Energy Automation Systems Inc. Fraudulent inducement to buy fraudulent business promises & practices Dont buy into EASI!! Its a sure bet youll lose your shirt. Hendersonville Tennessee

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*UPDATE.. Rip-off Report Investigation: Energy Automation Systems Inc- EASI, pledges its commitment to customer satisfaction. Most negative reports proven false & fabricated by competitors verified by Rip-off Report.. excellent business opportunity growing field of industrial energy conservation. Commitment to Rip-off Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program.

I cant believe all these ex dealers with EASI could not make a go of this opportunity. I have been a dealer for six months now and am having incredible success. Yes my first three months or so nothing happened, I was doing twenty or thirty demos with not a lot of positive enforcement from prospects but I did not give up. Ive been in sales for twenty years and if any of you numbskulls think you can just go out there show something and they will all buy, you are very wrong my friends. Anyway I am ready to close my fourth EASI deal with incredible profits just like EASI told me,honestly. Ive had nothing but support from EASI and these guys are a wonderful group of people who honestly want to see me succeed, I cant say enough about them.
People when you sign up for a dealership it is up to you to make it work!!! If you have no sales experience then I would say stay away from this.
Please dont listen to Scott H, he is dead wrong!!!

VITO may help you sell something. Who knows? Maybe VITO will help you sell 80,000 of these energy conservation systems. But, does VITO know where the existing 80,000 actually are? Why would such a great company have to make up such a figure and not be able to explain it?

SO, do you think VITO has any idea where the systems that EASI has already sold are actually installed?

In the last newsletter, Dr. Paul Bleiweis spoke of a couple of disgruntled dealers who have been unsuccessful in their efforts to make a go of the EASI opportunity. Evidently they expected to be able to walk into any business anywhere, do the demo, and start taking orders. When that didnt happen, they immediately blamed EASI. They attacked the EASI business opportunity, the EASI name, and through that attack you and me. They claim they are engaged in their vendetta for the benefit of other scammed EASI Affiliates everywhere. Sounds altruistic doesnt it? But in my opinion, nothing could be farther from the truth.

The way I see it, they refuse to admit their own failures and inadequacies, and are engaged in the age-old practice of misery-loves-company recruiting. By doing so, they are causing direct harm to those of us who are committed to making the most of the EASI opportunity and profiting from the multibillion-dollar energy conservation business.

Before I got into the energy conservation business, I was engaged in the worst possible, (according to EASI literature), occupation for a potential EASI affiliate SALES! After 15 years as a Project Director and troubleshooter in the timeshare industry, and 12 years as a marketing and sales consultant to business owners in 26 states, I KNEW that I had the skill set to succeed at EASI my way! I understood clearly that EASI is a financial concept sale and I had been doing that for almost thirty years my way!

So, for FIVE MONTHS after going through Affiliate training I WASTED MY TIME AND MONEY ON EASI my way! Didnt make one sale. Didnt blame EASI though. Blaming EASI would have been too easy. After all, I made a semi-conscious choice to waste my time and money every day during those five months. EASI hadnt been in any of those meetings with me, how could I possibly blame EASI? Instead, I self-analyzed why I hadnt made a sale. What had I done differently than the EASI sales system teaches?

I dug through my closet, found the Dealer Manual, actually studied it from cover-to-cover this time, and discovered EXACTLY what I had been doing wrong just about everything! I didnt use the script they provided to set a non-appointment. I only did half of the demonstration the quick and easy half. I also didnt always start with the decision-makers they were too hard to get through to. They had professional gatekeepers who had heard it all before, and were not amused by my wit and charm. (See below for the names of the books that changed all that).

I needed a paradigm shift! I FINALLY realized that with EASI, Im not selling anything. I am the bearer of good news. I am a problem solver. I am the decision-makers partner in improving their bottom line. I have information and ideas that will be of benefit to the people I call on because these ideas will allow them to be heroes and benefit their companies. By helping them benefit their companies, I am making a positive difference in the lives of their shareholders. By making a positive difference in the lives of their shareholders, and by helping them conserve a significant amount of electrical energy, I am benefiting ultimately our Nation. Now thats altruistic, achievable and highly motivational!

