Board of Cosmetologists Minutes June 5, 2006



Board of Cosmetologists Minutes September 11, 2006

A meeting of the State Board of Cosmetologists was held on Monday,

September 11, 2006 in the 2nd floor conference room, the Shillman building,

500 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore Maryland, 21202. The following members were in attendance:

Ms. Marie Wallace, Consumer Member

Ms. Karen Collins, Industry Member

Ms. Doris Bradley, Industry Member

Ms. Patricia Cougnet, Industry Member

Not In Attendance was:

Ms. Maxine Sisserman, School Owner

Also in attendance were:

Mr. Bruce Spizler, Senior Assistant Attorney General

Ms. Phyllis Cail, Executive Director

Ms. Kecha Dunn, Board Secretary

Approval of Agenda

A motion was made to approve the agenda with two additional items of discussion added. The Board approved the motion unanimously.

Minutes

A motion was made to approve the August 7, 2006 minutes. The Board approved the motion unanimously.

New Business

1. Waiver of inspection fees- Two salons wrote to the Board to request a waiver of the inspection fees as they were late in renewing their permits.

The first individual renewed online. The documentation she provided showed that the salon renewed approximately 10 hours after the salon’s permit expired. The individual also noted that the salon’s license expired on Saturday and the renewal transaction was completed on Sunday. The owner indicated the salon was not open on Sunday. The Board voted to waive the inspection fee.

2. The second salon was 27 days late in submitting the paperwork to renew the salon

permit. The Board recommended that the inspection fee not be waived due to the

circumstances of being 27 days late to renew the license.

Old Business

1. Test vendor problems- Mr. Tom Warren, Thomson Prometric Executive Director, Client Services, appeared before the Board at the Board’s request to discuss the services Thomson Prometric has been providing to the Board and to individuals applying to take the examination. Following unsatisfactory responses to its written inquires, the Board requested that a representative from Thomson Prometric appear at the Board’s August or September meeting to discuss these ongoing “service issues” the Board and individuals have been experiencing.

Specifically, the Board has been experiencing repeated problems with: (1) applicants being told by Thomson Prometric’s “Call Center” employees to call the Board when the Call Center employee does not know the answer to the question; (2) equipment being inoperative for extended periods of time; (3) the Call Center providing incorrect information to applicants; (4) incomplete website information; and (5) and the failure of Thomson Prometric to respond to emails from the Board regarding problems.

The Board’s Chairperson advised that the Board would like to have answers regarding the problems that continue to exist even after letters have been sent to Thomson Prometric’s Operation’s Manager regarding concerns with the service Thomson Prometric is providing.

At the outset of the Board’s discussion with Mr. Warren, on behalf of the Board, the Board’s Counsel noted that the Board was disheartened by the fact that Susan LeFeber, Thomson Prometric’s Account Manager for the Board, was not present at the meeting, as that individual was the person most familiar with the ongoing problems the Board and individuals were having, and the person with whom the Board has been communicating. Mr. Warren explained that Ms. LeFeber had a conflicting “previously scheduled meeting” on this day and, as a result, was unable to appear before the Board. Mr. Warren also advised that, although he was not familiar with the “day-to-day” issues regarding Thomson Prometric’s contract with the Board (as Ms. LeFeber is), he (Mr. Warren) is familiar with “higher level” issues such as: (1) management responsiveness, (2) accuracy of information provided by a “contact” center”, and (3) “technology integration.”

Mr. Warren noted that the Board’s complaints seemed to fall into three categories, and he would try to address each of them.

a. Getting answers in a timely manner- It was acknowledged that the responsiveness from Thomson Prometric regarding problems was not handled properly. Mr. Warren is aware that many problems are not responded too when they are brought to the attention of the company.

Mr. Warren explained that when Thomson Prometric purchased Experior they were absorbing a small company, and it took some time to integrate the two businesses. He went on to advise that Experior had employees in close proximity. After the purchase, duties became split between Baltimore and Minnesota. Accordingly, while one could walk to the next cubicle to get answers before, now a person in Minnesota had to contact a person in Maryland. Mr. Warren commented that he felt that many of the problems are now corrected.

In response, the Board’s Counsel advised that it appears the problems still remain, as the response time for problems is still slow or non-existent. Mr. Warren agreed that the Board should be receiving timely answers to problems, and that Ms. LeFeber, the Account Manager for the Board, needs to be responsive. Mr. Warren acknowledged that Thomson-Prometric’s “executive team” has been aware of the “responsiveness” issue since July, 2006. He further noted that Chris Wagenbach is the Vice President for Government Client Services and serves as the supervisor of the “executive team.” The Board has the option of requesting a “re-assignment” of its current account manager (LeFeber) with such a request being presented to Mr. Wagenbach.

b. Call center problems- Mr. Warren is aware that there are problems at the Call Center. He advised that there has been a recent change in management at the Call Center i.e. the former head of State Government relations. (Don Boucher) is now head of Thomson Prometric’s unit for contact centers for “global operations”. Mr. Warren also advised that Leo Ooms is the heard of Thomson Prometic’s national operator centers; and Jameel Smith is the manger of the contact center for operations in Maryland. As a result, Thomson Prometric is hoping for a higher response time with less wait time. He also added that he hopes to reduce the amount of wrong information going out to individuals. Thomson Prometric employees are being retrained and additional information is being distributed to aid employees when dealing with calls that relate to the Board.

The Board’s counsel advised that when wrong information is distributed by the Call Center, the general conception by the public is that the Board is not doing their job.

c. Technical issues- Mr. Warren advised that the technical systems have been moved to Baltimore. When the move took place he recognizes that there were some unexpected problems but he believes that they are now corrected.

Mr. Warren also explained that the computers are checked each day, remotely, to make sure they are working properly.

Also discussed was the fact that the test center is now distributing “candidate care cards” to individuals after they take the test. The cards advise that the individual should call the candidate care unit at Thomson Prometric if there is/was a problem during the test. Mr. Warren commented that individuals should not be calling the Board for any issues related to testing.

Mr. Warren also discussed the relocation of the Alexandria test sight to a location in state. Although the Board was advised the test location would be moving to a location in Maryland there have been some problems with the landlord, and it appears that the move will not be made any time soon.

At the end of the discussion, Mr. Warren advised he would present the Board’s concerns to the Vice President for Government Client Services.

For Your Information

Mr. Brian Logan was introduced as the Board’s new Assistant Executive Director.

Mr. Logan has been with the Board for a year as the Supervisor of the Inspectors.

___________________________________

Approved by Marie Wallace, Chairperson

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download