Posted on 06/16/2006 8:13:22 PM PDT by Timmy
I am posting this as information for anyone who has, or plans to use Potter's School online classes at Pottersschool.org. I think it's important that you know the kind of folks you may be subjecting your children to.
Background:
My daughter took a class from this group a couple of years ago. The Director at the time was a lady named Janna Gilbert. Ms. Gilbert was always polite and easy to deal with. Based on a good experience, we signed up (this past April) two or our younger children for classes next year. My wife took care of it and sent in what she thought was the correct deposit ($167.50). She doesn't remember how she came up with that number, but that's what she sent in, thinking the next payment was due in July or August. Evidently, she only needed to send in $60 registration fee to hold the seats.
On June 12, we received a threatening email titled "The Potter's School - Pettus Family OVERDUE Invoice - DROPPING SEATS" which you can read below. It was not signed, stating only it was from "Director, The Potter's School" (Janna had always signed her name). We took a bit of offense, as we had significantly overpaid earlier (an obvious mistake) and they had waited until we were considered late for the subsequent payment my wife thought she included with the original check, then sent us a very un-Christian email. AFter all, a non-Christian business would never treat their customers like this. As you can read in my email, I chastised them a bit and bolded two benign sentences to make the point that they needn't "shout" at me.
Well, you can read the rest (start at the bottom and read up). My purpose here is not to attack the school, but to simply expose what I consider to be the prideful and self-righteous attitude of the new director, Jeff Gilbert. I haven't changed a word, even including our name and email address, to ensure no one can accuse me of obscuring my own role in this disagreement. I would appreciate any feedback from my brothers and sisters in Christ. Thanks.
Mr. Gilbert,
I am extremely disappointed in your angry and prideful response. I wouldn't expect it from a non-Christian business, much less one that purports to be Christian. You can have the last word, because you must. We have used Potters School previously and had no problem dealing with your wife. Please refund our money. We won't trouble you again. Please send no more emails to my address.
Tim and Monica Pettus
Mr.Pettus,
I must again apologize, because my warning to you in the third paragraph of my email was offensive to you. There is undoubtedly some way I could have said better what I was trying to say. Somehow I wanted to communicate to you that the tone and character of your dealings with us would have a bearing upon on whether we continued to process your registration, and that your email response to ours was not the kind of communication we could accept on a recurring basis. Just as you can choose to remain or leave based on the character of our interactions with you, we can choose whether to accept or deny your registration requests based on the character of yours with us.
Had you apologized for your sarcasm and what might be called childishness (retaliatory use of extra large bold letters with multiple exclamation points), and then addressed my sternness in the third paragraph, this might be easier for us to work through. In that case, we would be down to a single issue, and I could have asked forgiveness ("seventy times seven") and endeavored again to make it right with you. But you did not. Instead, despite my admittedly badly worded warning to you, you have chosen to send another sarcastic response, without even an apology for your first one.
I'm thinking that you are going to be very difficult for our teachers to work with this next year -- you have given us two fairly clear indications of this -- and so I am faced with a dilemma. As a personal matter, I am compelled to "turn the other cheek" and let it go. Consider this done. I acknowledge that I offended you repeatedly, and I ask your forgiveness. Furthermore, I forgive you for your sarcasm and rudeness.
Beyond the personal matter, however, is the professional decision I must make to honor our teachers who must work with your family each week for the school year. If I let you proceed into next year, it seems likely to me that you will treat the teachers in the same manner. Evidence of this is that you have yet to acknowledge any of your sarcasm or rudeness, and that you chose not to heed my warning to you.
Please help me resolve the dilemma this way:
1. Please tell me what, if anything, you see that is wrong (inappropriate and unbiblical) with your two email responses -- please be specific.
2. Please tell me if you intend to handle future potential misunderstandings with the us or the teachers in the same manner, or what changes you will make compared to the way you handled this. Again, please be specific.
I hope you understand that your responses will determine whether we drop your seats and refund all fees, or continue to process your registration requests. I hope you will perceive this email as firm, but not unkind. I've obviously handled things badly, especially from your point of view, and I would prefer to just apologize again and let the matter drop. However, I have other people to consider, and I am concerned that you will engage one of the teachers in the same manner if there is a future misunderstanding. Your responses will help me understand what we can expect from you in future interactions. Thank you.
Jeff Gilbert
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Timothy Pettus [mailto:tpettus@socket.net] Sent: June 13, 2006 22:43 To: TPS Director Subject: Re: The Potter's School - Pettus Family OVERDUE Invoice - DROPPING SEATS
Mr. Gilbert,
Yes, I was offended by your original email. As you seem to understand, capital letters are typically used to "shout" in written communications. The tone of the email seemed unfair to me and certainly not the way Christians should speak to one another. I make mistakes sometimes. It appears that I may be unique among your clientele when it comes to that. However, I did appreciate your apology, at least until you rescinded it in the third paragraph. Thanks.
