Complaint Review: Houlihan Smith And Company - Chicago Illinois

Rip-off Report Investigation:

Editor's UPDATE: Positive Rating and Recognition has been given to Houlihan Smith & Company for its Commitment to client satisfaction.

Houlihan Smith & Company gets a POSITIVE RATING in client support from Rip-off Report and they are fulfilling their commitment to provide excellent customer service. We found that Houlihan has always quickly resolved any complaints and has openly stated to Rip-off Report the measures it takes towards continual customer service improvement strategies. This EDitor reviewed the 6 reports levied against Houlihan and found that two of the Reports filed were not filed by clients of Houlihan Smith & Company, they were disgruntled entry level ex-employees that did not make it through their probationary period, more than likely because Houlihan's fast pace environment and high expectations are difficult for some to measure up to. The remaining complaints were not from actual engaged clients and those issues had already been resolved. Some asked us if we could remove the Reports, we said no. Houlihan's approach to this finding was that it didn't matter where they came from, they simply wanted to know if they were doing everything possible to leave clients with a positive experience. Houlihan looked to Rip-off Report and its Corporate Advocacy Program to highlight any challenges it may have and followed its suggestions openly.

Houlihan Smith & Company has been representing clients in the investment banking industry for over a decade and maintains a highly respected reputation for its strong client representation. In the investment banking world there are many intangible factors that can ultimately influence the direction of a clients relationship with its investment banking group. Houlihan recognizes that it has long relationships, and often highly charged and emotional relationships with its clients simply given the reasons for being a client. As stated by a company executive, just as in life, in business not every relationship ends the way you would have hoped or expected! That doesn't mean that it falls short of its efforts or responsibility and it doesn't mean that Houlihan didn't do everything within its power and even beyond its responsibility to benefit its clients. Houlihan Smith & Company is an employee owned company which means that every employee has something to gain from building the best client experience possible. It is rare to find a company with so much dedication to its employees and clients as we have to ours.

Houlihan Smith & Company recognizes that complaints posted on Rip-off Report (true or not) are issues that need to be addressed and if handled correctly can be valuable learning opportunities. With the feedback generated by Rip-off Report's Investigation Houlihan Smith has made organizational changes allowing their clients a more streamlined approach to problem resolution and a total overall commitment to customer experience.

In summary, after our investigation, which included discussions with Houlihan Smith & Company Senior Management, Rip-off Report is convinced that the company has been and is committed to quality delivery of services resulting in total client satisfaction.

Read more about Houlihan Smith & Company's Commitment to Excellence and Total Consumer Satisfaction and why consumers should feel safe, confident and secure when doing business with a member of Rip-off Report's Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program. ..yes, a long name for a program that does a lot for both consumers and businesses alike.

Read about Rip-off Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program,..A program that benefits the consumer, assures them of complete satisfaction and confidence when doing business with a member business. this program works.

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NOW TO THE ORIGINAL REPORT THAT WAS FILED

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Houlihan Smith And Company I am not sure if this is a rip-off or if I was hasty in my decision. Chicago Illinois

I agree with most of the things that the other folks have mentioned. Someone called out of the blue asking if our company was looking for some growth capital and the very next 2 days, I had a regional director come-in and talked to me as if they dont sign-up everybody as their client. Then he asked me to sign-up for a $1850 assessment. He said, this assessment would give me a check-list of things that will give me a good idea of "what I have" and "what I dont have" to be prepared for an M&A process.

I agreed to this and the following week, a Senior Advisor (very old guy) shows up at my office talking some very high-level stuff on how to save on taxes etc.. and faxes my stuff over to their main office (supposed to be for a team to review our financials). He said that he is an extremely rich guy and does this job to keep him busy in retirement. He could be rich. I dont care. The bottomline is: I did not get what that regional director guy told me that I would get. Added to that, at the end of the day, this guy tells me that I need to get a certified valuation done to get any credit approved on the company (for a potential acquisition to be made), which would typically cost 60K, but since my company is a start up, it would cost only 45K. Of course, it is a lot of money and I did not sign up.

Again, I am not sure, if this is a rip-off or if this is the process it self. I am still verifying the process with other Investment Banking firms.

READ THIS: Oh, BTW, this senior advisor told me that there is a website called ripoff and that something like this was posted on it and that we have to ignore it. Apparently, they approached this website asking to remove this stuff and that they were asked for 40 or 50K to remove it and he called the ripoff place a ripoff and asked me to be aware of this. Is it true??

Anonymous

Some City, Michigan

U.S.A.