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by drewblood80

To Mr. Infinity/ Steve Copeland
You are more than qualified for TPG if you can follow simple labs and remember questions for certifications you are in. The thing is there were many people who attended in the session I was in who didn?t know ANYTHING even about an Operating System. I also strongly agree with Jimmy.Christ when he said this thread is very important for people who research I.T. related subjects. I went to work for a company called SMS.ac until I found information on what type of business they ran and decided against. You know how I found out about dirt on the company?????? Hummmm forums and Google. In case you didn?t know it Steve you are in a business which is involved with fraudulent activity. Let me clarify this for you:
1. You (or your company) offer a FAKE INTERNSHIP TO PEOPLE as advertisement for a BOOTCAMP.
2. Tell students the CERT PREP is what companies do to get their employees certified who don?t want to spend the time studying, because they already know the material.
3. I love this one: Eric Choi would tell us how upon leaving we will know more than most SEASONED PROFESSIONALS!!!!!!!!! (You know the Tech Republic would LOVE THAT ONE.)
4. Teach students how to stretch the truth to seem like they have more experience on their resume than what they actually do.
5. Told me and probably others there were INSTRUCTOR led Classes. (In which the Instructors are ex-students who don?t know much more than we do upon leaving)

I am sure there is more just don?t have the time to think about it.
So as Steve?s post was prior ?What is important to know? This form is here for I.T. related scam which the community involved in this industry should be informed about. Informed because it is INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, that is why we are in business to keep information available for people?s questions.
So Steve how is cpuguy949 (I know it was you), which was one of your aliases, funny when you say you only post under your name. Also funny that 949 is the area code you are in. Just like Lawrence who didn?t have a problem with TPG in ANY WAY WHATS SOEVER. That wasn?t you either, I know you look at everyone of these posts because you responded to my post https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2186848 , or Lawrence did at 1am when he had an internship that was keeping him busy.https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2186897

by drewblood80

I am so sure you do agree because this forum is used to tell The TRUTH about what REALLY goes on and the reason you stopped replying is because you cannot handle people talking about what REALLY goes on.
I am sure you would like this thread ended, but if it did, there is still the TRUTH out there and it will catch up to you.
I think this is a great place to post, why not? I am sure Tigger would like to know what REALLY GOES on there at TPG if he care,s and if he doesn?t he wouldn?t have been posting on this forum. I use all sorts of forums as stated before for INFORMATION. If I am trying to find out how to troubleshoot error codes in software or investigating a potential business I look on forums through Google. I was unfortunate this topic wasn?t going on till AFTER I started going to TPG, which tells you how valuable this posting is.
We are not trying to mislead or defame in anyway we are here to INFORM, to Clarify (as you like to say) for people to read and make their own decision. When I went to go work for SMS.ac I did research on the company and found a lot of dirt. Now I took that and made my own decision not to mess with them. SOME of it could have been misleading, but it is funny when A LOT of people have something negative to say about a company. We are fortunate for the Internet, so we can do our research and make our own educated decisions.

by deepsand

1) TT is [b]not[/b] a "board admin;" neither is she in any way attempting to act as a "censor."

2) If you re-read her post carefully, she was suggesting the Mr. Copeland's post, while understandably self-serving, also seemed to be quite at odds with publicly available facts.

3) Her mention of "spam" was a reference to the "Report as Spam" link that attaches to each post; and, that she considered Mr. Copeland's post to be worthy of consideration as a candidate for its use.

4) TT is a long time member here, one who is both well known and respected by those who frequent these haunts. In the future, before you make unwarranted attacks against another, you would be well advised to first both learn something about them, and [b]very carefully read[/b] what they have written that seems to grounds for offense.

I suggest that an apology to TT is in order.

by j-mart

For someone who pretends to be a professional whithout the balls to even identify yourself and only contribution you have made is this garbage. Its about time we killed this pointless forum with its ragged collection of guttless whingers going over and over the same old rubbish and none of them with the courage of their convictions to let us know thier real identities

by jimmy.christ

I have responses to some personal attacks on me below but first to the latest lies of Big Steve & TPG

The Cisco and other IT organization logos on the TPG group home page are presented as if they (TPG) are part of these partner groups - no where does it say that these are alternatives to consider. NO they are presented to give a false impression of a professional alliance with these companies. If there was any truth to the statement then it would be clearly stated on that page. This is yet another disingenuous method to obscure the truth and how little regard TPG has for truth.

In answer to why the background check is preformed so late in the game - I forget the Carney term but it is to tighten the noose on the rube. So far you have $95 invested and six weeks of this online education (I?m sure everyone does very well). Now at your own cost you pay a background check and increase your total commitment - you then travel (at your own expense) to S. Calif where you invest several more weeks of your time -
The next step is the inevitable contract where you sign away 20% of your income ? I will still say for 72k 20% of year one is cheep but who will value these quickie certs I don?t know what really Happens to the rubes but my guess is the next year they owe 20% of any job even McDonalds

Now here is Steves next lie ? he says MrFinity is not qualified however quoting from MrFinitys own post

https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2356092

?You have my resume - as the holder of a CCNA and an Associates diploma in IT with a qpa of 3.97 certainly I qualify?

MrFinity also went on to say he was working on a MCSE ? but Steve says he is not qualified ? In the ad I found it seems he qualifies

?Tech Pros Group is currently interviewing college graduates and sharp entry level techs for LAN/WAN Engineer Internships.?

Seems a guy with a 3.97, a CCNA and studying for an MCSE might be a ?sharp entry level tech?

To be fair TPG has pulled the Cisco partner logo (wonder how that really happened?) But still claims Microsoft Gold Partnership, seems Pearson Vue is also MIA - -- sorry I didn?t take a screen shot ? if anybody has one ship it to me at g-mail just put a dot . between my names. It still seems that TPG is presenting itself as associated with these groups ? where does it say these are alternatives to our program on the page --- or any other page?.

I urge you look at the add and see if it isn?t misleading ? if it doesn?t seem to be offering OJT and not what it really is ? a hack bootcamp of questionable repute

http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?ipath=EXSH&siteid=cbsimplyhired&Job_DID=J8D4TH6F6ZNYJBBKN7K&cbRecursionCnt=3&cbsid=55100b6038f940ebb41d7888c7a31787-248069030-J0-5

The add is carefully written ? they really do say what Steve claims but the wording and presentation are such that the reader is misled

Now for j-mart
Well when everyone else post their name, address and phone number - they will get alot of phone calls - are you such a n00b that you haven't been to other boards to see screen names are everywhere. Give my real name??? Why not just open my front door with a sign that says take all you want. By the way judging from your post j-mart just how drunk were you when you posted it ? or did you flunk remedial English?

Now for deepsand
I understood exactly what the spam comment referred to - I didn't just teleport to the thread reply box. It seems odd to me when tough questions are being asked that some level headed person comes to the fore to diffuse things (I've seen that game run before) Not only did I read her post I just reread it and I think you are seeing a different post than the one I read. I hold to my position that a thread running this long has extraordinary value and it will most likely continue as long as the people at TPG continue to post their misleading ?Internship? ad on the net. I located it almost 7 times today and I was not looking for it. I?m sorry you think I am a meanie but in my opinion Tigger has problems with deep discussions and cannot handle it when there is ill will expressed (women do not like conflict ? didn?t know Tigger was a girl but it does explain a lot ? and yes I like women ? have a mom, a wife and a daughter ? not one likes any kind of conflict ? not in a womans nature ). Also as I said any post running this long without a violation of ?Godwins Law? is unique ? I imagine when people do use Google and come here to find this thread still active they are draw in and informed more so than a thread dead for months. If you think this is rough you aren?t long for the real world. My first boss wasn?t happy until he had chewed someones ass for breakfast ? and what he had for lunch ? you don?t want to know. I stand by my initial assessment of some kind of OCD regarding having to check this post on a regular basis. I am sure she can take it but maybe I could offer you a tissue?

