Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/29/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Podium's salesman assured me that I would never have any issues sending bulk texts. The whole purpose why I switched to Podium was for their bulk texting platform. The sales rep confirmed with me about 5 or 6 times that I would never have issues with bulk texts. About a week after signing a contract with Podium, we started to have issues with bulk texts. I was paying over $4k a month for a service that didn't work properly. All of Podium's employees were slow to reply to my emails,if they even responded to my emails at all. Half of them went unanswered or they would respond and state that they couldn't help me in their department. During the 3rd month with them, they shut down my service/account completely. They gave me absolutely no notice to find a new telephone service provider. My business brings in more than $10,000 a day on average and they completely shut down my whole operation. They didn't give me the opportunity to forward the phone calls to another phone number while I'm waiting for my main phone number to get imported to a different provider. They have cost me tens of thousands of dollars!!!! The least they could have done is given me notice and ample time to find a new provider instead of shutting down my business completely. They should refund me every dime I've paid them because they cost me a lot more money than what was actually paid to them.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/01/2024

  We are sorry to hear about your experience and frustrations with Podium. Upon further investigation of your account, we are processing a refund for $1892.11 for the time you were unable to use your account. In order to keep your account open as a direct debt collection company, we needed a direct consent documentation which we did not receive. We let you know on 2/7/24 that we would be closing out your account. Your account was closed on 2/12/24. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns regarding your account.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/04/2024

   
  Complaint: 21366515
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  5 days is not ample time to find a new phone provider. You cost my business tens of thousands of dollars.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/06/2024

  The company didn't allow me ample time to provide a new phone service provider. I should be compensated for this.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/06/2024

  We are sorry to hear about your experience and frustrations with Podium. Upon further investigation of your account, we are processing a refund for $1892.11 for the time you were unable to use your account. In order to keep your account open as a direct debt collection company, we needed a direct consent documentation which we did not receive. We let you know on 2/7/24 that we would be closing out your account. Your account was closed on 2/12/24. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/06/2024

   
  Complaint: 21366515
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Why should I pay for any of the service? Your sales rep promised me multiple times that I would never have any issues with text messaging and I had issues since the beginning. The service didn't work as promised. How do you not give ample time to port my main phone number to another provider? I can't wait to use ******** Law to sue ******************* You put a stranglehold on my business for almost 2 weeks.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/16/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My Company is Metro ****************** We have been working with Podium for a few years and their service has gone down hill rapidly. We reached out to them in September 2023 to cancel all five of the accounts we had with them. ********************* with E2Worldwide arranged the sign up for our company as well as other companies that she provides marketing for. Podium has yet to get this straight. She has called and literally spoken with dozens of people there, including the owners of the company. She has sent dozens of emails. One of her last responses from Podium was from one of the owners who copied several people internally telling them to get our businesses cancelled and it still hasn't happened. Now I have started emailing and calling and can't get anything done. I've had to cancel my credit card because they keep charging me $1300/month that I keep having to dispute. By the number of complaints and the low review score, can't something be done about this company. My next step is to reach out to the ********** of ******* about their unethical business practices.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/18/2024

  We are sorry to hear about your experience and frustrations with Podium. Our success team reached out to you yesterday to get this sorted. Please let us know if you need further assistance. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/22/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/21/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have a charge to my credit card from November 5 2023. I do not know what this charge is for and have not recieved any goods or services from this. I am looking to the company for an explanation of what the charge is and why it was charged but I am unable to reach anyone. I am in the process of disputing the charge however I want to know why it happened in the first place.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/21/2023

  Podium is a payment processor for many smb businesses such as nail salons, spas, or aesthetic centers. Please review with your credit card company for further details on merchant details.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/24/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I signed up with Podium in August of 2022 to help increase our reviews on ******* Prior to signing up with Podium, we had 6 ****** reviews. As of 10/3/2023, we have 25 total, so Podium has ****** in 19 reviews in 13months. We have paid a total of $6,393.27 as of 9/22/2023 (I'm not including our most recent payment on 10/22 as I turned off the review capabilities as I thought our account was being cancelled with Podium as of September). So, we have paid roughly $336.48 for each review we have received. During their sales pitch, they mentioned a company that had received over 12k reviews during their time with Podium and another company, our size, had added 300 ****** reviews in a year. During our decision making, we took the smaller company reviews into consideration because that seemed more like what we could receive in a year. The cost per review comes out to less than $20. Even if we only received an additional 200 reviews, we'd be under $30/review which sounded reasonable to us. That is why we signed up.As a small company, paying over $330 for a review is insane and doesn't make sense at all. Our business was thriving before and continues to thrive without the reviews. At $20-$30/review, it seemed like a sensible added bonus to our online presence. I reached out to Podium to explain my situation and how dissatisfied we were with their services. My first call to them was back during either the beginning of the year or during the summer. Since the plan is for a year, they wouldn't cancel. I reached back out to them at the end of September, not realizing I had passed the auto-renew time, and I asked to cancel again stating the dissatisfaction. They still won't cancel.For a company that sells you on reviews, they don't even have a site to review their company...which I should have researched first. If you're a small company looking to gain reviews, Podium is NOT it. They over promise and under-deliver.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/08/2023

