Horrible experience with PERCOM

[Motox722]

PERCOM may be a really good program, but unfortunately I wasn't able to find out. I couldn't find any other threads on negative experiences with PERCOM so I feel as though my experience is probably unusual, but I wanted to share my experience.

I work full time as an Emergency Room Technician and really enjoy emergency medicine so I was looking into getting my EMT so that I could volunteer at a local fire department. The hospital I work at is able to do tuition reimbursement after the course is complete, but with my schedule I was only able to try an online program at the moment. After looking into PERCOM it seemed legit so I enrolled back on December 11th 2013. I was suppose to be enrolled the following Wednesday, but I wasn't. I called and after trying numerous times I got ahold of someone and he told me that he was going to look into it and that I wasn't going to get my books until after the holidays. PERCOM took a couple weeks off for the holidays which is completely understandable. On their website I saw they were suppose to be up and running again on January 7th. I called once they were back up and running and this time I had to call 7 times before I could talk to anyone. I spoke with Terry in finance as he was the only one there and he told me that he was going to leave a note for Jerry in admissions. I waited a few days before calling back and actually spoke with Jerry himself and he told me he had no idea what went wrong but said he'd fix it and that i'd be enrolled on the next Wednesday. I called the Thursday following and still not enrolled. It had been over a month waiting to be enrolled so I was starting to wonder if it was a scam so I asked for a refund. I was told Terry in finance is the one to issue refunds and that he was out sick and wouldn't be back for a week. I paid in full using Paypal so I opened a dispute and the following week I was issued a refund. The thing I was most discouraged about was the communication. I e-mailed PERCOM so many times without a response. The program director Jane had never e-mailed me back about the issues I was having.

After my first experience I know that this time it was my fault to try again, but I was thinking maybe PERCOM was really busy around the holidays and they gave me a refund after opening a dispute so it added credibility to PERCOM. I thought I would try again and I was thinking worse case scenario if things don't work out again I would try for a refund. So after trying again I was enrolled correctly the first time and had course access. My teacher was Richard who was excellent with communicating via e-mail. I was excited until I wasn't able to open one of the Reading Assessments which is required before starting the actual course. I tried different computers and browsers. I still wouldn't work so I e-mailed Richard and he promptly e-mailed me back saying that he had issues as well and was going to pass it on to Jane. I e-mailed Jane as well and hadn't heard back for over a week. At this point I didn't have much faith in PERCOM. If I was going to do an online program I wanted to have good communication with my school, especially if I was going to schedule exams, skills training, and clinicals. I wasn't expecting same day responses, but within a few days would have been nice. Since all I had done was take one of the two reading assessments and not actually start the course I asked for a refund. I was denied a refund so I opened a Paypal dispute explaining that I qualify for a refund since I wasn't at all happy with the course. I saw in the Paypal dispute that Richard had replied to Paypal telling Paypal that everything I was saying was false. Also after opening a dispute I had finally received an e-mail from Jane. The e-mail was a little rude (I thought anyway) I'll attach the e-mail at the bottom of this page.

So I never received a refund nor was I able to continue with the course, but I still mostly blame myself for trying again. I should have learned from the first issue I had. I saw from other posts that PERCOM has a quality curriculum. As I said before PERCOM is probably a really good course, I just wish I could have found out for myself.

 

[Handsome Robb]

Could you have posted this any more times?

 

[Motox722]

Thought I just posted it once, but yeah I could post it more times if you think it would help. Honestly I didn't even want to take the time to post it at all. If anyone else had an experience like mine I hope they will share it as well. I couldn't find many forum posts on PERCOM before I enrolled so if it helps anyone out then it was worth my time.

 

[Carlos Danger]

So I never received a refund nor was I able to continue with the course, but I still mostly blame myself for trying again. I should have learned from the first issue I had. I saw from other posts that PERCOM has a quality curriculum. As I said before PERCOM is probably a really good course, I just wish I could have found out for myself.

How much money did you lose?

 

[Motox722]

Could you have posted this any more times?

Sorry, I can't figure out how to delete the other 2 threads either. This is my first time posting

 

[Motox722]

How much money did you lose?

Fortunately, I only ended up losing $500. PERCOM has an option to set up payments with $500 down and then $290/month for 3 months, so through Paypal I was able to stop the recurring payments.

