We received our video training from Pat Conn, independent franchisee in the Houston, TX area. We…read moreare in Tennessee.
Very disappointed with this local franchise of Bark Busters that claim such a vaunted reputation spanning several years. We engaged Bark Busters for our dogs' (2) behaviors. In discussion before the actual training session, we were told we would not have to pay if not satisfied. In later discussion, it was claimed by the trainer, Pat C, that we had been told we had to say we were not going to pay by the very end of the training session, and not any later. Naturally, we disagree over this restriction on timing. We could not get a refund from him.
The lesson required making a particular sound which I cannot make for legitimate medical reasons. That, and other items, were never told us before we engaged the lesson. We were told it was a positive raining. It was not. Again, we were not apprised of program components before we engaged the training service. There was very little awareness of what the training involved which could have been, and should've been, explained before. If it is considered proprietary material, then a broad scope of whatever would take place could've been made.
It turned out, the methods were not revealed until the session began. As it became revealed, the philosophy was misrepresented. The positivity was not evident in training. It was not cruel, but it was not positive. My wife inquired about what positive would be. She was told he would deal with that later. Never happened. The trainer was pleasant enough, though.
By the end of the lesson, why didn't we say anything and decline to pay. First, we didn't know that was when we had to mention it, and the only time, despite what Pat (our trainer) may claim he said. Second, we were so overwhelmed with information and parts of training we were still wondering about, as they had not been addressed, we were sort of mentally "floating" by the end of session. U strongly suggest, given this franchisee's "guarantee," that you do noy pay, and give yourself a chance to think about what you experienced in the training (BTW, this arrangement for the dissatisfied paying/or not by the very end of the training session or not is not a company-wide one.
Third, payment is an almost automatic response to pay for a person's labors when the job is done. When we asked for a refund, we were told we had passed the deadline and couldn't get one. I strongly suggest. If you want to consider Bark Busters, particularly the franchisee we had train us, make that you feel comfortable and informed of how the training will be presented and its content. I cannot speak for all trainers, but Pat made statements that weren't kept, did not disclose methods and philosophy beforehand, and only (not enough to make an informed decision) the day prior to the session did we get anything that told us some of the content of the program.
The training was incomplete, ineffective, showed no promise, despite the claim of the million dogs that allegedly have trained by this company. However, I cannot make a judgement on the parent company, but only on the way this franchisee presented the material and the way he ran his franchise, and my experience.
