- Report: #1052274
Complaint Review: Second Wind Consultants Ripoff Report Verified Safe™ …businesses you can trust. Second Wind Consultants Inc. has dedicated over 30 years helping stressed businesses survive emerge and succeed. Their top goal is to help small businesses gain relief from unsupportable debt and other stifling situations that prevent success. Second Wind Consultants’ strategy is a journey where every small business owner must examine their business practices making changes to perform more profitably ensuring th - Northampton Massachusetts
4 Updates & Rebuttals Read More About : Second Wind Consultants Ripoff Report Verified Safe™ …businesses you can trust. Second Wind Consultants Inc. has dedicated over 30 years helping stressed businesses survive emerge and succeed. Their top goal is to help small businesses gain relief from unsupportable debt and other stifling situations that prevent success. Second Wind Consultants’ strategy is a journey where every small business owner must examine their business practices making changes to perform more profitably ensuring th
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Bloomington, Indiana,
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Second Wind Consultants Ripoff Report Verified Safe™ …businesses you can trust. Second Wind Consultants Inc. has dedicated over 30 years helping stressed businesses survive emerge and succeed. Their top goal is to help small businesses gain relief from unsupportable debt and other stifling situations that prevent success. Second Wind Consultants’ strategy is a journey where every small business owner must examine their business practices making changes to perform more profitably ensuring th
136 West St, Suite 01 Northampton, 01060 Massachusetts, USA
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888-712-1993
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secondwindconsultants.net
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Second Wind Consultants Misrepresentation of their contract and services. Utter lack of customer service and accountability regarding critical financial issues Northampton Massachusetts
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REVIEW UPDATE: June 5, 2018: Second Wind remains committed to increased customer satisfaction and has improved their business practices over the years to better serve their customers. Second Wind is truly dedicated to making sure their customers are satisfied and that any complaints which do arise are addressed promptly and fairly.
To date, Second Wind has made good faith efforts to resolve all complaints reported on Ripoff Report. Based on our experience, the member business has proven to be among the top members of the Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program as a Verified Safe Business™.
Over time and since becoming a member, Second Wind has remained actively engaged and improving the way they address customer service complaints. As an active and current member of the Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program we are happy to report that now more than ever Second Wind remains committed to improving customer satisfaction.
Remember, no company or individual can ever satisfy 100% of the people 100% of the time. There are no products or services that will always be perfect for everyone and even the best companies will receive complaints from time to time. However, by participating in the Corporate Advocacy Program, the member business has made a commitment to working with its customers to resolve complaints quickly and fairly whenever possible.
Please keep in mind that as a consumer you have some responsibilities as well. Success has many definitions that based on your past experiences, current situation and your perceived expectations. Success with any product or service is always based on the proper application and understanding. The fastest car will not run if you never turn the engine on. Look at how you used the product or service that was provided in relation with the instructions that you received. The Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program will help you get your voice heard but please be prepared with documentation and fair representation of your concern, also have an idea of how the company can fix your concern. Can they offer additional services, extend warranties, offer a fair refund or just get you talking with someone that can help. ..let them know and let us know!
*Any consumer not receiving satisfaction from a member of the Corporate Advocacy Program should email us at [email protected].
Ripoff Report Verified™ REVIEW:
EDitor’s UPDATE: Positive rating and recognition has been given to Second Wind Consultants, Inc for its commitment to excellence in customer service.
Ripoff Report’s discussions with Second Wind Consultants, Inc have uncovered an ongoing commitment by the company to total client satisfaction. This means that clients can expect that the company will work towards finding a mutually satisfactory resolution to any complaints or concerns. Second Wind Consultants, Inc listens carefully to client concerns and sees them as an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and become more efficient as a company in the services offered and the support for those services.
Second Wind Consultants, Inc’s principal, Mr. Donald Todrin, has informed us that his personal philosophy is that his clients are a precious resource. As a successful businessman, Mr. Todrin feels it is critical to listen to his clients and respond properly. By always putting his customers first, Mr. Todrin hopes to maintain Second Wind Consultants, Inc as a successful enterprise both now and for many years to come.
Another top executive of the company told Ripoff Report that Mr. Todrin's personal business philosophy is based on the premise that "by helping our clients succeed, we are meeting our higher purpose, saving families, one business at a time." Another thing Ripoff Report learned in the course of its review is that typical customer feedback reads: “Second Wind Consultants, Inc (and Mr. Todrin) truly communicate all aspects of their work in a timely and effective manner. We are very pleased with the responsiveness that he and his employees show us. They are serious about meeting commitments, and deliver on all their promises."