 

[polisciaggie]

My biggest complaint when I was a student with PERCOM was the lack of communication within the administration. They do seem to horribly understaffed for the amount of students they have and when one person is out of the office whether it been finance or clinicals its almost impossible to get anything done until they come back.

That being said, the instructors (or at least mine) was fantastic and made the hassles was administration worth it.

 

[rails]

I completed an EMT-B course with PERCOM, so I wanted to offer my comments.

Pros:
1. The standards are high. It isn't watered down or weak.
2. The course is self-paced.
3. There were a lot of clinical sites available (at least when I took the course last year).
4. Most of the instructors are fantastic.
5. The NREMT pass rates are very high (Google around for the official figures, and PERCOM is generally right near the top).

Cons:
1. The final course deadline personally felt a bit tight.
2. There were sometimes some delays due to processing time, etc.

Gene Gandy (an instructor there) was an utterly exceptional resource whenever I emailed him a question, and I found Brandon Phillips to be very helpful, as well. Gene Gandy was a huge positive standout because if for some reason he didn't know an answer (which was very rare), he would proactively find me an answer within hours and then email me back.

My clinicals went very well, which I attribute to PERCOM. One of the nurses and one of the doctors separately took me aside and said that they were impressed and that they thought I should really consider doing nursing school. PERCOM prepared me well for the clinicals, and it was very easy to immediately involve myself on the clinical rotations and not simply feel like a fly on the wall.

I've personally been close to biting the bullet and paying for a paramedic course with PERCOM. I have some minor hesitation, but I'm really considering it, which I think should be a testament to PERCOM's quality.

 

[xrsm002]

Did you check your spam folder whenever I emailed percom their emails would go to my spam folder. My wife is in their EMT-B class right now and isn't haven't any problems with them. It usually only takes them a few days to respond back on emails she says.

 

[Percomonline]

Response from PERCOM

Hello, sir. Since you posted this to a public forum, we have the right to respond with the facts from our end. I know exactly who you are and have pulled all email threads and transactions with which I have access.

1. Yes, you did pay your down payment of $500 and attempted to enroll in December. However, as you stated, we were closed for the holiday season and didn't return until January 7th.
2. Because of the volume of people who sent in enrollment payments and such during our holiday season through Paypal, it took more enrollment cycles than usual to get them all into their respective courses. Normally enrollment is the following Wednesday after payment and full enrollment paperwork is received but in this case, it took two more Wednesdays after that to get everyone caught up. Yours was scheduled to be processed for course access on Wednesday January 22nd. However, on January 17th, you demanded a refund because you were unhappy that you were not admitted to the course yet. It was processed as a refund to your credit card from our end on January 21st.
3. On March 10th, Paypal released another payment from you for $500 plus processing to enroll again. Our Admissions Department went ahead and immediately processed you for course enrollment and sent you your course access email on March 11th. On March 14th, you emailed your instructor that you had not received the course access information so he forwarded it to you from his inbox on that date, as he and I were both copied on the original course access email that we received on March 11th.
4. On March 20th, you emailed your instructor that you could not open and read Reading Assessment 2 in the course. He emailed you that he had some problem with the instructions (it had dropped the link which I promptly corrected) but he told you what to do so you could complete the Assessment. In the meantime, both your instructor and I attempted to reproduce your complaint on multiple computers and could not do so, which reflected that the problem was entirely on your end - most likely related to not downloading the appropriate required software or some other issue on your computer. You stated in a reply email that you had email me and it had been a full business week and you had not heard back. This and the fact that you obviously had not downloaded the correct free software to be able to open items in the course directed me to send you an email when I got back to the office on March 25th reminding you that you needed to read all pages of the Student Announcements pages, which covers the appropriate free software needed as well as the fact that I was traveling and teaching overseas and there would be significant delays in me answering emails during the month of March and to handle everything through your instructor. Apparently this is the email you perceived as "rude" but in re-reading it myself, it was straight and to the point but not rude.
5. At this point, you demanded your money back AGAIN. And as our Refund Policy clearly states that if there is a course website or software issue on OUR end, we have to be given the opportunity to correct it (and if we cannot, we will process the refund) but we are not responsible for computer or software issues on the end of the student and money will not be refunded under those circumstances.
6. You attempted to file for a chargeback to your card from Paypal. Paypal gives the business the opportunity to produce our case and any evidence that the refund is not appropriate and after receiving the email threads and the refund policy, Paypal apparently sided with PERCOM that you were not eligible for a refund.