Finally Drew Blood
Bro you are fighting an uphill battle and I admire you for it ? I can see your very real anger and frustration. Remember at some point these people will be completely exposed ? when that happens just smile and walk away ? put the whole thing behind you ? there are 1,000,001 scams in this world and everyone bites at sometime ? don?t be ashamed you were taken be proud you (and many others on this forum) fought back and continue to fight back against these hucksters.

Just for S&Gs go up to the 18th post in this thread and ask yourself who would hire this illiterate moron as a SysOp of any sort.

Does any one really read these long post ? I know Steve Copelands just bore me into a trance.

So if you are still here you will have noticed a lack of ? on possessive nouns ? I know most peoples usage is like this ?Steve?s? but my old grammar teacher hated that and swore it was only used for
?Steve is? not belonging to Steve ? so if this is bothersome to you please direct all your vitriol toward hell and Ms Gladsy Taylor the meanest teacher I ever had (and at least one woman who loved conflict)

by deepsand

Firstly, when responding to anyome's post, including mine, kindly have both the courtesy & courage to respond directly, rather than burying such in a reply to another.

Secondly, your attack against TT was wholly unjustified & inappropriate. To make matters worse, rather than realizing & admitting such, you here attempt to defend it by way of [i]argumentum ad hominem[/i].

Have you no shame?

by mroliver21

Hello Tigger,

This is Oliver Asato. I have done the TPG training and I have been up against them in court 4 times now. I know what is happening.

I am sorry that this discussion seems like a bunch of miserable brats who can?t play in the sandbox together, but TPG is a real situation that is badly affecting unwary individuals. Without this discussion board, TPG would just take and take, picking off one unsuspecting college student after another.

The reason this thread persists is that there is a big lie going on here. Either myself or Copeland is lying. Maybe both of us are full of it. I am going to try and back up what I write with evidence, and whoever reads this, you will need to decide for yourself what the truth is.

First off, here is the link to the BBB in Southern CA: http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=13218660 . Copeland can only give excuses for this negative report.

Regarding posting ones real name on this website: There was a gentleman by name of Mike Bostok who sent an email to an acquaintance. That email would up on a discussion board and TPG sued for defamation. Go to https://ocapps.occourts.org/CivilPub/Login.do and under ?Person? enter ?Eric Choi? (the owner of TPG). Look for case Number 06CC11062 . TPG lost this case. This cost Mike about $10,000 in court and attorney fees just to defend himself.

Eric Choi has threatened to sue me for defamation as well, but the likelihood of him losing again is very high and his attorney ? Carol Gefis (carol.gefis@oswald-yap.com) cannot afford to have the reputation of a losing attorney. Just as a note, every one of my ?inflammatory? emails is sent Ms. Gefis as the whole TPG affair is a serious one. Responsible people cannot idly sit by and watch others be mislead.

Regarding small claims court cases:
I encourage individuals to follow the law and enforce their rights. This is a responsibility of all citizens in a democratic nation.

I have been involved in 4 small claim cases against TPG.
Steven Washington vs. TPG ? won
Oliver Asato vs. TPG ? lost
Steven Washington vs. TPG on appeal ? lost
John Sagenes vs. TPG ? won.
John Sagenes vs. TPG on appeal ? to be determined.

We lost because we emphasized ?fraud? in the complaint. We won because we emphasized particular legislation.

First off, Copeland will insist that these laws do not apply to him, but per Maxine Waters School Reform and Student Protection Act of 1989 Education Code 94852:
c) "Educational service" means any education, training, or instruction offered by an institution, including any equipment. TPG offers educational service so these laws apply to them.

And from Education Code 94850
b) The Legislature finds and declares that students have been substantially harmed and the public perception of reputable institutions has been damaged because of the fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair conduct of some institutions?

And from Education Code 94877
(a) If an institution violates this article ?in connection with an agreement for a course of instruction, that agreement shall be unenforceable, and the institution shall refund all consideration paid by or on behalf of the student.

The full text can be found at http://law.justia.com/california/codes/edc/94850-94882.html. It gives an individual a full understanding of his legal rights. If you have a beef with TPG, I recommend that you study it and get yourself an attorney.

Realize that the above sections basically mean that TPG cannot take me to court to collect their $25,000 out of me and I certainly don?t pay for misrepresentation. Also it can?t collect from any other ex TPG student even if that student got a rare internship. They can?t even legally report a person to credit bureaus. TPG has NO LEGAL RECOURSE as they are an illegal entity. Get yourself an attorney if you have questions.

TPG has recently gotten people to agree to putting $10,000 ++ on their credit cards in a month to month manner. It is a bit more difficult to get a credit card to stop payment. But if the student?I can?t write this. Email me at the address below and I will give you the data.

What is the motive behind Copeland continuing his postings ? there were about 300 students in 2006 that did the TPG training. Each of them got a bill of $25,000. A little math will tell you that this is $7,500,000 in one year.

I hope that this gives you an idea of the gravity of the situation. In this posting, I have not discussed the student who was having his first child and was banking on TPG to get him that high paying job. The service woman who left the army after 15 years to do the TPG program and got nothing (she?s back in the army now). The list goes on and on.

Message to J-mart from New Zealand: It would be to Copeland?s and TPG?s benefit for this discussion board to close down. Why are you so interested in seeing it shut down? A guy from Moscow Russia, told me to continue. Another from the Fiji islands did the same.

Sincerely,
Oliver Asato
MrOliver21@netzero.net

by drewblood80

I would like to see Steve answer the post of us recently or even better if Eric Choi would step in and say something. This is exactly what happened a year ago when the pressure was on and he stopped responding. When FACTS come out like these, it is hard to BS your way out of it. I know my post and this post will be read shortly if not already and I would like to see the ?To Clarify? post on these subjects to see what he comes up with. I heard StarBucks is hiring and has good health insurance!
Please don?t put us to sleep with the long posts and the unrelenting elaborate BS, just be to the point, close your business and do something real. Maybe you should go repent too.
God Bless,
Mr. Blood

by stevecopeland

To Mr. Asato

Mr. Asato presents himself as a crusader whose goal is to help individuals wronged by Tech Pros Group. Furthermore, he claims to present himself as a fair-minded individual who is only seeking the truth with the hope of helping the public from getting ?scammed? by Tech Pros Group.

If this is the case, why does Mr. Asato continue providing information that is outdated, misleading or just false? The following are some examples:

1. MR. ASATO STATES THAT TECH PROS GROUP PROVIDES EDUCATIONAL SERVICES AND SHOULD BE APPROVED BY THE BPPVE ? He references a citation from an education code monitored/regulated by the BPPVE, a California state regulating agency. Mr. Asato conveniently forgets to mention that the BPPVE was closed down effective July 1, 2007. This was due to the fact that this code is outdated and required major changes. Mr. Asato also forgets that the BPPVE is primarily designed for vocational schools and that there are hundreds of corporate and professional training organizations that are not approved by the BPPVE and are operating legally with the BPPVE?s awareness. This includes a large portion of Cisco and Microsoft learning partners including Global Knowledge (with over 6 locations in California) and Ascolta (with over 4 locations in California including their corporate headquarters).
2. MR. ASATO REFERENCES MIKE BOSTOK AS A CREDIBLE EXAMPLE OF AN INDIVIDUAL POSTING WITH HIS REAL NAME ? Mr. Asato is correct in that Mike Bostok is an actual individual who made a posting on another website. What Mr. Asato forgets to mention is that Mike Bostok is the owner of a computer training school called laptop training solutions located in San Diego, CA and that closed down in 2004. Mr. Bostok also owns another school in the Southern California region that is currently open. A portion of the training (approximately 30%) that Tech Pros Group includes as an internship benefit is offered through Mr. Bostok?s school for approximately $10,000.

