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Justin Trullinger
Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Posts: 3110
Location: Seoul, South Korea and Myanmar for a bit
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 Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 10:31 am Post subject: |
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Since I had a second, I wanted to follow up with a couple more thoughts.
TEFL International seems be proud of being a BBB accredited business. This seems odd to me. Isn�t the BBB an organization of US businesses and charities? I�d have thought that many, perhaps most, of TI�s activities were outside the US. If you took a TEFL course in China, would it occur to you to file a complaint in the US?
The address for TI listed on the BBB website is in Oregon, so that�s kosher (meaning it really is a US organization.) Of course I have no idea how big/active their programs in the Oregon center are.
Just at a glance on the TEFL International website, I don�t see their Oregon activities or any courses in that part of the US mentioned. Their programs in other countries are very eye-catching, though. If they�re not doing most of their work in the US, the BBB wouldn�t be the first place to check. For an organization doing most of its business overseas to have a clean BBB record is fine, but doesn�t mean a lot.
Still, since it was mentioned here, I had a look at the BBB�s info about TEFL International. TI has been a BBB accredited business since 2006. From Bruce�s post, I thought it was rather longer.
| Quote: |
OK, first of all TEFL International is a long-time member of the Better Business Bureau. That means if ANYONE has a complaint about our course they can go to the BBB and complain and we must respond and solve any unfair practice or be kicked out of the BBB. Its been 12 years now and we have had a total of 12 complaints filed (out of 13,000 students). All were resolved to the satisfaction of the BBB. |
In fact, now that I�m looking at that quote, according to the BBB website, TEFL International was founded in 2001. (http://www.bbb.org/oregon/business-reviews/language-schools/tefl-international-in-woodburn-or-22009553)
Bruce�s post says there have been only 12 complaints in 12 years. I can�t see how that adds up, for a business founded in 2001.
In the last 3 years, however, which is the BBB�s standard reporting period, there have been seven complaints. That�s one every five or so months, which is significantly more than one per year.
All presumably have been resolved to the BBB�s satisfaction, or TI wouldn�t still be on their lists. According to the BBB�s website, though, only in one of those seven cases did the consumer ever acknowledge to the BBB that terms had been accepted. So in six out of seven complaints, though the BBB was satisfied, it appears that the consumer may not have been.
I know that some people just won�t be satisfied, no matter what. An organization as large as TI is bound to have a few unsatisfied customers. No harm, no foul.
But when one source says they get only one complaint a year, on average, and another checkable source says one every 5 to 6 months, it doesn�t build credibility. When one source says �it�s been 12 years� and the very organization they turn to for proof of credibility (the BBB) thinks they�ve been in business for nine or so, it doesn�t build credibility.
I�ve got nothing against TI. Never worked for�em, never been in direct competition against. But this kind of ambiguity does not help their rep.
All the best,
Justin |
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Chancellor
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 1337
Location: Ji'an, China - if you're willing to send me cigars, I accept donations :)
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| Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 12:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Justin Trullinger wrote: |
Since I had a second, I wanted to follow up with a couple more thoughts.
TEFL International seems be proud of being a BBB accredited business. This seems odd to me. Isn�t the BBB an organization of US businesses and charities? I�d have thought that many, perhaps most, of TI�s activities were outside the US. If you took a TEFL course in China, would it occur to you to file a complaint in the US?
The address for TI listed on the BBB website is in Oregon, so that�s kosher (meaning it really is a US organization.) Of course I have no idea how big/active their programs in the Oregon center are.
Just at a glance on the TEFL International website, I don�t see their Oregon activities or any courses in that part of the US mentioned. Their programs in other countries are very eye-catching, though. If they�re not doing most of their work in the US, the BBB wouldn�t be the first place to check. For an organization doing most of its business overseas to have a clean BBB record is fine, but doesn�t mean a lot.
