Crowd Mountain and Revolutiontilt

50 replies
Frankly I have been hoping that I would not have to write this post but things have gotten to a point that I think other members of the forum need to know what has happened to me.

Back in early May I decided to open a trial account with Crowd Mountain. From what I saw of the initial part of the program I thought it was exceptional. The videos were very detailed and to the point. I decided to continue my subscription and was really enjoying following the program. I had started creating my first blog using their techniques. Then everything changed.

In the middle of last week is found myself being denied access to the program. Simple glitch I figured, maybe my credit card expired or something. I checked and found I still had two weeks remaining for the month.

I opened a ticket on their support desk and got an auto responder message that the ticket would be reviewed. I waited. No response after several days.

There was no other contact information on any of their sites and all pointed back to the help desk. I tried contacting the owner via Facebook, no response. I tried a message via Twitter, no response. I finally checked my PayPal receipt and found a contact phone and email. I tried the phone number and left a message, no response. Left another message, no response. I sent an email to the contact email address, no response. I found another contact email address and tried that, no response yet (I only tried that yesterday).

The only time I have heard of a customer having this much trouble contacting a supplier is when the supplier is going out of business.

I'm really disappointed. I was really getting into the program. I was just getting into to the monitization stage of the program. I had planned to promote it to some of my friends.

With so many sites being totally automated they can run on and on without intervention. Now I will cancel my subscription so I don't get charged for a non working site by an automatic payment system.

Again, let me say that I am not bashing the program. I'm really disappointed that I probably won't be finishing it. I only wish they would let their customers know what is going on.

Ira
#crowd #crowd mountain #mountain #revolutiontilt
  • Profile picture of the author Amanda_Davis
    The support is TERRIBLE.

    And the updates are pretty in-frequent too.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bigdadda
    Unfortunately, I have to agree. The bootcamp content is pretty good, but for some reason Michelle has completely disappeared. Comments and questions go unanswered now, the support is terrible, updates are infrequent and there are numerous unkept promises - including, for instance, the 10 wordpress themes that we were supposed to receive each month. Thus far, only 10 themes for April were posted.

    The disappointing performance by several IMers lately is really disheartening. To me, the overall level of integrity of the IM guru market is at the lowest point that I've seen. Seems like there are many who get fat and happy with some initial success and then abandon the backend. Very short sighted.
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    • Profile picture of the author inewman
      After a week and half of rending of clothing, gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair they finally got me up and running again.

      They seem to have only one support person now and she only seems to check the support desk in the morning. None of my phone calls, email, twitter and facebook posts were answered. I've downloaded all of the videos in case the site locks me out again.

      If I didn't think she had some of the best content I have found for a relative newbie I would have given up a long time ago. As it is I can only recommend Crowd Mountain with caution. My first blog using her system is just about ready.

      Ira
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  • Profile picture of the author pearsonbrown
    I don't know if this is relevant. On the Internet Marketing This Week podcast last time, Michelle wasn't there because she was buying one of those huge motorhomes so that she could go travelling.

    Pearson
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  • Profile picture of the author Melody
    I was looking at Crowd Mountain tonight - just did the 12 day trial and came over here to see what the feedback was. I am wondering if the situation has gotten any better?

    The first videos are excellent but......

    Melody
    Signature
    Our first "Digital Yard Sale"! A massive PLR Blowout Sale to help a friend pay medical expenses.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sonja
      I tried CrowdMountain about a month or so ago and any questions I asked were never answered or even approved. After a week or so of not seeing anyone else post I figured she just wasn't updating. I canceled my trial because IMO that is unacceptable.
      Signature
      ~Yeah I'm working on it~

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  • Profile picture of the author Focused Action
    the actual bootcamp is very good, she walks through every step to building seo niche websites. once complete, there does not appear to be any reason to continue the membership. i cancelled after i went through all the videos, content, etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author areaK
      Originally Posted by curtroese View Post

      the actual bootcamp is very good, she walks through every step to building seo niche websites. once complete, there does not appear to be any reason to continue the membership. i cancelled after i went through all the videos, content, etc.
      The monthly Q&As, the monthly LRBs & Niche Trailheads, (& potentially the montly SEO'd themes depending on how many sites you build) along with the blog posts that discuss among other things tool reviews & recommendations, how to's, exclusive reports (for instance the one just published about a new method for boosting opt-ins tremendously) etc. and the RSS blaster tool along with the Social Bookmarking tool, and the members forum are some of the reasons that a lot of members stay past Boot Camp =)
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  • Profile picture of the author areaK
    I am the manager at Crowd Mountain, and for Revolution Tilt in general, and I would like to say that the site has not been abandoned at all and content is being updated.

    There was a point where support got in a lurch. I have been with Michelle & RT for 3 years and I left for a few months (for personal reasons) right before the launch of CM and came back last year about mid-July and we got support back together. I act as Michelle's right-hand essentially, helping her with back-end things, various content, managing support staff, etc. because as you can imagine Mich has her hands full with everything else. Without an experienced person supporting her, it can get a little crazy trying to manage your various contractors and do EVERYTHING else yourself.

    Once I came back in July, we hired a new support staff member and Michelle wasn't so spread out all over the place because I took back over management of staff and other things.