Based on this fact, one has to question his question is motivation for his postings. Mr. Asato mentions a lawsuit between Tech Pros Group and Mr. Bostok. This lawsuit was resolved out of court and cannot be discussed due to the settlement agreement. What was addressed in court was related to which court had jurisdiction with this lawsuit, California or Arizona. This is due to the fact that one of the individuals involved in the lawsuit lived in Arizona. Tech Pros Group requested the California courts and the defendants requested the Arizona courts. Tech Pros Group lost over the jurisdiction argument and the case was scheduled to be handled in an Arizona court prior to the case being settlement. Following are some articles regarding Mr. Bostok and Laptop Training Solutions:

http://badbusinessbureau.com/reports/0/075/RipOff0075054.htm

http://www.sandiegocomputertrainingschools.com/Laptop_Training_Solutions_2.html

http://dwb.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/10417821p-11337457c.html

3. MR. ASATO BREAKS DOWN THE COURT CASES ? Mr. Asato separates the small claim case and its appeal. Mr. Asato doesn?t bother mentioning that when an individual or business wins the appeal, the initial ruling in the small claim case is reversed. Mr. Asato actually listed only three cases. Two of which were lost between small claim and its appeal and the third case that is currently in appeals. Mr. Asato doesn?t bother to mention a 4th case that was coordinated by Mr. Asato. This case was lost by the plaintiff due to the fact that he did not even attend his own trial.

In regards to why Tech Pros Group lost the initial case in small claims. One must understand the dynamics of small claims court. A judge in a small claims court has a limited number of hours to handle many cases. For this reason, if the case is complex in nature and the plaintiff is an individual and the defendant is a business; the courts generally rule in favor of the individual versus the business. Due to the fact that if the individual loses, he/she has no other recourse and if the business loses, that business can appeal. Tech Pros Group lost twice in small claims due to this reason. The first loss was appealed and reversed in favor of Tech Pros Group and the second loss is currently waiting appeal. If Tech Pros Group wins this appeal, all 4 court cases would have been ruled in Tech Pros Group?s favor. Final statement regarding this matter; if Tech Pros Group is a scam and our contracts are invalid, why would a superior court judge rule in our favor 3 times?

4. MR. ASATO PRESENTS HOW GRAVE THIS SITUATION IS ? He uses general examples of individuals who were tremendously wronged by Tech Pros Group with no mentioning of their names. Mr. Asato further emphasized the gravity using high dollar amounts culminating to $7,500,000. Tech Pros Group does not presume that every relationship it had with a candidate resulted in employment in Information Technology (IT). In fact, Tech Pros Group, Inc. acknowledges that approximately 10 to 20% of the candidates who received our service may not have received employment in IT. Please note that this means that over 80 to 90% did receive employment. That is a ratio that most organizations would be proud of. In fact, the government regulation in regards to vocational schools is 70%.

If there was an individual who proactively sought employment in IT in coordination with Tech Pros Group, and did not receive employment, Tech Pros Group will not seek payment. His/her financial obligation with Tech Pros Group would be void. The only individuals who still have a financial obligation with Tech Pros Group are individuals who are working in IT. Most neutral parties would not look these individuals who benefited from Tech Pros Group?s service as victims.

SUMMARY:

Mr. Asato continues to ?shout fire? based on outdated, misleading and false information. Mr. Asato ?defends victims? who have utilized the services offered by Tech Pros Group and received employment in IT. As stated previously, many of these individuals even received compensation that were significantly more than what they were receiving prior to joining Tech Pros Group. Tech Pros Group has stated and continues to state on this forum that if there was an individual who worked proactively to seek employment in coordination with Tech Pros Group and did not receive employment, Tech Pros Group would waive any obligations they had with us. If you fit into this category, give us a call and explain your situation and see what our response will be. Obviously, it would not benefit Tech Pros Group to make this statement and not back it up.

Unfortunately, it is our understanding that the group of individuals that Mr. Asato represents falls into the first category versus the second category. If this is not the case, we would be happy to hear from them.

Mr. Asato, if you truly care about the truth as you state you do, take the time to see Tech Pros Group for who we are today and present current information that is not misleading or false.

by stevecopeland

A number of individuals have referenced our F rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) as validation of their negative accusations. The following are examples of other companies with F ratings. Please note that each company listed is recognized within their respective industry as having a reputation that ranges from good to excellent.

GOOGLE Rating: F
http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=100048501
MERCEDES BENZ of Laguna Niguel Rating: F
http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=13129083
SAKS FIFTH AVENUE Rating: F
http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=13160444
CITIBANK Rating: F
http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=13126432

The F rating is the lowest possible rating a company can receive from the BBB. How does Tech Pros Group along with the above mentioned organizations have a rating of F? The following is a link to an article about the BBB and its practices that may provide you with a better understanding:

http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=103107_better_business_bureau_complaint.htm

SOME FACTS ABOUT THE BBB

1. The BBB is a franchise like system - Each region of the United States is separately owned and operated by a BBB franchise. For this reason, the operations and standards of each BBB greatly vary.

2. AAA to F rating is a local rating system - The BBB?s AAA to F is not a national rating system. In fact, only Southern California along with a small number of BBB?s nationwide use this rating system. Even within the group that uses that rating system, the determination for the rating varies. Visit: www.bbb.org and look up a company in your city to verify the rating system for your area versus the Southern California BBB.

3. The Southern California BBB?s rating system is at best suspicious or worse inaccurate and biased ? How does a company such as Google with only 2 complaints have an F rating while a company such as Gateway Computers with over 1,700 complaints has a B rating. Click here for gateway?s BBB rating (http://www.labbb.org/BBBWeb/Forms/Business/CompanyReportPage_Expository.aspx?CompanyID=13101021 ).

4. Tech Pros Group and the Southern California BBB have an adversarial relationship ? See our explanation below

TECH PROS GROUP AND THE BBB HAVE AN ADVERSARIAL RELATIONSHIP

Tech Pros Group believes and supports the concept of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). For this reason, it became a member of the Southern California BBB from 2005 to October 2006. During this period, Tech Pros Group?s rating with the BBB began with an A and escalated to an AA, the 2nd highest rating a company can receive from the BBB. From June to October 2006, our rating declined from a AA rating to an F rating. The F rating is the lowest that a company can receive from the BBB.

The drop in our rating was based on two factors. The first factor is the effectiveness of a defamation campaign conducted by a small group of past clients of Tech Pros Group from 2006. See my posting https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2355985 This negative campaign initially reduced our rating from a AA to a B.

The second reason is due to Tech Pros Group disputing the reduced B rating with the national BBB. As stated above, the BBB initially reduced our rating to a B without verifying the validity of the complaints. The BBB regularly does this due to the limited resources it has to verify accusations. Tech Pros Group initiated communications with the national BBB regarding this matter. The national BBB provided sympathetic words to our situation but reiterated that they are limited in power in regards to changing a rating system that is local to the Southern California BBB. In response to our action, the Southern California BBB dropped our rating from a B to an F. To validate and substantiate this low rating of F, the Southern California BBB took the verbal accusations of wrongdoing from the complainants and listed that information as fact on our BBB profile page.

Tech Pros Group believes in the idea of the BBB as a resource for examining the credentials of a business one may be working with. Unfortunately, the information provided by the Southern California BBB is inaccurate. Furthermore, the management of the Southern California BBB has repeatedly ignored our request to adjust the incorrect information regarding Tech Pros Group. As part of our recent effort to ensure that our reputation on the Internet matches who we are today, Tech Pros Group is reviewing its legal options regarding the BBB and plans to take appropriate action during the first quarter of 2008.

by pizzaisgood

Hey Steve Copeland is back! Alright I'll visit here more often. I get so thoroughly entertained at reading his posts. They are probably the best out there.

As for me, I never paid TPG. Not in over 16 months and they never bothered me.

My attorney said that they couldn't because they aren't licensed by the state. He also advised that if they did to refer to him. I noticed that they only have 2 suites now? No more suite 130?