Nobody promised to run my EASI business for me. What they promised, they delivered an opportunity for me to be trained to enter the exciting and wildly profitable energy conservation business. EASI provides an overview of the terrain, a road map if you will, to success. As with any road map, there are multiple routes to reach your destination. You have the freedom to choose to take side roads and even exit along your way. You also have the freedom to choose to get back on the highway and speed to a successful completion of your journey. Many have gone before me since 1978. Many have been successful by staying on the highway and many have been lost by straying off the path. We all share one thing in common we all have the freedom to choose. We can choose to stay on the highway, or, we can choose to stray and waste the time and money that we have invested in EASI. We can choose success and we can choose failure its up to each one of us to decide. As for me, I choose success, and EASI is the vehicle I choose to get me there.

We now have a national bank with 27 data processing centers and over 800 branches, an international plastics company with 46 plants worldwide, and a 47-unit hotel chain on our plate. We have also secured an alliance with the local power company and the Federal power authority for our region. The conservation manager at the utility told my sales manager that he was going to take him around town and watch you make a living selling the EASI system to their electrical customers. A local consortium of 9 water treatment plants is installing systems in all of their facilities we pick up the check for the first one of the nine next week. We recently installed Fridge-Tech and some electrical products in a 5-restaurant mini-chain they averaged 31% savings the first month!

As with any business, continuing education is a MUST. The two greatest books I have ever read on the semantics of understanding and thereby getting through to more customers are: Selling to VITO: the Very Important Top Officer by Anthony Parinello; (I would have been millions of dollars ahead in my sales career if I had discovered this book about 30 years ago), and, Successful Cold Call Selling by Lee Boyan. We applied the techniques of Selling to VITO, and secured an easy conversation with VITO, a referral to Seemore with an admonition from VITO to give us full access and, an appointment after the walk-through to report our results, in 4 out of 10 calls! The psychology of decision-makers and our inter-relationship is laid bare in Successful Cold Call Selling. Both books are mandatory reading for our sales staff and, in my opinion, should also be included on the EASI road map to success.

Now stop wasting the time and money youve invested in EASI and get back on the highway. There is a whole world out there that desperately needs our help.

Happy journey!

After having posted my first response in defense of EASI's employees and owner, I failed to make mention of a few other individuals working for the company. Alvin Juma, an EASI dealer from Kenya, recently joined the staff to learn more about the energy conservation industry. As a dealer, he was very successful in a relatively short amount of time. Since joining the EASI staff, he has become a remarkable asset as the Help Desk Coordinator. Not only does he work long hours during the week answering questions for customers and dealers, you will likely find him in the office most of the weekend. He is a tireless learner and a genuine spirit. Also, I forgot to make mention of another individual who has gracefully handled the unfair criticism of EASI. Dr. Paul Bleiweis, also a former dealer with numerous sales throughout the United States, joined the company as the new president late in 2002. He immediately began addressing a number of problems leftover from a former management team member. In addition, he instituted voluntary manager meetings on the weekends to bring together a team of individuals to identify and correct problems internally and to brainstorm on ways to help dealers in the field. Practically the entire office showed up for these meetings and Dr. Bleiweis, Mr. Merlo and Mr. Rastocny have been very proactive in implementing continuous improvement efforts. He also can be found working throughout the weekend at the corporate office.

My final point is addresses the "issues" a number of dissatisfied dealers have made mention of here in the www.ripoffreport.com forum. While I have no idea of how many installations have been completed in EASI's 25-year history, I have seen the file room containing the completed proposals and it is extensive. Also, I have personally worked with new dealers whose first sales netted a significant profit. One individual with a sales background sold an energy system and cleared over $150,000. Another with an engineering background sold his first job and netted a profit of over $70,000. While this was not typical for the first sale, I want to make clear that these individuals did not take the typical approach. I have also seen a number of new dealers who never tried to approach larger companies...instead opting to stay with very small facilities...each dealer is trained to work a few small facilities to learn the process before moving on to larger prospective clients. Yet, many, for some reason or another, would not or could not make themselves advance their careers/industry knowledge. They continued to work with really small accounts and grew frustrated when the project was not as financially lucrative as they hoped.