    So while I can't speak much about pre mid-July support because I wasn't there, I can say in the 3 yrs I've been with Mich she's always developed top-notch content and doesn't abandon things but I'm sure she had to trust the support staff a little more than usual during that gap too so it's quite possible they didn't handle everything as they should have (reliable support staff is hard to find) - I can't say that never happened but I'm sure Mich wasn't aware of it. You can check in on staff one day and everything looks good but that doesn't mean the next day they didn't let something fall through the cracks.

    CM Boot Camp requires very little updating because of the type of content it contains and outside of Boot Camp there is TONS of info, tool reviews & recommendations, how-tos, reports, etc.

    CM also publishes 10 SEO'd WP themes, an LRB (links ready to build) package, a Niche Trailhead (research for new hot niches with the keyword data, niche research and other info already put together for you to pursue), and a live Q&A each month...along with the other content mentioned above.

    It also has a couple of exclusive member marketing tools and more in the plans & a members forum...and more.

    CM is shutting down to new members in about 48 hours for a site revamp. Once the site reopens, new members will only have access to new content (content published after the revamp) and not the past year's content (a year's worth of content published before the revamp). If you're interested, now is a good time to sign up so you don't miss out on all of that content.

    We have an awesome marketing family over at CM that are supportive to each other and share their CM journeys, their own tips, tricks and recommendations and more.

    But, no, long story short, it's not been abandoned and there's a lot of new content over there.

    Hopefully we'll see some of you there =)

    ~k
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  • Profile picture of the author Andy Hart
    Hey Areak,

    I see you found the thread then, I was going to reply on twitter but then I noticed your posts.

    Good news about CM and a $1 trial why the hell not

    Thanks for the response
    Andy
    Signature

    I'm On Google + ------------- and of course Also On Twitter

    "The only thing thats keeping you from getting what you want is the story you keep telling yourself about why you can't have it"- Tony Robbins

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    • Profile picture of the author areaK
      Originally Posted by Andy Hart View Post

      Hey Areak,

      I see you found the thread then, I was going to reply on twitter but then I noticed your posts.

      Good news about CM and a $1 trial why the hell not

      Thanks for the response
      Andy
      Hey Andy =)

      Yeah after I Twittered you I searched and found it. Yep, it's still alive & kicking...and yes w/a $1/12 day trial can't hurt to peek inside =) Hope to see you over there!

      ~k
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  • Profile picture of the author tascer
    Crowd Mountain is the ultimate real course for new people wanting to have a step by step instruction on setting up a blog and understanding all of the details to monetize and maintain.
    Michelle Mac Phearson is a phenomenal instructor and genuinely is able to convey the how to's ... and all questions are answered.
    Crowd Mountain Connect is the forum within and cool because you are able to discuss right on the spot issues you may be having, questions of how to , and general sharing of a program that is working etc... and people actually respond right off.
    This program is easily valued at $97-$197 a month...
    Every section, every attention to detail has been addressed within Crowd Mountain.
    Michelle Mac Phearson has giving years of experience and knowledge and been able to organize it into an easily digestible for anyone format...
    Anyone who has the audacity to complain about the content and/or support within this quality and caliber...
    Crowd Mountain is Internet Marketing for Real People and Michelle Mac Phearson delivers and over delivers every month ;-)
    Most Sincerely
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    • Profile picture of the author ibconsultants
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  • Profile picture of the author Amanda_Davis
    One of my subscribers has been waiting nearly a year to hear back from support (despite lots of reminders) and is STILL waiting!
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    • Profile picture of the author Phil_UK
      Interesting....seems it's a 50/50 split about this. I've had emails over the last week about it, but think I'll wait and see what others say here over the next few weeks.
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  • Profile picture of the author trademan
    With so many training options available, let me ask this question? Why in the world take a chance on something with so many questionable posts about service! I am absolutely sick of all the false and unfulfilled promises being made by the so-called guru's. In my opinion all of this crap is one big cash grab designed to separate unsuspecting newbies and product junkies from their money? Keep it simple people and don't keep looking for the newest mousetrap (or as pot pie girl calls them "shiny things"). My inbox is being nuked by all of these offers and I am frankly sick of it. This business is really quite simple once you strip away all of the nonsense. Do your research, provide quality content that you yourself would want to read and recommend quality products that will provide value for your visitors and you will be successful. Period. I whole heartedly recommend WordPress Goldmine by Mark Thompson. Mark is a stand up guy, who goes out of his way to service his members and provides outstanding value, all for 20 bucks a month. You will not find better material at any price! Please take my advice and grab Marks product. You won't be sorry and at the price he charges, you'll have money left to put into your business.

    God Bless
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  • Profile picture of the author garyk1968
    Yes Ive seen this recently and it seems there is more negative reviews than positives regardless of what the manager says, personally I am always dubious (to the point of not going ahead) of any recurring program that auto-bills my credit card. Why? because I have to contact them to stop it and theres been plenty of cases where this has proved difficult. Do it via a paypal sub then great, *I* can cancel when *I* choose.
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    • Profile picture of the author pogul
      I just wanted to give this one a little bump to see if there were any other opinions on Crowd Mountain. All of the pre-launch videos looked to contain some good information - I guess that's why I'm somewhat surprised not to see more chatter about here on WF (good or bad).

      The initial post on this thread was from 2009 - did things ever get better?
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      • Profile picture of the author pogul
        Well, I should have listened to my gut on this one!