Steve Copeland is back baby!

by drewblood80

I noticed that you and Citi Bank share one thing in common, A lot of complaints where Google only has 2 unanswered. I wouldn?t be concerned about my BBB rate if I was Google anyways. A nuke could hit and the only thing that would be here is Cockroaches and Google.
But you are not Google, you are like Citi Bank, (which I would never do business with again) because they are a bunch of scamming Bankers like yourself. You never responded to my post. How is Lawrence doing with his internship that has him checking this post at 1am? So the BPPVE didn?t have enough Government funding to be properly staffed and had to shut down. What?s new? The Government SUCKS. I write to the Legislature and get some bullshit auto reply that doesn?t have anything to do with what I wrote. Kind of like you replies. You still beat around the bush dude, who cares about the Mercedes Rating? THEY ARE MERCEDES. Maybe someone didn?t like the maintenance they were receiving. Auto Mechanics can be crooks too no matter where they work. You are talking about one location in California that has a bad rep as a dealer. It wasn?t MERCEDES INC. that has an ?F? rating. Your company had around 36 complaints (which should have been more, but most people are too lazy to fill them out). THE DA of Orange County did send ME a letter saying they were looking into your company too for false advertisement and fraudulent acts. Maybe they are short on Government funding too. Or have too many bigger fish to fry, and you are hanging under the Radar.
The fact still remains you offer an internship and have people complete 12 cert exams so they get all these MSCE and Cisco Certifications, by using CertKiller or Pass4Sure, and there you go. Now you have Students with Certs they don?t know how to back up, because the only thing they know how to do is basic Active Directory works and Basic Cisco commands which is real out dated. So then you spend a day prepping them up with what you are best at, teaching them how to bullshit around technical questions, and there you go send them on interviews and hope they get at least 30,000 a year so you can take your 6000/yr times 30 students (If they all pay) and BAM. Most of these people didn?t know anything before they came in and know only what they learned when they leave (which is nothing, because you do the same labs over and over for 3 weeks) because the REAL WORLD the AD is already set up. You didn?t teach anything about A ?stub DNS? server or How to set up a WPAD script. I actually asked one of your instructors ( if that is what you call them), how to set it up so the IE would automatically detect proxy settings and they couldn?t tell me. We didn?t learn anything about SUS servers, which I am sure all the Tech Republic people would agree is HIGHLY USED in the Field. Your instructors are LAME, they are EX-students, and they don?t know S^#! Your program is worthless. Your people are PAPPER Certified.
When I was sending out my resume there was a really nice Consulting company near me and when he saw YOUR NAME ( TECH PROS GROUP) HE LOOKED AT ME AND said "Tech Pros Group HUH?" and LAUGHED AT ME. DOES THAT MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU???????? YOUR COMPANY IS A JOKE TO THE INDUSTRY. I CAN NOT SPELL IT OUT ANY CLEARER.
Love that Pizza though,
Mr.Blood

by pizzaisgood

Drew,

I had the similar thing happen to me.

Way back when, a consulting company recognized my resume format and asked me if I had ever attended TPG.

I was shocked because I had to take TPG off my resume. When previous interviewing managers saw them on my resume, the negative comments and opinions were to much for me to handle.

So I took them off. Bam! Next interview I got the job! I was honest & told them that I omitted TPG from my resume.

Steve Copeland has the best posts anywhere on the internet. You can't deny that.

Enjoy pizza!!!!!!

by drewblood80

I took EVERYTHING off my resume, and when asked I just say I did self study with VMware. Motorola interviewed me just to see what I had to say about TPG, the guy wished me luck and never called me back. I told him the training was OK and explained what we did and told him about the internship SCAM. He asked if I thought I was paper certified, and I said half and half. Because I have been studying like CRAZY to OWN up to my MCSE 2003 and realize how many HUGE gaps were left out in BASIC training from the TPG experience. If they had spent more time teaching REAL STUFF and not teaching how to REMEMBER questions to Certifications the turnout would be better.
I Personally think Steve?s Posts are OK, Kinda long and boring like his Lectures, and not much viable substance, but interesting. I really wish he would reply to my post and see what he will come up with for what I have to say, or Eric Choi. You know they both are writing these posts together though.
OH by the way pizza is good, but it is very unhealthy.
Mr.Blood

by stevecopeland

Tech Pros Group would like to thank individuals such as drewblood80, pizzaisgood and related individuals for posting on this forum.

We understand that there are many individuals considering Tech Pros Group and the LAN/WAN engineer internship as a possible option for launching their career in information technology. We also understand that this is a serious decision and should only be taken with a full understanding of its benefits and sacrifices. What many individuals may not understand is that the LAN/WAN engineer internship is not for everyone. The ideal candidate for this service is a recent college graduate or an entry level tech with a minimum of 2 years of experience who is logical, intelligent, professional and serious about a career in information technology.

An individual who fits this profile would view the many posts on this forum seriously and use their logic and intelligence to separate fact from fiction. He/she will appreciate the thoroughness of our post and our focus on presenting facts that are relevant to the LAN/WAN engineer internship and Tech Pros Group.

This same individual would not appreciate vulgar, unprofessional language or unsubstantiated accusations. In addition, the level of communications represented by many of individuals such as drewblood80 and pizzaisgood further diminishes their posting value.

For this very reason, we would like to thank drewblood80, pizzaisgood and related individuals for posting on this forum. In fact, we encourage you to continue posting. Your posts assist Tech Pros Group to qualify prospective candidates. Any individual who chooses not to apply for our service based on your posts would not be an individual we would consider as a quality candidate.

In fact, the only disappointing part about these posts is that these individuals state in their post that they went through our service. As I stated on my previous posts, Tech Pros Group did not do a good job of screening our candidates in 2006 and the first half of 2007. This resulted in Tech Pros Group accepting candidates with varying skill levels and professionalism. Unfortunately, this includes some of the individuals who are now posting on this discussion board.

Tech Pros Group wants to inform the individuals reading this post that there were also many quality professionals who completed our service. To their credit, they took full advantage of the service offered to them and attained quality positions in the LAN/WAN industry. We are also proud of the quality of individuals who are now filtering through our 2 stage application process and look forward to their continued success.

If you are a quality individual serious about getting started in information technology and is seeking quality information to determine if Tech Pros Group is right for you, feel free to read my other posts and decide for yourself if we are the right partner in your success.

Post Clarifying the LAN/WAN Engineer Internship
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2036944

General Observations about Blogs
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2102093

Explanation as to Why There Are Negative Postings On This Thread
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2355985

General Response to Post Comments
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2360542

Cisco/Microsoft Partner Information
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2357779

Tech Pros Group?s Better Business Bureau Rating
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2360544

Response to as to Whether this Discussion Thread Should Exist
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2357075

by jmgarvin

Jesus man...ENOUGH. Stop...just stop. We get the point, now let this damn thread die.

by drewblood80

Own up to what really goes on? Your Quality people would consist if someone who is na?ve, and anxious, but unaware of the repercussions of what he/she is getting ready to go through. If you want a way to ?launch your career? This is not the place to go. If someone has a college degree and some years in the field already, I would suggest going through the self paced MCSE program using VMware. UNLESS you want to just have a meaningless Certification that looks good on paper and does you no good because you took the EASY way.
Now to the QUALITY individual:
Before attending TPG I was making 42000 a year as a Supervisor in a World WIDE CORPORATION. Okay! I was interested in an ?Internship? where I would take a small pay cut at first, but would be doing something I want to do. Well, I was expecting an ?Internship?, which there is no such thing as. Where I would be working for a consulting company, with an engineer, where then I would learn something. Mr. Choi would tell us most people don?t take the internship because they find a better job that pays more upon leaving. THIS WAS A LIE. There is no such thing as a ?LAN/WAN INTERNSHIP? this is something Steve has made up in his mind and loves to talk about. It is fake. I still have not gotten a straight answer on how Lawrence (or Steve?s fake intern) is doing. https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2186897
Please OWN UP TO IT! I know it was you.
Now to the Logic and intelligent and serious about a career in I.T. section:

1. Do you think it is logical and intelligent to advertise an Internship when there is not one?
2. Do you think I wasn?t serious about a career in I.T. when I had taken online classes that taught me most of the stuff before I attended your training?
3. Do you think someone who reads all of this and sees all the fictitious material you post here would consider doing business with you?

