TLA Consulting Associates Inc.

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Let me reiterate that the issue I have with TLA is not that they haven't done work for me, it's that two specific and measurable items have not been performed.  The initial guarantee to save $5000 and the promise to save 2x the consulting fees.I have to agree that the initial consultation was $1500 and not $1750.  I have attached a copy of the agreement and a copy of the certificate from TLA that Mr. [redacted] says doesn't exist.  It clearly states $5000, as does the first paragraph of Mr. [redacted] written statement. The document is signed by Bradford [redacted](?)(Not sure, it's hard to read) a Sales Manager from TLA. Ryan [redacted] was in the room when the document was signed.Never did anyone say that implementation of project(s) in [redacted] were illegal.  Recommendations #1 and #3 were for MESC tax in the state of [redacted].  The documents TLA submitted show that I filed amended returns with the state of [redacted], and they were denied.  Not illegal.  Denied.For item #2, the issue is also addressed in the recommendation.  It says "knowing your concern...because of your ROBS structure" indicates that TLA understood the nature of the our business loan and should understand the tax implications a ROBS presents.  However, I accepted the recommendation on the condition that I would send it to my attorney who handled the initial funding of the business.  If he said it was OK, then I would be OK with that recommendation.  My attorney is [redacted] and his phone number is [redacted].  Mr. [redacted] stated, in writing, that recommendation #2 was a prohibited action by the IRS, meaning that if I did such a thing, I could loose my business.  I decline to follow action item #2 on the advice of my attorney.  Attached is the email response from my attorney that forwarded to Mr. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted] asking for a meeting to discuss next steps.  There was no reply from either of them.For item #4, Ryan [redacted] admitted to me over the phone that there is a calculation error on his part where he used [redacted] sales to calculate the percent of sales compensation and then applied those percentages to the annual numbers.Attached is a copy of the original Job Program agreement between [redacted] and TLA.  It clearly has, in writing, a section XVIII that I added myself.  It was confirmation of a guarantee by Don [redacted] to save my company twice what I paid in consulting fees.  Mr. [redacted] was not happy that I added the section and contacted Mr. [redacted] at the time I signed it confirm the guarantee and then he accepted the change.I would have to challenge Mr. [redacted] on his claim that Mr. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted] spent 80-100 hours working with me to resolve the issue and that I was uncooperative.  At best they both spent 3 to 4 hours each talking with me on the phone, as I'm sure phone records would indicate.  However, this point is moot.  These recommendations were part of the project and Mr. [redacted] repeatedly asserted that TLA would spend UNLIMITED time working with me, for free, implementing the proposals in the project.I was difficult to work with since I refused to be into sidebar conversations about things outside the scope of the project.  All that I wanted from my first call with Mr. [redacted], was to understand how to implement items #1 through #4, since they weren't generating savings.  Mr. [redacted] and then Mr. [redacted] didn't spend time trying to help me implement those items, but trying to get me to focus on my sales force.  I also have to challenge Mr. [redacted] to provide some kind of documentation to show that the business declined "by nearly 20%" from the period of the initial analysis to the anywhere up to the present day.  The September Income Statement (attached) provided to Mr. [redacted] during his initial evaluation, if extrapolated to the end of the year, clearly shows that the company would reach $933,000 in sales.  In reality, the final number was $875,000, a large factor of the miss is that there was a $45,000 charge for "professional fees" from TLA.  Notwithstanding the hit, the difference between the projected annual sales BEFORE TLA came in and the actual number is 6.2%, not 20% and almost all can be attributed to TLA's consulting fees.  There was no loss of any customer of that size for the period of September, 2016 and today's date that precipitated my call to Mr. [redacted]. The one and only reason for my call was to reach out to him for help implementing the cost savings he had identified while he was here.
Regards,
[redacted]

We will be mailing in the file of this project to you. To large to email so you can see Mr Conti complaint is invalid.