        I'm a newbie to the whole IM arena - really only deciding to 'get serious' about it (in my part-time tho lol) this past January. I started off w/ one of the 'gurus' then but have since learned A LOT more by my own investigation and reading along the way.

        One of the best resources along the way has been WarriorForum. Unfortunately I only discovered this place about a month or so ago, but the feedback and opinions/reviews here have pretty much been spot on!

        That is why my gut was telling me to turn the other way when it came to Crowd Mountain. I couldn't really find any GOOD feedback about the program here on WF. I believe the only positive comments were coming from the CM program manager - and a few other affiliates or JV's.

        BUT - I bought into the hype and the slickness of the "down home, no nonsense, we're real people trying to help you" feel of the launch videos. One key point in those videos - actually - one key feature that Michelle MacPhearson kept emphasizing in her videos was the level of interaction that Crowd Mountain would bring to the members - specifically the WEEKLY brainstorming sessions / webinars with Michelle and other CM members.

        Sounds great - right??

        So imagine my surprise (AND DISGUST) when after going ahead and joining - for $127 / month!!! - that the FIRST thing I was hit with was an upsell where I could either remain a 'standard' member or upgrade to a 'premium' membership - which is the only option that included the brainstorming sessions and site reviews!! :rolleyes:

        WTH?!?! SERIOUSLY MICHELLE??!?! The videos hype the interaction, and then only upon joining do I find out that it will cost me $70 MORE / month to participate in the brainstorming sessions!!!

        OK - let's momentarily put aside the fact that upsells like this just ABSOLUTELY suck in the first place!!! Let me know ahead of time if my $127 is going to give me ALL of the product or not!! But yeah, set that aside - I'm expected to pay an extra $70 to brainstorm - aka - SHARE WITH **YOU** AND OTHER MEMBERS *MY* IDEAS?!?!!? Wow - and you're only going to charge me $70 for the privilege of sharing my ideas with you - right?!?!? Allllrighty then! :rolleyes:

        Like I say, thoroughly disgusted!! And I now vow to NEVER even consider a product, launch, 'guru' etc until I see overwhelmingly positive feedback here on WF.

        So - Warriors, my apologies for not heeding your advice in this thread.

        I submitted my request for a refund literally 5 minutes after 'joining' Crowd Mountain. 13 hours later and I have not heard anything yet. I'll give them 24 hours to respond before I initiate a chargeback.

        Oh, I should add - upon joining I was told: "Thanks for joining - and I'll send you another email in a couple of days with your login details for the
        members area." :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

        WHAT??!?! SERIOUSLY A NEW MEMBER HAS TO WAIT 'A COUPLE OF DAYS' FOR ACCESS?!!?!

        In a way I'm happy about that. At least this way there is no dispute that I accessed ANY of their content before requesting the refund!

        OK folks - NOW you have the inside scoop on joining Crowd Mountain (and that is just a small piece - there were several other upsells and frustrations).

        If someone else has a different opinion, I would LOVE to hear it.

        /rant.

        UPDATE: To be fair, updating here in case the further posts are not read. CM Support *did* respond to my ticket at 10:30a this morning - their system did not send me an e-mail response so I had no way of knowing. They said the refund has been issued. I feel that this was pretty good response time.

        Second, in their response they state that I *would* have gotten weekly webinars, but their upsell page definitely looks like the brainstorming sessions are for 'mastermind' members only ($70). Their upsell page really backfired on me.
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        • Profile picture of the author Dave Lianelli
          Originally Posted by pogul View Post

          WTH?!?! SERIOUSLY MICHELLE??!?! The videos hype the interaction, and then only upon joining do I find out that it will cost me $70 MORE / month to participate in the brainstorming sessions!!!
          Pogul,

          while I agree with some of your points in your rant, I absolutely disagree with the critique re: pricing vs. interaction.

          I don't know about you - but I'd expect to pay $500+ per HOUR for personal contact with a millionaire business coach. If what she's sharing has made her millions, she can charge much more.

          Heck, I've seen many professionals charge up to $50,000 for a full day of coaching. If that's what it's worth, then I'll be happy to pay for it.

          And brainstorming isn't about giving your ideas. It's about sharing with everyone, where the leader (in this case Michelle) can give you feedback on your ideas.
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          • Profile picture of the author BizBoost
            Originally Posted by Dave Lianelli View Post

            Pogul,

            while I agree with some of your points in your rant, I absolutely disagree with the critique re: pricing vs. interaction.

            I don't know about you - but I'd expect to pay $500+ per HOUR for personal contact with a millionaire business coach. If what she's sharing has made her millions, she can charge much more.

            Heck, I've seen many professionals charge up to $50,000 for a full day of coaching. If that's what it's worth, then I'll be happy to pay for it.

            And brainstorming isn't about giving your ideas. It's about sharing with everyone, where the leader (in this case Michelle) can give you feedback on your ideas.
            Dave, you're thinking too much like an "elite insider." I think Pogul is expressing his dismay at being jerked around with what seems like "the whole deal" only to be met with a high-priced upsell. And if, as you say, X is a millionairre consultant, yada yada, then she surely could sprinkle a little money into her support staff.

            You can talk theory as you wish, about how much you'd be willing to pay person A "if it was worth it" but, in this ACTUAL case, there are people having some of those dreaded "customer service nightmares" and now, looking back at the upsells and value they were TOLD they'd be getting, they're feeling a bit jaded and misled.

