It probably because people these days are not hired on merit...cough cough!!!

If ur going to say something have the guts to say it with pride and stop sending innuendos (hints; if u didn't know what that meant) If you're trying to say that the people working at IMM are AA appointments then just say it!! If what you are really trying to say is that people of colour are stupid and incompetent (and this you base on the assumption that they just answer phones all day because they could never be more than just receptionists and clerks) then you clearly are not well travelled and therefore your assumptions could be labeled as incompetent.Africans are among the most educated people on the planet. Black South Africans account for more than half of the brain drain, and u can assume that they are not being recruited by first world countries for their incompetence!!! The issue here is IMM's level of service. Thats an internal matter that imm needs to deal with. I agree that they have serious admin issues but like all other companies only they have the power to fix that if they dont want us as students to change our courses to those offered by other institutions!!

Being petty is so apartheid era...get over yourself!!

Bad service does has nothing to do with merit and your remark has racist overtones. Say what you mean and do not leave such comments with too room for misinterpretation. As it, yes, I have labelled you racist.

Thabiso Williams.

Unfortunately I am unable to assist the student as the student has not provided any personal details.

During the past registration period, the IMM Graduate School of Marketing registered almost 8500 students. A total of 327 student registration forms could not be processed initially as students did not supply the necessary documents such as proof of payment, matric certificates et. We are unable to register a student if we do not receive clear proof of payment documentation as often the faxes that we receive are very unclear.

There has been a continued process by our finance department to resolve all these queries prior to the exams.

Regarding the examination venue, we have 27 examination venues worldwide which are all reviewed on an ongoing basis in order to ensure that it complies with examination venue requirements. Unfortunately I am unable to provide any further comments as no mention is made of the examination venue.

This student is welcome to contact the IMM GSM via email at imm@imm.co.za or on 011-628-2000. I would be more than happy to discuss the student concerns with the student.

Lars van Tonder
General Manager
IMM Graduate School of Marketing

In essence Mr Scannell has raised 2 concerns namely:
1) His opinion that the IMM Graduate School of Marketing staff members who assisted him did not do so in an efficient or professional manner and
2) The fact that he had to pay for a set of 3 past exam papers consisting of the examination paper and memorandum.

As General Manager of the IMM Graduate School of Marketing it always concerns me when our students have experienced service that is not professional nor efficient. I will discuss Mr Scannell's experience with him in order to determine who the members of staff were that he spoke to and what exactly happened.

Regarding the matter regarding payment for past papers, it must be noted that a set of past exam papers consists of the last 3 examination question papers and memoranda. Such a pack normally consists of an average of 50 pages per subject. The cost charged covers the cost for preparing the memorandum (such as typing, formatting, editing and sign-off) as well as the printing cost. It is true that the cost to email such a pack is far cheaper than printing and posting, but at this point in time the procedure is that the staff member may email the pack whereafter it should be posted to prevent the student from printing it.

I would like to invite any student who has a query to contact us at imm@imm.co.za in order to raise any concerns or to ccontact us on 011-628-200.

I look forward to assisting Mr Scannel in resolving his concerns.

Lars van Tonder
General Manager
IMM Graduate School of Marketing

Dear Craig
CC Mrs Larsen


I am not surprised at all with your experience with the IMM. I have been complaining for over a year about the lack of service and incompetent staff, rudeness of all of the IMM in general.

I have had the fortune of being assisted with my school fees by overseas godparents. Over a year ago, they made a deposit straight into the IMM and unwittingly forgot to included my student number, I presume because although the IMM could see that the payment was made, the money could not be allocated to my account because there was not student number to cross reference the payment!

Consequent to that, I requested from my parents a letter from the banking institution for confirmation of the payment which was sent and faxed to the IMM. That was not enough as proof, instead the IMM called Virginia, US where the payment was made and asked for the banking details of the person who had made the payment! Who in the world would give them such information over the phone and why would they need such these beats the hell out of me. Forgive the numerous times I have spoken to the staff as described by yourself, I went to both the IMM offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg (physically) and up to today they matter has still to be resolved. I have lost over a year and would have finished the course by next year in June. I have been told by the IMM that I still own the monies and thus cannot enroll until the amount is paid. However they do admit having received the deposit from Virginia on that particular day but it simply cannot be allocated to me as there no student number – how is that for ridiculous. They have also told me that I am not the only one who is sitting with this problem and that my situation is common especially with students who fees are paid across the borders of SA. The question is then, I ask, how many students do they have who deposits into their account came from Virginia and why is a verifiable financial institution which has confirmed the payment not credible enough and yet admittedly it can be at the same time good to receive and send money to the IMM. And what are they going to do with money that does not belong to anyone but is in their account (If my memory serves me well, in Mercantile Law which I passed this is called false enrichment).

I hear now there is a new manager by the name of Patrick who actually takes greater care in looking after such scandalous behaviour in the IMM and I hope one of these days I will receive a call or email from to say the matter has been rectified.



Keep on

Thabiso Williams

Student number:
W64390S

Hi guys,

I will abstain from making any comments on the service rendered by IMM as I really do not know anything on the subject. When I did my IMM diploma (about 8 years ago) they were one of the most pleasant and professional institutions to deal with. Clearly, as is evident from your comments, things have changed now.

What really puzzles me in this whole forum is that IMM is an institution focusing on marketing. So, they (of all people) should know how important customer service is as a part of the marketing mix. If all your comments are true (and I have no reason to disbelieve you) and I was looking for a marketing course, I will definitely go elsewhere. I mean how can an organization with such poor marketing practice teach me anything about marketing?

Yes, IMM guys, may be these are isolated cases and things are not really that bad, but remember what you thought me about marketing 8 years ago - it is perceptions that matter. This is the perception the youth has of you!

Jeni