Six Sigma’s lack of a governing body breeds inconsistent training standards, poor organization, zero transparency, and allows illegitimacy to spread. This all contributes to the smearing of Six Sigma’s good reputation. Misinformation spreads like a virus, and it is often difficult to perform damage control.

Like many legitimate Six Sigma organizations, we want to ensure Six Sigma remains favorable in the eyes of prospective clients. You can also lose money and time dealing with these swindlers, so simply don’t allow yourself to enter that situation. Be prepared for the inevitable day you cross paths with a fake practitioner. Learn what do in today’s article.

Knowledge is Power: Protect Yourself and Others

Firstly, the most important way you can protect yourself from illegitimate practitioners is by familiarizing yourself with the warning signs. Phony Six Sigma practitioners tend to talk the talk, but can rarely walk the walk. Just look at their resumé and record of accomplishment if you’re thinking of hiring a practitioner or are shopping around for certification. If something feels off, query them, test their knowledge. Give them a practical hypothesis to work with and see how they answer.  You can expect a legitimate practitioner to have a sound knowledge of business methodology as well. On the other hand, fraudsters only out to make a quick buck rarely know much of anything.

Still not convinced, then why not ask around? Find out as much as you can about the practitioner in question. This is especially important if you are an individual seeking training. Individuals, rather than corporations, are far more likely to be on the receiving end of a con artist’s money-making scheme. It’s easier to pull the wool over one person’s eyes, after all.

If you are certain of their illegitimacy, then, of course, don’t hire them. But don’t stop there. Spread the word about the so-called practitioner so that others won’t be taken in either. This is the only way to stop fake practitioners from getting the better of us.

Why Protect Yourself from Illegitimate Practitioners?

Businesses and corporations all over the world benefit from Six Sigma’s innovative process improvement strategy. As illegitimate practices continue to fester, potential customers are more and more likely to have a bad experience. This will negatively affect their view of Six Sigma, and keep them from maximizing their success. This is not just bad for Six Sigma itself, but also for the businesses it could be serving, were it not for the dirty deeds of illegitimate practitioners.

Furthermore, Six Sigma imposters and illegitimate practitioners are no better than common scam artists. If we allow them to keep doing what they’re doing, it will not only lead to loss of credibility for Six Sigma but potential financial losses for you as well. If you don’t make yourself aware of the dangers of fake practitioners, you won’t know you’ve met one till it’s too late.

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1. Fake Providers Give Misleading Information

For online courses, providers will only have certain features available after your trial period has ended. Dishonest providers often give out blatantly false information in this regard, shamelessly misleading you into paying extortionate fees, often for services never rendered. Prices are likely to be inflated and course materials unlikely to prove satisfactory. We’ve heard stories of salespeople pressuring customers into paying extra for supposedly accelerated Six Sigma courses. At the end, however, their certificate turned out to be a cheap printout that anyone could make in Microsoft Word. Don’t let this happen to you. Unrecognized institutions won’t think twice about conning you.

2. Dodgy Dealers Provide Sluggish Customer Service

For class-based Six Sigma training and online courses, asking for a refund is sometimes the only option. It’s bad enough when you receive sub-standard teaching and learning materials. But it’s even worse when faced with shoddy customer service.  Remember, phony Six Sigma providers are just out to make money. They don’t care about delivering quality training, or about contributing to global Six Sigma culture. Furthermore, unscrupulous companies move at a sluggish pace. This is a deliberate tactic. As such, their customer service staff may pass you around, deliberately trying to exhaust you, hoping you’ll give up. For anyone with experience of this sort of treatment, it’s incredibly frustrating. It’s also a violation of the high customer service standards you should expect from supposedly reputable providers. By the time you realize this, however, it’s often too late.

3. Phony Providers Have Additional Charges

We always recommend reading the fine print. There may be additional charges and other unfortunate surprises hidden between the lines. Moreover, fake Six Sigma providers will do just about anything, including taking funds from your account even after you’ve canceled your subscription. Even after you’ve requested a cancellation, they won’t hesitate to charge you for another month’s worth of material or services you didn’t receive. You’re unlikely to get a refund either. They will claim the additional charges were part of the package, but don’t be fooled. Companies like this are not interested in customer satisfaction, only in extorting as much money as they can from you.

4. Untrustworthy Companies Offer Low-Quality Training

Think about it. You’ve paid a lot of money for your Six Sigma course, only to receive poor training from an incompetent instructor. It isn’t ideal. Six Sigma should be dynamic and energizing, not read off slides, with no practical element. Beware of courses like these. Get out while you can, as the experience is only likely to get worse. We find that many of these fake provider courses are rarely organized or up-to-date. Online students have it worse, forced to rely on computerized curriculums. Most of the time, you will have little to no contact with a qualified (not to mention real) trainer at all.

Contact us if you have additional questions.

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