I was an employee at Houlihan Smith, currently I'm back in school working on my MBA. You are all more then welcomed to immediately dismiss everything I have say, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I applaud sites like this that allow individuals to post their interactions and issues with certain companies/telephone numbers, I personally consider it constructive criticism. My biggest issue is with the misinformation many of you have posted on this website and the potential effects it may have on companies/business owners that are in need of their services.
To the receptionists/assistants/admins that I may have personally offended, I sincerely appologize and that was not my intent (for the record I never cussed out anyone, not only is it unprofessional but it's also uncivilized).
Our current economic climate has created a terrible situation for the American small business owner, current data is showing that 1/3 of the small businesses that were in business Jan 1, 2009 will be closed Jan 1, 2010. Imagine that, 1/3 of the "screeners" I spoke with will not be working at their current place of employment next year.
Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, not to mention the fruition of the, "American Dream." For those business owners that are "liquid" I congratulate you, not every company is in that fortunate position. Given the current banking crisis, many banks are pulling credit lines to clean up their balance sheets. When a bank pulls your line what do you do? Where do you go? Maybe you try a few other banks, but then what?
Likewise, when you want to sell your company how do you go about doing that? Is it like selling a house or perhaps a car where you just put up a sign? How do you objectively assess the true value of a company without an objective 3rd party?
I'm sure you are all excellent at what you do and likewise, so are they. Feel free to reply, whether it's positive or negative.
Additionally I urge you all to do a little research before you make unfounded accusations, here are a few websites that might shed some light:
www.houlihansmith.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houlihan_Smith_&_Company
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/291/RipOff0291488.htm
A guy named Kevin Miller called from this number and was very rude and said "you must be looking to sell your company" I said "I must not" He said he never gets bad information and that our bank must have referred him to me because they think I could sell my business.
Very rude...
After reading all these posts, I decided I am going to use another tactic...Instead of putting these people to voicemail or being as rude to them as they are to me, I will politely tell them to wait while I connect them to the CEO and I will keep them on hold! Eventually they will hang up AND I will have the satisfaction of knowing these rude people have lost the opportunity to bother as many people in a day. Just think if everyone does this...
I got a call from "Rich" today, who asked for someone who doesn't even work in the office and is not the CEO. I asked what this was in reference to, and he told me it was a confidential matter and that the guy would know the company's name. Then he kept demanding this guy's phone number. When I refused to give it, he asked me (rudely) "What other information do you need?!" I asked him for a phone number to give to the guy, and he told me it was a personal and private line... which was a crock considering this number popped up on my caller ID. When I put him on hold, he hung up. There's no way I'm giving out information to someone who won;t tell me what his call is in reference to and especially one who won;t give me his number for a call back. Do they think we're all stupid?
I've received several calls from Kevin Miller, he asks for my boss by name, and informs me that he'll "know what it's in regards to". Doesn't leave a message, but left his number- sucker, now I'll just tell him to stop calling us.