Big Business Events review: Social media seminar

There's a company called Big Business Events, headed up by Adam Stott, that organises social media seminars.

In summary, I'd say that the clue is in the name: it's a well-organised events company.

Not, in my opinion, a social media training company.

When you go to one of their events, there will be a torrent of positivity, of promises of wild success based on Adam passing on his knowledge to you ... a very "caring" guy ...

That's interesting.

It's not a seminar, it's a pitch to sell their subscription.

I won't go into the ridiculous way they trump up the "value" of what they're flogging.

You may be someone who genuinely doesn't know what to do (no shame there...) and/or someone who prefers human contact to online participation (maybe we all do!)

If so, this could be for you.

But from my experience, the "secrets" they divulge can be found from a quick search on Google.

And you may find that what they offer isn't just basic and clunky, but some of their methods are out-and-out bad practice that will get your account suspended. I know: it happened to me. And I was hardly using it.

Now, the problem isn't really to do with the questionable quality of the service (or the claims made by Adam Stott).

It's the fact that he promised a refund "no problem" if it wasn't for us.

So after a few days, I asked for a refund, in a friendly and civilised way.

But was directed to a Terms & Conditions" page on their website that I'd never seen before. No refunds.

BTW, even if you agree to pay in instalments and don't use it, you're liable (they say) to pay the whole amount.

I then messaged Adam Stott on LinkedIn but got no response.

Not so "caring" then...

So I'm pursuing a chargeback, but that will take months, and have approached a number of professional organisations he belongs to, and we'll see what happens.

But I'm pretty miffed by the broken promise, and also the way I've been fobbed off.

I'm really busy with a number of projects, hence the delay in posting this review, but there's much, much more to be said about Adam Stott, his company and the way he works. So I'm looking forward to a gap in my commitments where I can do the research necessary to put it all out there.

IMO, whoever you are, and whatever you do, if you make a promise you keep it.

It doesn't seem that Adam Stott thinks this way.

He's positive, very engaging, and actually quite likeable in person ... but in my opinion this is a veneer to hide a well-organised and ruthless operation that draws in small business owners who like his style and are happy to pay through the nose for things they could get elsewhere for nothing.

That's his target market, but I'm not in it.

So make sure that you're OK with the fact that if you pay him anything, regardless of any promises he makes, you'll never see the money again.