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Report: #834372

Complaint Review: Joey Smith - Internet

  • Submitted:
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  • Reported By: SharonT — Sarasota, Florida Florida United States of America
  • Author Confirmed What's this?
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  • Joey Smith 3651 Peachtree Parkway, Suite E-323, Suwanee, GA Internet United States of America

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I was sent a link to a coaching program called Growing Giants. The Internet Marketer who does the coaching and is the principle partner is Joey Smith from Atlanta Georgia.I was sold into a more expensive program by his "business partner" who convinced me to deposit $5000 into Growing Giants LLC Bank account at Bank of America. Therefore I had no recourse with a credit card company. 

I was told that it was a 90 day program with a hands on weekend in Atlanta with 4 other people and opportunity to JV partner,a mastermind group etc. They said they were selling the program for 7500 but I could get the last spot for $5000 if  i paid it all up front. I knew some people in common so I trusted these guys.Big mistake. I kept asking for something in writing to tell me what was included in the program and what we would be doing the weekend in Atlanta. Was told that this was taking up coaching time and if that is what I wanted to use my coaching sessions for, that was my choice.
So I asked for a refund and was told no refunds. Then they cancelled the weekend and offered me coaching for longer. I said no I would like a refund. The only time Joey Smith would talk to me was every 2 weeks during our coaching time and then he would twist everything around like it was my problem. What?
He did not have a program in place. His telemarker Joey Montez later told me that Joey Smith had him sign a confidentiality document so that he could walk away from any liability from the people complaining and asking for a refund. Joey Montez clearly did not know what a bad guy Joey Smith is.
Joey Smith then sent me a refund policy that he said was on his website and it was my fault I did not do my due diligence before buying his program. i know it was stupid of me to pay him all that money into a bank account. The refund policy of course said no refund after 30 days which we had was past because he refused to address the issue after that.
Then he told me no refunds for just coaching and I tried to tell him i bought Growing Giants program not his straight coaching program and I wanted my money back. He is a master at twisting everything.
 He threatened me with a lawsuit if I said anything or wrote anything bad about him. And I kept trying to get my money back. Maybe he is a Millionaire but it was a huge amount of money for me to invest in myself. This is a bad guy. A bully!

 I want my money back but he committed fraud big time and even if I don't get my money he should be investigated as it is a Felony. And how many others has he done this to or will do this to? These crooks need to be stopped. There are honest and ethical Internet marketers. 

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 02/05/2012 07:32 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/joey-smith/internet/joey-smith-growing-giants-llc-joey-smith-did-not-deliver-his-coaching-program-growing-gia-834372. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
4Author
0Consumer
4Employee/Owner

#8 REBUTTAL Owner of company

Enough response given.

AUTHOR: Growing Giants, LLC - (United States of America)

POSTED: Friday, January 18, 2013

No more "Official" response will be given on this issue.  There is more than enough to make a decision.

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#7 Author of original report

Not going to let Joey Smith do this to others

AUTHOR: SharonT - (United States of America)

POSTED: Friday, January 18, 2013

I am still being bullied by this guy..he can twist everything around. I just spoke to another internet Marketer who knew the entire story about how Joey Smith and Joey Montez played good cop bad cop with me. This guy knew the entire game that was played as apparently there were others that got caught in the same web. I am sure Joey Smith will be back on here to tell you that I did not do the work..oh and now I have waited a long time again to rebut his rebuttal. Joey Montez had me deposit five thousand into Growing Giants LLC Bank of America Account. That is why he spent so much time on the phone with me. Joey Smith has twisted and turned this entire issue around to make it look like I was a fault. I asked for a refund many times and he just kept talking me out of it. WHat was I supposed to do? He never sent a refund police until after the 30 days and Joey Montez never told me there was no refund. He did not tell me that the program I paid for was not happening either. And when I finally got my questions answered he and Joey Smith kept trying to provide a coaching program that I did not want. I signed up for the original one that was supposed to end in a weekend in Atlanta actually working together to complete the website and business plan. Canceled but no refund? He has bullied me. If anyone wants references from other internet marketers about how hard I work and how I take action and who I am,please let me know. Joey Smith needs to repay me the money I paid him for a product that did not happen. As long as he continues to not accept any responsibility for this and blame me I will keep pursuing my 5000. Please do not accept his word or the testimonials he  has posted. Reputation Management is very easy to do. I can only speak to my own experience with him and with Joey Montez . And it was horrible. Then Joey Montez even told me that Joey Smith made him sign an agreement not to talk about this. I heard word for word from someone else exactly what Joey and Joey did to me. Joey Smith..I want my $5000 back. 

