Advance Placement Services read as: BAD PLACEMENT SERVICES Chicago Illinois

I contracted APS in October to place 7 Greeting Card Display stands for me. The president Jay Baird assured me that I will get quality locations or new ones will be provided for me.

I paid the company half the money upfront and they said a locator will contact me in a few days. The guy did not call for a week and then he did not show up for another few weeks.

No research was done. The locations were handed to me in one day in the form of business cards. The locator insisted he needed to be paid because he had already incurred expenses for being here. And he was in a hurry to get other jobs done. It seemed like my business was just a rush job to him.

I paid the other half of the money ($550) to the locator who reassured me I got the best locations. However, I obtained a signed provision stating that if any of the locations did not realize, he is responsible for finding a replacement. I had to do this because he was unwilling to stay another day and personally show me the places.

Sure enough when I went to place the merchandise two days later, I found people who have changed their mind about having the display. Out of the seven guaranteed locations I only got one.

I called the locator and he assured me he will be back the same week to finish the job. He did not show up. I repeated this routine for another four weeks and every time I was told someone was coming and everytime nothing was done.

Because I had hundreds of dollars of Christmas inventory going to waste at home, and thousands in regualar inventory on which I was loosing money due to this unfinished job, I contacted APS.

I had faxed, called, e-mailed, and overnighted letters to them concerning the problem with the locations but I was never able to get a hold of the president Jay Baird and my calls were never returned.

Not only did they not find quality locations, the locations they did find were never secured. Technically they were not locations that satisfied the provisions of the contract.

At this point I am completely dissatisfied with APS's services. I have issues with the timeliness, quality, and reliability of their product. There is no marketing or research involved in the placement. There is no follow up or reassurance. Thanks to them my business is still where it started, except with a greater cash shortage.

Sometimes people complain about the quality of product or service they received. In my case I paid for something that I never received. And it seems like noone is interested in doing anything about it. What else can I do?

Tania
Lakewood, Washington
U.S.A.