John McKenna Infrared Class-I feel duoed

:roll: I FEEL DUPED In November 2011, I was interested in getting trained in infrared Tech., although I know there are many books and software trading programs out there I wanted to have a real teacher, you know someone I could listen and questions too. Through someone in NACHI, don’t recall, I was given John McKenna’s name and phone number to contact and was told that he offers an infrared class that he teaches on a monthly base.

I also was interested in purchasing another enrollment, to give to my daughter as a Christmas present; she is a 21 year old single mom with two children and works as a waitress. Needless to say she struggles. So in an effort to try and give her another path I wanted to give her this class.

So I contacted John by phone and purchased two enrollments. I then contacted my daughter to let her know about the purchase and gave her the date so we could take the class together. About 2-3 weeks after the purchase, which was a week before the class was to start, she contacted me and said that she was given more shifts at work and would not be able to attend the class. The added shifts were very important to her and the children.
I contacted John McKenna and advised him of the situation he told me that she could take the class at another date. I then called her back to talk to her about the next class and gave her the date. She said that because of her new and added shifts she would not be able to attend.

I then contacted John and ask for a refund and maybe she will take the class in the future. He stated that he would not give me a refund, his quote “no cash refunds for any reason” and besides she had access to his class materials, but he would honor if I sold the class to someone else. My reply was I do not know anyone who is interested in the class right now. I told him that I also I had access to your material which meant that I could easily given access or showed it to my daughter, besides educational material on infrared tech is readily available in stores, there is not any magic or special product here.
Needless to say he has held me hostage since Nov. 2011, I do not have anyone that would buy this class from me and I do not believe I should be selling his class to get my money back.

Furthermore I checked into e-commerce regulations and if you are selling a product or service on-line that requires any conditions or guide lines has to provide an online contract that needs to be available on the merchants web-site and needs to be filled out by the consumer for a transaction of this type, because there are conditions and/or requirements i.e. no refund policy. I have sited one condition although there are more. There is not any contract or enrollment form on his site.

I have had no consideration from John, I feel it is just poor business and I feel like I have been duped.

His comments do not make any good sense; he would not refund my money because I had access to his material, which is no new breakthrough. And all his students have access to the material. People take this class because there is a teacher, someone to listen and be able to ask questions to. There is little more that anyone could do with the material anymore any other material that can be obtained in a store. It is obvious to me that this is an excuse just to keep my money.

I have an inspection company and I know sometimes running a good business does not come in the form of money directly, certain actions speak for themselves and people see them. I have gone and helped people with my expertise and spent time and walked away with no money, just to keep my good name and respect, and almost always that good business comes back to me tenfold. People remember and want to give back; it could be in referring me to someone or hiring me at a later date.

When you walk away and feel like you have been duped, that leaves a bad taste in your mouth. My experience will be known to the people that have interest in this class, as it is exposed now. Some may agree and some not, but the some that do will have an impact.
It’s going on a year and John still feels like he is selling the gift of god, no cash refunds that’s what I get. :roll:

Time is your biggest enemy here. Almost a year has gone by, and you are losing rights as we speak. Whatever you choose to do, do it fast, or you will have no leg to stand on, if any remain.

Also, edit your info to show you live in RI. It makes a difference where you live.

did he tell you you would receive something you did not receive or are you just not satisfied with what you received?

If the policy of no refunds was stated in writing to you on any of the material or online presence then you have no claim. Buyer beware.

On the other hand… As a businessman, I don’t see the difference for John to send you a refund with the next person who signs up with him or redirect that student directly to you. (other than he gets to keep your payment if he does nothing :slight_smile: )

Perhaps the enrollment is waning - the price is going down - and that money has already taken care of a boat payment.

let me get this straight, are you saying you feel that John is misappropriating your funds for a course that he misappropriated?!

he’s keeping your money because you have materials that he didn’t produce in the first place?

don’t feel like a redheaded stepchild!

you would s h i t your pants if you knew how much money this cash cow produces for this lame excuse of thermography training!

please expound…

Bad business practice on John’s part. Since he did absolutely nothing to earn the money, except for maybe a little scheduling, he should have no problem with giving you a refund, at least 75% or more. I know I wouldn’t hesitate at all at issuing a refund.

True, if he’s as busy as he claims he is, there would not have been an empty seat in the classroom. Oh! Wait a minute! The OP is in RI!! This would have been OnLine. Where’s the loss again??? :roll:

Money back = good business practice . But again that would make sense.

Honest John won’t refund your fee? Would you be interested in one of his German Shepherd mutts? Maybe he’s just short on cash.

You were duped the moment you paid him for training, whether you took it or not.

That said, I don’t see that he is obligated to return funding for training that you paid for but did not take.

Now most reputable and reasonable business persons would cheerfully refund the money given the circumstance, but I have never heard of John being accused of possessing either of those traits.

John will do the right thing. I do not agree with what he does many times. But I do feel that he will see the right thing to do and give this guy a refund.

I do know that this thread will cost him much more than he is trying not to refund, should that be the case.

He is a super Christian right? What would Jesus do?

I have faith in John…

As the saying goes “If you treat someone great in your business, they will tell five people. If you treat someone poorly they will tell twenty people” or they will post it on a message board so hundreds of people will see it.

It will cost him far more in the long run. It is much cheaper to keep a client than it is to make a client.

If he doesn’t refund your money… I’ll give it to you personally, and a little extra for your troubles.

That solves a temporary problem. Pay a man off he keeps his mouth shut for a day, punish the offended and the problem disappears forever.

I’ll tell you a funny story. I was once sitting in my favorite breakfast joint, minding my own business, eating scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese. A man and his wife came up to me and began complaining about some antique they claimed they bought from my antique store and that they discovered something fake about it, bla bla bla, and demanded their money back. I immediately paid them (ca$h, no questions asked) and instructed them to drop the item off at my home whenever it was convenient. I had one condition though… that they join me for breakfast. They accepted and were thrilled. So thrilled that the ensuing conversation led them to have me look at a construction project they wanted to have done and which I ultimately landed. They’ve been repeat general contracting customers of mine since then. I’d even go as far as saying we’re good friends.

Anyway, I never had the heart to tell them that they mistook me for someone else that morning in the breakfast joint… and that I never did own an antique store. LOL

I am not saying taking care of the client was wrong…ensuring it does not happen again, cures the problem. Your solution is only temporary.

You have a guy with no credentials, teaching a class and having unsuspected people think its actually a meaningful credential taking advantage of a waitress trying to make a living.

So how does paying the guy off work for future students? Is the leadership role you want in your “vendors” and your leader of the elite CMI?

You never see the whole picture, everything for you amount to your bank account and you could care less about anything else…sad sad sad…

Read my post again slower, especially the last line. At the time I refunded their money… they weren’t my clients!

I can’t tell anyone how to run their operation. We’re all big boys and free to do what we think is best. I’m just expressing my thinking and that it has worked great for me for over 30 years. Your mileage may vary.

Nick you success for yourself cannot be denied, but that is what it is always about…NICK. You do nothing, but make calculated moves if and only of they benefit you personally. Ithas been proven over and over.

You can’t tell a vendor that you promote and allow to advertise here how torun their operation? Is that the story your sticking with?

Yes. That’s my position.

It’s also my position to have this message board available to all the customers of all the vendors in our industry. They can post complaints or compliments till the cows come home. This message board is a double-edged sword… and that goes for InterNACHI too. Think it through.

Ok then, so no vendor can get banned from NACHI? Wow that is sad. But when it comes to $$$$, I see your point of view, just seldom agree with it.

You say one thing and your actions speak another. Man with forked tongue.