I would hope as people read the dissatisfied comments posted on this site, that they try to think about the responsibility that one assumes as a start-up business owner. We do not know how hard certain individuals worked to make their start-up energy conservation businesses successful. We also can not determine how they presented themselves to customers (they may not have made good impressions, may have seemed desperate for a sale, who knows). But I do know that the percentage of EASI dealers who are successful is well above the national average for start-up businesses in the United States. These individuals have a right to ask questions, but is it fair to blast EASI in a public forum when the readership is presented with only one side of the story? I don't believe so. And the number of satisfied EASI dealers and customers wouldn't either.

Again, if you have a problem, contact EASI and explore all the options. If you haven't done this, you should give it a try. I know the management team and they do work with people all the time to help them become successful.

I wish all of the new and existing EASI dealers all the success in the world. I count many of you as friends and enjoyed working with you.

After having posted my first response in defense of EASI's employees and owner, I failed to make mention of a few other individuals working for the company. Alvin Juma, an EASI dealer from Kenya, recently joined the staff to learn more about the energy conservation industry. As a dealer, he was very successful in a relatively short amount of time. Since joining the EASI staff, he has become a remarkable asset as the Help Desk Coordinator. Not only does he work long hours during the week answering questions for customers and dealers, you will likely find him in the office most of the weekend. He is a tireless learner and a genuine spirit. Also, I forgot to make mention of another individual who has gracefully handled the unfair criticism of EASI. Dr. Paul Bleiweis, also a former dealer with numerous sales throughout the United States, joined the company as the new president late in 2002. He immediately began addressing a number of problems leftover from a former management team member. In addition, he instituted voluntary manager meetings on the weekends to bring together a team of individuals to identify and correct problems internally and to brainstorm on ways to help dealers in the field. Practically the entire office showed up for these meetings and Dr. Bleiweis, Mr. Merlo and Mr. Rastocny have been very proactive in implementing continuous improvement efforts. He also can be found working throughout the weekend at the corporate office.

My final point is addresses the "issues" a number of dissatisfied dealers have made mention of here in the www.ripoffreport.com forum. While I have no idea of how many installations have been completed in EASI's 25-year history, I have seen the file room containing the completed proposals and it is extensive. Also, I have personally worked with new dealers whose first sales netted a significant profit. One individual with a sales background sold an energy system and cleared over $150,000. Another with an engineering background sold his first job and netted a profit of over $70,000. While this was not typical for the first sale, I want to make clear that these individuals did not take the typical approach. I have also seen a number of new dealers who never tried to approach larger companies...instead opting to stay with very small facilities...each dealer is trained to work a few small facilities to learn the process before moving on to larger prospective clients. Yet, many, for some reason or another, would not or could not make themselves advance their careers/industry knowledge. They continued to work with really small accounts and grew frustrated when the project was not as financially lucrative as they hoped.

I would hope as people read the dissatisfied comments posted on this site, that they try to think about the responsibility that one assumes as a start-up business owner. We do not know how hard certain individuals worked to make their start-up energy conservation businesses successful. We also can not determine how they presented themselves to customers (they may not have made good impressions, may have seemed desperate for a sale, who knows). But I do know that the percentage of EASI dealers who are successful is well above the national average for start-up businesses in the United States. These individuals have a right to ask questions, but is it fair to blast EASI in a public forum when the readership is presented with only one side of the story? I don't believe so. And the number of satisfied EASI dealers and customers wouldn't either.

Again, if you have a problem, contact EASI and explore all the options. If you haven't done this, you should give it a try. I know the management team and they do work with people all the time to help them become successful.

I wish all of the new and existing EASI dealers all the success in the world. I count many of you as friends and enjoyed working with you.