Ripoff Report Verified™ .. part of Ripoff 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..
The information provided in this report below is based on comments made by CEO and President Don Todrin during an onsite inspection held by a third party verification company with no biases toward Second Wind Consultants.
Second Wind Consultants provide turnaround and work out services and aim to improve businesses with their state of the art consulting. They originated the “Four Pillar System" to support their successfully navigating the downturn approach to increasing revenue and profit, as well as improving control over ones business. As a primary service, they provide debt workout services for companies that are stressed with unsupportable debt.
When working with their company, a client will be assigned to two account managers who will review all of their personal and business financials and prepare a program suited to their needs; most often this will include a debt forgiveness strategy. If improvements are required within the operation to support growth and development, they will initiate the Four Pillar System. Then, they will negotiate with the bank, the SBA if it is a guaranteed loan, vendors, landlords, IRS, etc. Any debt can be negotiated downwards in a distressed situation and that is their main focus.
There are many ways of accomplishing debt workout and it depends on many factors, such as: real estate, personal net worth, value of collateral etc. They design the best program to reach the desired results. They do not utilize bankruptcy, rather, they engage in a cooperative resolution. They believe that that this is in the best interest of all involved given a defaulting business. Typically, their clients have significantly reduced revenue, possibly from a recession, and that results in unsupportable debt and overhead. Their relationship with their clients last approximately one year, during which time they handle all issues while their client focuses on their business.
Over the years, Second Wind Consultants has developed their strategies by maintaining a strong understanding of the banks, the SBA and their regulations and requirements, and as a result they have created a series of strategies that work in the best interest of the bank, despite the deep losses experienced, they are able to be successful in their results.
What makes their company successful is their commitment to their clients’ success and their undying effort to bring them successful results. They have much experience on board and are experts in what they do. Their results are good and they almost always resolve their clients’ issues successfully and to their satisfaction. They believe that commitment, expertise, and experience is what separates them from their competition.
Their target market is small businesses in stress. They aim at $1-3 million in revenue; however they can go higher or lower.
They have two major ways that they attract clients. The first is through their marketing department. From there, they cold- call businesses and inquire about their condition and interest in need for help in improving their condition either with debt workout, or turnaround efforts. If they respond with interest, they have them fill out some basic financial forms and schedule a one hour consultation during which they will explain their strategies, what they can do and what the expectations for the potential client should be. After the consult, they will follow up until receiving either a yes or no. If they get a yes, they engage in the normal services they offer.
The second way in which they acquire clients is through business owners who are searching for the type of help they provide and coming to them for help. They also get referrals from successful clients.
QUALITY CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Second Wind from GASPA on Vimeo.
During the onsite interview, President and CEO Don Todrin was asked to describe their standard process for taking care of complaints: “We have few complaints and when we do receive one, we address it uniquely depending upon what the parameters are regarding the complaint. Our position is to serve the client no matter what it takes, and we do."
In addition, Mr. Todrin was asked to describe a specific situation in which a client was not satisfied with the level of service or products they received: “Seldom is a client not satisfied with our efforts and results. However, when such a situation occurs, we fashion whatever relief is appropriate to resolve the issue. On occasion we have returned the money when it seems justified. A complaint that requires remediation is rare for us and we almost always succeed at our objectives. We always allow a client to leave the contract whenever they want if they aren’t satisfied, we never hold them to the contract. Usually complaints arise when the final settlement results are not in line with their expectations. For example, the bank is willing to settle a $200,000 debt for $50,000, but the client can only pay $20,000. Hardly a failure to achieve such a discount, but the client wants to get it even lower when it might be the best result available."
When asked to explain what types of changes he has personally seen the company make in an effort to honor their commitment to “do whatever it takes" to make things right with the consumer, Mr. Todrin explained, “When we discover a flaw in our program, as evidenced by a situation which does not work out as expected, we look into what we could have done differently. On occasion we have adjusted our sales presentation to be more accurate regarding expectations, time it takes to resolve, and the likely cost to the client. It is our goal to be as accurate as possible and set reasonable expectations. We work hard to make this happen by adjusting when we discover we are not quite on point. We have made adjustments to our contract to satisfy this objective as well as our marketing materials and disclosures. We adjust payment requirements when clients have difficulties. We even suspend payment when things get tough, we never abandon a client because they cannot pay us and we always do our best to complete a job, no matter how tough the situation may be."