Enclosed you will find TLA's complete file on [redacted] and [redacted]. I have spoken with Mr.[redacted], the analyst and Mr. [redacted], the consultant on the project. Enclosed are all...

of Mr. [redacted]'s note, files and progress reports pertaining to the project. Also enclosed are statements from each gentleman.I shall begin by addressing Mr. [redacted]'s issues as stated in his complaint. The first step of our services entailed a complete business analysis of [redacted] performed by Mr. [redacted] over the course of two days. The cost of the analysis is $1500.00 not the $1750.00 stated by Mr. [redacted] as evidenced by the attached analysis contract. TLA never promises in writing or verbally to deliver a $5000.00 annual savings. Our promise is what is stated on our contract.Upon completion of the analysis Mr. [redacted] identified and presented to Mr. [redacted] many areas within his business that could be improved to bring the company better results, smoother operations and increased productivity. Mr. [redacted] agreed with Mr. [redacted] and proceeded to enter into a consulting project with TLA. In October 2016 Mr. [redacted] was assigned with the task of advising Mr. [redacted] with his business issues. There were many areas of concern that needed to be addressed all of which were outlined in written progress reports for each individual task (see enclosed). Each report is reviewed with the client and their signature is obtained on the report as approval to proceed. Mr. [redacted] agreed with all of the recommendations presented to him and placed his signature of approval to each giving the consultant authorization to proceed. Also in the report is the return we hope will be achieved by implementing each change outlined. It is no way a guarantee, as TLA has no guarantee or control what the client does once we leave the business. Mr. [redacted] states that the implementation of such projects could be illegal in the state of [redacted]. That is completely absurd and ridiculous. The calculation error he refers to are because Mr. [redacted] lost one of his largest clients after our project was completed. When you lose one client that generates nearly 20% of your total revenue it is going to substantially alter the numbers of the business. By this time the project TLA had constructed had been completed in full and signed off on by Mr. [redacted]. It was only after he had lost that large client that he started calling to complain that the numbers weren't going to add up. Although TLA had nothing to do with the loss of his client Mr. [redacted] spent over 50 hours of his time via teleconference with Mr. [redacted] in an effort to help. It seemed that no matter what Mr. [redacted] did to try to help Mr. [redacted] was argumentative and unwilling to take advice on what needed to be done.So finally after weeks of offering help on his own time Mr. [redacted] found it impossible to work with Mr.[redacted] any longer. Mr. [redacted] did not wish to take any more abuse from Mr. [redacted] nor was he willing to volunteer any more of his personal time when Mr. [redacted] would not listen. So then Mr. [redacted] stepped into see if he could assist. Mr. [redacted] spent 70-80 hours of his time trying to help however all it seemed Mr. [redacted] wanted to do was argue so Mr. [redacted] declined to offer any further assistance as well.Simply put, TLA has fulfilled its contractual obligation with Mr. [redacted] in full and Mr. [redacted]'s satisfaction has been acknowledged by him signing off on the project. Our people have given him over 100 hours of additional consultation at no cost after the loss of his large client trying to help him realign his business.This time investment equates to a monetary value close to $25,000.00 and was done for no other reason than to help Mr. [redacted] and provide exceptional client service. Unfortunately there was no pleasing Mr. [redacted].To address Mr. [redacted]'s allegations that his calls to me went unreturned I acknowledge that he did call me for three consecutive days. I was out of the office all week attending a conference out of town and was not able to return calls until I returned. Upon my return the following Monday it became evident that he had already filed a complaint with the Revdex.com but proceeded to look into the matter.We at TLA take this matter very seriously. With over 200,000 projects completed this is our first complaint. We are very proud of our record of client satisfaction and we strived to make Mr. [redacted] happy however there was simply no way of achieving that result. TLA cannot be held responsible for what happens to a company once we close a project. Mr. [redacted]'s loss of that client is regrettable however he was unwilling to listen to advice on how to recover. According to my consultants it was Mr.[redacted]'s feeling that he was smarter than they were.In closing, TLA fulfilled our agreement and then some. Mr. [redacted] approved all work and signed off on its completion. He also approved and signed off on all invoices.Please let me know if any further information is required.Sincerely,Anthony C[redacted], CEO TLA Consulting Associates, INC