Now you were right whoever reads this (I sure hope they do), before deciding to join you?re ?shortcut? training I would hope they have enough logic and intellect to make their own decision. I wish this form was this heavy before I made my decision to go to CA and spend money on a SCAM, with the hopes of working for a CREDITABLE, STANUP COMPANY.

Now to the diminishing of character:

1. Do you think after being called out about the Cisco Logo and the FAKE INTERN character you made up?
2. The Citrix and Checkpoint on your website (you didn?t even train people about).
3. The Numerous times through out this post you have been called out and no longer responded to the REAL deal facts by me and have never tried to explain.
?You didn?t teach anything about a ?stub DNS? server or How to set up a WPAD script. I actually asked one of your instructors (if that is what you call them), how to set it up so the IE would automatically detect proxy settings and they couldn?t tell me. We didn?t learn anything about SUS servers, which I am sure all the Tech Republic people would agree is HIGHLY USED in the Field.?
Don?t believe the HYPE.
Your character is in great standing!!!!!!!
If you are a Quality individual and want to read more of my post and save your self time, money and lack of embarrassment please read all responses to Steve?s post.
Why else would I want to ?waste? my time writing all these forums?

I am sure someone who doesn?t go to your training because of these posts you wouldn?t want anyways, because you prey on people who are IGNORANT. So you can take there money and feed them lies.
That is it for now; I need to get back to work.
Where I at least have a respectable job.

May GOD have mercy on your soul,
Mr. Blood

by drewblood80

Do you think having the students remember questions to Certifications is a legit way to get people certified to the FAST TRACK to an I.T. career?

Why don?t you teach the students more of what they ACTUALLY need to know when going out into the field instead of teaching them how to maneuver their way around questions they don?t know how to answer?

Will your students really know more than SEASONED PROFESSIONALS upon leaving your BOOTCAMP? If not why did Eric tell us that?

Why do you promote an Internship when there isn?t one?

Why did Eric have all his employees transfer their name to the apartment lease before terminating them?

Why do you tell people you have instructors when they are really ex-students who don?t know what they are doing?

Why did you not teach about SUS servers, DNS stub servers, WPAD scripts (when we learned about ISA) and the many other technologies necessary for success in the LAN/WAN world?

If you are so Professional why do you wear Jeans and Jerseys to work, smoke, and cuss?

Why do the people at the Pearson VUE office tell you to stay in the exam for at least 15 minutes so no one catches on?????????

Why were there people in my session who have never even worked on a computer before?

What happened to Lawrence? https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2186897
I know it was you who posted this

When you are done with these I have more. Thanks for your time. I am happy you like my posts, I like yours too.

Best regards,
Mr. Blood

by mroliver21

I know Lawrence does not exist. How?

Since I started posting and emailing people about the problems with TPG, they have been emailing me back with the email addresses of all their classmates.

Lawrence is not on the list. Also, I don't see any Lawrence on the TPG "Candidate Testimonials" list on the TPG website. Take a look now as it will probably change soon.

This is another made up post by Copeland.

Just to let you people know, these last few weeks, I am getting more emails and phone calls from people wanting to know more about TPG, or wanting to know the legalities of NOT paying TPG (just read & understand "Maxine Waters Educational Reform Act" and all will be clear).

To you people who post: TPG is feeling the pressure of your communication. Thank you and keep it up. Just don't go too far in what you write.

Sincerely,
Oliver Asato
MrOliver21@netzero.net

by ben_hankemeier

Having the ability to seperate fact from fiction isn't always the right answer in my opinion.

I am thoroughly please with the answers that Tech Pros Group is providing here on Tech Republic. However, I have perspectives that could possibly benefit more people. Consider this from the above post:

"This same individual would not appreciate vulgar, unprofessional language or unsubstantiated accusations. In addition, the level of communications represented by many of individuals such as drewblood80 and pizzaisgood further diminishes their posting value." - Copeland

I agree that a professional should be able to differentiate fact from fiction especially when concerning unsubstantiated accusations, but I do not agree that creative, 'vulgar', or semi-professional language immediately entitles someone to be unqualified for anything at all.

It is actually the lack exercise of these functions (i.e. right side of the brain) that many otherwise progressive professionals are demonstrating. It is the left-handed creative individual that normally has no desire to become an "IT professional," but it the left-brained super computer that would never take a chance and trust themselves and others whole-heartedly. Indeed, simply quarintening (spelling) such cynicism simply for the sake of success at any endeavor is exactly what the next stage is in professionalism for just such individuals.

Alas, I know this from experience. Some people require right-handed soggy biscuit contests until they tire of their own benevolence.

Its a hard pill to swallow.

Rabbit holes n such.

Next Tech Pros Group MasterMind
<----------- This guy

WOOT.

by drewblood80

At the bottom of the Thread under sponsored links, they are all about SCAMS!!!!!!!
Go Figure.
8)

by deepsand

and are dynamically served up, in this case, owing to the content of the Discussion containing words that match the keywords that the advertisers are bidding on.

If you watch the PPC links that are displayed in other Discussions, you'll notice that they change with the content of the Discussions.

These particular ads are published by Google, under their AdWords program.

by lawrence532003

I?ve been reading some of the posting at Techrepublic.com regarding Techpros Group and there is one thing that concerns deeply me. The posting by someone named Rashosm that seems to be saying that I don?t exist. Well I do exist and I participated in the training from Jan/Mar2006. I replied to some of those posting because they contradicted my experience with the Techpros Group.
When I completed the training I was offered an internship and the training I must say was the most intense experience I?ve ever had. We built networks running Active Directory using DNS and DHCP settings; setting up Exchange Servers running Webmail using Outlook Web Access protocols. We set ISA server and a great deal about TCP/IP experience that I now use on a daily basis. The training may have been in a laboratory but through the lab classes, lectures and hands on I?ve learned enough to handle world life scenarios.
I am now a full time employee after six months as an intern and I am doing nothing but networking. I have begun the contractual payment phase of this program and though I didn?t want to pay out 20% a month of my salary, I?d do it again to get to where I am today. I?ve made my initial ?50% of my first monthly salary? payment and because I love what I do it didn?t bother at all.
If anyone believes that I am a fake just send me an email at my old email account lawrence532003@yahoo.com and I will reply from my new Exchange email domain account, Revelation-Computers.com that I have built at home on my own and you?ll see that I am for real just as Techpros Group is for real.

by drewblood80

Come on Steve this is such a pathetic cover up. He actually speaks your language too? So you made an Exchange domain copying a "Real" business Franchise http://www.revelationcomputers.com/services.htm
that does PC repair!!!!!!
But why would someone like you do PC repair if you are in the LAN/WAN field??????????????
You took one of your VM machines set it up with a Exchange server, added your MX record for the public to see and WOW, the scam continues. Funny how you just so happened to start checking this blog when I said something on how FAKE you are (STEVE). And again you are up at 10:30 at night worrying about this blog when you have a Internship/Whatever (dream). Come on dude own up to it!!!!!
Ha ha ROTFLMFAO,
Mr. Blood

by drewblood80

Where are all the Testimonials if you were such a great canidate that got placed???????? Those people are the same since before I went there. Are there no others? They say a company?s website tells about the company, well this holds true the website is still the same and very poor!!!!!! I am sure Steve will react to this too! If you need help I have been learning web design too!!!! But I am not serious about I.T. so you might want to look somewhere else!
Entertainment at it's finest. I am glad you like my post STEVE
8)
Mr.Blood

by stevecopeland

Dear drewblood80,

Thank you again for another irrelevant post. Your continued and inaccurate accusation that I am Lawrence532003 speaks volumes. If you had taken the time to examine his profile, you would see that this individual has been a member of Tech Republic since 2004. That would be 1 year prior to Tech Pros Group?s existence.