Within their company they are currently working to improve some of their internal processes and procedures. For example, they are expanding their expectations with their clients. Sometimes it may take longer than anticipated to work out a debt, so they will make adjustments when particular banks are involved since they understand how each bank will react, some more or less than expected. They reject work that they are unable to succeed at and they will recommend bankruptcy when it is appropriate. They never take on a client who they cannot resolve and, therefore, have rejected many requests for representation if they do not believe they can achieve the desired results.
While they maintain that very few clients leave unsatisfied, they have on occasion rejected a client who has expressed interest because they find out additional information that renders the relationship unlikely to be successful. In this unique situation, they will call and explain at great length the reasons for their withdrawal and provide options and alternate suggestions for them to consider. They always attempt to resolve differences by discussion and will sometimes refer clients away to lawyers or bankruptcy specialists if the client cannot sustain the burdens for success.
In order to remedy concerns that were made on Ripoff Report, Second Wind Consultants have reviewed their sales materials and presentation and have adjusted the expectations that their clients can expect. They aim to be more candid and remove doubt, uncertainty, and disappointment. They are also rejecting more marginal clients outright so it will not lead to disappointment later. If they find discrepancies or unsuspected issues they will immediately appraise the situation and discuss the impact with their clients and come to a new set of expectations. They want to be more in line with their clients so that their expectations are more achievable.
It is very important for Second Wind Consultants to be a part of the Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program. They recognize that sometimes disagreements occur and it is impossible to come to terms in such situations. They value the opportunity to set the situation right and preserve their reputation. They are highly committed to doing the right thing, but understand that sometimes it does not turn out as they would like. This program forces them to be honest and maintain high standards so that their clients can be satisfied. They believe that having the opportunity to review, discuss, and resolve the matter in a fair way is a huge benefit to them and they appreciate the opportunity to learn from the experience and make the necessary adjustments to do a better job in the future.
Second Wind Consultants, Inc / Statements from the owner Mr. Todrin.
"I stay in touch with clients years down the line. Sometimes I get in touch with an old client who is now growing their business and it experiencing tremendous profitability. I get great satisfaction from knowing that we did our small part in helping make this dream happen for our client who could have been out of business if it wasn't for our efforts.
We have a dedicated team of experts that work on each case. We learned that each team member has a deep commitment to their clients and they understand what is at stake for the business owner. One employee stated "we understand that small business is the backbone of America and the driver of new jobs and innovation. Unless we work hard for these business owners, the country is in big trouble. We do our small part to keep these businesses alive and able to survive this difficult recession.
QUALITY CONSULTING SERVICES.
"We understand the challenges that you, as a small business owner, are confronting in your effort to create a profitable sustainable business, especially given the current state of the economy. For over 30 years, we have been helping stressed businesses survive, emerge and succeed. Our top goal is to help small businesses gain relief from unsupportable debt and other stifling situations that prevent success.
These may include:
Oppressive debt service that is unsupportable because of declining revenues,
Changes in customer buying habits,
Lawsuits,
Unfair competition,
Bank calling your notes,
Unsuccessful franchise experience,
Other barriers which hold you back from realizing financial success.
While debt elimination is an important part of our practice, there is much more to a successful turnaround. We see many business owners whose debt has been alleviated but who are still struggling to reach their full potential. Some business owners are able to support their debt but are still not enjoying the success they dream of."
STATED IMPROVEMENTS FROM SECOND WIND CONSULTANTS.
Second Wind Consultants, Inc recognizes that complaints posted on Ripoff Report (whether true or not) are issues that need to be addressed, not ignored. Although Second Wind Consultants, Inc handles hundreds of cases per year, the complaints that seldom happen are great learning experiences and they take the opportunity to learn and improve going forward.
When they discover a flaw in their program as evidenced by a situation which does not work out as expected, they examine what could have been done differently, on occasion they have adjusted our sales presentation to be more accurate regarding expectations, time it takes to resolve and the likely cost to the client. It is their goal to be as accurate as possible and set reasonable expectations and work hard to make this happen adjusting when they discover an area that can be improved.
Mr Todrin stated "We have made adjustments to our contract to satisfy this objective as well as our marketing materials and disclosures so that our clients have good expectations. We adjust payment requirements when clients have difficulties, we even suspend payment when things get tough, we never abandon a client because they cannot pay us, and we always do our best to complete a job no matter how tough the situation may be."