            That's all. Now go find someone who's worth $5000/hr and pay them that because you said you'd be glad to if they were worth it. And, Im sure there are plenty of people who are worth it.

            Let us know how it goes.
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          • Profile picture of the author pogul
            Dave,

            I would agree that there would be much more value there IF the coach is the one bringing the ideas to the table - and telling me exactly who, what, where, and when.

            But if it truly is a brainstorming session, then I would be throwing my ideas, my techniques, what is working for me - out there on the table as well. Everyone involved at that point is doing give and take - and if that is the case, then I don't believe it should come at a premium.

            Like I say, I believe it is the UPSELL that really turned things sour for me on this one. I'm just so sick of seeing it. Present me with an option to select BEFORE I join. $127 for standard membership - or $197 for mastermind - and let me know AHEAD of time what I will get with each one. Sorry, but imo, that is fair play. Especially when so many of the CM videos emphasized that this would be different from the rest... none of the sleazy hype/sales tactics that others bring.

            I'm already paying (and have been since Jan) $197 to a 'guru'. Had CM been upfront with me, I would have had no problem w/ $197. To me (again, imo) this is classic bait-n-switch.

            I do appreciate your take on it though, Dave.

            Now, I have to update my earlier post: The CM support system did not send me an e-mail response, but apparently my ticket was answered at 10:30a this morning. I consider that a GREAT response time. Unfortunately, like I say, their system did not notify me. I noticed it when I logged in after my post.

            Second, in the response the support person indicated that indeed standard members DO get weekly sessions - just that 'masterminds' get them more often:

            Hey Marc,

            As a Standard member, you DO get weekly webinars during Bootcamp. Then you continue to get a Q&A session each month. This is just for the $127 standard membership. Masterminds just get them more often.

            Your refund request has been successfully processed. Your membership has been cancelled as per your request.

            Thank you and Good luck on your future online marketing endeavors.
            Soooooooooooo - this is a case of the upsell page totally backfiring. I scrolled the page to see what the 'mastermind' got over the 'standard' members and the first extra item listed is: "Weekly Brainstorming Sessions". *I* saw that and then immediately shut down. Perhaps it should be worded "Additional Weekly Brainstorming Sessions". :confused:

            Either way, I have been issued a refund (waiting for it to post). I got a good response time back on my request (just wasn't notified via email), and I'm almost wishing I would have stuck it out - but that upsell page backfired on me.

            NOW I don't know if I would have gotten value out of CM or not. But I do know that I am not a fan of the upsell process they are using. :p
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            • Profile picture of the author areaK
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              • Profile picture of the author Ken Strong
                This is not a support forum or an advertising platform -- let's get back to reviews of this product written by people who have purchased it.
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                • Profile picture of the author areaK
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                  • Profile picture of the author Ken Strong
                    Originally Posted by areaK View Post

                    I'm aware of the difference, thank you and product owners and managers frequently respond to issues/concerns that are posted about their product/program/membership site around here in case you haven't noticed.
                    What we've noticed is a tendency for product owners to sometimes step in and try to dominate and take control of threads involving their products. We've already locked and/or deleted a number of threads where this has happened. We'll continue to do that whenever necessary. This section of the forum is for people who have purchased a product to give their honest reviews.

                    If someone posts something here, good or bad, we have every right to say thanks or clear up any confusion/issues, which is exactly what I did. (& we're not advertising because we're not even taking new members at this time)

                    Thanks for your concern.
                    You have no rights at all here (nor does anyone else). It's a privately owned forum, and you have whatever privileges the owner decides to give you. He makes the rules.
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                    • Profile picture of the author areaK
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                      • Profile picture of the author karenv
                        Hi,

                        I'm a member of Crowd Mountain. I joined 4/27/10.

                        Although the Bootcamp modules provide solid information, I wonder how I can cancel my membership if I want to. Can't seem to figure out how to.

                        Just looking around today when I'm logged in and clicking on the "Help & Support" link that is supposed to go to a place called support.revolutiontilt.com , I get a page that says "Server Not Found". So I wonder what's up with that???

                        And the phone # that shows up on my $127 billing each month, which is also supposed to be for Revolutiontilt - 206-338-5695 - gives a voicemail message asking if you want to get your own voicemail number or something. Strange....

                        This makes me a bit nervous. In the future, I'm going to only sign up for programs that have recurring billing if they go through Paypal so I personally can control things!

                        Meanwhile, if I do want to cancel - is anyone else a member here that could tell me some other way to contact them? If I do decide I must cancel, I guess my only alternative if I can't get a hold of them is that I'll have to have my bank issue me a new credit card and then withhold the new credit card number from CM.

                        Not saying I do want to cancel - at least not yet. However, this makes me nervous that somehow it's so difficult to figure out how to cancel!
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          • Profile picture of the author Cynergy Diva
            Originally Posted by Dave Lianelli View Post

            Pogul,

            If what she's sharing has made her millions, she can charge much more.
            If what she's sharing has made her millions, then why should she have to? That's the kind of thing that makes me think that the money she really makes comes from telling others what to do instead of actually doing it herself.
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            • Profile picture of the author karenv
              I see that their support page is now up. Don't know if they came here and read the latest posts or if they had been having technical difficulties. However, too late for me to be satisfied. And who knows how long it would take to get a response to any ticket requesting a membership cancellation. I've already had my bank cancel my credit card, which is fine with me.

