Madison + Main

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Review: Madison + Main provided a written proposal for services. The proposal included an element for "branding" work and a much larger element for filming and editing short trade show/website videos. In fact, 3 total minutes of edited video. The proposal for services included 12 hours of filming. Defined by them as 8 hours equals 1 day, so 1.5 day of filming at 2 locations. The account manager sent over the story boarding 2 days prior to the filming and detailed just 3 hours of filming. I immediately registered my complaint about the time (in writing) and was told that the film crew would need as additional 3 hours for set-up and tear-down. I asked that we resolve this but the account manager chose to defer addressing this until the end. They knew we were on a tight timeline and, I believe, knew they were going to short the filming hours yet charge the full price.

The day of filming arrived and set-up took all of 5 minutes. They used 2 handheld [redacted] cameras and 2 tripods. Tear-down took just as long. Filming took a total of 4 hours, though they claim 5 hours. Either way we are way off of the 12 hour mark, AND we didn't get all of the footage we needed or wanted, when all was said and done.

The final videos were delivered to me a day later than promised and with no time to edit or change them before the trade show we were getting them made for. However, Madison + Main sent final billing for the full amount of the proposal 2 days before the videos were delivered. I found this out when I returned from the trade show and contacted them to re-address the issue of having been shorted our time. I did all of this by email and have the email strings to send you, but [redacted], the owner of Madison + Main, very quickly resorted to calling me a "weasel" and a thief, and accused me of stealing intellectual/copyrighted property because I was contesting the bill. I would prefer to send the email strings of my contesting of the billing both before and after for you to review.

The billing issue is that we have 4-5 hours of filming versus the 12 proposed. The final billing for the 3 minutes of edited video includes 33 hours of editing time, according to Madison + Main, which, according to them comprises the balance of the proposed pricing. [redacted] believes that because he has used the word "estimate" throughout the proposal rather than "price" it relieves them of having to provide the elemental services used to calculate the proposed pricing and they can charge whatever they want.

I made it clear in my emails that 4 or 5 hours of filming was not acceptable. Using the words "up to" does not allow you to do 1/3 of the proposed filming, especially since we didn't capture all of the footage we needed. In fact, my team and I spent a great deal of time discussing more filming when we returned because so little had been done. Furthermore, I expressed clearly that 33 hours to edit 3 minutes of video is outrageous and unreasonable. 11 hours per minute or 660 minutes per minute=not acceptable. [redacted] response included that in 20 years of doing this that this was the closest he'd ever come with an "estimate" and that his firm actually exceeded the estimate by a few hours. I find it interesting that he did not charge for the excess time as using the word estimate in the proposal is done for that very reason.

His proposal terminology, billing and responses to my concerns clearly indicate his intention to defraud and short change his clients.

In a related topic to his intent to defraud and mislead, his [redacted] page shows only 5 star ratings even though his overall rating is clearly not 5 stars. Interestingly, of the 5 star ratings, 1 was written by him ([redacted]), 1 by his wife and 1 by one of his employees. That's deceptive at least, unethical at best.Desired Settlement: I paid the bill in full to dispel the concerns over intellectual property/copyright concerns, however, I don't believe that Madison + Main earned payment in full and should be required to recalculate the bill based on their own fee schedule they provided me and issue a refund based on services actually provided. I also believe [redacted] behavior and accusations should result in his Revdex.com rating being derated. His handling (or lack thereof) of this situation was totally unprofessional and others should know what they are getting into with Madison + Main.

Business

Response:

[redacted],

This company provides quality work at a fair price with proven results. From web design, SEO, social media campaigns, to video and commercial production, we have found their work to be top notch. I would wholeheartedly recommend them to any business that needs the services of a marketing firm.