So thank you again for this post along with the many posts you made during the past 24 hours. Please continue your derelict use of the English language to express your conspiracy theories and uninhibited personal attacks towards myself and anyone else questioning your postings.

To individuals reading this post, please see my post below for clarification regarding my initial statement on this post:

https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2361324

by rjrich3540

After finding out that TPG is a scam, without having to spend money to find out. I enrolled at my local community college, and am taking the CCNA course taught by people with at least a Masters Degee and a CCNP. All for under $1000.00. Started in the Fall and will finish in the Spring, were I will be ready to test for my Certification. I feel blessed that I didn't have the bad experience that others had.

by drewblood80

I am still not convinced and I know this is your language (meaning the way you talk), I don?t care when you made the profile. All the REAL ex-students know what goes there
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2102568
and why not answer the REAL questions that I posted
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2361872

If Lawrence was so busy with his internship why would he be looking at this forum at 1am on a Thursday night when he had an internship he had to be at the next morning???????? It sounds a lot like you trying to cover up a scam, stressing in the middle of the night.
You are again welcome for the many posts I have made; because I have no doubt in my mind there is no such thing as Lawrence or the INTERNSHIP. I am sure Lawrence really cares that much about a forum that just started blooming again and likes to check it periodically, and just so happened to look at it a day after I said something about HIM (you). I am so sure.
Thanks again,
Mr. Blood

by drewblood80

Did you ever respond to Dr. Dij???
https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2356105

I think it would be interesting to give him a short tour of the cert Prep area and the Instructors maybe talk to some of the students and see what type of people you have there. Maybe you can show him the pass4sure program and see what he thinks of it!!!! It would be more interesting if he was in the Networking world, but I am sure he would like to see where one of your INTERNS works too. This might take a while considering you would have to make one up. But hey, you would get an unbiased opinion.
If your scared say your scared.
Again you are welcome,
Mr. Blood

by lawrence532003

Here I go again writing to convince someone that I am here in Central Los Angeles working for a consulting company in Anaheim as a Network Engineer. I have purchased a domain named revelation-computers.com not revelationcomputers.com as you said in your post.
I have spent a good amount of money purchasing a new computer and software to set up my own domain running exchange. Evidently you have some twisted dislike for Techpros Group and it has created paranoia within you that you just cannot believe anything.
Why would I respond to your ridiculous postings? The answer is simple Steve called me and asked me too. Why don?t you call Steve Copeland and have him arrange a three-way telephone conversation. I am sure you can get Steve?s number from telephone information. You need to check and verify your facts before you put them out for people to see. I don?t believe you really care one way or the other whether people go to Techpros or not. You seem hell bent on just spitting out negativity for no valid reason.
The reason I am taking time out now to write this reply because you have insulted me with your have-assed check on who I am and that my friend is unacceptable.
Call Steve Copeland and put this whole vendetta you have to the test. I think you won?t because it would prove beyond any doubt that I attended Techpros Group got trained and am now working and for some reason you want the contrary to be believed.
I am setting up a website so I can start my own business. I currently have private clients that I fix their computers and for a good price I might add. I want to expand that business and using new technology I want to assist clients remotely.

by drewblood80

Steve you are putting me to sleep, I am not going to call you because I don?t want to listen to your lies any more than I like reading them. Your domain doesn?t work; (so far for the training) send a link ok. None of your classmates listed you as being in there class. Please just stop. The reason I write here is let people know what I KNOW about TPG and so they can make up their own mind. I wouldn?t spend my time doing this if it wasn?t something I believe in. As far as I am concerned the money they got off of me pays for the training I got. The ?lab fees? and the $95 application fee, or whatever is enough for the little bit of training I received. I know of people who got a job, but they had prior experience in the field, and all of them could have done it with out TPG. With that said, I think the thing that is messed up about TPG is that they would get as many people in as possible, teach them ?BASIC? Active Directory, OS features, how to install ISA (if you can install any software you can do this), Exchange ( again if you can install any software you can do this). Did some basic adding users and basic Cisco (if you were cool enough to get to that point.) There was a lot of wasted time and money taking certifications that they didn?t teach you about and you couldn?t back up because all the questions were remembered. THIS is why they don?t have companies willing to hire their student upon leaving. I heard that someone from IBM visited one time and said ?All I see is a bunch of ?paper? certified students?. Well that is accurate. I have very little positive to say about my experience, matter of fact what is listed above is about it. I strongly believe that this company is robbing people of hard earned money that had hopes of getting something they never received.
If you were so great why don?t you have a testimonial?
Why doesn?t anyone have one?
Most of what Eric Choi does is spit out numbers on how much people can make per year.
He likes to do this to get people excited and until you leave you don?t know how untrue that is.
One more thing.
If a company says they want someone with 5 years of experience that is what they want.
They don?t want someone who went to some pathetic training course and remembered questions to a test. So stop telling your students that.
So come correct,
Mr. Blood

P.S. I am sure Steve can find someone to get on the other line to act like you. No suprise!

by dr dij

Not sure my email on TR is correct. I can't find my email address under 'my profile' and think I turned off most of the email addresses at the domain I was sending it to (was getting 800 spams a day).

I'm pretty mellow, I don't have an agenda. I haven't prejudged Steve before seeing the place. It's easy to drop a bundle on training in the IT industry. e.g.:

Just got a email ad from SDN for sets of 4-5 CDs that show video of 3 to 5 day conferences for SAP. Each one is $995 and there are 10 or so available. Only you can tell if they would be useful to you. That would be $10k or so for all of them (ok they bundle all for $5550) but you get my point.

I don't know if that would settle it, some might claim I didn't dig deep enuf because this is not my primary field or how much can you see in a short tour.

Anyway post here if you want and I'll contact you privately to arrange. Not today tho, Friday is casual day and I've got a black t-shirt with a huge (ok I think he's friendly but people say that of their pit-bulls) alligator.

by stevecopeland

I have tried to contact you via Tech Republic but have not been successful in doing so. Please send me an email with your contact information and we will schedule a tour shortly. My profile has not only a link to message me but my personal email address as well.
Thank you for the objectivity and offer to tour our facility.
Steve Copeland

by drewblood80

I used SAP for like 3 years and it is a great program, if it is implemented properly. The SAP developers can make HUGE bucks if they know what they are doing (I have heard 100-300 an hour) You can spend about 300 for a days worth of training and people are paying it because it is in VERY high demand.
I remember whenever we would have some of the Distributors come tour our facility we had all of our Production scheduled to run easy product and the place looked sparkling clean and the next week when the tours were over out came the harder Product runs and the place was back to its normal mess. With that said I would still like to see an unbiased opinion of this fellow and make sure you get a tour of the test prep software, and the pizza! It is the greatest!!!
Till next time,
Mr. Blood

by dr dij

Drew - there was definitely a problem with TR email - lists my defunct email and can't find to change it.

I'm sure he'll setup something.

Steve -
I can drop by Mon or Tues; Am giving a talk in Long Beach on Wed AM so might have some time after during the day.

Whatever you can show me is fine but the more you show me the more people on TR will be convinced.

by lawrence532003

Hey dude I attended Techpros from Jan/Mar. I got an internership job through them staring March 7th. I am curently a full time for employee forthat same company. I've been a member of TechRepublic since March of 2004. What is with you people just email at lawrence532003@yahoo.com and I will email yu back from email account I've had since 2004 I've for years.

Duh!!!!

by dr dij

Drew -

(and anyone else)

I'm going over to meet with Steve and let him show me what they do over there.

Not this Wed. as holiday but the next week.

He's explained some of the changes they've made to reduce dropout / failures and make students happy but I think will wait till I've been over there to say anything.

