Dear Readers,
We were recently told about a new website that’s sprung up: TheArtofCharmScam.com. On this website, its anonymous creator (who does not say that he has personally taken any bootcamps or received any coaching from AoC) puts forth rhetoric about The Art of Charm being a scam. We found it good for a laugh, and you may too (note: we did not make this website!)
The concerns raised by this nameless critic point towards common questions and misconceptions about AoC and our programs, so we’ll offer clarification, re-state our company’s practices and values, and give a glimpse of where we’re going in the future. Let’s start with the nitty-gritty.
How Do Payment Plans Work?
We began offering payment plan options to make our coaching programs more attainable for everyone. Many of our clients are college students or recent grads, so a “layaway plan” for the program was developed. We suggest $500/month, as this will purchase a week-long program after 8 months. We want the payment plans to work for you, and many students choose payments less than this amount.
What about the $125 Processing Fee?
The problem with payment plans is that things change over time. People change their goals, often become malaise and forget about things which once made them passionate (like improving their lifestyle, dating, and social life.)
Some potential clients are not really sure what they want or need, and can be sold on any number of coaching programs from anyone who sounds credible. Ultimately, these people don’t make good Art of Charm Alumni, and they may be fired as clients… which is all good, until they enact a credit-card chargeback. We won’t bore you with the details of what happens then and why that is problematic for us.
Additionally, we don’t charge interest on our payment plans, but the fee helps to buffer this. Consider the alternative–paying off a credit card with 15-20% APR!
Our solution to these hurdles is threefold:
- Offer 30 days of coaching before each program over the phone and email and 30 days after after the live training
- Use RightSignature for legally-binding electronic document signing
- Have an administrative assistant keep in touch with each client and modify payment plans as necessary
This solution is great, except that it adds a bunch of new overhead to the business (more subscribers to our email newsletter, additional staff to schedule and reschedule coaching calls, new services that we need to purchase, and the typical payment plan can run 8-12 payments). Put it together and you get your $125 fee.
The next concern is very interesting, since it’s really questioning the value we provide.
What does coaching with The Art of Charm include?
On this blog, for the first time ever, we’re going to reveal the break-down of exactly what you’re paying for when you take coaching with us. Since our week-long coaching program is the most popular, we’ll use it as our example.
What’s included?
- 5 In-Field Sessions – A full night or half a day of live coaching in a social arena, plus our review – $500 each
- 10 Classroom Seminars – Three hours of our curriculum or answering your questions. – $150 each
- 30-day before & after coaching system – Missions & exercises for your to complete on your own time – $150
- 2 Phone Coaching sessions – One before and one after the program – $200 each
- Lodging – Your stay at the fabulous Art of Charm Headquarters is included – $750 for the entire programTotal Cost “a la carte” = $4550
This is exactly what you get with your $3,997 Art of Charm Coaching Program.
Our critic is suggesting that other programs may actually provide a better value, but I personally (as Alex) challenge this notion. I ask these questions about their value (and if you have experience with these other companies’ coaching, please leave feedback in the comments below):
- What does each program offer (how many days, on what subjects, what type of field work, what’s the schedule?)
- Are the classes taught by full-time or part-time instructors? (All Art of Charm Bootcamps are taught by full-time employees)
- Who are the instructors that will be actually be teaching any given program?
And one more general question: - Why do you pay more for one brand of product/service over generic/off-brand?
What if I change my mind?
As stated on The Art of Charm Website, all funds you’ve put towards coaching with us can be used in whatever form you like, for up to a year. Phone coaching is the most popular option.
Payment Plans Available
We offer payment plan options and financing upon request. All programs require a minimum NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $500.00 USD to reserve your seat. All payments must be received by The Art of Charm, Inc. prior to the first day of your program and require a $125 processing fee.
About Our Salespeople
Unfortunately, you can’t please everyone. When we were starting this business, we called the other companies in our niche offering coaching, to see what their process was like. We found the majority were unprofessional, making it difficult to get in touch and get signed up.
