Some time ago I received this review on Amazon.
With CELBANPrep Listening and Reading Complete, available in 100 nations through Amazon, there are two pieces required: the Kindle Print Replica E-book and a membership at http://www.CELBANPrep.info to access the downloadable printables.
I was curious. Other negative reviews on Amazon have been clear: the person was not able to access the videos. But Pranshant had no support to his claim. He simply claimed that it is a scam.
Going through my records, I found his e-mail address and sent the following very strongly worded message. Knowing that Prashant had my e-mail address and instead of contacting me directly to sort out what was happening he made this claim publicly evoked a very strong boundary.
Prashant,
Your CELBANPrep Membership Account – with access to CELBANPrep Listening test and answer booklets – has been suspended indefinitely on account of the claims you have made on Amazon that CELBANPrep Listening is a scam: assigning only one star.
I have written an open letter to Anuj Bojara that applies to you as well. Please read it to completion.
How dare you spread such slander that CELBANPrep Listening is a scam without reaching out to me, without any explanation, without apology?
- Do you know how may Internationally Educated Nurses can be negatively impacted by your claims? Do you know how many careers and lives can be altered because of what you wrote?
- Do you have any idea how much work, how many years, I have dedicated to creating CELBANPrep? Do you even have the capacity to understand how many nurses across Canada and around the world I have assisted in becoming registered nurses in Canada? And you do this?
I challenge you to support and sustain as many IENs as I have! I challenge you to create even better resources for them to pass the CELBAN! But of course you cannot! You have neither the skills, abilities, talents or knowledge to do what I have done!
As such, your account is suspended until further notice. Should you wish to have access the following is required:
- removal of your slanderous review
- a formal written apology in the form of a new review
- a formal written apology to be posted on www.Dear-Kim.com and https://www.facebook.com/CELBANPrep/ ;.
Only then will the suspension on your account be removed.
Kim
BTW, this will be my next post on Dear Kim.
There is a fire and indignation in me when I have people slandering my work publicly, especially when they could have contacted me first! Hundreds and thousands of nurses worldwide are potentially impacted.
The review was removed. His reply came thereafter.
Hi Kim,
Thank you for your email and realizing me that there is some one I can contact. I came to know about your online CELBAN Prep through internet. To use your online resources, as per requirement , I took membership first and completed payment. Then I bought online book from Amazon. I spent almost 4-5 hours of my busiest schedule to use it. Even after trying all options, I was not able use your online resources.
Now first of all, I paid my hard earned money and I am not able to use it. Instead of asking me about what problems I faced to use your online resources and what made me to comments negative about that ebook, Dear Kim, you directly asking me for apology. I have no words how I felt after spending my hours of precious time and money. At last, I wrote comment on “Dear Kim Blog”. And I did not say it’s a scam but I wrote online resources is not easy to use, it looks like a scam. As it was taking me again and again to a site where it was asking for payment to use it even after I paid for ebook.
Hope this will help you to understand what made me to write review with one star. I have no problem for apologies if that help you to improve online resources access for new person like me.
Thanks, P
I had compassion for his experience. Technological requirements and limitations can be problematic. They can take up a lot of time. I know! I work with it every day! People have no idea how long it takes to create one graphic, one video, one blog post. And yet I have created hundreds. And then with new released of HTML and new technology I have to go back to the drawing board each time. I get it! Technology can be frustrating! A paperback book is so much easier. But as I told N when I spoke with her today, one of the things I am providing many IENs is the ability to become more comfortable and competent with technology in preparation for future stages in their processes when they have to take online courses or work in paperless offices and hospitals. So many nurses have thanked me for guiding them through this process. So, I understood. Besides, the message started off on a kind note. And, I appreciated the explanation of the step by step process.
It was true. I did receive the comment on Dear Kim, that it seemed like a scam, but it was the long weekend and without my approval this comment did not go live. The comment on Amazon, which did claim it was a scam was still live.
And, it seemed that Prashant was caught in some kind of loop, but without him talking me through what was happening, I could not make any adjustments. I maintained my boundary.
Prashant,
I thank you for sending your message through multiple channels to ensure it got to me.
At this time I still do not know what your issues are. I still do not know what your problems are. You write that I did not ask? And yet, all you have done is made claims without backing anything up with the types of problems you face. There are a myriad of things that can be causing your problems. I can not guess at what is happening for you. Without information from you I can not assist.
When it comes to the issues experienced in the past, typically it has been because people have not been able to access the videos. So, I have created several back ups to ensure that everyone does. There are two means to access the videos:
- Embedded in the Kindle Print Replica ~ which are accessible on many devices.