  We are sorry to hear about your experience and frustrations with Podium. Since your account is still active, we will have your CSM reach out to you to make sure you are using Podium to its full potential. Please watch your email for a message from your CSM!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 20777678
  
  I am rejecting this response because: no one has contacted me. I want my account cancelled. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Business Response

  Date: 11/29/2023

  We apologize for your frustrations. Your CSM will reach out today regarding your cancellation. We have cancelled your account and will be processing a refund.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/06/2023

   
  Complaint: 20777678
  
  I am rejecting this response because: no one has called me regarding the cancellation of my account and we were just charged again.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Business Response

  Date: 12/14/2023

  *******, our team has processed your cancellation request and refunded your account. The refund was processed on 12/12/23 and you will see it in your account within the next **** day. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/04/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  company fabricated details on demo calls to convince us features existed that do not, and still do not to this day. have spent over $3500 in 6 months. representative ignores emails. worst service i've ever used in my life, tell everyone i know to avoid at all costs and repeat that to everyone who even mentions your company name. would stop talking about how bad you guys are if my account was simply cancelled. don't even want a refund, just want out of this scam of a contract with your scam company.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/21/2024

  We wanted to reach out to apologize for your frustrations with us. We apologize for your experience and hope that the resolution you reached with us last year was satisfactory.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/29/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This is regarding Merlin Complete Auto Care, Bolingbrook, IL 60440.
  
  I spoke to Podium sales person late April. I was told that they were going to give me three months trial. If I found the program beneficial, I would have signed the contract after the trial period ended which I never did.
  
  But without my consent and knowledge, they started charging my card which they obtained during the initial phone call. They charged my card 4 times so far.
  I contested the charges via credit card and Podium sent them a Quote and they produced fake invoices with different address which is dishonest.
  
  When I called salesperson (Cory S****) and emailed A/R they asked me to contact cancellation department which I did. No one reached out to me so I called on 09/29, spoke to Aron. When I asked him to email me the signed contract, he put me on hold for 30 minutes before telling me that it was a month to month contract and I can cancel any time. Because he could not find the contract, he made up and made this a month to month contract.
  
  They also sent an email today "We just wanted to let you know that your support request ******** has been closed. Thank you for your patience and we appreciate working with you. Case Details: ********". No name was on the email. And I don't even know what this means.
  
  They have charged our credit card on 06/08 (their own report shows 0.00 payment for June but they charged us for free months too. Other payments are 07/12, 08/08 and 09/12. We want account cancelled and funds refunded to our credit card and stop charging the credit card effective immediately. Their Quote shows $2,966.50 IF WE SIGNED THE CONTRACT in 10 equal payments but they have charged us $449.00 for 4 payments so far. Nothing they are saying or doing makes sense to me. They also made up invoices using my home address which they obained from Bank Of America.
  
  I am unable to solve this issue with Podium. If this does not get resolved, I will contact the IL ATTORNEY GENERAL.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/10/2023

  We are sorry to hear about your experience and frustrations with Podium. Our support team has cancelled your contract and your account will be archived on 11/1/23. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/15/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ?? has anyone else experienced the worst support experience ever here lately with podium? No one knows how to use their own platform, they dont follow up, theres 20 people that has to do things and we have to contact them they dont help you know who we have to talk with. We get told yes this is done then we test it and nothing is done or works. Then we get a manager and they say your a super user so thats why its harder. How does a super user have anything to do with the basic functions of the system?!? Then I schedule a meeting with *********************** and she just cancels it because she doesnt want to do the work when she is the one that set up the integration. Well her integration stopped working. I have been with podium for over 7 years and hear lately everything has changed and our product reliability has dropped and our customer service is none existent. Beware before you sign up. I have tried to escalate this for months now but the employees themselves I have reached out to do nothing with it or dont care and I dont know who the right person is to get ahold of to help resolve these issues.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/29/2023