Passion is contagious. That’s why if you call our office (the correct phone number is 917.720.4104, by the way!) and speak with our Program Coordinator, Berto, you’ll be able to tell he’s excited about what he has to offer. If you’d prefer, you can also chat with The Art of Charm on Skype at any time or from anywhere in the world.
Honestly, we have heard complaints about aggressive and dishonest salespeople unfortunately within The Art of Charm. As a countermeasure, we’ve changed our internal policies… but we’ve also gone so far as to fire certain former employees. This should serve to illustrate our dedication to providing the highest-quality service possible. If you have further concerns or comments about our employees, please leave them in the comments below or e-mail info[at]theartofcharm[dot]com.
Our Company Values
Offer Value First, for Free – Anyone should be able to see this in our actions. We’ve already provided 100+ hours of content with industry leaders. We offer free classes for qualified individuals in Los Angeles, and have provided the same service in New York City (want more info? call 917.720.4104 or Skype us)
You should be able to try before you buy. Know what you’re signing up for. If you don’t like our coaching, then someone else may be better suited for your needs. Our programs are not for everyone, since each person has different goals in mind.
Transparency and Accessibility – You know where to find us. If you don’t, you haven’t checked our Yelp page or Googled us. Our phone number is clearly published on The Art of Charm’s website.
Hopefully, you also know what we stand for. Want to ask a question? Go right ahead. Call us. Skype us. Facebook us. Email us. Twitter us. If you don’t want to take our word for it, come visit the forums and ask our fans & alumni. Are other companies, instructors, and communities this accessible?
This was one of the things that drew me (personally, as Alex) to AoC. I took my program and for months afterwards I was corresponding with the same dudes whose podcast I downloaded, and the same guys who coached me and told me to stop being a Pussy 
. In fact, I kept in touch until I came to work here. But that’s another story. If you’d like to find out more about us or contact us individually, check out the “Who We Are” section on our site.
We encourage you to think about the values of a company before you come do training with us. Their values should be the same as the ones you hope to cultivate. Again, if you have any questions, please voice them below in the comments.
How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going Next
Pickup Podcast was born, like most great manly ideas, in a bar after heavy drinking. Here’s the story, as Jordan tells it:
AJ and I had been teaching for months on end, several times a week, usually for free. We usually just dropped some ‘attraction science’ on interested guys (whom we met in class at university or through the bar scene) in exchange for a few rounds of drinks. Many an intoxicated night later, we were wondering what the point was. Were we simply going to drink away our graduate school woes until we got real jobs? Would we even make it that far?
We wanted to create something that would change people’s lives, not just teach them how to meet women and get phone numbers. We knew we needed to go beyond the basics of dating and get down to the root science of social interaction so that people would get hooked on improving themselves and the lives of those around them. Lofty goals for a podcast born bar-side at 1am on a Tuesday.
Months passed and podcast listenership grew steadily. At this point, the demand for coaching as a result of the show’s popularity started to take off. That’s when we hired Johnny and founded The Art of Charm. Looking back on the past years, it’s amazing to think about how we even got here. It’s been quite a whirlwind.
Our Mission Is To…
Introduce you to teachers whose ideas, stories and mindsets are so powerful that just hearing them will inspire change in you.Cultivate and nurture in every student a passion for personal development and growth.
Give you an alternative to the ‘professional guru’ marketplace. We know that no single person has all the answers, and we’ll show you that the best way to learn and grow is to absorb knowledge and wisdom from a diverse group of teachers and mentors who are willing to share not only their expertise but their experiences and personal breakthroughs.
Encourage and enable you to live an awesome, fulfilling lifestyle -the one you truly deserve.
Help you concieve a vision of your future self so powerful that you can’t get there alone. Then, we want to give you a map and an team of incredible mentors to help you get there.
Spark an identity-level shift in your beliefs about what is possible for you to experience and achieve.
What’s Your Next Move?
Feel free to add to the discussion below. Keep it above the belt (that is, minimal cursing and flaming) and be cool like Fonzie. Leave your experiences, positive or negative. Also, look out for some more insight into our companies (Pickup Podcast and The Art of Charm) in the near future.