To this date, you are still enrolled in the EMT course and can complete it. However, you have not logged in for 41 days which is a major breach of the course participation requirements, and you are in danger of being dropped from the course within the next few days if you do not log in and start meeting the participation requirements. PERCOM has done our part by you, and we have attempted to resolve your issues and address your concerns. However, it appears nothing we do has pleased you at this point. I am sorry for that but I cannot control your feelings or perceptions.

As for the other post on here about communication, there are always perceived and sometimes real communication problems when dealing from a distance. We literally gets HUNDREDS of phone calls a day on most weekdays and absolutely cannot answer most of them at the time you call. Many times, people call and call trying to get someone on the phone but since we are already on the phone, we cannot answer. If you don't leave a voicemail with your name and number and give a few days for a reply (due to the large volume of voicemails), then we won't call back random missed calls. We have noted many of these over and over random missed calls are on our call log after hours, on weekends or on holidays. We don't work on those days but it is funny how that seems to feed into the perceived communication problems. However, we have hired a full time receptionist to answer line 1, the Info line, but she is also on the phone pretty much full time every day. That is why email is the best way to reach many of my staff and faculty and the preferred method of communication. But you also have to be patient there as well. We receive large volumes of emails as well and can sometimes run several days behind on those too. But we do attempt to answer all emails received as timely as possible.

Thank you,
Jane Dinsmore

 

[rails]

Nice detailed reply by PERCOM. Maybe the OP will log back in and finish the EMT-B course.

 

[TransportJockey]

Hmmm maybe I'll do my IC through PerCom... That was one of hte most polite :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored: slaps I've ever seen

 

[AtlasFlyer]

Giving definite thought to doing Percom's medic program now.

 

[MonkeyArrow]

Hmmm maybe I'll do my IC through PerCom... That was one of hte most polite :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored: slaps I've ever seen

Well, it would be...wise...for an EMT course to look professional on a forum for EMTs. But yes, major :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored: slap. I wonder if OP will stop while he's ahead (kinda) and finish the course...

Sorry, but had to post this. The first thing I thought of when I read :censored::censored::censored::censored::censored: slap.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5etVTOwY91g[/YOUTUBE]

 

[MrJones]

I guess I'm in the minority in thinking that Ms Dinsmore would have been better served by resisting the temptation to post that passive-aggressive response to the OP.

So it goes.

 

[rails]

I guess I'm in the minority in thinking that Ms Dinsmore would have been better served by resisting the temptation to post that passive-aggressive response to the OP.

So it goes.

I saw nothing wrong with the response. The OP came on here and made an allegation, and PERCOM posted a detailed reply. I like to hear both sides of any story.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

Agreed. 6th amendment guarantees the right to face your accusor. Its about time we hear the other side of a story around here. Way to go percom.

 

[polisciaggie]

It appears that they might have just earned a few new students, so I think it worked out pretty well.

 

[Percomonline]

If any problems

We do try to help as many people as we can within reason. And I am not going to say that we never make mistakes. My staff and faculty are human and WILL make mistakes. When I find out about them, I do my best to get them corrected. Students make mistakes as well. But we also have trouble sometimes meeting what some people want because it doesn't fit into our policies and paradigm. And sometimes that leads people to get angry or upset. We can only do so much but we do try to do the greatest good for the greatest number. You can please most of the people most of the time but we will never be able to please all of the people all of the time.

If you are enrolling or will be enrolling in our school and run into problems, email me at programdirector@percomonline.com and I will try and help. Just be patient. Remember the high volume of people we deal with and give us a little time to correct problems when they arise, be honest, kind, and helpful and we will be the same. We DO run a good school but because of our nature of open entry, building custom plans for people with specific life experience we can credit, etc, it is VERY difficult to do what we do. That is why most other schools will not do it.

 

[Motox722]

“ Yes, you did pay your down payment of $500 and attempted to enroll in December. However, as you stated, we were closed for the holiday season and didn't return until January 7th.”

Actually I paid the full $1,340 then and there were issues in enrollment before you left for the holidays and weeks after you came back.

“Yours was scheduled to be processed for course access on Wednesday January 22nd. However, on January 17th, you demanded a refund because you were unhappy that you were not admitted to the course yet.”

