Complaint Review: Patriot Motorcycle Training

Is there an update on this situation with Patriot Motorcycle and Joel Hodges?  Any resolutions, refunds, apologies?

This rebuttal is in response to owner, Joel Hodges of Patriot Motorcycle Training, Inc. in Jacksonville, FL.  I was quite surprised to come across your response today, Joel.  I, also, had a number of issues in my first training class in 2011.  I am a well educated man and not in the least bit obese, as you eluded to in your response to "Karma", nor do I have any issues regarding age or mental condition (although I am starting to believe that Joel Hodges may).

Interestingly, I had a very similar experience with Patriot Motorcycle Training, Inc., however, after I was dismissed from the class I actually did pay for the extra one-on-one class.  This was not offered for free, as Joel says, nor was I permitted to continue in the basic training class without paying for the additional one-on-one class.  The first of which my trainer never showed up for and it had to be rescheduled - equaling 2 additional days off of work and loss of pay.  Each time I needed to contact Patriot, my contact was with an answering machine or with Connie Policastro and the non-stop back and forth, phone tag was exhausting - just trying to get a straight answer from Patriot or their representatives requires a team of lawyers.

Just when I was ready to give up I decided to try to meet with you, Joel, personally.  That was a mistake that almost cost me more.  After your barrage of insults I too left cheated and decided that it was not worth the time.  I immediately signed up for a class with FSCJ and passed the first time.

By the way, an important thing to note here is that I am not a new rider.  Before being scammed by Patriot Motorcycle Training, Inc. I rode my hog almost every day for over 10 years.  I only decided to get my endorsement after receiving a ticket for not being licensed.  That's 10 years (12 now) accident free my friend, Joel. 

My advice to Joel Hodges and Patriot Motorcycle Training, Inc.:  FSCJ also offers classes in Business Management and Customer Relations that are rather inexpensive, especially compared to the amount of money you are stealing from your students and losing from bad publicity.  Anger Management classes would be a plus, as well.

To all readers:  Isn't it interesting how people who cheat, steal, rob, insult and mistreat others are the first ones to try to incorporate God in their mess.  Leave God out of your mess, Joel Hodges.  The Body of Christ does not benefit by having you attach their deity to your lies, nor does it help any of those lost souls who are in need of Him and come across your path or public responses to criminal activity.  If anyone is interested in filing a lawsuit with me against Patriot Motorcycle Training, Inc. and Joel Hodges - please contact me ASAP as my statute of limitations will end soon.

I am the owner of Patriot Motorcyle Training. I was directed to this site to rebut or comment on the report filed.
We at Patriot are contractors to the State of Florida Division of Licensing. The course follows the Motorcycle Safety Foundations and Florida Rider Training Program with the State's strict guidelines governing our material, training and instructors who are certified and must attend updates. The tests given are for your license and are rigorously adhered to.

With that being said, safety is the utmost priority and is always our most vigorous concern. There are occasionally, as most riders know, persons who need much more training due to a myriad of factors. They can include but are not limited to: never shifted a gear before, Age, physical disabilities, mental state and yes, occasionally extreme obesity. In the latter case, its hard to tell someone that their physical condition is keeping them from moving properly and even simple tasks as mounting a small training bike is very difficult.
The training must be conducted with the safety of the rider student in mind even if they do not recognize the unsafe nature of their own abilities. Sometimes and rarely we have students who just cannot safely get by even the beginning lessons of just holding the bike up.

Our policy is, and has always been that if you pay and attend the class, and fail, or drop out, we will allow you to attend as many time as necessary until you can pass for free. We will offer free, one on one training after class to those who choose it if they fail to prepare them for another try. This is the case with this complaint. I personally invited them back for whatever they chose, one on one, or  be added into another class. We also invite students who have passed and want to practice, to come to the class and ride for free providing the class is not full. We always fit them in.
This complainant chose neither. I spoke with them on several occasions as did Connie, our secretary but to no avail, they would not commit to a day that we could accomodate them.

The state does not guarantee a license, it depends on you SAFELY completing the class and passing the skills and written test. Going above the State requirements, we as a business choose to offer this free training to those who desire it as we are avid riders and understand the pleasure with motorcycle riding.
As a reference, we have approximately 97% success rate as current stats show but sometimes to our dismay, there are those who just cant physically do it and do it safely.
We have a responsibility to train, license, and send out on the streets qualified and safe students. We have a moral obligation that goes beyond this persons personal desire and that is to recognize someone who needs more training and work. We offered that, still offer that. We were turned down.
As a financial business decision, it is not in our best interest to drop a student out because when they come back for free, that is a paying slot we cannot get paid for. We do it anyway. It makes good people sense.
I understand this students embarrasment of being dropped from a class and some people display different emotions from it.  I am saddened that they chose to take this inflammatory stance from pain of being dropped out. We tried. Our counselling was unsuccessful. 
The only rebuttal to the personal attacks, is that this person is not unsafely on the streets with a motorcycle endorcement that was just given to them where they are a danger to themselves or others.  We at Patriot can live with that.

All that being said, we still stand on our offer to this student to help them get thier license, but not at the cost or risk of their injury. If anyone wishes to contact our office and request my return call, I will gladly give references. And yes, even you even after your complaint. We wil still help you. If you choose to return, we will need you to wear looser clothing, flatter shoes and agree to meet when we agree this time with a willingness to learn.

God bless and thank you for reading this.
Joel Hodges - Owner Patrot Motorcycle Training Inc.