Tim Pettus
----- Original Message ----- From: TPS Director To: 'Timothy Pettus' Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 10:16 AM Subject: RE: The Potter's School - Pettus Family OVERDUE Invoice - DROPPING SEATS
We apologize for offending you with the tone of this email. The capital letters were not meant to be unkind, but to stand out on the page. We have found that many people skim their emails rather than reading them carefully, and we want to avoid dropping seats on a misunderstanding. Based on your reaction, we are going to review the email and make changes to it, to avoid offending someone else.
We appreciate that you paid money back in April. We don't know why you underpaid at that time -- the registration fee is $60, and the amount you paid does not correspond to anything you would have seen from us. We agree that we should have sent you a different kind of reminder than the one you received, since your payment status was unique. We apologize that our semi-automated process wasn't sufficient to accommodate this situation -- we should have caught it on review before we sent it.
Regarding your email, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt that you did not give me. You felt offended, and sent me an email that responded in kind -- this is not a biblical approach. For each of the two seats you hold, I have five people standing in line to take them. Since most families pay on time in full without reminders of any kind, I could give each of your seats to any one of five other families who would each probably respond more appropriately than you did. I will give you the benefit of the doubt this time, but please don't assume I will again. Thank you.
Jeff Gilbert
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Timothy Pettus [mailto:tpettus@socket.net] Sent: June 12, 2006 20:12 To: TPS Director Subject: Re: The Potter's School - Pettus Family OVERDUE Invoice - DROPPING SEATS
Director, Potter's School,
Our apologies. We, for some reason, thought we had paid our registration with the $167.50 payment in April. I now see on the website that it was not the correct amount. I have no idea where we got that total. I don't believe we received any notification that the payment was insufficient.
IN ANY EVENT, WE ARE MAILING THE REMAINING $95 TOMORROW! IT SHOULD REACH YOU IN A FEW DAYS!
I must say, I am disappointed to receive such an email. You received a significant sum from us, indicating our commitment. If we made an error, it seems it would have been simpler to send us an email back in April, rather than the terse missive below. Is this your typical tone of communication?
Sincerely,
Mr. Pettus
----- Original Message ----- From: TPS Director To: tpettus@socket.net Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 3:20 PM Subject: The Potter's School - Pettus Family OVERDUE Invoice - DROPPING SEATS
Dear Pettus Family,
Our records show that as of 06/12/2006 you owe $95.00. This reflects tuition currently due by our payment timetable (see our website for this timetable) for all requested classes in which you are not on the waiting list. It also includes your registration fee and any applicable miscellaneous fees (e.g., late fees, returned check charges). PLEASE REMIT PROMPTLY OR WE WILL MAKE YOUR SEATS AVAILABLE TO OTHER WAITING STUDENTS. Please see your family account page for a detailed invoice. If you believe we have sent you this in error, please notify us promptly so we can resolve the problem.
We appreciate timely payments without reminders. It's a privilege to be part of your home education team.
Director, The Potter's School
Timmy
Doncha' think they should simply pay and get over it. Not everybody's a saint these days ~ never were in fact.
Interesting. Thanks for the heads up.
Bummer. Looks like a classic lose-lose-lose scenario.
When you are bothered, always let a dispassionate 3-rd party read your emails before you turn the launch key.
"When you are bothered, always let a dispassionate 3-rd party read your emails before you turn the launch key."
Heh, I may have to change my tagline.
There was nothing whatsoever wrong with the initial e-mail they sent you. It seems very polite and straightfoward. The capitals are clearly for emphasis rather than shouting.
However, their attitude in the subsequent messages is terrible. You are right to withdraw, in light of that, even though you had no real reason to complain in the first place.
It seems enrollment for school was no longer the main thing.
Misunderstanding after misunderstanding derailed something that probably could have been a great thing.
It would appear that both you and Mr. Gilbert are very easily offended. Please lighten up.
This Jeff person is a complete dick. You are best to not have any dealings with him. I think he's mental. I'm serious. Has he nothing else to do but send shitty emails to clients and threaten them with taking their children's "seats" away?
You did nothing wrong. You are the customer. You were upset. Any professional would have replied with an apology and verified the amount owed. Period.
So, wipe the dust from your feet, give a big sigh of relief you escaped from this mental case, and get on with your life. Heaven only knows what you saved your children from. God gives us signs; we'd best listen.
" you have yet to acknowledge any of your sarcasm "
Is sarcasm a sin?
If it is, somebody better rebuke the apostle Paul for a lot of stuff he said to Corinth.
I don't blame you for cancelling out. I hope you receive a full refund.
I agree -- he has nothing better to do than engage in name-calling and worse with CLIENTS??? Not very business-like. That alone would make me run screaming.
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