Still, since it was mentioned here, I had a look at the BBB�s info about TEFL International. TI has been a BBB accredited business since 2006. From Bruce�s post, I thought it was rather longer.
| Quote: |
OK, first of all TEFL International is a long-time member of the Better Business Bureau. That means if ANYONE has a complaint about our course they can go to the BBB and complain and we must respond and solve any unfair practice or be kicked out of the BBB. Its been 12 years now and we have had a total of 12 complaints filed (out of 13,000 students). All were resolved to the satisfaction of the BBB. |
In fact, now that I�m looking at that quote, according to the BBB website, TEFL International was founded in 2001. (http://www.bbb.org/oregon/business-reviews/language-schools/tefl-international-in-woodburn-or-22009553)
Bruce�s post says there have been only 12 complaints in 12 years. I can�t see how that adds up, for a business founded in 2001.
In the last 3 years, however, which is the BBB�s standard reporting period, there have been seven complaints. That�s one every five or so months, which is significantly more than one per year.
All presumably have been resolved to the BBB�s satisfaction, or TI wouldn�t still be on their lists. According to the BBB�s website, though, only in one of those seven cases did the consumer ever acknowledge to the BBB that terms had been accepted. So in six out of seven complaints, though the BBB was satisfied, it appears that the consumer may not have been.
I know that some people just won�t be satisfied, no matter what. An organization as large as TI is bound to have a few unsatisfied customers. No harm, no foul.
But when one source says they get only one complaint a year, on average, and another checkable source says one every 5 to 6 months, it doesn�t build credibility. When one source says �it�s been 12 years� and the very organization they turn to for proof of credibility (the BBB) thinks they�ve been in business for nine or so, it doesn�t build credibility.
I�ve got nothing against TI. Never worked for�em, never been in direct competition against. But this kind of ambiguity does not help their rep.
All the best,
Justin |
Being a member of the Better Business Bureau and being "accredited" by that organization has nothing whatsoever to do with the nature and quality of the course content. |
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nstick13
Joined: 01 Dec 2008
Posts: 104
Location: The Ohio State University
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| Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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A few things, since I've chimed in here before:
I vouch for the unedited feedback. That info is where I got names to be able to Facebook people to ask what they thought. Many were very supportive, and, well, the feedback there was quite accurate.
Also, in Cairo my girlfriend lived with a girl who had done TEFL International in Alexandria and was then working at Amideast. She was happy with the program and had a pretty good job with a reputable employer.
All that being said, any problem that I've ever read about (and it's been a while now since I did this research) was never with the Alexandria program. As I've posted, it seems like there were isolated bad incidents where something got out of hand. "Bruce", who is clearly closely affiliated with the organization, has spent thousands of characters on here defending it. In a way, I almost feel bad for him. It's certainly harder to make a bad image good than to even create a good image.
A few last things: The fact that about fifty sites and different programs all end up being TEFL International really bothered me about it. When I was researching TEFL Certs, I kept coming across new things, all of which were exactly the same as TEFL International. There was no coherent branding, and it made it seem like the company was disorganized and in disarray. Perhaps that's just me, but it was really unnerving.
Lastly, and I've already mentioned in on this thread, the whole issue with the affiliation with the University of Washington is, well, curious and certainly didn't help their case in my book.
While I don't think someone is getting scammed or making a terrible life choice with TEFL Int'l, it's just still not a CELTA or Trinity Cert. Similar, I suppose, but not the same. |
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loveeatsleep
Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Posts: 5
Location: Manila
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| Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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Whoa same question. Which is the real TEFL International here? or are they all the same? seems like there's a slight difference but i'm still not sure. For once, let's finalize this thing. Is this just one company or what? Thank you. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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| I think they're all the same. All run by Bruce. He simply bought different websites so that they'd come up in searches. |
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xzbakbook
Joined: 08 Dec 2008
Posts: 19
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| Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Okay this is from someone who dislikes Bruce as a person (and perhaps as such carries more weight) The TEFL course itself is very good. The staff, when they decide to work, are also good. I got several good jobs in Thailand and China an they all said they knew and respected TI. So the certificate and teaching part is good. the business side could use a lot of improvement |
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Justin Trullinger
Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Posts: 3110
Location: Seoul, South Korea and Myanmar for a bit
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| Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:18 am Post subject: |
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Hmmmm. I'm not sure if disliking Bruce as a person makes your opinion more weighty or not. Personally, I know little enough about the guy.
Tell us more, though- which course are you referring to? When did you take it? TI has a lot of courses, and it would be nice to know which your good experience relates to.
Best,
Justin |
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