- Report: #604466
Complaint Review: Allison Bliss Consulting - Oakland California
Reported By:
Angela -
Oakland, California, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Not Confirmed
Why?
Allison Bliss Consulting
201 Third St. #302 Oakland, 94607 California, United States of America
Phone:
510-879-7600
Web:
www.allisonbliss.com
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good?
Allison Bliss Consulting Allison Bliss Rip-off: Failed to deliver anything I asked for, caused me to miss start-up deadlines Oakland, California
Below is an email sent to the vendor. It describes the rip-off I experienced, my requests for a meeting regarding complete project failure and a refund that repeatedly went unanswered, followed by an invoice in the amount of the refund as advised by members of our Executive Advisory Board:
***************
From: AngelaDate: April 28, 2010 11:58:05 AM PDTSubject: INVOICE - Marketing and Communications Consulting Engagement
Dear Allison Bliss,
I hope this finds you and Allison Bliss Consulting well. It has been a busy time of start-up activities for (our firm). And with the close of our first quarter, I am following up with you again directly for the final time.
Several months have passed with no response from you regarding several email and phone communications requesting a meeting regarding project failure of your engagement with (our firm), which is contrary to your signing an engagement to serve us as the client. Please be advised of the following:
I engaged you on 02/04/10 for marketing and communications assistance with mission-critical tasks including an important deadline of 02/17/10. You recommended your 5 hour coaching package as a solution, not I, even when I expressed doubt that I needed that amount of consulting given my realities. Moreover, please note that as a consultant I was unclear how you were going to conduct a needs assessment of what was important to me with your process of a very lengthy questionnaire.
In my consulting practice I use a simple and short needs assessment tool to focus in on what my client's needs, not what I think I should deliver. And I offer a free 30 minute consultation that's devoted to that needs assessment where we come out of that with shared vision of mutually agreed upon deliverables for engagement. And if engagement occurs, I execute my client's vision, not mine.
So I assessed your description of this package on your website, where I've put in bold below the items that I found of interest to me:
MARKETING COACH
Affordable advice for entrepreneurs and solo business owners from experienced Marketing Coach
Well show you what works & create a step-by-step action plan you can implement yourself or well do it all for you.
- Boost revenues, grow business
- Attract higher profit margin clients
- Clearly and persuasively describe the value of your products/services
- Create effective promotional campaigns
- Position your company to create the right perception
- Increase your sites ranking on search engines
- Free and affordable marketing tools and resources
- Tool to write your company profile
From that, I gave you the benefit of the doubt because you were a Women's Initiative 2009 Businesswoman of the year, went through your time consuming questionnaire process when I did not have a great deal of time, and put what I want delivered in the questionnaire that took me almost 7 hours to complete.
CENTRAL ISSUE:
Allison, you delivered a 13-14 point Marketing Action Plan that encompassed actions that were not at all my priority, or that I was already taking. Moreover, I did not ask for a marketing plan, I had a marketing plan that was satisfactory enough for me to graduate from the Women's Initiative program, and had specific tasks to accomplish to FUND my start up, in particular satisfying my Executive Advisory Board's request for my edited business plan and finalizing corporate sponsor proposals.
In your lengthy questionnaire, in line with what's advertised on your website for this package, I asked for:
2. "What is your primary goal for Allison Bliss Consulting at this time? What do you wish to discuss, learn, understand, achieve?"
l Define what we do so people understand it and purchase our services for:
o SEO website content (as implied on your website "increase your site's ranking on search engines")
o Collateral materials (target ~ updated business plan to Executive Advisory Board members, under construction website finalization by March, corporate sponsor proposal)
l Crafting (i.e., assist with editing) a winning corporate sponsor proposal (partially completed, based on the business plan) for dissemination by 02/17/10 that clearly defines our target market
l Promoting Leadership Seminar and Launch Celebration March 31, 2010
Moreover, engaging your services not only did not deliver anything I asked for, but put me off track with mission-critical tasks for FUNDING my start-up phase, which felt very stressful, not helpful at an already demanding time. Because the fact is Allison, the report your delivered clearly demonstrated that YOU NEVER HEARD the priority needs that were important to me. And then, although you stated in your email below you'd be happy to meet with me, you refused to meet with me or return my calls, your client, to resolve my complete lack of satisfaction with your service but instead repeatedly kept emailing me, taking up more of my time, about what you wanted to deliver and your business model. This outrageously demonstrates that engaging your service in no way helped but only harmed my business and was a project failure.
As a result, my firm is compelled to present you with the following electronic invoice with a hard copy to follow via mail, as our firm needs to close this outstanding accounts receivables:
However, not only am I interested in resolving this outstanding accounts receivable owed our firm. But I feel concern as a fellow small businesswoman affiliated with the Women's Initiative. Because I want to promote good will in our community.
Consequently, please note the invoice terms are net 2 that offers Allison Bliss Consulting the opportunity to resolve this matter with full payment of $325 is due in my office April 30, 2010. This will preclude (our firm) from taking further action. Allison, thank you for your prompt attention to this outstanding matter. I look forward to your reply regarding resolution.
Best regards,
Angela
***************
1 Updates & Rebuttals
ali
oakland,California,
United States of America
I feel sorry for her
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tue, November 30, 2010
Sadly Angela was unable to enact the strategies customized for her company, in part because she didn't pay for the full service of ours, nor ask to contract us for specific assistance. After delivery of a one year comprehensive marketing action plan she sent a 'project failure' email complaining that SEO and other tactics were not specified, which they were in our marketing action plan. I replied immediately to her explaining how that information was itemized in our report.
I wonder why she didn't just call to ask for help? Or why she still filed this report after I sent her the exact item numbers in the plan that exactly answered each item she said she didn't get? To protect her confidentiality I won't post the marketing action plan online but will say that she spent almost our entire intake meeting bragging about a bunch of supposed accomplishments rather than clarifying answers to my intake process. The reason? She didn't have an actual product or service, just a vague idea.
My plan was written specifically to help her launch her idea into an actual service, rather than just a concept. Our agency offers all kinds of additional services to help implement any tactics she needed help with but she never asked. She somehow expected a full $2,000 SEO package with backend programming and keyword research would be delivered as part of a $650 marketing coaching package, even though a complete description of that package is spelled out on our website.
In fact, Angela only paid for half of our marketing plan/coaching services, even after the plan was delivered, so it is I who should be taking her to court. But honestly I feel sorry for someone like her who is so out of touch with reality.
Our clients post comments on our website about the quality and guaranteed delivery of our services: www.allisonbliss.com, if you have any doubt.
Allison Bliss