In summary, after our review, which included discussions with Mr. Todrin, Ripoff Report is convinced that Second Wind Consultants, Inc is committed to quality delivery of services resulting in total client satisfaction.
Read more about why consumers should feel confident when doing business with a member of Ripoff Report's Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program. Yes, it’s a long name for a program that does a lot for both consumers and businesses alike.
Read about Ripoff 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.
NOW TO THE ORIGINAL REPORT THAT WAS FILED
Second Wind Consultants Misrepresentation of their contract and services. Utter lack of customer service and accountability regarding critical financial issues Northampton Massachusetts
I found this company online and hired them to help me write an Offer of Compromise for an SBA loan on which I had defaulted.
I subsequently signed a contract and gave them $1000 to start working on my case. They spent more than 2 weeks gathering my financial information, personal information, business information, etc. Then 8 days before my Offer was due, they sent me a terse email stating that they could not help me, and were severing the contract. When I phoned them, their explanation was that I did not meet the criteria for assistance. No where on the website or in the contract was any mention made that clients needed to meet certain criteria in order to be eligible for services.
The contract did state that no outcome could be guaranteed, and also stated that the contract could be severed at any time for any reason. I do not have an issue with this. The issue, is had I known that I needed to meet certain criteria (which to this day, I don't know what they are) in order to have them continue my case, I would not have wasted the more than 2 weeks that it cost me to be told this drivel. I would have immediately went with a firm that would deliver services without criteria.
The other bad thing about this situation, is that they terminated the agreement 8 days before the due date, and if the Offer is not received by that due date, the loan is turned over to the United States Treasury. The Treasury, not only will not compromise, but it will add a 28% penalty onto the total loan amount. The time I spent fooling around with this firm cost me very dearly.
In addition, they never offered any suggestions on where I might go for help, or what things I could do on my own to get things done. I have never seen such a blatant lack of customer service or business accountability in my life. I have received a huge penalty because they misrepresentated their services in the first place. They did return the initial $1000 that I gave them, but only after a very angry and threatening phone call, otherwise they had not planned on returning anything because they "already did a great deal of work".
Anyone who has any business issues, corporate crisis, business indebtedness, SBA loans, etc. BEWARE of this company. They misrepresent their services, and then dump you and leave you without recourse to pick of the fallout that they helped to create.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Anonymous
Bloomington,Indiana,
No Truth in Advertising/Second Wind Consultants
#2Author of original report
Sat, June 22, 2013
You know very well that you have made the situation worse and I explained exactly why. That 2 weeks that you took for "due diligence" was 2 weeks I could have been consulting with a competent firm that actually knows how to help people with a work out. Your firm may not have the skills, but there certainly are others. You keep remarking about the "free advice" you offered me. Why would I want free advice from a firm that did not have the skills to help me in the first place? why did you not offer me any options when you dropped me as a client without notice. That is what I mean by creating a worsening situation. Please do not pretend that you do not know what I am talking about. Additionally, shame on you for using this website to continue to advertise your subpar services.
Make the changes on your website. We do not accept clients that have any assets to pay their debts. Make sure you advertise, it takes us 2 weeks to perform "due diligence", so if you do not want to risk that kind of time in a 60 day time frame, do not come to us. You keep going on about refunding the $1000. You do not get special kudos for that. I actually had to argue with Don Todrin to get that back, and certainly would have brought legal action had I not.
I was not in default for 2 years. You don't even have a clue about the reality of my situation, other than trying to paint me as the bad guy. Blame the client for your professional inabilities and poor business practice. Put these disclosures on your website and in your contract and I want to see it. You are like a poor surgeon afraid to take a difficult case because you don't have the skills to do a good job and don't want to mess up your numbers, yet you don't even refer the poor stupid patient to a more skilled physician. Again, shame on you. and take the advertising about not turning anyone away who needs help, and wanting to help military families. Its' called truth in advertising, Second Wind. Get someone to show you how it means, and stop trying to make me look like the bad guy when you KNOW YOU'VE DONE WRONG! I will shout it from the rooftops. There are certainly better firms than yours that can and do handle difficult cases, but most importantly, TELL THE TRUTH.
SWCaccountadmin
Northampton,Massachusetts,
Changes to our services contract
#3UPDATE Employee
Fri, June 14, 2013
In our previous post, we recognized that our services contract may not have been clear enough and we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.
I wanted to update you on what we have done to rectify this issue to avoid any future misunderstanding.
Since we received your feedback, our legal counsel has been vigorously reviewing and rewriting our services contract and all other client disclosures within our sales material and marketing pieces.
