The same happened to me and unfortunately, it's still happening to other folks!!!
I was going to take the seminar again in Pittsburgh this year, and I'm glad I did'nt because the same person that was there giving it was precisely, to the letter initials, the same person that very poorly represented the AWS in the same seminar I took in 2004.
So it looks like I was'nt just imagining this when it happened to me as commonarc attested that the same happened to him, and the rest of the class which can confirm this also!!!
Common Arc, If you get somewhere and find something positive out of this please let me know because I would be more than happy to attest that "Bubba" was to the letter exactly as you described him!!!
All the best to you.
P.S. I'm sure that all of the other instructors that present the seminar's are not at all like Bubba!!! The point is that this one instructor needs to be eliminated because he's totally unprofessional - no matter how knowledgable he is!!!
One more issue I have with the seminar is the fact that I was given as were others the study materials on the first day of the seminar... Why ca'nt the AWS send you the study materials to the individuals at least two weeks prior to the start of the seminar???? By that time the payments already have been secured!!!!
I can understand if the individual has'nt yet been confirmed as "paid in full" but, if they are - what's the harm in doing so especially if there is definitely enough time to do so before the seminar starts???
Yeah I know that I may sound like a sourpuss but, now I know that I was'nt alone then in feeling like I was "hoodwinked, bamboozled, Out right conned" into a seminar or now, where it was better off that I did'nt even attend when I took the exam.
I aced the practical and the fundamentals but, with only 5 days of being able to access AWS D1.1 code book, being misled by this bubba instructor on how to navigate my way through D1.1 was the reason why I did horrible with the open book portion of the exam, and missed the CWI cutoff by a couple of percentage points!!! Then after everything was said and done, quite a few of the other folks that were at the same seminar had the same results so, if the shoe fits???
It's a shame that as an AWS member for over fifteen years on and off, that this one section in Pittsburgh cannot listen to the participants that went through the same crap that I did, and nothing was done about it!!!
I'm going to take the seminar again but this time, it's definitely going to be somewhere else because, I may not be able to control my feelings if I have to put up with "Bubba" again!!!
I'm also going to call Miami, and find out if anything is going to be done this time for real because I KNOW exactly how you feel there commonarc and you're definitely not alone!!! All the best to you in your efforts to get reimbursed!!! No offense to the AWS and any of my fellow members except for one, and that's "Bubba"!!! All in all the AWS has been very beneficial for me in my career, and they've always - except for in this instance have treated me with dignity and respect but, they've got to get rid of this anomaly!!!
Respectfully,
Henry