After having posted my first response in defense of EASI's employees and owner, I failed to make mention of a few other individuals working for the company. Alvin Juma, an EASI dealer from Kenya, recently joined the staff to learn more about the energy conservation industry. As a dealer, he was very successful in a relatively short amount of time. Since joining the EASI staff, he has become a remarkable asset as the Help Desk Coordinator. Not only does he work long hours during the week answering questions for customers and dealers, you will likely find him in the office most of the weekend. He is a tireless learner and a genuine spirit. Also, I forgot to make mention of another individual who has gracefully handled the unfair criticism of EASI. Dr. Paul Bleiweis, also a former dealer with numerous sales throughout the United States, joined the company as the new president late in 2002. He immediately began addressing a number of problems leftover from a former management team member. In addition, he instituted voluntary manager meetings on the weekends to bring together a team of individuals to identify and correct problems internally and to brainstorm on ways to help dealers in the field. Practically the entire office showed up for these meetings and Dr. Bleiweis, Mr. Merlo and Mr. Rastocny have been very proactive in implementing continuous improvement efforts. He also can be found working throughout the weekend at the corporate office.

My final point is addresses the "issues" a number of dissatisfied dealers have made mention of here in the www.ripoffreport.com forum. While I have no idea of how many installations have been completed in EASI's 25-year history, I have seen the file room containing the completed proposals and it is extensive. Also, I have personally worked with new dealers whose first sales netted a significant profit. One individual with a sales background sold an energy system and cleared over $150,000. Another with an engineering background sold his first job and netted a profit of over $70,000. While this was not typical for the first sale, I want to make clear that these individuals did not take the typical approach. I have also seen a number of new dealers who never tried to approach larger companies...instead opting to stay with very small facilities...each dealer is trained to work a few small facilities to learn the process before moving on to larger prospective clients. Yet, many, for some reason or another, would not or could not make themselves advance their careers/industry knowledge. They continued to work with really small accounts and grew frustrated when the project was not as financially lucrative as they hoped.

I would hope as people read the dissatisfied comments posted on this site, that they try to think about the responsibility that one assumes as a start-up business owner. We do not know how hard certain individuals worked to make their start-up energy conservation businesses successful. We also can not determine how they presented themselves to customers (they may not have made good impressions, may have seemed desperate for a sale, who knows). But I do know that the percentage of EASI dealers who are successful is well above the national average for start-up businesses in the United States. These individuals have a right to ask questions, but is it fair to blast EASI in a public forum when the readership is presented with only one side of the story? I don't believe so. And the number of satisfied EASI dealers and customers wouldn't either.

Again, if you have a problem, contact EASI and explore all the options. If you haven't done this, you should give it a try. I know the management team and they do work with people all the time to help them become successful.

I wish all of the new and existing EASI dealers all the success in the world. I count many of you as friends and enjoyed working with you.

After having posted my first response in defense of EASI's employees and owner, I failed to make mention of a few other individuals working for the company. Alvin Juma, an EASI dealer from Kenya, recently joined the staff to learn more about the energy conservation industry. As a dealer, he was very successful in a relatively short amount of time. Since joining the EASI staff, he has become a remarkable asset as the Help Desk Coordinator. Not only does he work long hours during the week answering questions for customers and dealers, you will likely find him in the office most of the weekend. He is a tireless learner and a genuine spirit. Also, I forgot to make mention of another individual who has gracefully handled the unfair criticism of EASI. Dr. Paul Bleiweis, also a former dealer with numerous sales throughout the United States, joined the company as the new president late in 2002. He immediately began addressing a number of problems leftover from a former management team member. In addition, he instituted voluntary manager meetings on the weekends to bring together a team of individuals to identify and correct problems internally and to brainstorm on ways to help dealers in the field. Practically the entire office showed up for these meetings and Dr. Bleiweis, Mr. Merlo and Mr. Rastocny have been very proactive in implementing continuous improvement efforts. He also can be found working throughout the weekend at the corporate office.

My final point is addresses the "issues" a number of dissatisfied dealers have made mention of here in the www.ripoffreport.com forum. While I have no idea of how many installations have been completed in EASI's 25-year history, I have seen the file room containing the completed proposals and it is extensive. Also, I have personally worked with new dealers whose first sales netted a significant profit. One individual with a sales background sold an energy system and cleared over $150,000. Another with an engineering background sold his first job and netted a profit of over $70,000. While this was not typical for the first sale, I want to make clear that these individuals did not take the typical approach. I have also seen a number of new dealers who never tried to approach larger companies...instead opting to stay with very small facilities...each dealer is trained to work a few small facilities to learn the process before moving on to larger prospective clients. Yet, many, for some reason or another, would not or could not make themselves advance their careers/industry knowledge. They continued to work with really small accounts and grew frustrated when the project was not as financially lucrative as they hoped.