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#6 REBUTTAL Owner of company

Congrats! 7 months is a new record! :)

AUTHOR: Growing Giants, LLC - (United States of America)

POSTED: Sunday, September 30, 2012

It took 7 months for another rebuttal? lol

AGAIN:

You were treated with the same treatment and respect that all of my clients are treated with.

That is why there are so many testimonials and successful businesses built under my watch. Can we say "John
Maxwell" - best selling author of the "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership?"

"Take us to the promise land Joey!" - John C. Maxwell.

Testimonial from IBM:

"Joey's stellar program works to develop tomorrow's purposeful internet leaders from the inside out -- resulting in strong market leaders with theright tools to ensure they are ready for the complex and dynamic environment ofbusiness and technology."
--Helen Burg, CIO, IBM

We work consistently every single week to push our client's projects forward. Unfortunately you cancelled yours and didn't complete your assignments week after week after week after week. On and on and on. You get the point. If it were a job, you would have been fired on week 1. (yes, you didn't complete even week 1 until week 3 and it was still incomplete)

However, just like them, you agreed to "full commitment" and "no refunds" because of our "front-load" of time in
the beginning of our engagements. I offered you at all times during the engagement that we would continue whenever you were ready. You chose this route instead.

Easier I guess? (dont' answer that, it will take 7 months)

You understood (and I know because Joey Montez sent me his call log with you. (over 8 hours!)) - and not 8 hours of
complaints, 8 hours of how you could sell my program to your family members. wow.

I've documented the time and have all of the trails "just in case." You clearly understood "no refund" before you sent the money. I made sure Joey Montez made sure. He assured me that he told you many times himself *before*
you paid.

NOTE FOR READERS OF THIS REPORT:
If you are interested in coaching with me and you find yourself on this page, then it is OK for you not to engage
in a coaching contract. Seriously. It is. If this report gives you the "willies" like it does me, then back away slowly. :)

Cause my clients are like this:

1) They keep their word and commitment
2) They don't blame others for their problems
3) They have a "can-do" attitude
4) They take action quickly
5) They have money to invest in themselves and their
businesses

Sharon told my sales person that she had all 5. Clearly she didn't.

I don't employ sales at this point in time.

All clients come from "referral-only" and there is a perpetual waiting list to get in. In fact, let's just say an opening will never "publicly" open up again to prevent this kind of "flamming" and "trolling" my "high-integrity" business.

Back to Sharon,

If you in fact Sharon got another coach, and now have a successful business, please post it below for review with
any other rebuttles. For not posting your new business in any rebuttles just illuminates your true purpose and
intent for this report.

Otherwise, should I expect another flame in 7 or 8 months? lol Bring it. At this point, its fun and I look forward to it. It's only helping my business, and it is highly  entertaining in fact. :)

FYI - This report has become a "must-read" for all of my existing clients or potential clients. It is a great case-study for coaches all around. It shows what can happen when you get the wrong client and possibly some insight on how to avoid them in the future. Thanks. JS.

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#5 Author of original report

Not Crazy

AUTHOR: SharonT - (United States of America)

POSTED: Saturday, September 29, 2012

Just wanted to follow up and say that I was cheated by a very good salesperson and internet marketer and even though Joey Smith has posted "testimonials" to back up his claim,they have nothing to do way I was treated. I have since worked with another coach and now have my business in place as I am an action taker and not at all what Joey Smith claims. He still owes me $5000. Anyone can twist a story anyway they choose. He knows what happened. He took my $$. He can threaten me all he wants. I just want to prevent others from having the same thing happen. Buyer Beware.

