Have a good day - Page 6

Being bored at the moment, I perused this topic.

Wow.

Perhaps if you'd done a condensed version of why you were made to sit out for a time, and perhaps if you wrote it more concisely and easier to understand, it could've been condensed from 6 pages.

Sorry for your bad luck...stinks when you don't understand all the rules.

It sounds like they all have their heads up where the sun don't shine. This needs to be addressed, and if they won't address it with the person who complains, then maybe they'll address it when it's plastered all over the internet.

I think you were right to post this, so that anyone else who's thinking of doing the "certification" will be on the lookout.

Most ppl here on cc read each others' woe stories and then either commiserate (sp?) with them, or give them advice. that's what most of us here were doeing, including the merry singers, who were trying to get Kate out of her funk.

and when I'm angry, I tend to babble. It all makes little sense until you read the whole saga a few times, then it starts to come together so you get the idea of what I'm trying to say. Our friend did quite a good job here.

Also, you seem to imply that she was at fault for not understanding the rules. It seems like the judges themselves didn't quite understand them either.

And she signed some sort of waiver to hear the results sooner, but didn't hear back from them til much later...

It sounds like these snotty ICES ppl are confused, full of themselves and full of %#*

Good gravey Kate what a freak fest! HUGS!!! You are good enough-you know it-we know it-their loss if you ask me! Sounds like a bunch of nuts who don't know what color their sky is.

Oh puuuuulease - I have come across threads that were over two hundred pages and gone way way WAY off topic, nobody forced me to read them!

Thank you very much Kate! I was considering joining ICES for quite a while now, but something just didn't sit right with me. Now I know I made the right decision in waiting.

Good things will happen for you, because you are a good honest person. I just wish that good people would stop being taken advantage of, I hope this gets straightened out for you and in a timely manor.
All the best
Shannie

I think it's very sad that the singular experience of Kate--in an event that has taken place only twice (2008 & 2009) for a total of less than 30 people--would bring anyone to the point of completely dismissing the HUGE positive impact of ICES !

Obvioulsy, Kate had a bad experience with her go at the certification process for CMSA/CSA (Certified Master Sugar Artist/Certified Sugar Artist). It's very hard to be told that you've failed, especially when you've invested a lot of time and $ into the process. BUT, there is another side to this story (and NO, I don't know it--I'm not part of the certification process, or the political hierarchy of ICES)--and NO ONE has heard any of that half of the story--and probably never will.

I can't defend everything that ICES does---as a member, that's not my job or right. Mistakes are made every day in every aspect of every life, but the detractors here have said some HORRID things about an organization THAT I FIND TO BE A WONDERFUL AVENUE FOR LEARNING AND SHARING ABOUT SUGAR ART.

ICES chapters worldwide are responsible for many, many of the opportunities sugar artists have for low cost, high quality classes with respected sugar art teachers. Nick Lodge travels and teaches tirelessly at many ICES mini classes--and there are dozens of others who do the same.

I found ICES as I was completing my Wilton 3 class about 5 years ago. Several months later, I attended my first OH Day of Sharing. I had no idea about what was out there for me as someone developing an obsession about sugar art, but thru ICES, I've been able to touch nearly all of the techniques in the field.

For my $60 a year, I get a regular publication that feeds my mind and curiosity, discounted costs to access ICES DOS meetings and classes, an option to apply for scholarships, and hours of "Free" talk and chatter with lots of people with the same interests.

No organization of human beings is ever perfect, but to assume that an entire group is bad, tainted, or worthless, just because one process didn't go smoothly for someone, is really cold...................

Supporting someone who is down is one thing--of course I hope Kate rallies and works thru this in a positive way--but this trend of going so far as to defame something that you're not part of, have not had a bad experience with, and don't fully understand the workings of................that's at least as "wrong" as anything that was done improperly during the Certification process.................

Just my very honest opinion
Rae

BlakesCakes- Just my take on the situation- Last year, my laptop broke. I paid $300 for a service plan on it when I purchased it so that if and when it broke, the store would fix it. It was only a year into it's 3 year plan, so I took it back to the store (Fry's) and asked them to fix it. Long story, short, they refused and said the damage was my fault- it WAS NOT! (initially, the rep said that he hated Sony laptops because my problem was such a common defect in Sonys). I left FUMING because my $1500 laptop was garbage and Fry's refused to honor their service plan.

My point? I have no problem with Fry's CUSTOMERS, but I have a HUGE problem with the store and it's management. I will not shop there, and I tell everyone I know not to shop there.

Same with ICES. If I hear that people are getting screwed, I'm going to be a little weary of joining. If their "customer service" sucked SO bad with one "customer" then I have to question whether I want to "shop" there. I'm sure the customers are awesome, though

I mean, the first rule in customer service is "The customer is always right" There are times I HATE that statement, but really, what would it have hurt to return K8 her $$$? It certainly would have made a better statement than to say "Screw you" OBVIOUSLY there was a problem with their rules, so they should have sucked it up and said "Sorry, we'll refund you your $$$ and re-evaluate the rules" Hell, they could have gone a step beyond and said "we'll even cover your cost to try again next year". That's how you keep customers happy and prevent the exact situation going on now.

I wonder how many people are NOT going to join or renew their membership now...

What you get out of ICES might also depend on your level of experience, and how active your local chapter is, too. My local ICES chapter does a lot of things in Northern VA and the VA Beach area, which is very nice, but I'm 2-3 hours away from all of that. I also tend to be on the more skilled end of the experience spectrum, so when I did go to the DOS that I was able to go to, I found it to be a pretty big waste of my time. The last convention that was close enough for me to think about going to had only about one or two demos/classes out of everything offered that I would have been interested in attending.

For beginners, ICES is a good way to gain exposure to some skills that you might not have seen demonstrated before, but once you get to a certain skill level it's not as useful. For my $60 I get a monthly newsletter that rarely has anything in it other than convention information, pictures of cakes that I can see online, and some ads.

I do understand that not every organization can be everything to everyone, and I'm not doubting that there are people who work hard, and try to make ICES better. But the point in K8's story was that they didn't respond or listen to her concerns, both during the certification and after it. If I did that as a wedding cake vendor, the bride would probably complain about me to the Better Business Bureau. It's not good customer service.

[quote="chefjulie If their "customer service" sucked SO bad with one "customer" then I have to question whether I want to "shop" there. membership now...[/quote]

Great minds think alike, ha ha ha!