I would hope as people read the dissatisfied comments posted on this site, that they try to think about the responsibility that one assumes as a start-up business owner. We do not know how hard certain individuals worked to make their start-up energy conservation businesses successful. We also can not determine how they presented themselves to customers (they may not have made good impressions, may have seemed desperate for a sale, who knows). But I do know that the percentage of EASI dealers who are successful is well above the national average for start-up businesses in the United States. These individuals have a right to ask questions, but is it fair to blast EASI in a public forum when the readership is presented with only one side of the story? I don't believe so. And the number of satisfied EASI dealers and customers wouldn't either.

Again, if you have a problem, contact EASI and explore all the options. If you haven't done this, you should give it a try. I know the management team and they do work with people all the time to help them become successful.

I wish all of the new and existing EASI dealers all the success in the world. I count many of you as friends and enjoyed working with you.

My name is Chris Daniel and I am the former Marketing Manager for Energy Automation Systems, Inc., headquartered in Hendersonville,Tennessee (June 2002 through May 2003). For months now the character of EASI, its owner and its employees has been debated and the reputation and businesses of many has truly been harmed in the process. I want to take this opportunity to address a few issues.

As a former employee, I know without a doubt that EASI employs some of the hardest working, finest individuals I have ever met. Yet, each and every employee's name was added to this site under the label "crook.". Other postings have been unfairly critical of Mr. Merlo, the owner of EASI.

I have worked alongside John Medina, Tyler Bloomfield, Kathy Harris, Elaine Gilbert, Bill Thiessen and Carol Machado. They care about their jobs and work to make EASI and its dealers successful each and every day. Then you have Bob Depalo, Rafael Larios and Joelle Frasca. These individuals have done so much to improve EASI and to help dealers in the field that it is ludricrous to say anything negative about them. Philip Rastocny and Joey Frasca are probably the hardest working and dedicated people I know. Philip truly cares about energy conservation/the environment and about improving the company. And you will find no one who cares more about doing quality work than Joey.

Then you have Joe Merlo. I can honestly say that I have never met a more personable individual. Yes, Mr. Merlo is a shrewd business man. Yes, Mr. Merlo sells business opportunities and some people do not succeed. And yes, Mr. Merlo is very good at selling. But, I have witnessed countless times when he has given so much of his time and energy to help dealers and their customers. No, he is not perfect and neither is his company. But I do know that he cares about his employees, his dealer network and about making improvements.

EASi is constantly working to improve its infrastructure, the tools it can make available to dealers in the field and the training/support for new and existing dealers. Mr. Merlo continues to spend a great deal to develop software, establish relationships with other companies and explore new energy conservation products to add to his product mix. He also continues to invest heavily to improve existing products.

My point then is this. By blindly making accusations, many individuals suffer. Not only are these accusations damaging to EASI, but they affect everyone associated with energy conservation including successful EASI dealers around the world and other companies involved in the industry. I urge anyone with a complaint to contact EASI directly and try to work with them to resolve any issues you may have. I believe the management team is open to feedback and they try to address problems once they are made aware of them.

One final note. I have been informed that my name has been used or my identify hinted at by individuals distributing bogus information via e-mail and on various web sites. Hopefully this public statement will set the record straight. I do not condone nor support any measures that could harm the reputation of EASI or individuals associated with the company. This statement is made of my own volition without compensation or request from EASI or any of its employees.

My name is Chris Daniel and I am the former Marketing Manager for Energy Automation Systems, Inc., headquartered in Hendersonville,Tennessee (June 2002 through May 2003). For months now the character of EASI, its owner and its employees has been debated and the reputation and businesses of many has truly been harmed in the process. I want to take this opportunity to address a few issues.

As a former employee, I know without a doubt that EASI employs some of the hardest working, finest individuals I have ever met. Yet, each and every employee's name was added to this site under the label "crook.". Other postings have been unfairly critical of Mr. Merlo, the owner of EASI.