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#4 REBUTTAL Owner of company

What's even more crazy...

AUTHOR: Growing Giants, LLC - (United States of America)

POSTED: Monday, March 12, 2012

What's even more crazy is that you filed this RipOff report 90 days after our engagement was slotted to finish.

Why did you wait so long?

In any case, this issue is considered closed on our end and no further response will be issued.

It is regrettable that you didn't put forth the effort.  You surely would be singing a different tune if you had.

Since you attacked my character again, let me just leave another testimonial about that:

"I know, not an hour ago I told you that reviews and endorsements don't hold a lot of weight with
me. 

The reason that I believe this is different, is that I'm not suggesting or
endorsing a product.  I'm endorsing the person that I've experienced Joey
to be. 

In Atlanta, he was present and available. 
Online, he's been present and available.

That's important to me, because those aren't necessarily traits that I utilize,
at least with any consistency.  And that's another thing, my experience
with Joey has been that he's consistent. 

Mage - the majority of people that I came into contact with, felt that it was a
failure.  The failure had nothing to do with the software, it was the
buyer's commitment to it.  

In Epic's case, there were a lot of flaws (I'm not calling it a
failure!).  Joey never backed down.  He stood up for it in an
admirable way.  Each confrontation and complication, Joey GRACEFULLY
rolled with, smiled, and/or put an effort to correct the problems.  I
greatly appreciate his patience to work things out.

I think that if there's anybody out there who I'd have faith in teaching ME
something it would be Joey.  He's supportive and does his best to make
others successful."  --Joyfully Janet Caen

My fingers are still crossed for you.  Signing off.  --Joey

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#3 Author of original report

Joey Smith did not address the issue.Again!

AUTHOR: SharonT - (United States of America)

POSTED: Monday, March 12, 2012

Just to comment back to Mr Joey Smith. I am not a crazy woman. And you have again twisted the issues to make it seem that way. 

Why do you feel you have to post your testimonials to defend your position?
How about addressing the original issue? Which I could never get an answer to. What happened to the weekend plan?  I asked for the program in writing and I never received it.
Yes I did refer Family members. That is why I spent so much time speaking to Joey M!
The problem was,when I referred my brother,he was  given a different explanation of the program and a completely different price. But this did not get resolved.

I did the work. Joey wants it to sound like I never complete anything. I just did not send it to him because I could not get any answers to my questions.

It is very easy for this type of coach to blame the student and not look in the mirror. Joey Smith may be right for some people,but his style was not right for me.
I am now very happily working with a coach who kicks my butt,but also cares about her coaching students and does not do so by being a bully. 

Just make sure that if you do hire a "expert" you find someone who has integrity and is not only concerned with how many emails or how any hours they spend with you. $5000 is alot of money to pay someone for a coaching program that did not exist.

I hope that Joey put my $$ to good use. 
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#2 REBUTTAL Owner of company

Not True - Lady must be crazy!

AUTHOR: Growing Giants, LLC - (United States of America)

POSTED: Monday, March 12, 2012

She is the only customer with this negative experience.  That's why you only see her report on here.

This particular client is sooooo vocal, you can't get a word in edge wise.  It's funny all the things she said, because it is only about 5% true.  The only truth is the price and the deal Joey Montez offered to her.  What she left out was:

1) She took up 15+ hours of our time (and 6 hours of Joey M's time)
2) She Never did her "coaching" work - week after week with excuses
3) Yes, she completed coaching calls, but just complained about the work

In other words, we did our end of the work, she just complained and did nothing. (she did everything else, but complete her assignments.)

The engagement was still valid, but she had to complete work to set up the next call.  She NEVER did the work.  Week after week, she just complained when the work wasn't complete.  So.  I stopped her calls until she could get the foundational work complete.