Anything reasonable anyone wants me to ask / see?

by drewblood80

I have a very simple one, just look at the way they get their certifications, with Pass4sure or Certkiller and see what you think of it! Also see if you think the students would be able to leave after the training and get a job making between 40+ a year.
That is it. I know it will be a good show he will be putting on so I am pretty sure he will not be wearing his normal jeans and jersey attire.
Mr. Blood

by drewblood80

Lawrence, I know someone in the Jan - Mar 2007 group. It was a small group less than 10 people. So you should know who JF is. If you are real, tell me what the guys name is.
Mr. Blood

by dp71772

Drew Blood or whatever your name is;

It is pretty convincing to someone who don't know any better or who don't have any affiliation with the company to believe that I am Steve Copeland but I going to help you and any other person make a rather obvious distinction.

I am a 35 year old African American who lives in Chicago.

Steve is a 36 year old Irish guy who lives in Irvine

I am a former student and employee

Steve is a current employee and was never a student.

I have dread locks

Steve don't.

I have been meaning to type a testimonial and send in to Tech Pros but my schedule have been hectic but after reading this I will make time over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Hopefully for those who take my advise and perform the due diligence they will be able to tell the difference between Steve (Irish) and me, Darrell (Black). Maybe you can get someone to walk you through the difference as well.

by pizzaisgood

He is real. There was a period of time when TPG had pictures of their employees on their website. He was there and it was his actual picture.

I would like to say your welcome to Steve since he likes it when I post! I will try to post more Steve, but been busy.

Happy Turkey Day!!
(oh yes, there will be some pizza too)

by mroliver21

I sent this email to over 300 ex TPG students.

TPG?Unfinished Business

Hello Folks,

I was hoping to tell you that the company has shut down, but they are still kicking and screaming.

This email is important to some of you as Copeland has started sending out collection letters to various students going all the way back to 2006. 3 students have contacted me so far.

In late August 2007, John Sagenes and myself took TPG to small claims court and we won. In prior cases, I had been pushing ?fraud?, but the winning formula is to push the ?Maxine Waters Educational Reform Act which can be found at http://www.bppve.ca.gov/reform_act/index.html Article 7.

It starts out with:
?b) The Legislature finds and declares that students have been substantially harmed and the public perception of reputable
institutions has been damaged because of the fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair conduct of some institutions?

Copeland states that the law does not apply to TPG because blah blah and blah. The law DOES APPLY TO TPG. Per section 94852:
?The following definitions and provisions apply to this article:
(c) "Educational service" means any education, training, or instruction offered by an institution, including any equipment.?

The law futher reads:
?(a) The Legislature further finds and declares that students have been harmed by some institutions because of the financial
improprieties and mismanagement of those institutions, their failure to fully disclose the student's financial and contractual obligations, and their failure to have sufficient resources to
provide the promised training.

If TPG sends you a collection letter, in my opinion (I am not an attorney, so anything I state in the email is an opinion) you have a few options:
1. Yawn loudly and throw it in the trash (actually save it).
2. If you are more concerned, read and understand the above legislation.
3. If you are really really concerned, get yourself an attorney and have him read the above legislation and tell you what it means. An attorney is far cheaper than $25,000 or even $11,000.
4. If you are a jellyfish and have no backbone whatever, pay TPG $25,000 and send another $25,000 to me just because I need to drive a car just like Choi?s Mercedes.

Honestly folks, I wish you well. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,
Oliver Asato

PS: If you want to increase the pressure on TPG, tell your story on Tech Republic https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2037014 and sign it with your real name and give a real email address. John Hancock didn?t worry too much about speaking his mind.

by ben_hankemeier

Part of my experience having FAILED at quite a few educational persuits is learning to find the good in something. I realize that you are trying to help others who have suffered from the same malady as you have, this is good.

This also means that somewhere you have already accepted that failure is not due to others but due to yourself. However, not enough introspection on your part has been applied. Lets say you are one step away from realizing your "enlightenment."

Could you imagine everyone achieving success at Tech Pros Group? Why or why NOT?

Could you imagine having done anything differently? (Lying would only create personal suffering)

Who benefits from candidates succeeding at Tech Pros Group? (this is not multiple choice)

Finally, provided you are open and honest with YOURSELF, you would easily be able to see why the horse is actually getting FED by incomplete thoughts.

I tend to ride horses and let them graze of their own volition.... considering the whole "leading a horse to water" bit

I am speaking from personal experience. The only person you can hurt is yourself. It only takes one to hurt yourself. It takes TWO willing parties to create a victim-aggressor relationship.

I believe the holy diver has spoken.

"you can see his stripes but you know he's clean"

by jmac1869

I got a call from a representative from Tech Republic, promising me all kinds of degrees and one on one training. I was going to call him back tomorrow and enroll. I am so glad I read your post. There will be no phone call or email sent to Tech Republic by me because of your warning. I do thank you.

by deepsand

Tech [i]Republic[/i], which is where you posted this missive, and Tech [i]Pro Group[/i], which is the subject of this discussion.

by filetofsoul

Thanx to all that have exposed TPG, for what it is. The lawsuits, the BBB ratings, have made me steer clear of them like other scams I've become familiar with listed below.

The Nigerian emails of money left by a dead relative.

Thai girls asking for money in email for sick family members.

I have worked in the IT industry since the late 70s. I've been jobless for the last 9 months, after my job got outsourced after 23 years of service. Schooling is good, but if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I believe TPG relates to my last sentence.

Oh BTW, I used an anonymous email address, because I don't want my legit email box filled with hate mail. And I can block addys as well as domains from a Yahoo one.

Hats off to you Drewblood, Mr. Oliver, and a few others. I believe you are looking out for your fellow IT techies.

by ben_hankemeier

I tend to be biased towards positive outlooks.

If getting your certs through "tesking" gets you moving in the right direction in order to gain "real world" experience then it is obviously a positive and the feelings that accompany positive experience can never be short sold.

If by the time someone discovers you "tesked" through your certs you have had sufficient hands on experience how is it that you would become "decertified"?

Chicken or the Egg?

Most people who are unqualified for a job fail.

Like the sink or swim addage. Lets consider you get a job you aren't truly prepared for...... GOOD FOR YOU. Now learn it as quickly as possible because people who consistantly fail get downsized.

There is another perspective that I am capable of presenting provided you are inhuman enough to need it.

by ben_hankemeier

If you figure out the "seemingly" illogical post that I just created you may be inclined to apply it to other situations in your life.

Possibly.... Court Cases.

Winning and losing is of no consequence to individuals who posses 7.5 million dollars.

The road less traveled here is not winning anyway. It is GROWING.

Be Human.

Next Tech Pros Group Extrodinaire
<--------- This guy

by drewblood80

To you Lawrence
I am very sorry for accusing you of being fake I know how Steve is and I know he would do something like that and the language you used sounded so much like him.
So you have my sincere apology,
God Bless,
Drew

by dr dij

to mention. we agreed to setup meeting within a week or two now that new year has started.

I am kind of a positive guy so even if it was bad in past if has improved I'm likely to give a positive revu. I'm not going there to cut him down. I'll post what I see however so you can judge yourself. Because I'm not highly critical, some of you may not be satisfied.

I'm also in the middle of a whole bunch of stuff with a huge show coming up in Feb but I certainly would like to meet with him and see the place.

by mroliver21

I had stated earlier that Lawrence was one of Copeland's creation.
I am wrong! I talked to him for about 30 minutes and this is what he said:
1. Lawrence is 57, and has experience in IT. 2. He got a job from TPG and he directly attributes his success to them. 3. The intense training and the support of the other students helped him. 4. He does not know what happened to the other 19 students he studied with and thinks that maybe 2 or 3 of them got jobs. 5. He would like prospective candidates to know that the internship is not a gaurantee and that TPG expects you to have a high score before allowing you on the internship. Nowhere is this mentioned in the contracts or literature.
Lawrence is an honest man and told me what he thought. He did not appear to be someone who Copeland could intimidate into saying what he did.
Lawrence is the second person that has contacted me who has gotten a job from TPG. The other person who got a job from TPG is suing them in the Orange County Superior Court. If you have gotten a job from TPG, contact me. I'd like to know what you think.
Sincerely,
Oliver Asato
MrOliver21@netzero.net

by jmgarvin

Yes, hijacking...BRILLIANT!