- Uploaded to YouTube and added as Links.
That means that although there are limitations with various devices I have created several work-arounds so that everyone can access the material regardless of the device they are using. I know of no one else going to such an extent and such an extreme to ensure that there are supports for IENs preparing for the CELBAN internationally. Do you?
As a note, this is how IENs that have come before you have been part of the solution, allowing us to overcome obstacles together.
They didn’t see me as the enemy; but as part of their support system. They did not attack me or what I created; but, assisted me in making it better! They did not see me as a scam artist but a person, an individual, striving to make the world a better place for many!
As for your comments about the amount of time and money you have spend you said, ” Now first of all, I paid my hard earned money and I am not able to use it.” Yes. At this point in time your account is suspended until you comply with the three stipulations outlined previously:
- removal of your slanderous review
- a formal written apology in the form of a new review
- a formal written apology to be posted on www.Dear-Kim.com and https://www.facebook.com/CELBANPrep/ ;.
You have done the first. Compliance with the others must occur before the suspension on your account is released. (As you know you can modify your review at a later date, once you have been granted access to your account once again.)
The reason for this is I have dedicated all of 2018 reformatting the CELBANPrep course, that was taught to hundreds of IENs from across Canada and around the world to Kindle Print Replicas. For the past 3 months I have been converting the
CELBAN or IELTS: Grammar Essentials. All of this work has been
without pay. Hundreds of hours of work without pay. Why? Because these resources were inaccessible to anyone when kept within my computer. They were not helping anyone. I knew that there were thousands of IENs – like yourself – looking for resources and assistance. So I have been investing my own time and money into reformatting these resources so that they are available in 100 nations.
- “I have no words how I felt after spending my hours of precious time and money,” creating CELBANPrep Print Replicas to receive accusations that what I have created is a scam.
- “I have no words how I felt after spending my hours of precious time and money,” creating CELBANPrep Print Replicas to receive accusations that what I have created is worthy of one star.
Even if there are challenges, can you not see the time and effort that has gone into the graphics? the layout? the content? the pages and pages of information? the posts on Dear Kim?
These were your statements:
- I spent almost 4-5 hours of my busiest schedule
- I paid my hard earned money
- I have no words how I felt after spending my hours of precious time and money
Well,
- I have dedicated 10 years of my life to supporting and sustaining Internationally Educated Nurses.
- Because of the IEPC Compassionate Pricing Policy I have been paid, at times for long periods of time, less than $2/hr for the work I have done.
- Because Amazon gets 65% of the royalties I make very little money from the Print Replicas.
- Because I have decreased the prices substantially in countries like India, Mexico and Brazil, I make even less.
- So, “I have no words how I felt after spending my hours of precious time and money.”
Your struggles are real. Your time is valuable. Your money is hard earned. But I have not failed you. I deserve respect. I deserve to be treated with dignity.
Your account will be restored when you have redeemed yourself from the slander you wrote on Amazon, undoing and overcoming the ripples you set in motion in the hearts and minds of all those IENs around the world that read your review and now feel helpless and hopeless because they lost trust and have no where to go.
Feel free to read
www.Dear-Kim.com until you are adequately convinced that you are able to write a sincere message and apology for your review on Amazon, with a more detailed version for the blog and Facebook.
This conversation will continue at such time that your account has been restored. Only then am I willing to explore what happened for you, so that we can overcome this together.
Kim
Hi Dear Kim,
I appreciate for all your hard work that you have been doing to help IENs to restart their career in Canada. And I also understand that how hard you have worked to start this online CELBAN prep for IENs. I thank you so much for everything that you are doing for IENs.
It was my first day when I saw online course available for CELBAN prep, I just followed online instructions to use the course for Listening practice, I bought your online membership as per requirement , and then I bought online ebook from Amazon. But when I started to open it, the Listening icon again and again took me to site pay for ebook again. There was no any listening content in that ebook, it was just a guide, but its heading was titled as Listening guide with sample test. After exploring all option, I again opened your site and tried to see any online phone number so I could contact someone . But I did not find any contact number. I saw a comment that you already mentioned about “Anuj” that comment created a doubt in my mind. I tried so many times to open listening practice in your ebook but that did not work.
Now, just for a minute, if a new person see your site and tries to join and buy some online materials but after all , if nothing works, just like in my case, what that person will think after seeing already a negative comment. This same thing happened with me. And that frustration made me to comment on that ebook. And I aslo wrote a comment on site “Dear Kim”. I even immediately uninstalled the ‘ Kindle application ” from my laptop and rebooted computer. As I had one recent very bad experience of online scam.