I have worked alongside John Medina, Tyler Bloomfield, Kathy Harris, Elaine Gilbert, Bill Thiessen and Carol Machado. They care about their jobs and work to make EASI and its dealers successful each and every day. Then you have Bob Depalo, Rafael Larios and Joelle Frasca. These individuals have done so much to improve EASI and to help dealers in the field that it is ludricrous to say anything negative about them. Philip Rastocny and Joey Frasca are probably the hardest working and dedicated people I know. Philip truly cares about energy conservation/the environment and about improving the company. And you will find no one who cares more about doing quality work than Joey.

Then you have Joe Merlo. I can honestly say that I have never met a more personable individual. Yes, Mr. Merlo is a shrewd business man. Yes, Mr. Merlo sells business opportunities and some people do not succeed. And yes, Mr. Merlo is very good at selling. But, I have witnessed countless times when he has given so much of his time and energy to help dealers and their customers. No, he is not perfect and neither is his company. But I do know that he cares about his employees, his dealer network and about making improvements.

EASi is constantly working to improve its infrastructure, the tools it can make available to dealers in the field and the training/support for new and existing dealers. Mr. Merlo continues to spend a great deal to develop software, establish relationships with other companies and explore new energy conservation products to add to his product mix. He also continues to invest heavily to improve existing products.

My point then is this. By blindly making accusations, many individuals suffer. Not only are these accusations damaging to EASI, but they affect everyone associated with energy conservation including successful EASI dealers around the world and other companies involved in the industry. I urge anyone with a complaint to contact EASI directly and try to work with them to resolve any issues you may have. I believe the management team is open to feedback and they try to address problems once they are made aware of them.

One final note. I have been informed that my name has been used or my identify hinted at by individuals distributing bogus information via e-mail and on various web sites. Hopefully this public statement will set the record straight. I do not condone nor support any measures that could harm the reputation of EASI or individuals associated with the company. This statement is made of my own volition without compensation or request from EASI or any of its employees.

My name is Chris Daniel and I am the former Marketing Manager for Energy Automation Systems, Inc., headquartered in Hendersonville,Tennessee (June 2002 through May 2003). For months now the character of EASI, its owner and its employees has been debated and the reputation and businesses of many has truly been harmed in the process. I want to take this opportunity to address a few issues.

As a former employee, I know without a doubt that EASI employs some of the hardest working, finest individuals I have ever met. Yet, each and every employee's name was added to this site under the label "crook.". Other postings have been unfairly critical of Mr. Merlo, the owner of EASI.

I have worked alongside John Medina, Tyler Bloomfield, Kathy Harris, Elaine Gilbert, Bill Thiessen and Carol Machado. They care about their jobs and work to make EASI and its dealers successful each and every day. Then you have Bob Depalo, Rafael Larios and Joelle Frasca. These individuals have done so much to improve EASI and to help dealers in the field that it is ludricrous to say anything negative about them. Philip Rastocny and Joey Frasca are probably the hardest working and dedicated people I know. Philip truly cares about energy conservation/the environment and about improving the company. And you will find no one who cares more about doing quality work than Joey.

Then you have Joe Merlo. I can honestly say that I have never met a more personable individual. Yes, Mr. Merlo is a shrewd business man. Yes, Mr. Merlo sells business opportunities and some people do not succeed. And yes, Mr. Merlo is very good at selling. But, I have witnessed countless times when he has given so much of his time and energy to help dealers and their customers. No, he is not perfect and neither is his company. But I do know that he cares about his employees, his dealer network and about making improvements.

EASi is constantly working to improve its infrastructure, the tools it can make available to dealers in the field and the training/support for new and existing dealers. Mr. Merlo continues to spend a great deal to develop software, establish relationships with other companies and explore new energy conservation products to add to his product mix. He also continues to invest heavily to improve existing products.

My point then is this. By blindly making accusations, many individuals suffer. Not only are these accusations damaging to EASI, but they affect everyone associated with energy conservation including successful EASI dealers around the world and other companies involved in the industry. I urge anyone with a complaint to contact EASI directly and try to work with them to resolve any issues you may have. I believe the management team is open to feedback and they try to address problems once they are made aware of them.