  Thank you for providing us with this feedback. I have reached out to your account manager to get in contact with you. If you need further assistance, please contact ****************************************** Thank you!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/05/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was contacted several times by Podium, on June 29,2023 I signed the 12month contract. A couple of days later I had a phone call to set things up. During this call they showed me how to use the dashboard but did not try to connect anything to our systems to do what they said it would do. Several weeks later we set up calls to go over phones and teach me to use the services. After a few meetings it has been determined that their software doesn’t work with out booking systems, they want to convert my cell line to a landline (it took me months to get it converted from land to cell, I told them this during the sales call) and their software makes our website not usable on a mobile device. I have asked for contact termination because clearly 650.00 for services that we can’t use is not good business. They have refused. I gave it a fair chance which is what was asked if me when I asked about the contract. They told me they would let us out of the contract if it really didn’t work. That has been determined to be a lie. This is not conducive for my small business. And we would like one months billing and out of the contract

  Business Response

  Date: 09/11/2023

  Thank you for your feedback. We looked into your account and found that you signed up for Podium on 6/29/2023.
  
  
  After twice rescheduling and failing to show up to the followup onboarding session, your onboarding case was closed due to nonresponsiveness. 
  
  
  The OM helped you install Webchat onto your website, but couldn't set up an integration with the CRM (DaySmart) due to a lack of customer knowledge about that product.
  
  
  As a compromise, Onboarding has offered to downgrade your account to Essentials and remove Phones from your plan. Please reach out to us if you would like to take this offer! 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/11/2023

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  While I did have to reschedule the onboarding call a couple of times I did communicate that. My mother is in hospice and I am her primary caregiver. However, we did have the first onboarding appointment which was very basic and there was no talk about connecting to our system. I did tell the sales guy and the onboarding person that we used DaySmart and never said I didn’t know who we used, your sales guy said it would be fine. Yes they did add the chat to the website, we later discussed that on the mobile site a portion of our website did not function because of the chat feature.  They were also aware we used a cell phone and that it would not work with your system and but didn’t tell me that wr would have to port our cell to a land line. Which makes no sense for us to do. The bottom line is that your product does not function with our software so it does not send the text for reviews which is 90% of the reason we signed up. We were told that it would move us to the top of the page. Which it won’t because it doesn’t connect to our system to be able to send the review text out.  Why would I want to move down to a lower plan, that is not going to make it work with our system. Please just let us out of the contract. I was told if it didn’t work for us we could get out as long as we tried to use the services, which I did. 
  

  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ****** ***********

  Business Response

  Date: 08/21/2024

  Thank you for taking the time to provide this feedback. We apologize for the frustrations you had with us. We looked into your account and see that as of 07/30/2024 your account was cancelled due to delinquent billing. 

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/05/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Podium was hired on a month to month basis to increase our company's google reviews via their software system. It was completely ineffectual...cancelling the contact has been impossible.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/11/2023

  Thank you for providing your feedback. According to the 3 calls between you and your OM, frustration with the product or wanting to cancel was not expressed. The OM submitted a cancellation request for you on 8/18, citing a 'downturn in business' as the reason for cancellation. Your cancellation was processed by Retention effective 9/29 with a final bill date of 8/30.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/13/2023

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I conveyed to your Agent Xavier B******* that I wished to cancel the month to month arrangement in mid July.

  He offered me a new deal for $150.00 per month, which I said i would consider and get back to him. So that doesn't negate the cancellation.

  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  **** **********

  Business Response

  Date: 08/21/2024

  We are so sorry this response is coming to you so long after you filed your complaint, but we still wish to apologize to you. We are sorry that this was your experience with us and thank you for providing this feedback.

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/23/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company routinely calls with a sales pitch involving a form of purchasing reviews on ******* Despite showing no interest in their product we continue to get calls regularly. Today, August 23rd 2023 at approximately 11:20am, I receive a prototypical phone call from a Podium sales person. However, they were fairly aggressive - refusing to take a simple "not interested" as an excuse - and went on to berate me about how I/we don't take improving our business seriously. I finally exclaimed "I don't have time for this", met with a prompt dial tone as the sales person hung up. This company should be avoided like the plague. Incessantly annoying, rude, and **** with turn-over and disgruntled employees. We wish to never be contacted by this company again.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/24/2023

  Thank you for providing us with this feedback. We are sorry to hear about your frustrations. We have placed you on our do not contact list as of 8/24/23.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/25/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************