Joey M and I bent over backwards to make her happy.  As you can see by this report, she is one of these people.

Yes, I made sure she understood our policies.  In coaching, we can't give refunds when the client doesn't do their part. lol.  We did our part!

All of the above things she said were not even true and can prove it using our email threads.

If I have committed a felony, then why didn't I see the first cop?  That's what Judge Judy would say. lol  There were no crimes committed.  Only failed commitments by Sharon.  And from what I understand, this isn't the only one.

Coaching business is hard because of clients like this.  The coach can only show the door.  The client actually has to walk through.  If she would have just done the work, she would be saying what the others say below:

Here are two people who started on the exact date as her.  Here's what they have to say:

In the world of Internet marketing, resources abound.  Some
helpful.  Some, not so much.  Establishing my Foundation and Internet
presence has required a huge learning curve for me, filled with new
opportunities. However I have never felt like I had a clear
understanding of the process and possibilities to be able to create and
implement an effective marketing plan

Until Joey Smith came along

Joey Smith has a vast expanse of Internet technology experience and
knowledge.  In our weekly phone meetings, he is able to show me exactly
what is happening with my website and how to improve it.  He does the
tech part, but explains it in a way that empowers me to do the work I
need to do. He is able to see the big picture and pull together the
fragments in a cohesive way, making the product stronger.

At his core, Joey is a mentor.  That is evident in his practical
approach and clear execution of action items moving us swiftly to the
next level.  His keen understanding of people, as you can see firsthand
in his Growing Giants program, increases his effectiveness.  He
understands what motivates and energizes us to do our best, while
providing resources to support the work necessary to achieve excellence.
If you are interested in learning about Internet marketing from a
seasoned professional and in optimally building your business, I highly
recommend investing time with Joey Smith and begging him to be on your
team at all costs!

Hes the real deal.

Connie M. Baker
Executive Director
Wong-Baker FACES Foundation (Pain Rating scale in Medical Centers across the Globe!)
http://www.wongbakerfaces.org

(The lady above was also sold by Joey Montez" and told me she would provide any references to squash this BS)
__________________________________________

To Whom it May Concern:

Ive now been working with Joey Smith for about 2 months as a
coaching client and its been exactly the experience I was hoping for
(and more!).

Ive been interested in building my own Internet-based business for
many years and have spent countless hours and dollars trying to figure
it out own my own.  For all of the knowledge I have attained, I could
easily teach a class on the subject, but had yet to develop an ongoing
successful business for myself.  I was able to make money here and
there, but never consistently and definitely not in a way that was
repeatable.

My experience with Joey has been EXACTLY what I was missing from my
other education experiences!  Joey has a defined process that helped me
to understand my personality type, which helped me to understand what
type of online business would fit my skills and interests the best. 
From there, he walked me through the process of finding a niche, then
figuring out how to best serve that niche.

Joeys step-by-step approach not only helps you to build a successful
business but it also teaches you the all important why.  You learn
why to do things a certain way and at certain times.  Not only does this
approach help with understanding the process, it allows me to be able
to repeat the process as many times in the future as I wish!

The final piece of Joeys system that has helped my success is the
accountability.  While I am the one doing the weekly work, having a
coach to report my progress to is a powerful motivator to make sure I
get the necessary work done in a timely manner.  Before Joey, I would
get overwhelmed with all that I had to accomplish and eventually give
up.  Now Joey helps me to break down the steps into manageable pieces so
I can focus only on the current task.

If you are looking to truly build a successful Internet-based business,
I would highly recommend that you give Joey a try!

Wayne Foreman
Atlanta, GA
WaynesWoodworkingWorld.com

For more information on the program, go to: growinggiants.com/coaching

If anyone has concerns about this report, please send me an email and I'll personally send over the exact email trail between me and this client. (Since she went ahead and put this up, I'll gladly forward it over.)

If I was her, I would be concerned to see all of my emails posted here online.  You'll see in that trail that the irony is that she is scamming the scam report! lol

Again, this is a bitter customer that didn't do their work to keep the engagement going.  All the details of our policies and programs can be found on the above website.

