| Marc Greenberg |
| Marc Greenberg , stenolife.com, simplysteno.com, Stenolife/Simplysteno, Ripoff School Tigard, Oregon |
| 16th of May, 2011 by User878883 |
| I began attending Stenolife.com/Simplysteno.com online so I can complete my training in stenography and get a job as a court reporter. While I was paying with my hard earned money for the tuition for this online program, Marc Greenberg, the owner, made this profession of court reporting look too good to be true. He wrote in his lessons (which weren't even live recordings, as I was supposed to have) stating that it would be very easy to get a job once I completed his course. Meanwhile, I spent tens of thousand of dollars on professional equipment as well as Case Catalyst Software, Elan Mira G2 Stenograph Machine, also his tuition, and being assured by him that I would be making all the money back soon enough. Then he gave me the "sales pitch" that there are so many options for professions in court reporting including: Broadcast captioner, CART provider, closed captioner, etc. But Mr. Greenberg failed to inform me that all of this cost three times the tuition for more training, in which neither I nor anybody else is guaranteed a job after spending thousands and thousands of dollars for nothing, and still be unemployed. In addition, this school leaves all the students on the lerch to learn this complicated software (the Case Catalyst Version 11) on their own. This software alone costs $4,000 and then it is impossible to learn on your own. He failed to tell me how expensive and complicated this software is, and that I would have to spent more money just to hire somebody to teach me this. Now, when I enrolled in the school he did not tell me that he doesn't help his students find internships upon completion of the court reporter program. And I was not aware that court reporters have to be referred by a school or by somebody who has been already in the profession for years in order to obtain an internship. Meanwhile, here I am upon having wasted all this time and all this money for absolutely nothing, still trying to get an internship, still unemployed, not to mention that I am still struggling trying to learn the software. I tried to talk to Mark Greenberg and ask him to help me, and he refused, saying, "There's not much I can do for you. You have to say ambicious." This is the most stupidest, most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. If I wasn't ambicious, I wouldn't have completed this program in record time. While it takes the average court reporter to be trained in at least five to six years or more, I've done it in two years. Then this moron had the nerve to hang up on me. Recently, through research I found his school is not education affiliated nor is it accredited. Under the law I understand that any school offering further education (trade school, college, further education or career institute, etc.) is supposed to be on the accredited list or posted on a list for education affiliated schools with the NCRA. As a result, his school is not recognized by any court reporting agencies, nor under the Judicial Law in the Courts. Please, it would a great advantage for all court reporting students to have this scam school investigated so that this will not happen to anyone else who would like to go into the court reporting profession. This school should not get away with what Mr. Greenberg did to me, or any other students spending hard earned money for this highway robbery. Look forward to hearing from you. |
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Marina attended my program for 1 year, from March of 2010 to March of 2011. During that time I helped her progress from the speed of 120 to 225 words per minute, an incredible achievement that has to do with my teaching as well as her skill. Marina's steno machine skills were never in question. My concern was with her people skills - her ability to communicate effectively with a potential employer.
During her last month or so in my program, those concerns became realized as she expressed to me that she was not able to secure any type of internship. I explained to her that there were steps that needed to be taken, that she would need to start "sitting in" with reporters before she could request an internship. That would be like going on a first date and proposing marriage.
I expressed my concern about her "people skills" several times, always careful not to be rude, but to speak in general tones - "Students need to have both machine and people skills. How you speak to an employer is so important." And that is the case. The very best machine writer in the world would not find a job if their people skills were lacking.
Although she was with me for one year, 2 months of that were spent dealing with her medical issues. I was always very supportive of her recuperation. When she felt she was able to return to the program, her email to me ended with, "Thank you so much for your understanding."
And Marina's very last email to me in March of 2011, letting me know she was dropping my program - "Thank you for your time and patience. I enjoyed doing your speed building program, and my
accuracy and speed in dictations have improved tremendously, becoming very consistent. Marc, it was a pleasure working with you and your program. Thank you for understanding, and please stay in touch." That does not sound like someone who was upset with my program.
And to address some of her concerns directly -
1 - She complained that I do not give live dictation "as I was supposed to have." I do not have live dictation. I have NEVER had live dictation. I have never CLAIMED to have live dictation.
2 - I did claim that someone with the machine AND people skills would be able to get a job using their steno machine. And that is the case. Marina had the machine skills, but not the rest.
