First of all, Joel Slack, who is Stanley Barber's former vice president approached me on July 10 at a job fair event in San Jose.
He made an inappropriate suggestion that asked me to borrow $3,000.00 from my credit Card Company at that time to pay their company for their service after I told him that I just got laid off and didn't have that amount of money to pay their consulting fee.
The reason I follow his suggestion and signed the contract with Stanley barber was because he told me that I shouldn't waste time on wondering which career path I should go without any professional assistances. And he told me that if I could start to follow the program provided by SB immediately, I could get job interviews within 2 months (by around Sept. 20) and receive a very solid career path proposal with guarantee services agreement provided, if I am not satisfied with their services at any time or they can not delivered their promise by Sept. 20, I could claimed my full refund back per guarantee agreement.
I spent 3 weeks/6 meetings from July 18 to Sept. 20 with their company's consultant coach - Ms. Akiko Koda and Ms. Kathryn Hicks to supply detailed personal data and complete the assessment materials (i.E. Action plan) required by their company, after all, I did not get any written evaluation and analysis report from their company. On Sept. 20, I was told by both coaches that I had completed all their company's requirements and ready for a job search, so both Ms. Koda and Hicks sent me back to worked with Mr. Slack.
Mr. Slack took over the responsibility and was looking at my resume, and knew that I had financial planner working experience, he asked me to try a company called Principal Financial Group. However, I told him that I only wanted to work in this field on a part time basis with my previous employer, and he strongly suggested me that Principal Financial Group is the better company and they accept people doing it on a part time basis as well. Later on, around Oct. 25 after I spent $300.00 license transfer fee just found out that was not true that I could work part time there.
So I went to Stanley Barber and made my complaint about this instance and the managing general partner Al Chiara at Stanley Barber told me that Joel let their company and he also told me that he disagreed with Mr. Slack's suggestion to me, too. And told me that: Vivvie, if you are going to this field, you will not be happy due to you would need to spend lots of money on advertising and do lots of cold calls and live on a 100% commission. I questioned Al Chiara said that if their company really takes my case into consideration, why their representative (Mr. Slack) told me one thing and he (Mr. Chiara) told me another story? And I told him that I deserved my money back ASAP. Not only had I wasted my 3 month plus $3,000.00 also lost another $300.00 per their company's wrong suggestion also their company caused me lost my chance on working in this field on a part time basis with my previous company as I stated in my original objective. And I told Mr. Chiara that their company should responsible for these issues due to I didn't get any benefit from their company as they promised, but I had to pay this debt caused by their former career coach's wrong advice, I asked for fully refund $3,000.00 immediately.
At this, Mr. Chiara became very agitated and tried to intimidate me by standing up and raising his voice and told me that that I could either continued to work with him for another 2 months till Dec. 25 if things did not work out a good result, he will refund my money or I will need to go to court to suit him for money back.
At that time, I was tried to make things easier, so I agreed to work with him for another 2 months.
However, after wasted for another 2 month, on Dec. 25, I told Mr. Chiara that his verbal suggestion wasn't able to provide enough informative data for me to make decision on any areas. I, then, requested their company to provide me a written data to support their advice to me. However, I didn't get any written proposal of solid data such as: career marketing research, career potential in my professional fields, Enhancement skill set, etc..., Mr. Chiara told me that he is not a researcher, he was not able to provide me any written solid marketing search report.
Then, I complained that why he couldn't even get me any job interview after 2 months working with him? Then he said that he already set up a meeting for me to meet with "Donna" and told me that Donna was the recruiter from yahoo (one of my top desire companies that I listed). After met with Donna, I found out that wasn't true at all, Donna was not the recruiter from yahoo but just a recruiting company's owner whom shared the office with Stanley Barber, and Donna told me that my resume which revised by Stanley Barber wasn't good enough to enhanced my strength and my expertise, she told me to ask Mr. Chiara to re-do my resume before she can helped me to find a job.