              Also, the phone number listed for Revolutiontilt on my monthly bank statement still leads to a strange recorded voicemail. It's certainly not a number for reaching Crowd Mountain/Revolutiontilt.

              Karen
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  • Profile picture of the author BizBoost
    Sorry, but I have to lol, not AT anyone, but WITH those who have been around a while and understand this phenomenon all too well.

    First, a lot of what you're banging into is what I termed "omission marketing" years ago. I probably wasn't the first to come up with the term but I was one of the first to talk about it often.

    Second, much of the reason I've never done any kind of big membership site style things (until the near future, that is), is because I wanted to work quietly behind the scenes and not bite of more than I could chew. Unfortunately, there's a lot of marketers who are just hungry for the big bucks quickly so they're willing to dive in and do the big structures but they are supremely ill-prepared for the small stuff... like taking just as much time as they put into developing the MEAT of the site, and putting into developing a contingency plan for everything that could possibly go wrong.

    Then something goes wrong and there's either a "mountain" of apologies, or a bunch of crickets chirping. And a whole bunch of jaded people, less willing to take a shot at something no matter how good it sounds.

    Anyways, what you guys all just described doesn't surprise me one bit. I know in some instances, if something went wrong with Mike Filsaime's operation, he'd be over here rather quickly explaining how it happened and what he was doing to set things straight, and then, on occasion, he'd even do a live call on it, and create a podcast from it so that everyone would know what the heck was going on.

    That's in short supply these days, too.

    Anyways, folks, that's what we got the Warrior Forum for now, ain't it? To ask for advice, and to search out the pros and cons that have already been discussed here.

    Thanks Warrior Forum!

    Eric
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  • Profile picture of the author Dave Lianelli
    @BizBoost - you understood where I was coming from. Sorry that I might sound a bit 'elite'. But think about it... getting investment tips from Buffett, product ideas from Steve Jobs or business advice from Bill Gates... it's easily worth the 5 grand.

    @Pogul - maybe a comparison checklist would have helped. I don't like upsells either - but I always read them when buying these kind of professional products and services. Most of the time the upsells are worth it. But the presentation and communication was clearly lacking in this case.
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    • Profile picture of the author pogul
      Originally Posted by Dave Lianelli View Post

      @Pogul - maybe a comparison checklist would have helped. I don't like upsells either - but I always read them when buying these kind of professional products and services. Most of the time the upsells are worth it. But the presentation and communication was clearly lacking in this case.
      @Dave - yeah, it was their upsell comparison chart that ultimately caused me to cancel. The first item that was different between memberships was the brainstorming sessions. Being able to see the chart AHEAD of time - and make an informed decision of what membership I wanted would have gone a long way.

      These upsell / bait-n-switch deals immediately throw up warning flags for me and turn me off of a product.

      I tried posting the URL to an image of the comparison chart that I posted on Flickr, but my post keeps getting deleted. I guess I don't have enough posts for links yet. :p
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    • Profile picture of the author Votoshka
      I HATE upsells... especially when they make you feel like you won't get the "full value" of the product unless you buy into the upsell!

      I suppose in the case of CM the upsell was "only" $70 more... what I hate even more than that is when you've decided that yes, you can afford to fork out $X for a program and then get the upsell for 5 or more times what you paid for the initial program! (Still $70 a month isn't small change for us newbies on a shoestring budget).

      I DID consider CM when I first heard about it a few days ago, but eventually decided there were other things I'd rather spend my money on at the moment. Oh, and the fact it was through credit card and paypal would probably have put me off it even if I had decided to give it a trial. I have found it very difficult to cancel recurring CC charges in the past, especially when I have to call someone on an overseas number (I didn't opt for a phone service where I can call internationally cause it costs more and I generally don't have a need for it). Paypal is MUCH easier! I can cancel when I want with a couple of mouse clicks and NO hassle!
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  • Profile picture of the author Amanda_Davis
    I haven't seen the "new" Crowd Mountain, but the old one wasn't great.

    The "bootcamp" training WAS great, but the updating info was pretty lacking.

    And service was poor. No idea if that's improved.
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    • Profile picture of the author jackbp
      Well, I guess I'm a little surprised by the results from Crowd Mountain insofar as signing up goes.....

      At first I didn't hear anything, then I filled out a ticket and pretty soon I got an email from....and I'm not kidding....titled, "Word-press".....It said I had membership to "BC-01" and I should go and register. I damn near blew the email up because I thought it was spam.

      After a few minutes of confusion I looked at the bottom of the email and saw the crowdmountain.com/members/wp-login , so I figured out it was indeed crowd mountain and indeed a word press log in.... I went and logged in and found the beginning a what was a deluge of OTO's that had me a little concerned by the time I ran the OTO gauntlet....I think there were 3 or 4 right in a row totaling 300.00 or 400.00 dollars....that's one helluva lot of money for something when you have no idea what the hell you're getting into...I got kind of a sinking feeling at that point ....I can understand why Pogul might be upset.

      When I finally arrived at the boot camp page I was surprised to see a badly coded menu that walked all over the text below and no way to get to the modules part of the cascading menu stlye from there.....there were even a couple of posts in the side panel talking about it but no one had posted any answers to them....anyway, I figured out how to get to module 1 and a couple of days later I got Michelle's welcome e-mail....hell, I'd already gone through most of first Module.