3 - She was upset that I did not teach CAT software, or "tell me how expensive and complicated this software is." I have NEVER claimed to teach CAT software. And it's common knowledge that you need software as a machine writer. Marina came to my program after being in a some other program for over a year. These are details she should have known long before she started my program.
4 - Students DO NOT need to be referred to agencies by someone in the profession. This may be what Marina was told by an agency, but I suspect that was a brush off of some type more than anything else. The truth is that it's a numbers game - you call MANY agencies and try to sit in. Many will say no - some will say yes. When Marina expressed that she was trying, I told her she had to be driven and keep trying, and make sure she's being polite and personable.
5 - During our last phone conversation, I spoke with someone who claimed to be Marina's husband, NOT Marina. Nor did I hang up on him. He was upset and asking me questions, as Marina spoke to him in the background. At one point they were talking with each other for a long time, ignoring me, and the phone went dead. I just assumed he was done talking to me and he hung up.
6 - The fact that I am not accredited by the Department of Education should not come as a shock to Marina, since it's right on my own website. I run as a business, not a school. I always have and always will. I feel this gives me the freedom to teach in a manner that gets the best results.
I am sorry that Marina felt the need to post her feelings on a website like this, where complaints, even if proven false, are stored forever. But I cannot say I am surprised either, as her actions in this matter are totally consistent with the very concerns I expressed to her so many times - her lack of proper communication and people skills.
Marc Greenberg |
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Marina attended my program for 1 year, from March of 2010 to March of 2011. During that time I helped her progress from the speed of 120 to 225 words per minute, an incredible achievement that has to do with my teaching as well as her skill. Marina's steno machine skills were never in question. My concern was with her people skills - her ability to communicate effectively with a potential employer.
During her last month or so in my program, those concerns became realized as she expressed to me that she was not able to secure any type of internship. I explained to her that there were steps that needed to be taken, that she would need to start "sitting in" with reporters before she could request an internship. That would be like going on a first date and proposing marriage.
I expressed my concern about her "people skills" several times, always careful not to be rude, but to speak in general tones - "Students need to have both machine and people skills. How you speak to an employer is so important." And that is the case. The very best machine writer in the world would not find a job if their people skills were lacking.
Although she was with me for one year, 2 months of that were spent dealing with her medical issues. I was always very supportive of her recuperation. When she felt she was able to return to the program, her email to me ended with, "Thank you so much for your understanding."
And Marina's very last email to me in March of 2011, letting me know she was dropping my program - "Thank you for your time and patience. I enjoyed doing your speed building program, and my
accuracy and speed in dictations have improved tremendously, becoming very consistent. Marc, it was a pleasure working with you and your program. Thank you for understanding, and please stay in touch." That does not sound like someone who was upset with my program.
And to address some of her concerns directly -
1 - She complained that I do not give live dictation "as I was supposed to have." I do not have live dictation. I have NEVER had live dictation. I have never CLAIMED to have live dictation.
2 - I did claim that someone with the machine AND people skills would be able to get a job using their steno machine. And that is the case. Marina had the machine skills, but not the rest.
3 - She was upset that I did not teach CAT software, or "tell me how expensive and complicated this software is." I have NEVER claimed to teach CAT software. And it's common knowledge that
you need software as a machine writer. Marina came to my program after being in a some other program for over a year. These are details she should have known long before she started my program.
4 - Students DO NOT need to be referred to agencies by someone in the profession. This may be
what Marina was told by an agency, but I suspect that was a brush off of some type more than anything else. The truth is that it's a numbers game - you call MANY agencies and try to sit in. Many will say no - some will say yes. When Marina expressed that she was trying, I told her she had to be driven and keep trying, and make sure she's being polite and personable.
5 - During our last phone conversation, I spoke with someone who claimed to be Marina's husband, NOT Marina. Nor did I hang up on him. He was upset and asking me questions, as Marina spoke to him in the background. At one point they were talking with each other for a long time, ignoring me, and the phone went dead. I just assumed he was done talking to me and he hung up.
6 - The fact that I am not accredited by the Department of Education should not come as a shock to Marina, since it's right on my own website. I run as a business, not a school. I always have and always will. I feel this gives me the freedom to teach in a manner that gets the best results.
I am sorry that Marina felt the need to post her feelings on a website like this, where complaints, even if proven false, are stored forever. But I cannot say I am surprised either, as her actions in this matter are totally consistent with the very concerns I expressed to her so many times - her lack of proper communication and people skills.
Marc Greenberg |
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