As a parent/student: It’s disorganized, and you must submit your billing information to fully connect with a tutor. I’m not comfortable just giving my credit card information and hoping that I pick a good tutor – I prefer an in-person consultation before money leaves my pocket. Lastly, WyzAnt doesn’t tell you that up to 40% of YOUR money is going to the website, not the tutor. And the website doesn’t cost that much to maintain.

As a tutor: WyzAnt takes a big cut. They say it’s great you don’t have to pay to sign-up, but the cut out of your lessons adds up quickly. I use a different site that, to me, makes much more sense. With this other site, I pay $85/year to be listed – contact information can be exchanged freely, and tutors keep all of what they make. My second issue is the “certification” they offer – this is NOT legitimate certification. The quizzes are a complete joke – they consist of up to 10 questions and they are EXTREMELY basic. Thus, a tutor that doesn’t really know a subject inside-out could still be “certified” to tutor it.

My last complaint (which affects both the tutor and the parent/student): WyzAnt’s customer service is TERRIBLE. On their website, they say you can expect a “prompt response” when you email. So I first sent an email, which they didn’t respond to. Then I sent another, which was again ignored. So I finally called and spoke to someone who said they would transfer me to someone else. When I was transferred, the phone rang once or twice and then went to an answering machine. I called again and asked when is the best time to reach that person because I didn’t want to leave a message and possibly be ignored again. The representative said the best she could do is transfer me again and I should just leave a message. So I requested that, instead of being transferred, she give me the extension of the person I need to speak to. Sure enough, when I dialed the extension directly, someone picked up right away. WyzAnt intentionally ignores both calls and emails. It’s very clear that this is a profitable website – the idea of it is great, but the execution of that idea is very poor. They don’t invest the time, money, people, or resources to make sure things run smoothly so that both the tutor and tutee can be entirely satisfied with their services – I think this is a MAJOR flaw in running a reputable business.