Article by Alex Weber
Alex Weber was born in NYC, raised in New Jersey, and studied Computer Science at Ithaca College. After hanging out with a bunch of anti-social computer programmers for a few years, Alex discovered social dynamics and began his studies independently
Check out Alex Weber's Products
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
That Website is awesome! I took 2 bootcamps and consider it to be the best investment of my life! If the author’s little brother can get more ass thatn Jordan, than maybe you should hire him as a coach ; ) ….too funny.
Yeah, but it’s still unbelievably and outrageously expensive. College students? Really? You think a college student has $500 a month to throw around, let alone 8 times? what planet are you living on?
In context, that’s the cost of a whole semester of college at a big 10 university. For 1 week of training.
@Aaron, you get what you paid for sometimes.
anyways, the guy updates his blog with a review from a former intern: http://www.theartofcharmscam.com/the-art-of-charm-review-from-an-intern
lol looks like he is not alone.
I find it hard — impossible– to believe that a website/company that has provided dozens upon dozens upon dozens upon dozens of amazing, life changing content can be deceptive in any way.
As I remember Sean Stephenson saying, one of the reasons why these products are expensive is because that’s the only way they can give value. In other words, this should be seen as an investment. If it was a cheap ass program, then people would probably not appreciate it and take it seriously as much.
I don’t have the money to afford AOC programs (I wish I had the greens), but I still have learned an incredibly amount of information from them for free. Listen to the pickup podcast and then tell me I’m wrong.
Keep the good work AOC.
This is by far one of the best Web sites out there about this stuff. The podcast itself is by far one of the best podcasts out there about this stuff. To put it in context with the industry the Art of Charm operates in, go to David DeAngelo’s site and see how much he charges for DVDs where he interviews essentially the same people AJ and Jordan do. Sure, the coaching is expensive (and I agree that the claim that 500 bucks a month is affordable for the average college kid is pretty outrageous) but it’s about the same that you would spend sitting a therapist’s couch. Or on a divorce lawyer.
Hey guys, what’s up!
Just wanted to quickly agree with most of the posters here. Yes, the free content is awesome, and worth a ton.
I do want to say that the cost is just ill-advised. The only way to find out is for you guys to be honest and look at your balance sheet, and the number of customers. $500/month. Come on guys, that’s more than rent for a college student. I could get cable, an IPhone along with the monthly service, and a car with insurance. $4,000 overall? Are there people out there signing up for this?
Let’s put all this in more perspective. I bought my first 2 cars (Mitsubishi Galants) for a little less than $3,000 each time, 70k miles. They still drive great, and look okay. With a Bachelor of Science now, onto a Beemer. I understand that walking around with a beautiful girl is priceless for us men, on every level. But for that cost while people have free options, it is just weird. Reinvesting $2,000, which is half your cost, will get a high school kid to an Associate Degree in a community college, half way towards a Bachelor. Increasing his lifetime earning power from the 100ks to Millions. The Bachelor itself can get you to earn 10 of millions or more (just avoid choosing a Liberal Art major).
All of this to say that the few guys who sign for your programs will rightfully regret, and charge-back. And nobody wants to deal with that.
And a $125 processing fee. Wow. That’s just… I mean, are you guys trying to get targetted by some congressman?
Remember, we are attempting to teach people information, albeit scattered, *that already exists* (men and women haven’t changed since people started posting on the web). All this to teach a goal they could reach themselves *if they get out there, and practice, practice, and practice intelligently while checking the invaluable content on the internet* (with some common-sense).
The free content is awesome though guys. I love your interviews, and I enjoy the interviewers personality: non-patronizing, open to others, flexible in their beliefs, and funny at times.
Good luck with everything bros!
Guys, this is your website. I, along with other people have noticed that you guys deleted the previous guy comment. Think it was ItalianJoe or smthg. I’m contemplating buying this package with the military discount but what the heck is happening here?