TESC - poor customer service

[Gary]

Had to get this out of my system during break from ALEKS. Called TESC to ask a basic question for a degree program. Their customer service is horrible, as I expected and had dealt w/in the past. (1) question only and it had to be e-mailed, they were not allowed to answer it. I have a person at work who was thinking about them, I will steer him away if possible. I have never run into this in all my calls to other colleges. They are consistent, consistently bad dealing w/the customer. I don't care about free FEMA credits and liberal policies etc, as far as serving potential customers, they are sadly lacking. This is not to knock people who have degrees from there, just an observation about a school that apparently is on a par w/Ivy League schools. Like playing the famed 18th at Pebble Beach, I guess we should be honored to be associated w/them. My advice, don't play this course, too many sand traps, rough fairways and water. Take your clubs elsewhere.

Signed,
A concerned parent :}

[studyhard]

Yeah, overall I was pretty unimpressed with TESC. They were a necessary evil on the road to getting a degree and I could put up with the hassle for the goal's sake, but I wouldn't enroll there just for the sheer pleasure of it.

[brothermike]

In the interest of full disclosure...do you mind sharing what the question was and which department you expected an answer from?

Without more specifics, some may be left wondering whether or not your question was unreasonable for a front line employee to answer.

I have called there many times now (appying for graduation this month) and have kind of figured out which people/departments can answer my questions.

Also for the record, I fully understand that TESC has many deficiencies in the service department (especially compared to Excelsior).

[MadMax396]

TESC is not really a phone School. I know this sounds wierd because the telephone has been around since 1876. You are much better to well construct and email and you will probably get a better response, because of two reasons. One, if it is urgent they can prioritize it. Two if they dont have the answer right there they can research it for you. It may help to construct and email with 4 or 5 good questions and then if you dont like the answer. post it in the forum or call them back about the specific answer. I dont know if this will help but I hope it does because it was where I achieved the most success. This is what I did if it helps.

I constructed emails each with follow up questions after a response and only urgent in the most necessary cases. If it was urgent i would call the day after my constructed email so that the advisor could view all of my questions in print and it made the phone call go alot better because if I forgot something it was right there in the email to refer to. Finally I made an appointment and reviewed what i had went over in the advising appointment. I have talked to many advisors there and I dont think they mean to be evil villains. Try some of these things out and of course if they don't help any my face is used to apple pie so I will take that one in the face. Every college sort of has a best practice or user guide from Carnegie Melon to Harvard, I think at Thomas Edison a well constructed email is the best way to start.


All the best.

[Gary]

In the interest of full disclosure...do you mind sharing what the question was and which department you expected an answer from?

Without more specifics, some may be left wondering whether or not your question was unreasonable for a front line employee to answer.

I have called there many times now (appying for graduation this month) and have kind of figured out which people/departments can answer my questions.

Also for the record, I fully understand that TESC has many deficiencies in the service department (especially compared to Excelsior).

Here it is, I knew someone would ask me this. Seriously, this really isn't important. There are so many negative reviews on TESC, they have a history so to speak. If you have a degree from them, don't take it personally. My feeling is regardless of taking FEMA credits, CLEPS/DSST's or whatever, you are paying good money and sacrificing time. Who wants to feel like a number?? Truthfully, I did this on a whim to see if they changed from the past, they did not dissappoint me. And it only took (1) simple question. I didn't even need to figure the "probability" of them going into crisis mode. I have mentioned this school to a comrade at work, but I will let him know they haven't changed. I don't take it personally when someone says they had a bad experience at Excelsior, if you did, you did. When the feedback becomes routine, then there is a pattern. Truthfully, how many more students could they possibly bring in if they just used a little simple common courtesy?
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:45:37 -0400
From: @tesc.edu
To: @tesc.edu
CC: @hotmail.com


Hi Kxxxxx,



This guy is taking courses through ALEX – he would like to know if Intro to Statistics would sub for Principles of Stat and will Business Statistics sub for Pre calc Math or Quantative Analysis? These aren’t questions we answer for non students, are they?



Thanks,



xxxx xxxxxxxxx

Admissions Counselor

Thomas Edison State College

That's it in a nutshell. Frontline employee???? She's a counselor who isn't allowed to counsel. Still, many are right, they are an easier alternative to a degree. But I have to ask this, if you were a grad from here, wouldn't you rather have a degree from an institution that is looked upon in a different light? Since many on here are going for their BA degree, this is your blueprint on how NOT to handle customer service, and that from an institution of higher learning that teaches Business Administration.

[brothermike]

Thanks for coming back and posting.

Does Excelsior answer questions for non-enrolled students? I saw someone post here today that they do not.

Again, I FULLY understand that Excelsior's service is superior to TESC. I just want to make sure that someone coming here to decide on a school has all of the necessary info.

[Gary]

Excelsior did answer my questions before I was enrolled. Quite a few of them. That was the kicker for me. I liked TESC's degree programs, the fact they take 200 level as upper level, FEMA for electives and also the fact they are approx 30 mins away. At face value, they seemed the better pick but they connected me to one of their higher ups on the phone a long time back and his answer to a simple question then with a snicker was almost verbatim "Hey, answers cost money". That sealed the deal. I knew I made the right choice when I saw Excelsiors commencement speaker this year is Soledad O'Brien. Cute and smart fo shizzle! Top that TESC.

[brothermike]

Cute and smart fo shizzle! Top that TESC.[/QUOTE]


Lol! Good stuff!

[malcs]

Does Excelsior answer questions for non-enrolled students? I saw someone post here today that they do not.

From my experience, they didn't spend a whole lot of time answering questions before I enrolled. This is in contrast to their behavior a few years back, when they gave me a full evaluation during the acceptance process.

Most of my questions before enrollment were complicated, involving GRE overlap of credits from an older test, etc. I'm sure that they will answer any simple questions accurately before enrollment, but you can often answer you own questions by looking at the degree requirements that they have posted.

They also indicated that whatever they said was non-binding, and they could not give me a final answer until I enrolled.

They are like any other business that must screen people who are fishing, from people who have put their money on the table. This is not surprising with the growth in online attendance. All successful businesses operate this way.

[a mom]

Okay, I have to chime in here. My son will be finishing his courses this summer and graduating from TESC. We never really utilized phone consultation or that format for asking questions. I preferred email where there would be documentation. In addition, my son didn't go in with any CLEPS or other tests, nor did he take any classes through TESC. All of his courses were transferred in.

We found out yesterday that this will be his last semester. TESC accepted 4 ministerial credits from a university that came in as REL 100. Acceptance of those credits involved his TESC advisor calling the other university and speaking with the director. He voluntarily did this. Even after the acceptance, I thought our son would need another course but his advisor moved classes around on his degree plan and we found out that his degree requirements have been met (once he finishes the current courses). Needless to say, he's elated.

As far as customer satisfaction, I think a lot of it has to do with your expectations. If you need to be spoon-fed, forget it. If you're the proactive type, you'll be fine. College has changed a lot from when I went back in the day. I went to an advisor, they looked at my degree plan, and gave me a print-out of what classes I needed to take when. My son has taken classes from 5 different colleges and even at the ones he attended on campus, it's been up to him (or me in this case) to figure out what classes he needs, pre-reqs, co-reqs, professors, work load, etc).