Thursday, March 3, 2011

My Chat with TutorVista, a "Free" Tutoring Service


Welcome to TUTORVISTA !
Type your question in chat window below.
[ 02:05:01 PM ] Acad Coordinator : May I have your name and grade please?
[ 02:05:09 PM ] Guest : this is free?
[ 02:05:10 PM ] Acad Coordinator : Hello, I'm Krish your academic counselor for today
[ 02:05:10 PM ] : Welcome to TutorVista..!
[ 02:05:11 PM ] : How are you doing today..?
[ 02:05:17 PM ] Guest : excellent
[ 02:05:22 PM ] Acad Coordinator : Let me know your grade and subject to help you better.
[ 02:05:40 PM ] Guest : 11 calculus
[ 02:05:51 PM ] Acad Coordinator : Not to worry, you are at the right place for help.
[ 02:05:54 PM ] : Are you aware of our tutors how exactly they work online ?
[ 02:06:03 PM ] Guest : yes, they help you for free
[ 02:06:27 PM ] Acad Coordinator : But are you aware of the HUGE offer today..?
[ 02:06:35 PM ] Guest : yes
[ 02:06:40 PM ] : free tutoring is a huge offer
[ 02:06:41 PM ] Acad Coordinator : What is it..?
[ 02:06:45 PM ] Guest : and i am most grateful
[ 02:07:02 PM ] Acad Coordinator : What is the offer..that you know..?
[ 02:07:09 PM ] Guest : free tutoring
[ 02:07:40 PM ] Acad Coordinator : NO however today we are giving a FLAT 50% off on the regular price.
[ 02:07:41 PM ] : Today we are running a special promotion offer on subscription
[ 02:07:47 PM ] Guest : no thank you
[ 02:07:52 PM ] : i want the free level service
[ 02:07:52 PM ] Acad Coordinator : Please wait..
[ 02:07:54 PM ] Guest : thank you
[ 02:07:58 PM ] Acad Coordinator : Please wait..
[ 02:08:19 PM ] : I will give you a best deal
[ 02:08:28 PM ] Guest : thank you so much
[ 02:08:37 PM ] : you are god sent
[ 02:08:39 PM ] : working for free
[ 02:08:46 PM ] Acad Coordinator : Let me know how much you can afford..?
[ 02:09:03 PM ] Guest : no thanks, i only want the free service
[ 02:09:18 PM ] Acad Coordinator : To be honest with you there are no free online Live tutoring available at the moment.
[ 02:09:28 PM ] Guest : when will there?
[ 02:09:35 PM ] : is it appointment basis?
[ 02:09:44 PM ] : how about tomorrow
[ 02:09:46 PM ] : same time
[ 02:09:56 PM ] Acad Coordinator : We have more than 2000 well qualified tutors available round the clock so that you can get a tutor instantly
[ 02:10:04 PM ] Guest : oh great!
[ 02:10:14 PM ] : so youve got one now?
[ 02:10:24 PM ] : you just said they were all busy
[ 02:10:26 PM ] Acad Coordinator : Yes once you subscribe
[ 02:10:43 PM ] Guest : subscribe for free, right
[ 02:10:54 PM ] Acad Coordinator : Its just $49.99 a month.
[ 02:10:56 PM ] : For one subscription you can take all the unlimited help you need in all the subjects (Math, English and Science ) without any extra cost.
[ 02:11:15 PM ] Guest : perhaps i want to evaluate it first
[ 02:11:18 PM ] : with a free trial
[ 02:11:28 PM ] : after all, the site does say FREE HELP
[ 02:11:32 PM ] Acad Coordinator : I am sorry but all our demo tutors are busy with the regular session.
[ 02:11:37 PM ] Guest : ok
[ 02:11:41 PM ] : set me up an appointment
[ 02:11:41 PM ] Acad Coordinator : Our tutors give priority to students who has an account with us.
[ 02:11:44 PM ] Guest : for free help
[ 02:12:00 PM ] : surely one will become free within 24 hours
[ 02:12:08 PM ] : set me up an appointment tomorrow, same time
[ 02:12:15 PM ] Acad Coordinator : You can get help only once you subscribe.
[ 02:12:28 PM ] Guest : then your site is a lie
[ 02:12:44 PM ] : i gave you the benefit of the doubt
[ 02:12:53 PM ] Acad Coordinator : If this was a scam then we would not have been the NO 1 online tutoring company and we would not have survived for so long in this tutoring.
[ 02:12:55 PM ] Guest : and every chance to offer something free
[ 02:12:59 PM ] : no matter how small
[ 02:13:11 PM ] : funny
[ 02:13:14 PM ] : i didnt say "scam"
[ 02:13:26 PM ] : you must get accused of this quite often
[ 02:14:01 PM ] Acad Coordinator : Thank You for visiting TutorVista.
[ 02:14:07 PM ] Guest : No 1
[ 02:14:10 PM ] : according to what?



At that point, he claimed they were featured on NBC and ended my session.

Reader challenge: go to TutorVista and see if you can get them to admit more of their lies. I hear they sometimes offer $20-$50 subscriptions, but invariable end up charging $100. Or just have fun with them and post the transcript here. I recommend copying the text often because once they end the session, it's gone forever. Good luck.