Keith W

Review of BeneTrends, Inc.

BeneTrends bases it's business on funding small bu...

BeneTrends bases it's business on funding small businesses. It's been around since the early 80's and has over a hundred employees. Overall, it may be a good company. It probably has some great employees.

This one star rating is solely based on the behavior of BeneTrend's founder and chairman, Len Fischer. His actions call into question their company mission "to help visionary entrepreneurs successfully launch their dream". Mr. Fischer has gone to lengths to intentionally damage my company over a $40 wine class.

A few months ago, Len and his wife Cheryl showed up at a Wine 101 class at the Wine School of Philadelphia. They showed up about forty minutes early, but were not on the roster for the class.

They acknowledged they did not have tickets, but insisted that they called someone at the Wine School and they were told they could just come. They also stated that someone emailed them That was when my instructor called me in, very concerned.

You should understand something very important before I continue. We don't have phone lines or direct email contact with our students. We have an online support forum. We cut out phone support many years ago, as we are too small to support it. If someone needs to reschedule a class, we have an online form that automates that process. It's all very quick and easy. However, if someone claims they had a dialog via email or phone... well, we know that isn't true. It's all automated.

When I approached the Fischers, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they had called the wrong school or something else went wrong. Maybe they were punked by the owner of another wine school (not the first time that has happened).

I went over the possibilities and apologized about situation we were all in. Instead of working with me to find a solution, Mr. Fischer got angry, which turned into threats and insults very quickly.

Keep in mind that Mr. Fischer is a millionaire many times over. And that he is livid over an inexpensive wine class he did not pay for. A class that he and his wife simply showed up to.

Once he left, I researched the problem. It turns out that the Fischers were supposed to have come to another class weeks ago but didn't bother showing up or contacting us. Had they contacted us prior to coming, we could have done something for them.

When they show up to a sold-out class demanding seats, there is little I could do but apologize and offer to look into the situation. How did the founder of BeneTrends exact revenge on a small business owner who didn't give him a free seat? He and his wife wrote nasty online reviews about my company. Really nasty ones.

Bottom line: The founder of a nonprofit company that is supposed to help small businesses should not be so willing to damage the reputation of small business.