      All of the above aside....her content so far (1 Module) has been excellent.....but I'm not sure I'll stay after boot camp at $127.00 a month.....She has 6 modules in the Boot camp, so obviously with the modules being released at 1 a week I'm on the hook for $254.00.

      My gut feeling is this is going to be pricey for what we get, but I'll report back as the courses continue....so we'll see.....I hope all of this works out...I like Michelle, I don't know her personally, but we've emailed a few times in years gone by and she seems pretty damned bright...but I have new worries about that after seeing the menus and OTO's.
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  • I really appreciate this post. I almost signed up for Crowd Mountain because Michelle's videos, etc. are so well done. I'm already using a program that is working very well and has done everything they claimed. Thank goodness there are still people on line with integrity.
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    • Profile picture of the author maylene
      Thanks to everyone who shared their experience with Crowd Mountain. I debated mightily (no, really) about subscribing but decided instead to go with a different program that had much more positive reviews here on Warrior Forum (Chris Farrell's).
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      • Profile picture of the author jackbp
        Hi Maylene...That's an EXCELLENT choice. Chris has a great program and will teach all those things that are a foundation for Internet Marketing. After you have gone through Chris's material and attain his philosophy you may want to visit Crowd Mountain and look into Michelle's program...a tad out of sync right now with minor issues....but excellent so far...I'll keep folks up to date with the program offerings........

        Maylene....I'd like to remind you and everyone reading this....your first most important step towards whatever your goals are has already been accomplished....You are here in the Warrior Forum. Allen has created the ultimate informational forum...nuff said!
        Signature

        It's never too late to be what you could've been

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      • I had not heard of Chris Ferrell before, but thought I'd check out his stuff. I'm using a system right now that works, but I'm always open to learning from others.
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  • Profile picture of the author Richard Crooke
    I am a new member of CM and now their Master Mind group. So far, the content is phenom, the support ticket response is within 24 hours (although you have to check your ticket opposed to being notified), their blog comments are being answered by Michelle and her manager Karen on a timely basis.

    I didn't like all the upsells during the initial process, but I got over my frustration. Since I joined, I upgraded to their Master Mind group.

    I think CM was born last year, so with any membership program, the initial stages are rocky. It appears the team has learned from their errors and made improvements for the next go around.

    I highly recommend giving CM an try and going through the Boot Camp training, after that, you can decide to stay on or leave.

    Hopes this helps.....

    Richard
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    • Profile picture of the author Gardenbella
      I'm a member of Crowd Mountain and happy to say the information I have received through the Bootcamp is great. I have bought a number of other programs from so called Gurus but I never seemed to get all the information and as a result I haven't made any money to date. With Michelle's program I'm getting step by step instructions along with videos, work books and Resource Guides. These guides have been invaluable. They are anywhere from 74 to 147 pages in length with easy to follow instructions. For me I need to be able to see what someone is doing in order to learn the process. I'm on Module 5 right now and I'm more than happy to spend the money each month.
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  • Profile picture of the author Amanda_Davis
    The support from Crowd Mountain (i.e. getting hold of anybody) is UNBELIEVABLY POOR! I understand if support is "slow" but being totally ignored is completely unacceptable IMO.

    As long as you're paying your money (customers) or making them money (JVs) it appears they don't care to reply to your emails.

    This is the experience of my company and my subscribers, anyway.

    Still, I suppose they will implode soon enough... as people file complaints with their CC companies etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author mbpage9
      Originally Posted by Amanda_Davis View Post

      The support from Crowd Mountain (i.e. getting hold of anybody) is UNBELIEVABLY POOR! I understand if support is "slow" but being totally ignored is completely unacceptable IMO.

      As long as you're paying your money (customers) or making them money (JVs) it appears they don't care to reply to your emails.

      This is the experience of my company and my subscribers, anyway.

      Still, I suppose they will implode soon enough... as people file complaints with their CC companies etc.
      Just tried to cancel my membership and support is not even available. Email bounced and all other links to support are dead. Very poor show indeed. Now I've got to contact my credit card company to sort things out. Not what I'd expect from a marketer with Michelle's reputation.

      Mike

      Mike
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      • Profile picture of the author karenv
        Thank you to Amanda, Pearson and Mike for your postings above. On the basis of my experience and your posts, I decided to cancel out of CM and have done so via the only route now available to me: I have gone ahead and called my credit card company and asked them to cancel my credit card so that CM cannot bill me again. I'll now have to wait 7-10 business days for the new one to arrive.

        I had to call one place to ask them to temporarily change my payment method to one of my personal credit cards. And when my new business credit card arrives I'll have to update my paypal account with it. Luckily I only have one recurring billing on my Paypal account, and that one doesn't come up until the beginning of next month, so I'll be able to update my Paypal info before then. I'm lucky that I don't have tons of other automatic charges to my current card. I imagine this would be a nightmare for those people who do though.

        Karen
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  • Profile picture of the author pearsonbrown
    Yet their 'spokesperson' here had the time (and the nerve) to tell fellow-moderator Ken how we should run this forum. Strange, strange company.

    Pearson
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  • Profile picture of the author Truthblogger
    I was a Crowd Mountain member for more than a year, finally gave up (this week actually) after Michelle flaked out again and didn't show up for yet another Q & A and left us all hanging for what was supposed to be a week's worth of clinics.

