I had a similar experience. I was doing about my 2nd or 3rd hours lesson with one school and the intercom didn't work, so the instructor was talking to ATC using a hand held mike and trying to shout instructions to me. That early on you really do need to hear what you're being explained and the whole lesson turned out to be a complete waste of time. I turned up a week later for the next lesson in the same plane and was told the problem was still the same. I declined the lesson and left the school after 6 hours.
This may well be a normal experience, but for me it was unacceptable. I understand your rant entirely