After attempting to get ahold of anyone at PERCOM no one had even attempted to tell me this

“the instructions (it had dropped the link which I promptly corrected) but he told you what to do so you could complete the Assessment. In the meantime, both your instructor and I attempted to reproduce your complaint on multiple computers and could not do so, which reflected that the problem was entirely on your end - most likely related to not downloading the appropriate required software or some other issue on your computer. You stated in a reply email that you had email me and it had been a full business week and you had not heard back. This and the fact that you obviously had not downloaded the correct free software to be able to open items in the course directed me to send you an email when I got back to the office on March 25th reminding you that you needed to read all pages of the Student Announcements pages, which covers the appropriate free software needed as well as the fact that I was traveling and teaching overseas and there would be significant delays in me answering emails during the month of March and to handle everything through your instructor. Apparently this is the email you perceived as "rude" but in re-reading it myself, it was straight and to the point but not rude.”

Yes, this is correct. All you did was assume that the problem was my fault because you thought “I obviously hadn’t read the instructions.” I actually had all the proper software downloads. Even if the problem was entirely on my end it would have been nice to know that PERCOM would still try to help me. Anyway I uninstalled and reinstalled all the appropriate software and still couldn’t complete the Assessment. I thought the e-mail was rude because it placed the blame on myself even though I had all the proper software.


“At this point, you demanded your money back AGAIN. And as our Refund Policy clearly states that if there is a course website or software issue on OUR end, we have to be given the opportunity to correct it (and if we cannot, we will process the refund) but we are not responsible for computer or software issues on the end of the student and money will not be refunded under those circumstances.”

I tried multiple computers with the correct software without success so I feel like the problem was on your end, but even if it was on my end the only thing you’d tell me is to download the correct software.

“Paypal apparently sided with PERCOM that you were not eligible for a refund.”

No they didn’t side with anyone because I didn’t open a claim. They only side with the buyer or seller during a claim. I only opened up a PayPal Dispute in which the buyer and seller negotiate to resolve the issue. The dispute is then either resolved or escalated to a PayPal claim. I had never escalated it to a PayPal claim. During the claim process is when PayPal investigates and resolves claim. If you go to PayPal’s website in the Resolution Center it explains the process.

“To this date, you are still enrolled in the EMT course and can complete it. However, you have not logged in for 41 days which is a major breach of the course participation requirements, and you are in danger of being dropped from the course within the next few days if you do not log in and start meeting the participation requirements. PERCOM has done our part by you, and we have attempted to resolve your issues and address your concerns. However, it appears nothing we do has pleased you at this point. I am sorry for that but I cannot control your feelings or perceptions.”

I can’t complete the EMT course, I can’t even start the course because as you know I have to complete the Reading Assessment that will not load. As you know there is no link in which I can complete this Assessment and without completing this Assessment I cannot start the course. Yes I am not too pleased with not being able to start the course and not being able to receive a refund. My perceptions would be different if I would have been able to receive a refund. Like I said I would have been more than happy to get a partial refund because I understand that I did take some of your time to try to get this straightened out.

“As for the other post on here about communication, there are always perceived and sometimes real communication problems when dealing from a distance. We literally gets HUNDREDS of phone calls a day on most weekdays and absolutely cannot answer most of them at the time you call. Many times, people call and call trying to get someone on the phone but since we are already on the phone, we cannot answer. If you don't leave a voicemail with your name and number and give a few days for a reply (due to the large volume of voicemails), then we won't call back random missed calls. We have noted many of these over and over random missed calls are on our call log after hours, on weekends or on holidays. We don't work on those days but it is funny how that seems to feed into the perceived communication problems. However, we have hired a full time receptionist to answer line 1, the Info line, but she is also on the phone pretty much full time every day. That is why email is the best way to reach many of my staff and faculty and the preferred method of communication. But you also have to be patient there as well. We receive large volumes of emails as well and can sometimes run several days behind on those too. But we do attempt to answer all emails received as timely as possible.”

Yes, there is a communication problem. You can't blame your customers and their "perceptions", it's definitely a problem. I think the receptionist will be a really good investment. Maybe if she was able to help with the e-mail overload that might be a good move because there were a lot of e-mails that were never responded to.

PERCOM has done our part by you, and we have attempted to resolve your issues and address your concerns. However, it appears nothing we do has pleased you at this point. I am sorry for that but I cannot control your feelings or perceptions.

Jane, I know what it’s like to own your own business. You put your blood, sweat, and tears into it and when someone says something negative about it, it’s very easy to take it personal and get defensive. I always found it more productive to try use the feedback to better my business.