    Everything that's been said here is true-- the content is great when she actually posts it, and that's what makes this such a shame. Michelle is really shooting herself in the foot by not getting it together and being more organized. She's so smart and what she teaches really does work, but the structure of CM itself really isn't there. Even the inside of the members area is a mess-- filled with links that go nowhere, messy code, typos, the whole bit.

    Probably the worst part, though, is the censorship-- Michelle and her staff regularly delete the posts and queries of members in the forum who are expressing concerns or trying to get them to deliver on their promises. They actually threatened to "ban" a person for being too vocal about all the delays, and one member received an email blantantly stating that they would not be responding to any more emails about the typos or the content being posted late, as "these types of emails waste the staff's time."

    I truly wonder if Michelle's Internet marketing peers Lynn Terry, Paul Colligan, and Ed Dale know how she conducts her business, and if they would continue to associate with her if they did.

    Sad. Like I said, the content is great. I just wish Michelle would get it together.
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    • Profile picture of the author alittleredcabin
      Ha! I'm the member threatened with losing forum privileges and had several posts deleted for having the audacity to ask why the the webinar wasn't uploaded until a week after we had been told it would be and wondering why we had been promised an outsourcing clinic and a Q & A but hadn't been given ANY information regarding when they would occur.

      To give some history--

      I am a COMPLETE newbie to internet marketing. It looked like my husband might lose his job several months ago (thankfully, he didn't) and we recently moved to a rural area where we are trying to build a self-sufficient homestead. We love it here and really did not want to consider moving. It's at least an hour drive to the next place we would be likely to find any work and I've been a stay at home mom caring for our 5 children for several years. If I had to go to work as well, the cost of a second car (we've been making do with one), commuting expenses, and childcare would be prohibitive and wreak havoc on our family life. Soooo...I began searching for alternatives...on Google, of course.

      I majored in English and enjoy writing so I first started looking into freelance writing and was hired by Demand Studios to write for ehow and some of their other sites. Its great, I get paid twice a week and I can work when and how much I want to. Thankfully, I don't have to depend on it for a full time income but if I wanted to put in 8 hours a day I could.

      In my research I started learning about niche blogging as well and the idea of passive income was of course very appealing. I discovered thenicheblogger.com and joined for the free trial. Learned some interesting things and some important basics but it just didn't jive with me. Then I did the same with Keyword Academy. These 2 were actually very helpful in that they walked me through step by step how to install wordpress, how hostgator works, what plugins are, and adsense, etc. Like I said, I'm a COMPLETE newbie.

      But, I'm pretty quick at figuring things out and like to move at a pretty quick pace. Most of the programs and information I was reading about at some of the other guru sites were sooo salesy and filled with big promises but very little info and I was really turned off. Then I learned about the 30 day challenge. Its free and seemed like a great program for a beginner so I began working through that.

      Michelle Macphearson presents a few of the videos as part of the 30 day challenge and she really struck a chord with me. She speaks quickly (as I do), presents her information in a direct, no-nonsense manner, with little fluff and a lot of great, easy to understand and apply information. So I checked out her site and blog and she just happened to be in the launch phase of Crowd Mountain. So I signed up.

      I agree with some of the others that the upsells are a bit of a turn off--first you have the regular monthly fee, the option for Mastermind (another $70--includes weekly Q & A that are actually REALLY helpful instead of just the regular monthly Q & A), accelerated bootcamp (if you want access to all the modules at once instead of one per week--another hundred something I think), archival access--if you want access to all of the past information (can't remember how much that was), and a plug for 30 minute backlinks.

      But, once I got set up and dove right in to the Bootcamp modules the information is not just good, its phenomenal. There are bootcamp modules and then a webinar for each module and then Q & A sessions. Really, the information all made sense and seems to be working.

      I have started 7 sites so far following the Crowd Mountain parameters exactly and 6 of those 7 are already on page one for my main keyword. And I have done very little back-linking at this point--my first site only has 7 backlinks. I joined Crowd Mountain May 2, 2010. It obviously took some time to work through the modules and get the sites up and running (a few of them are still under construction and are still on page 1) but to date I have earned $8.29 from adsense and $19.48 in Amazon Affiliate Commissions with a 5% conversion rate for Amazon. I'm am still not getting much traffic, one site gets about 30 hits a day, but I haven't built all of my content for long tail keywords or done much link-building. I'll let you guys be the judge but I think that's pretty good for my first month of ANY internet marketing at all.

      So again, let me say that the content is great and I do not regret signing up for it at all and it has given me the knowledge and tools that I need to move forward in this business.

      That being said, when we got to module 3 I was all excited to watch the Webinar and my internet went down. I didn't worry too much because I knew it would be up for replay the next day. But it wasn't. It didn't get posted for almost a week. There was no explanation and no apology. We did learn that Michelle was out of town at a conference and had difficulty finding internet access. In this day and age I find it hard to believe that she couldn't find someplace where she could have uploaded the video or made some kind of arrangement for someone to do it for her.

      During that week I posted many comments in the forum asking about the Webinar upload with little response. Then I did get just a bit snarky and said, "Hey, we're paying customers and this seems a bit unprofessional" etc. etc. and my comment was deleted. I received a private message warning me of losing forum privileges for being negative and that I should submit a ticket to support. I did so and the response I got just said basically, "we're doing the best we can to let people know what is going on, we can't give you any dates because we don't know, we're waiting for Michelle to get back"

      She finally did get back and things were back on track until a few days ago. We finished the last bootcamp module and then we were promised a week on Outsourcing, a week on Autoblogging, and all sorts of great topics that she has on the calendar. The problem is, nothing has happened. For about 3 days there was nothing from an admin or Michelle and everyone was wondering what was going on. Finally, an admin (the manager that posted on this forum) responded and told us all that Michelle has the flu.

