a Dallas area Honda dealership. I went to the dealership on a Tuesday afternoon After a brief interview with Scott Tubbs, I was invited to return on Wednesday morning for 3 days of Automobile Business & Sales Overview training. Scott works for a consulting firm called Choice Solutions Consulting Service (CSCS). His training partners name was Joe. The training was held in a classroom at the Honda dealership.
The scam
I have to say that Scott Tubbs is very good at generating excitement and enthusiasm. However, in hindsight, I now see him serving his Kool-Aid, and his students eagerly and naively drinking it. The first training day was filled with building emotion around the potential to make a lot of money, and how we would reach that potential if we did exactly what Scott said. He thoroughly seduced the entire class.
At the end of the first day, Scott announced that there was a $599.00 fee for the training class; something he neglected to disclose at the initial interview on Tuesday. He purposely withheld this information until then, using the first day to set up his scam. At that time, Scott told us that xxx Honda would fully reimburse the class fee upon 90 days of employment completion. Scott also required the payment in cash or cashiers check only. This set off a red flag for me, however, my guard was down because he had stated earlier that we would start work at xxx Honda on Monday (a false assurance that we already had the jobs).
We were repeatedly told by Scott (on all 3 days) that we would be starting work at xxx Honda on Monday (contingent on a clean criminal background and drug screening). He used the term will be on the payroll Monday at least once - AN INTENTIONAL, DECEPTIVE, OUTRIGHT, LIE. I was fully expecting to start employment and Honda certification training on Monday. Scott then announced that we would spend the last hour in individual one-on-one personal meetings with Joe and himself. You would either return in the morning because they determined that you have what it takes, or you would not be invited back because you did not meet the criteria of a new car salesman.in my personal meeting, I was told that they thought I was at the top of the class, and that I was an ideal candidate. I fell for it.
Sure enough, there were several people that did not return the following morning I assumed that these people were rejected, and that I made the cut.in hindsight, either these people could not afford the $599.00 fee, or they were smart enough to see through the scam. I confirmed that at least one other classmate was told the same thing that I was, and I suspect that we were all given the same line. Unfortunately, I handed over a cashiers check at the end of the 2nd day. I asked Scott for a written confirmation of the 90-day reimbursement, which he promised for the next day, but never delivered.
During the wrap-up on Friday morning (day 3), Scott handed out a form to sign (Purchase and Service Agreement) that basically stated we were not allowed a refund and that we were not guaranteed employment with this or any other dealership. Again, my radar went off, but knowing that I would begin work on Monday, I thought (at the time) that this was reasonable. Why would xxx Honda invest money in my training, only to watch me leave to another dealership next week? I saw this a form of commitment, and found it to be acceptable, as we would be fully reimbursed in 90 days.
Scott finished collecting the signed papers at 11:30AM. He then told us to take a break and return to the classroom at 1:00PM. A xxx Honda representative would provide instructions about what to expect Monday, and where to report for the drug screening. According to the published schedule, the class was supposed to conclude at noon on the 3rd day, so the 1:00PM meeting was a bit unexpected. I assumed that we would have to wait until the dealership representative returned from lunch. Once Scott had the signed papers in his hands, he and Joe promptly packed up and left the dealership at approximately 11:45AM. I was very pumped up and enthusiastic about hitting the ground running on Monday.
We returned to the classroom at 1:00PM, and after 20 minutes passed without anyone showing up, one of the students went to investigate. As it turned out, nobody xxx Honda was aware that the students were waiting for a dealership representative. It was only then that we were told (by ddd, of xxx Honda) that we would each be required to attend two additional interviews. At that time we were also informed that we were in fact NOT starting work on Monday. Ddd explained how that would not be possible prior to passing a background and drug screening a reasonable and rational statement, however completely contradicting what Scott had told us. For the record, Scott did not properly inform ddd who did his best to organize the unscheduled interviews with the sales managers. He handled the matter very professionally.
This is when warning bells started going off in everyones heads simultaneously, and we all looked at each other realizing immediately that we may have been scammed out of $599.00. Scott collected the $599.00 cashiers checks late Thursday afternoon. Scotts training assistant (Joe) did not show up for the class until approximately 10:30AM Friday morning; despite the fact that the class started at 9:30AM.in hindsight, I now realize (or at least cynically conclude) that Joe was at the bank when it opened Friday morning; cashing the checks to prevent anyone from stopping payment on them. He had been on time the two previous days.