The reviewed and updated document now includes a much clearer explanation of our due diligence period and what it might mean for prospective customers.
We take feedback from our customers very seriously and trust that our immediate implementation of changes to our contract will prevent this issue from happening in the future.
Our business is in helping people move on after a business failure. It is truly difficult when we cannot help those who request our help, but this is the reality that we sometimes have to deal with in the best manner possible.
For those clients who do qualify, we have a track record of success, hundreds of references of clients and banks we work with, and an array of free resources for business owners on our website secondwindconsultants.net.
Bloomington,
Indiana,
Indiana,
Second Wind Consultants
#4Author of original report
Fri, June 07, 2013
Again, as I stated in my original report, your period of "due diligence" was neither indicated nor was it stated in the contract. Had I known that I needed to "qualify" for assistance, I would have gone to someone else and not wasted the time. That is the first thing.
I do not deny that my problems are of my own making even if they are no fault of my own. But you did contribute to the problem by dropping my case without notice, 8 days before it was turned over to the treasury. You did not offer to even make any contact them to prevent this from happening. So, as I have sent you a copy of the treasury demand, you know that I have to pay an additional penalty of 28%.
As I stated, I was completely up front about everything, as there is no point in holding back information if you truly want help. I gave information within 24 hours concerning my assessts and liabilities, etc. Income tax forms, etc within 24-48 hours. The decision should have been made then so I could have moved on. I did not deny that you returne the $1000, but again, I had to actually argue with Don Todrin to get that.
Offering me consulting services after the fact is not helpful. If you could do nothing for me before, of what help could you possibly be now? I never wanted to "get over" on the government. That is why I was honest about everything. My impression was that the firm would help me write an offer in comporomise. It's an offer that can be rejected. Still done see wha the problem was if it was rejected an the full payment required. I thought you firm was to help people. But you helped me do nothing but get more money added onto my debt.
Maybe you pick and choose your clients so that you can only get astronomical outcomes to make yourselves look good. It is not for the help of the clients. You make these claims on your website about no one needing help being turned away. That is obviously not true. You make claims about helping militariy families. My husband is in the military. So that, too, is untrue.
Consumers just beware. Take the references from any company with a grain of salt, as no company is likely to provide you with a reference from the patient's they dumped, and then said "sorry, too bad"
Shame on you, Second Wind Consultants
SWCaccountadmin
Northampton,Massachusetts,
About our "due diligence period"
#5UPDATE Employee
Tue, June 04, 2013
Thank you for taking the time to write this review. SWC values all feedback on our work as we are always trying to improve our services and deliver a better experience to clients.
No doubt we were extremely concerned about this review and have conducted a full audit of the incident as well as a full review of our contract and client disclosures. We believe we do a good job of explaining to clients that "not everyone qualifies" for a workout, but we are taking further measures to ensure everyone understands the process better.
We help hundreds of people per year and this is the first negative review of this type we have received. However, one is too many and we have taken this incident seriously with the goal of it never occurring again. Bottom line is that we cannot help everyone and we always review your tax returns, financial statements and other relevant documentation to be certain we can do as we say. This is known as our "due diligence period". If there is any doubt about the viability of our strategy, we explain in full detail to the client, and unfortunately we must send them away sometimes.
The logic behind the "due diligence period" is as follows. Often we receive inquiries from people who have the ability to pay their loans but attempt to utilize our services to "get out of a loan" and we turn these people away. There is no other way to filter these people other than with a full review of relevant financial documentation at the onset of our engagement. Additionally, after conducting a full financial review we often discover new information, which changes what we believe the likely results of the workout will be. We review the information and realign expectations if necessary.
I also want to respond to the accusation that SWC "helped to create" the problem. We help people who are already in default or have closed their business and cannot pay their outstanding loans. Unless a bankruptcy is filed or payments are being made, it's impossible to have the issue exacerbated by our engagement. We never make the matter worse by attempting to settle with a creditor. Often we engage new clients who have been in payment default for years. Our services can only help the situation, while continuing to do nothing only makes things worse.
In this case, after our due diligence period revealed a poor wellness of fit, we refunded the clients money and notified them that we could not help. We tried to then offer free counsel, which was refused. I understand they are in a difficult situation and wish them the best in resolving their issues.
Other borrowers in a similar situation should not be discouraged to call us for a free consultation to see if we could help them. As mentioned, this is a very unusual incident and we do not expect it will happen again.
