Complaint Review: Suzi Pomerantz

Interestingly enough, Suzi appears to be in fairly high regard within her field of coaching. But a dark and dirty little secret of hers is how she treats clients when it comes to her billing practices.

I am writing as a former client of Ms. Pomerantz and would like to share with the world my personal experience when I was faced with an unfortunate incident regarding Ms. Pomerantz after receiving my first invoice as a new client. Keep in mind that this was a trial relationship, I was clearly "testing the waters" with our relationship.

For the most part, the relationship was pretty okay. Not great. In fact, I would have to say that I have hired considerably more skilled professionals for substantially less money than $350 per hour and gotten much more from the relationship.

Now I must say that I am a business owner, very intelligent, busy person. Actually writing is a little bit of a hobby of mine. I hired Ms. Pomerantz because I was very impressed with how she communicates. Yes, I must say she communicates very effectively.

However, I was hugely disappointed the day I reviewed my first invoice from her. I was reeling from the shock and betrayal of receiving a bill that was twice as much as I was expecting! I just couldn't believe that someone who is such an effective communicator could actually put together such a thing! It was just appalling!

Well now, I view myself as a reasonable person and I certainly hope that those with whom I engage in business are reasonable as well. Well, let me re-phrase this. Those people who really care about their reputations tend to be reasonable with other like-minded and reasonable people.

So I asked Ms. Pomerantz for a reasonable explanation as to the excessive and unexpected charges. This really became a turning point in our relationship.

Ms. Pomerantz decided that no explanation was necessary and the charges were the charges! Really one could describe this as "my way or the highway" approach to negotiating!

What is really ironic is that this woman teaches people how to negotiate, yet she feels no need whatsoever to provide reasonable explanations, nor reasonably negotiate with a client.

Okay...just so you know a little more about me. Well I am involved in a number of social groups around town. In our lovely town of Washington DC! Yes, I am basically the person that is very very active and connected in the entrepreneurial and business community, and I run social events and bring lots and lots of people together for various events, parties, and all sorts of social functions. Yes..one could say I'm just a very social person. My passion is bringing people together!

I can send a lot of business towards someone via referrals. I had several people lined up to jump on the Suzi bandwagon! Wow! What a boon I can be to someones business.

Ms. Pomerantz not only broke my trust with this billing dispute, but everyone around me knows about it. All of the references she provided know about it. And even some of her past and prospective clients know the truth as I write and share my story on the internet where Wisdom of Crowds will win the day!

So now.the question I must ask! Ms. Pomerantz's claim to fame is negotiating. From her website, I can see that she works with a ton of attorneys assisting them with selling and negotiating! This is quite humorous! My question is where is the consistency here? Remember the old saying "Be consistent or non-existent!"

Why on earth would someone choose to forgo providing a reasonable explanation to a client, negotiate with a client, and work things out? Why would that not be worth it? I am stunned and puzzled at the same time why this sounds so reasonable and logical to me!

Bet then again, I am true to my word, true to the truth, and consistent in every way. Why should I expect a coach and role model to me to uphold similar values as me? Well...I do. And this is why the relationship Ms. Pomerantz, who in my brief observation of her, is the opposite of me!

In my opinion, she is not consistent nor does she uphold the same integrity I do. Furthermore, her approach to resolving the matter was to turn me over to collections for a bill that clearly is in dispute!

I do not find this manner of business dealing as a proper way to handle clients. I find it underhanded and manipulative. There are many things about Suzi that do not meet the eye. And this, clearly, is the reason why I feel like it is my duty to share in an honest and straightforward way.

Furthermore, as a fellow business person, I would like to add that there have been numerous times that I have been in a business dealing with a client where the client was not happy with an outcome of a situation. My business partners and I worked very hard to see to it that the client was satisfied. We either threw money into the equation or made some kind of concession to show we cared.

We spent time listening to the client, really understanding their concerns, and working towards a resolution. Never ever did we want for someone to seek alternative ways of handling a situation such as consumer protection, the attorney general or the courts. It just simply is not necessary if two parties are willing to reach a solution. While it may not produce a 100% win-win result, the outcome could serve as a reasonable compromise that two people can live with!

Perhaps I can't get Ms. Pomerantz off her racket about "my way or the highway", but if I can help her with my communication here, may be the world will be a better place.

Bob
Arlington, Virginia
U.S.A.