I found it extremely odd that Scott & Joe did not stick around on Friday afternoon. If Scott had known that we would be interviewing, I would have assumed that he and his assistant would be been there providing support and encouragement.instead, they made fast tracks out of town with our money. Its also suspicious that a search on Google of Choice Solutions Consulting Service or CSCS comes up empty. No records of the company in the Shreveport business yellow pages or Shreveport Better Business Bureau. The training materials contain no contact information (no address or phone number). They have intentionally made it very difficult to contact them for questions or follow up. When asked for a business card, neither Scott nor Joe had any. These were all MAJOR red flags, but they pulled a professional con, and we all took the bait.
After some tricky searching I found the company web page at http://www.cscstraining.com/.
Strange the company doesnt have a brick and mortar mailing address; only a web page. Its a very generic web page, with no mention of Scott Tubbs. The phone number posted on their web page is a non-working number!
I personally feel that Scott misrepresented xxx Honda, and that he intentionally made false statements (on xxxs behalf) in order to instill confidence in each of us, solely for the purpose of collecting his classroom training fee. Every person in that room was under the impression that they would start work on Monday (unless they had to give notice to their current employer something that Scott discussed, OR if the background/drug screening did not go well). I had already contacted numerous friends and associates, informing them that I would be selling cars at xxx Honda.
Class criticisms
Scott took a 10-minute cell phone call in the middle of my initial interview with him on Tuesday. I sat looking at the ceiling the whole time. It was rude and extremely unprofessional. I came very close to getting up and walking out.
For 3 days, Scott continually answered his cell phone in the middle of the classroom training, completely disrupting the momentum of the class. They were all either personal calls, or calls related to his business. Some were brief, some were not. None were related to the class or to xxx Honda.
The class attendees were a very diverse mix of ages and races, with only one female (except during the wrap up on day 3). On day 3, approximately 8 people from yyy Honda came from zzz to attend the wrap up, including a second female. Several times during the 3 days, Scott made offensive racial comments that made me very uncomfortable (for the sake of others in the room, not myself). He also made several very sexist comments that I found inappropriate, particularly with women in the room.
To save personal time for himself, Scott made the yyy Honda class attendees drive from zzz to attend the day 3 wrap up session. Prior to their arrival at xxx Honda, Scott specifically asked that we not discuss the class reimbursement with them (because yyy was not offering the same great deal to their new sales people). Again, in hindsight, this should have set off another red flag.
The student training manual was not handed out until the end of day 3.in a typical class, manuals or texts are handed out at the start. This allows students to use them as a study guide, and a source for writing notes while following the class. I suspect that this was done intentionally to prevent complaints from students.in exchange for the $599.00 fee, we were promised Sales Training Manuals. The manuals we received were far below my personal expectations. Im sure these manuals cost them less than $5.00 each to print.
All discussions, demonstrations, and guest Sales speakers focused 100% on NEW car sales only. At no time were USED cars discussed or mentioned. It became apparent during the final two interviews that some of the newly hired sales staff would be required to sell used cars.
The classes were too high level, without enough depth or detail. Too many tangents on long personal stories that were not related to the subject matter.
The class was never given an opportunity to evaluate the instructor. However, even if the opportunity had presented itself, clearly the results would have been dramatically different if they were solicited before the 1:00PM meeting when we all were in a positive mood, versus later when we all realized what had happened.
A training completion certificate was never issued.
Conclusion
Scott Tubbs is a con man. He intentionally misled the class attendees and flagrantly misrepresented xxx Honda. Some of the statements that Scott made on xxx Hondas behalf were absolute lies. My emotions on Friday afternoon went from extreme enthusiasm in the morning to embarrassment and shame in the afternoon when I realized that we had been taken for a ride. My treatment at the hands of Scott Tubbs left me feeling violated, ashamed, and foolish. While my first inclination was to let it go due to my embarrassment, I want to speak out and prevent this from happening to others. I want to ensure that Scott and CSCS are not permitted to continue victimizing others, and misrepresenting legitimate and reputable car dealerships.
This class was not held at a hotel or off-site facility. It was held in a classroom at xxx Honda. I absolutely felt that this was a legitimate class, and that Scott Tubbs was speaking on behalf of this dealership. Joe videotaped a portion of the first days training (Scott actually stated that it was for an A&E Television documentary). I fully believe that the intent of this tape was to legally cover what was stated (that is, at least while the camera was running), so that when students complained later, they would present the tape as their evidence.in other words, they were very careful about what they said when the camera was on.
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