      Since June 10 when we finished the last bootcamp there has been nothing. We've missed a monthly Q&A, a Mastermind Q&A, there's been nothing about Outsourcing and now we are in to the Autoblogging week but nothing. Same thing happened in the forum--many of us started expressing frustration and I received another warning email about losing forum privileges and had posts deleted. Its really irritating that someone has time to censor the comments like that but not to post messages that would keep us informed.

      I am re-watching all of the videos and recordings, taking notes, downloading what I can, and then I will be cancelling my membership.

      Crowd Mountain is not a scam. It is great information but it greatly suffers from some organizational and tech issues. I think it is basically still just a one woman show so when something happens and Michelle isn't available everything just stops. She has some employees but it seems they can't do anything without her. I'm confident that she will come back and give some more great information but I'm also pretty confident that she will disappear for several days with no explanation again at some point in the future. I think she needs to partner with someone that can take over when she is out.

      That is my take. I am glad that I signed up and have learned a lot and I will also be keeping an eye on Michelle because I think she has some great insights. I'm just not willing to continue paying a monthly fee when I don't know what I will be getting. I'm happy to answer any questions any of you might have.
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      • Profile picture of the author shamlet
        I was also a member of Crowd Mountain up to last night, I cancelled my membership after 2 months.

        I have a few more days left that I have paid for but I assume I have been barred because of my comments regarding Michelle MacPhearson ignoring her paying subscribers for nearly two weeks, I say assume because thats what you have to do at Crowd Mountain because they won't tell you anything.

        If you happen to be considering a membership at Crowd Mountain consider this before you part with any money, as described very well in the comment above Crowd Mountain is a one women show and should she fall ill with flu for two weeks or lose internet connection in a hotel for a week (yea, unbelievable right?) then nothing is going to happen, and I mean literally nothing, you won't even be informed what is going on....nothing.

        I have had many emails from previous members all saying the same thing, Michelle MacPhearson just goes awol without any consideration for her members.

        The final straw for me and many members over the last two weeks has been her monumental struggle with flu, so much so that she has been unable to log in to her pc and tell her members what is going on (now that is some kind of flu). When she does finally get online she posts tweets to her followers but still nothing to her paying members.

        Save your money guys, run from the mountain to the hills.....run!
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        • Profile picture of the author fuzzyness
          Hi shamlet - I'm in exactly the same boat as you. Fantastic 6 weeks of bootcamp and now nothing. No updates, no mentions of what might be happening, just week after week of planned content and seminars passing by.

          Can you let me know how you cancelled? It says it all really, but I can't find anywhere that tells me how to do so! I've contacted support but not heard anything.

          Thanks.
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          • Profile picture of the author alittleredcabin
            Fuzzyness--I submitted my request for cancellation as a support ticket this morning and just received my cancellation notice. They wanted me outta there! I also requested a refund of at least $35 dollars. I paid $70 for Mastermind access which should, as a minimum, provide me with a weekly Q&A session, 2 of which have been missed. They of course, didn't do that and told me that after the first 30 days no money is ever refunded. This was my reply:

            "This is not really a dissatisfaction refund that I am requesting. Its more you guys did not give me what I paid for, which was a mastermind monthly fee of $70 for a weekly Q&A, it has been 2 weeks since the last was held. If I order something from Amazon and they do not have it to give me then they do not charge me for it. I was charged for 2 Mastermind Q&A sessions which I did not receive and so I am requesting my money back, a minimum of $35, otherwise it is theft. Please let me know when this money will be returned to me as it is not yours to keep.

            Thank You"

            I'll let you all know how they respond. Personally, I feel it should be more than $35 dollars since they also missed the monthly Q&A plus a lot of other things.
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            • Profile picture of the author Breezeim
              Like others I think the CM content is great but the attitude to paying customers is appalling.

              I have sent several messages and am giving it another 24 hours before I bail out.
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          • Profile picture of the author shamlet
            Originally Posted by fuzzyness View Post

            Hi shamlet - I'm in exactly the same boat as you. Fantastic 6 weeks of bootcamp and now nothing. No updates, no mentions of what might be happening, just week after week of planned content and seminars passing by.

            Can you let me know how you cancelled? It says it all really, but I can't find anywhere that tells me how to do so! I've contacted support but not heard anything.

            Thanks.
            Hi Fuzzyness

            I just kept sending alot of requests to support, with each request getting progressively snotty.

            Seem to work in the end!!

            Good luck
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            • Profile picture of the author bat55w
              I want to echo what alittleredcabin has said. I am a legacy member of Crowd Mtn, so I am not paying the full price from the recent launch. The content is EXCELLENT, but the customer service is lacking. I know from her tweets that Michelle recently moved back to the SF bay area. I think that it was a huge mistake to move just after relaunching the site to new members. Also, I have found that the site is very slow, and I have a very fast internet connection. Still, I will stay around for a few more months to see if it gets better. If not I will also be leaving. There is no reason to stay past boot camp if Michelle isn't going to deliver on her promises.
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