When I received your email, it really surprised me and I felt happy that it’s at least not a scam site that I was dealing with, though it was not pleasant email. I could realize your anger and emotions after reading that email. But with my honesty , I am writing to you that my intention was not to hurt you at all, I was just a innocent person when I review your ebook with negative comment.
Since I received your email, I felt so bad about that negative comment, I even cried for a moment.
I tried to correct that comment on “Dear Kim” but I did not find that, I read so many stories about IENs when I was looking for my comment. And I realized how many IENs became successful because your hard work and guidance. I wish to continue my membership and wish to take your help to reestablish my career .
Dear Kim, Please accept my humble apologies for my negative comment. I am deeply saddened by mistake.
Regards
Prashant
This was also posted.
With this information I realized what was happening. What was missing was that Prashant was not logging in! Without logging in he could not access the test and answer booklets with other supportive resources. I made several changes. Now when you go to the CELBANPrep Listening page you see a list of links.
And, I attempted to make other changes to the website so it is easier to navigate. Finally, I wrote this reply.
Thank you Prashant. What you wrote evoked tears as it is very sincere. Please let me know your availability for Wednesday and Friday this week and your province/time zone.
I have reactivated your account, granting you an upgrade to the Study Bundle so you have the membership for both reading and listening. Please go to: www.myiepc.ca or www.CELBANPrep.info. When you login you will be taken to a page with the links to all the resources. If you can not find it here is the direct link: https://myiepc.ca/CELBANPrep-Reading-and-Listening-Resources.
Again, you will have to use your membership to login.
Talk with you soon!
Kim
Time has passed. Other negative reviews have come, with the replies on Dear Kim. Each time I contemplated writing this blog. Today I reached out again.
Dear Prashant,
I am finally ready to write the blog piece based on our interactions. I wanted to take my time so that I could compose the thread thoughtfully. And, I took my time because of your sincerity.
As time has passed I see that I neglected to sufficiently comment on the message you sent to me. In all reality I was hoping to connect with you so I could say it in person; but, here it is in writing.
- I appreciate the thoughtfulness and effort you put into writing this piece.
- I appreciate you coming to understand the time, work, energy, skill and talent that I have invested in IENs such as yourself through CELBANPrep.
- I appreciate your honesty, your sensitivity, your disclosure of how my message and your actions impacted you.
- I especially appreciate when you wrote, ” When I received your email, it really surprised me and I felt happy that it’s at least not a scam site that I was dealing with, though it was not pleasant email. I could realize your anger and emotions after reading that email. But with my honesty , I am writing to you that my intention was not to hurt you at all, I was just a innocent person when I review your ebook with negative comment.”
It did really bothered me that you claimed on Amazon that CELBANPrep Listening was a scam, not that it hurt me, but the impact and implications for hundreds and thousands of nurses around the world. I have dedicated my life to them – to you – without even knowing them (or you) but knowing they are there (you were there)!
I appreciate the time you took to read Dear Kim to write, ” I read so many stories about IENs when I was looking for my comment. And I realized how many IENs became successful because your hard work and guidance.”
I accept your apology, on the behalf of all those IENs as well.
And, I appreciate what you wrote on Amazon.
BTW, I have made a few more tweaks to the website, hoping it will make a difference for others. I am making some more revisions to integrate Facebook and my blog into the website so that people are able to contact me more easily. But, I have never had a phone number. Internationally educated people tend to prefer the phone, and I would have to spend my whole day on the phone instead of creating resources. And, with how little I make through CELBANPrep – except for the minor 35% royalty I get from Amazon, which is greatly impacted by negative reviews – it is only me. (I write this not so you feel guilty but to state a fact.)
Shrug. I can not do what I am doing if people are not willing to purchase what I have created for them.
Honestly I didn’t realize it would take so long to get everything out to everyone, and so how-to videos, the YouTube channel, a contact page are all forthcoming. I have enough work to last me, full time, to the end of the year!
That is why negative reviews are so damaging. If my sales go down, then I have to go elsewhere to make a living, which means less time to be creating everything… and I have so much more to do!
Anyhow, what I am saying is that I appreciate the outcome of our process.
So, Prashant. I thank you. I do hope we connect. And if not, know that you have made amends.
Kim
As always, if you have problems in accessing your resources, please demonstrate dignity and respect by contacting me before writing a negative review so that I can do my best to address the issues. Comment here on the blog, or on Facebook.
Please share this post so that others can learn what you have from it. KK
Let Your Friends Know what you learned today!
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