| Global Resources |
| Global Resources, LLC SMS (Sales & Marketing Company that is the initial contact) cold-contact |
| 13th of Jun, 2011 by User513224 |
I began receiving calls from SMS (the Sales and Marketing Division of GR) approximately 3 months ago. They called my cell phone multiple times per day and I told them I could not afford their services. They stated the fee for the initial analysis ($650) was not mandatory and simply "requested" if I found value in what the analyst had to say. Additionally, the analyst would only need about 90 minutes of my time in the morning of the first day and maybe an hour at the end of that day and the next & I would be free to operate my business.
They would provide me with a confidentiality bond letter and a confirmation call by the Friday prior to this appt. In late February, approximately mid-week, I set a date for the following Monday. The rest of that week was disastrous for my company. Actually, the past 2 years have been financially devastating. By Monday morning, I had no confirmation call, no letter of confidentiality and was trying to decide how to inform my last few employees that I would be closing down the company. My phone started ringing repeatedly and someone was knocking at the front door of my home (I have a separate office address). I answer to this woman from Global Resources informing me we had an appt. I sent her away and told her then that I was planning to shut the company down and besides, I had not received the promised confidentiality/bond docs before I turned her loose with my financial records. When asked if I wanted to reschedule, I informed her, "no, I don't want to hear back from Global Resources." Fast forward to Friday, 4/29. I answer an unknown number that keeps coming up on my cell to a person (Jeff Kent) from Global Resources talking to me like we are old friends. He says we had to reschedule before because I had a sick child. I promptly correct him that we did not "reschedule" and that GR had not fulfilled their part of the deal. I politely tell him I am certain I would find value in what his analyst had to say; however, I am in no position to put myself in further debt with anybody else. He offers to waive the analyst's fee entirely if I will just give her the opportunity to come to my office because they want to be the firm we come to when we can afford business consulting. I agree to the meeting, again with the understanding that I want to have the conf/bond docs *before* this person arrives at my office Monday morning. Again, it doesn't happen. April Rizzi arrives at 9am and proceeds to monopolize my time for the next two days. She does get the bond letter for me more than halfway thru the 1st day; however, her criticism of my business management and continuous demand of my attention has pulled me away from what I do as 1 of the 3 people operating my business. I am pretty vocal about this and become more upset with the overall situation. Ms. Rizzi seems to feed on my stress and frustration as she is telling me that I cannot do everything (I don't) and likens my situation to that of a battered woman in abusive relationship (I am not). By halfway through the 2nd day, I just want to know what it is she is selling and what it costs. She keeps referring back to the same principles and rhetoric she has been spewing with no concrete answer. Finally she tells me Global Resources can set my company up with fail-proof systems and keeps referring back to McDonald's fry machine. I realize that a systematic approach to running my company is a need I have and it would also make it more attractive to potential buyers in the future. I feel like I am finally getting solid information. She has seen all my financials. She has heard my phone ringing more frequently with bill collectors than with business. She tells me a Business Consultant and Project Manager will come in and begin taking steps to generate revenue as quickly as possible. I tell her I know I can't afford what she is offering and she tells me they will work it out. "They have seen worse" and "I can't afford to not do this". Also, "Payment arrangements can be worked out." "If I recommend you as a client, Global
Resources is taking the risk." My husband even asked her point blank if I would be on the hook for any monies until some sort of payment arrangements could be worked out to which she responded, "no". The next day a PM (Paul Nadolny) and Consultant (Wayne Young) come in. By lunch they determined I could not afford any of their services, especially in accordance to their strict weekly invoice schedule. Funny how Ms. Rizzi didn't seem to know anything about that. They did, however, present me with a bill for almost $5000 for that day's service. Their "services" consisted of combing over my QuickBooks and my past two years tax returns. What they left me with were a couple of Excel spreadsheets and a directive of "Next Steps" - four out of five items I told them I was already implementing. The fifth was to generate a report in QuickBooks for information I already knew how to get via other means. I wrote 2 postdated checks for their invoice after being informed their collections team was extremely aggressive as they dealt with clients in my position frequently. I was in a state of shock. I came in that morning thinking I was making a positive move towards progress for my company and by 2 pm I was told I was not going to pay off the debt I was in for 12 years at the rate I was going. It was suggested by the Project Manager that I end the program that day as he didn't want to take the last of what little money I did have. That night I thought the past three days over and the scam that had just been run on me. The next day I put a stop payment on the checks. Since then, I have been contacted by their legal department (Ray James). After multiple phone calls a day and several faxes, he has since decided I could "make this all go away for $500". Mr. James even suggested that I did indeed need their help and insinuated a potential deal of more services! These people are relentless and obtuse. Upon notice of my complaints from the BBB and the MO Attorney General's Office they seem to have decided my fee can be forgiven. I don't want to see another struggling small business owner go through anything like what I just had to deal with. If you have had any issues with this company, please contact your local Attorney General's Office as well the Chicago Better Business Bureau. The complaints can be filed online. |
|
|
|
|
| I applied to be a business consultant with Global Resources thinking that it would be a great way to meet new people and assist businesses. As part of the "vetting process" Global Resources emailed me an exercise to complete which involved as assessment of "ABC Company's" problems and finances. I spent about 8 hours over the weekend on the exercise and emailed it to the company Sunday evening at about 8 pm. Monday morning, I got an email saying that my exercise results were satisfactory and I could move onto the next stage towards employment. Then I noticed that the date time on the email telling me I passed the exercise was one hour before they opened the email up that I sent them with the exercise as an attachment. I sent back an email asking if they have even looked at the work I had spent so many hours on over the weekend. A few hours later, I got an email from them saying that "the selection committee has chosen to pursue other candidates who are a better match the position. . . Since this decision has been made, it is our policy to discontinue contact with you. . ." I called them on their lack of ethics and they have now discontinued contact. Works for me. I cannot imagine how a company like this stays in business for twenty years. My personal impression is that Global Resources is run by a team of first rate scam artists. BUYER and POTENTIAL EMPLOYEES BEWARE!!! |
|
|
Post your Comment
|
|
|