We did not give her a refund.  I do have a "no-refund" policy on this type of coaching engagement because it requires my physical and "billable" time.

If you are interested in the coaching program and ran across this report, please go to the above website and contact me.  I'll share everything. :)

Just some things to  note about Sharon and this engagement:

- She had a long voice to voice sales process with Joey Montez
(he claims over six hours) - and she didn't know what she was getting!?!?

- You had plenty of time to decide and to ask questions before
the sale (buyers due diligence)

- You started the sessions with me and with Montez

- You never completed the first assignment (which is a
requirement for learning and coaching)

- After you perceived you were going to have to do work, you
started down the refund-road dead-end (why our policy exists)

- You changed your mind several times and flip-flopped over
and over again

- I continued to tell you there were no refunds, just do the
work and well continue (you agreed and said "I know.")

- You complimented one of the courses (Deep 7) and said that
people would jump at the chance to work with me

- You referred the program to family and friends (even knowing
the refund policy and the details of the program at this time)

- I have clients that were sold the same thing you were that just upgraded
their involvement with me happily and would say you were crazy fighting me over
this instead of just learning the program to have an awesome online business
built around your strengths, passions and happiness!!!

MESSAGE TO SHARON: I hope your mindset gets better to understand why Im not the
one in the wrong here.  By fixing that, you could end up fixing a host of
other things you arent happy with.  Hopefully that was worth your
investment.

Good luck to your future.  I sincerely wish for your
happiness.





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#1 Author of original report

Where is Joey Smith Internet Marketer

AUTHOR: SharonT - (United States of America)

POSTED: Sunday, February 26, 2012

I have heard nothing from anyone about any help and now he has updated his website.

He took my $5000 for a program I did not agree to...Growing Giants was the program I signed up for not Coaching!! Joey Smith did nothing but bully and threaten me!

Why Joey Smith??????????????????????


DO NOT ENGAGE WITH JOEY! He thinks that he can throw big names at you..Do not be impressed!! JoeyReasons to Engage with Joey

Joey will guide your goals with his award-winning technology systems and million-dollar producing marketing systems.
 (1999, 2003 Microsoft Awards | 2010 Best Internet Marketer World Internet Summit)  His expertise and 18 years of online experience will shave thousands of dollars of wasted time and add millions of dollars to your bottom line through his systematic speed of time-tested execution.  Joey uses cutting-edge strategies that work in todays online environment and dedicates daily time to continual research in online technology, marketing and business systems.Its important to understand that internet marketing is not just about graphics and design.  Just like with color analysis, there are complex behaviors, usability connections, patterns and NLP that work together in a symbiotic way.  All of which connects with words and color to create a predicted behavior.The complexities of successful online marketing have been compared by some to brain surgery.  Because really, that is what it is! 

Imagine trying to get someone youve never met before to do something from the other side of their keyboard (in another country even) using words, text, buttons, colors, audio and video to take an action!  This is why you wouldnt want someone with little experience to operate on your brain or your online strategy for that matter.Thats why; if you want your online project to succeed at all costs, then Joey Smith is the guy to have on your team.  Hes created million dollar launches from scratch, helped a company achieve Fortunes Fastest Growing Company status and helped create online strategies for businesses that have sold for 20+ million.  This is just a short list in his 18 years building online businesses for himself and his clients.Therefore, it should be no surprise that Internet gurus seek Joeys private consultation, mentoring and coaching.  He always has a few on his confidential roster where he masterminds and strategizes on the internets greatest launches and debus.The difference between Joey and other Internet Marketing Service Providers is that Joey is a natural mentor and will mentor the team in order to be independent by the end of the engagement.  Service providers try to lengthen engagements whereby Joey does his best to shorten them and provide the best economical and return on investment producing engagement.His client list speaks for itself: Cox Communications, Coca Cola Enterprises, IBM, Internet Security Systems, Microsoft, Deloitte, Project Managers International (PMI), Shaw Industries, John Maxwell



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