Perhaps we should each post a line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

by drewblood80

And you are saying what?
Do you talk like that always?
I was successful before TPG and am successful now so if you want to be a shrink you are in the wrong business.
Weirdo

Probably just another one of Steve?s toys

Uh how about this one Webster.
FAKE INTERNSHIP STILL BEING ADVERTISED ON CAREER BUILDER
Look it up!

by jaqui

just ignore the thread. :p

that will kill it faster than anything else.

it's much to late for the spam button to do any good. :(
[ saw one post in a 20+ post long thread I hit that on, the whole thread ran away within 3 minutes... sorry but seeing an ms product key in a post it was reflex to click it ]

by jaqui

I didn't even follow the link, the thought of it.. cross linking the thread with itself randomly.. sooner or later we will have a post that links to a post that links to a post ... nauseatingly hilarious.

by mroliver21

Many years ago, I was fast asleep when suddenly the night air was filled with the shrill cries of a woman in desperate trouble. I had two choices: 1. Put my pillow over my head, go back to sleep and pretend I didn't hear anything, or 2. Grab my baseball bat and do battle. Being a little guy, chances of me getting my ass kicked are high. The proliferation of guns and gangs make life very dangerous. So what do you do?
Well I picked up my baseball bat and I did battle and guess who won?
I know what TPG does. A highly nieve person sees TPGs advertisements and gets all excited. They arrive at TPG and proceed to get f... Rarely does TPG get any of their candidates a job or an internship, despite their advertising.

Copeland is trying to stop this thread as he doesn't want people to know what is really going on. You guys who want this thread to shut down are basically siding with Copeland. That's OK. I have many people backing me, many more than Copeland. Please relize that this thread is not a joke.
Sincerely,
Oliver Asato
MrOliver21@netzero.net

by buffalocomputer

Did you ever take your planned tour?

I can see that the vast majority of bad press started in 06, and is continued by 'students' from that 'graduating class'. Not much NEW info.

Looking forward to your post.

Thanx!

by bdub360

wow...I always wondered if I should have attempted this offer from TPG but now after reading all the "mostly" slams, I think i will just stick to plan A and go to a local community college for an AA degree in data networking and telecommunications.

by susancampbell415

I responded to one of their postings on careerbuilder.com and got an application from them. I am researching this to see if they are for real or any good. I have about 21 credits toward a networking associates degree from a community college in Florida and so would like an easier way but dont know if this is the answer. If anyone has any recent info on this company I would be grateful. you can email me at spiritualsuze@yahoo.com

by junk

Since, they are not an accredited school, anything you do at their place, does not go anywhere towards a real degree. You will get something akin to a certificate of completion. So once you finally get established along your career track and your work requires upper level degrees, you will have your 17 credits, if they are even transferable at that time, with no degree. This WILL hold you back at some point in my opinion. Get an accredited degree, and its yours to build on at any time.

by mroliver21

As expected TPG has changed its name to lanwanprofessional.com . Check it out.

I hope most of you continue to post your experiences with TPG on the net. Eric Choi is living in a nice multi million dollar house because of the $$ you gave him.

I'll be putting up a new website with a bit more bite to it. You are quite welcome to do the same.

Sincerely,
Oliver Asato
MrOliver21@netzero.net

by crizzam

I am writing as a person who has just completed phase one training and was perusing the web to get more information before entering phase two. I was disappointed to see so many negative comments, but I can understand where they come from. I think I can break down the complaints in to two sections: Pre 2007 and Post 2007. In the pre-2007 complaints, it appears that even TPG admits to some flaw in candidate selection process. Complaints are likely valid and who knows to what degree there was negligence or even malicious intent? I'm not going to go too much in to this era, because I have no experience in it. I can speak to the 2008 experience with TPG.

I felt that they were upfront about how they would get their money and what fees would be expected to be payed out of pocket by me. I did not feel misled. The training materials and labs I worked on were average. Nothing too special, but there was some good stuff in there. I can't say that I didn't learn anything, because I did. More to the point, the program gave me structure and motivation to get it together and bang out a lot of tests. Here brings up an interesting point.

Some people have commented that they felt they did not get a solid foundation and then in the same breath said the labs were too much to do in the time given. I can personally say the labs were not hard to complete in the time allotted and they did add to the overall training. Six weeks of instruction is not going to make ANYONE and expert in the field, but remember, this is a program to get people ready for an entry level position in a company. I think, at times, the expectations of those dissatisfied have simply been due to unrealistic expectations as to what they felt the program would give them in terms of hard skills. I.T. is HARD. It's not going to come overnight and this program is a fast track and best suited for those who already have at least one year of real world experience (per their marketing).

I don't care to debate anyone elses experience, I'm simply going to say that mine was okay. I would say that TPG does sometimes seem a bit disorganized and does seem a bit fuzzy when it comes to discussing the "internship and placement" process. As for my future with TPG, I feel that I will not pursue phase two, but I am glad that I did do phase one. It was, in a sense, a guided mentorship for me and helped motivate me to jumpstart my certification process. The biggest reason for me not going to phase two is not the money, because I would pay 19.5% of my annual income for one year, IF I felt that they were going to go out of their way to represent me and help me secure a kick-ass job after training. I feel that this is probably the softest part of their service, and unfortunately, the core of the sales pitch. I guess each person just needs to take an objective look at what they expect to get from such a program. I think that for the money I spent, in total, it was worthwile and I would recommend Phase one to anyone who wants to get their MCSA/MCNA certifications in eight weeks and has around a grand to throw at it.

In conclusion, I feel that each candidate will likely get out of the program close to what they personally put in to it. TPG will not turn C- motivation in to A+ results. You gatta do the work, you gatta take it seriosly. I do, however, recognize a soft spot in the companies presentation of the internship and placement process and can believe that others have had a hard time after finishing the program. I think for the amount of money that they are taking (which is significant), they should already have strategic partnerships with partner consulting companies ready to scoop up successful candidates. The fact that this key component is missing probably speaks a little to the quality of the training program as well as a lack of execution in this area of their business model. Sorry to those who felt they got "Robbed", but my experience has been that they are pretty straight shooters and not the frauds that some would have you believe.

Regards,
Mike Cram

by zeoten

Hi. I emailed lanwanprofessionals my resume recently. They emailed me a 16 page application. I decided not to apply.

I was wondering about how much money you payed in total for phase one. In the application it says a total of $495 (for materials) for stage1. I also see that there are miscellaneous fees: $95 for application, $295 for registration, and $49 for shipping and handling. Did they make you sign any type of confidential agreement? Did they try and coerce you into stage2? Since you opted out of phase2, did they try and make you pay anything else?

If you would like to email me privately, you can do so at zeoten AT gmail DOT com

by drewblood80

So have you gotten a job????
You are still in the brainwashed stage.
It is ok. Just wait.
You will find out later how much was left out.
I went in 2006.
Mr. Blood

by lmonson

Better business bureau -
50+ complaints!
http://www.labbb.org/BusinessReport.aspx?CompanyID=13218660

www.tian.cc/marktran_posting08112006.pdf

www.techprosgroup.com/images/is-tech-pros-group-employment-scam.pdf

https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2075732

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/new-web-site-to-scam-c72380.html

http://techprosgrouplegalissues.googlepages.com/home

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/tech-pros-group-c24027.html

by lmonson

Do your homework! Check these links and distribute them.
http://www.labbb.org/BusinessReport.aspx?CompanyID=13218660

www.tian.cc/marktran_posting08112006.pdf

www.techprosgroup.com/images/is-tech-pros-group-employment-scam.pdf

https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=8&threadID=188794&messageID=2075732

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/new-web-site-to-scam-c72380.html

http://techprosgrouplegalissues.googlepages.com/home

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/tech-pros-group-c24027.html

by etofach

What happened with your suspicion?
My son is checking to make a course at the Professional Services company that Peter Frivaldi
is their Vice President,
Something with CISCO Switches.
I just want to know if every thing was OK their
Thnaks

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