I was very disappointed by Mr. Chiara's misleading information and very frustrated that I wasted another time for nothing.
I went back to Mr. Chiara immediately after meeting Danna, and complained his misleading and requested him to re-do my resume, he told me that he will re-do my resume; but he never delivered.
2 weeks later, I asked for my money back again, and I told him that he was the one, who provided unethical business, wrong advices and unprofessional attitude to me and held my money $3,000.00 and provide nothing to me. He then promised me said that if he can not help me to get real job interview (s) or have my resume re-do done by Dec. he will refund my money or I was told again that I will need to suit him for money back.
So I've decided to wait until Jan. 14, I wrote Mr. Chiara an e-mail and indicated the reasons why I dissatisfied about their company's services and his unprofessional attitude. Then, he wrote me back in e-mail indicated that he will be refunded my money as soon as I signed a release form and told me to wait for a release form from their attorney in a mail.
After 2 weeks later, by Jan. 31 I wrote him another e-mail and asked him why I did not get release form from their attorney?
I was shocked that Mr. Chiara wrote me back in e-mail said that he will not fulfill his promise and told me that he will delay my refund in a 9 months rank, then I e-mailed him back asked him why he would fooled me for 2 weeks and tell me to wait for another 4 months to get my money back? He then, sent me a threaten e-mail said that I could take it or go to court to suit him. I spent another one month back and forth fighting with him for my money back, until Feb. 16, he e-mailed me said that I can not contact him anymore for money and told me again to suit him and his company. So on Feb. 21, I've had decided to report his unethical and cheated business to BBB.
On March, 6, he responded to BBB with a cheating response said that: "the early refund has now decided to following the signed contract and if the results are not there at that time she will received a full refund as the contract calls for."
Since the contract did not indicated "9 months rank" and the agreement made by Mr. Chiara was to refund my money in Jan. 14, I responded to BBB a rebuttal report. However, BBB told me that they couldn't do anything about Mr. Chiara's cheating response nor to help me to get my money back.
On April 4, I e-mailed Mr. Chiara said that accordingly to his response to BBB on 3/6/06 that he would refund my money in a 9 months rank (should be by April 18). Although I was not satisfied with his response but I decided to make things simple, and request the refund money he promised to refund. I even offer him that he can date April 18,06 on refund check if that's what he wanted to do.
I was very shocked and disappointed that he broke his promise again and sent me one more threaten e-mail said that he will not refund my money because I reported his unethical and unfair business to BBB, and told me that I can not contact him for my money back and told me to suit him and his company.
I e-mailed him back said that he can not hold my money and tell me not to complain about his unfair, unethical business and unprofessional attitude and services towards their customers, or STOP me e-mailing or calling him to ask for my money back according to the agreement on his previous emails, and I told him that he needs to STOP threatening his customer or encouraging their customers to sue him and his company, this is not right. And I wrote him said that he doesn't has the rights of language threatening me as their customer, just because he wants to keep my money for no reason.
And I reminded him again: I had gone through. All their company's requirements, and no consultants had complained that I did not follow the program only him. The previous services their company provided were proved useless since Oct. 2005 and I had complained to him since (I have all the evidence hard copies ready.)
The last e-mail I received from Mr. Chiara's response said: "see you in court" on April 5.
To sum up, my impression of Stanley Barber is:
1. They have no idea about the career services industry despite being involved in it for a long time (1974 as declared on their website).
2. They have a very slick front end sales pitch and once you sign up you are forgotten about.
3. Their four phase process is simply there to waste your time and there is no connection of this with anything else they do.
4. Their consultants have very little expertise and certainly do not deserve being labelled or having the title 'Vice President'
5. Their business model is purely one of reactionary cash flow, based on getting new people to sign up (and hence bring in money) from the career fairs and leave those they have already signed up (from which they can't get any more money from) to their own devices.
6. Their career action plans are a complete waste of time due to a lack of focus and zero outputs.
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