One final note. I have been informed that my name has been used or my identify hinted at by individuals distributing bogus information via e-mail and on various web sites. Hopefully this public statement will set the record straight. I do not condone nor support any measures that could harm the reputation of EASI or individuals associated with the company. This statement is made of my own volition without compensation or request from EASI or any of its employees.

My name is Chris Daniel and I am the former Marketing Manager for Energy Automation Systems, Inc., headquartered in Hendersonville,Tennessee (June 2002 through May 2003). For months now the character of EASI, its owner and its employees has been debated and the reputation and businesses of many has truly been harmed in the process. I want to take this opportunity to address a few issues.

As a former employee, I know without a doubt that EASI employs some of the hardest working, finest individuals I have ever met. Yet, each and every employee's name was added to this site under the label "crook.". Other postings have been unfairly critical of Mr. Merlo, the owner of EASI.

I have worked alongside John Medina, Tyler Bloomfield, Kathy Harris, Elaine Gilbert, Bill Thiessen and Carol Machado. They care about their jobs and work to make EASI and its dealers successful each and every day. Then you have Bob Depalo, Rafael Larios and Joelle Frasca. These individuals have done so much to improve EASI and to help dealers in the field that it is ludricrous to say anything negative about them. Philip Rastocny and Joey Frasca are probably the hardest working and dedicated people I know. Philip truly cares about energy conservation/the environment and about improving the company. And you will find no one who cares more about doing quality work than Joey.

Then you have Joe Merlo. I can honestly say that I have never met a more personable individual. Yes, Mr. Merlo is a shrewd business man. Yes, Mr. Merlo sells business opportunities and some people do not succeed. And yes, Mr. Merlo is very good at selling. But, I have witnessed countless times when he has given so much of his time and energy to help dealers and their customers. No, he is not perfect and neither is his company. But I do know that he cares about his employees, his dealer network and about making improvements.

EASi is constantly working to improve its infrastructure, the tools it can make available to dealers in the field and the training/support for new and existing dealers. Mr. Merlo continues to spend a great deal to develop software, establish relationships with other companies and explore new energy conservation products to add to his product mix. He also continues to invest heavily to improve existing products.

My point then is this. By blindly making accusations, many individuals suffer. Not only are these accusations damaging to EASI, but they affect everyone associated with energy conservation including successful EASI dealers around the world and other companies involved in the industry. I urge anyone with a complaint to contact EASI directly and try to work with them to resolve any issues you may have. I believe the management team is open to feedback and they try to address problems once they are made aware of them.

One final note. I have been informed that my name has been used or my identify hinted at by individuals distributing bogus information via e-mail and on various web sites. Hopefully this public statement will set the record straight. I do not condone nor support any measures that could harm the reputation of EASI or individuals associated with the company. This statement is made of my own volition without compensation or request from EASI or any of its employees.

Yes, business opportunities are just that business opportunities. However, most of them are not nearly as expensive. BUT, saying you (or those who have purchased the opportunity) have done something 80,000 is a material representation. If it is knowingly untrue, then that is FRAUD. You defenders never address that point (nor many others that get to the heart of the fraudulent misrepresentation).

1- EASI states very clearly in training that it is essential to establish a working relationship with an electrical contractor - preferably one who believes in the technology of saving costs through reducing distribution system losses.

2- EASI offers a small but growing list of active reference accounts under a small fee splitting arrangement that the customer, dealer and EASI Admin benefit from.

3-EASI offers excellent support to their affiliates through the help desk, web-site, newsletters, and most importantly direct access to key personnel.

I do appreciate that many, if not most, fail at this business and it is not as EASY as EASI presents it to potential investors. That unfortunately is the nature of marketing business opportunities but not a indictment for fraud.

If you made 20 cold calls and were put off every time and quit than your not making a serious attempt. If you never did a walk-though survey or a demo than you have not made a serious attempt.

In SOCAL with $0.15/kwh electricity costs their are innumerable companies trying to reduce them. It takes much effort, persistence and forming of key relationships. If you do that, find an electrical contractor to help with surveys and installs, and use the resources provided by EASI you have a chance to be successful(a much better chance than had you invested in a restaurant, a coffee house, stocks or the lottery).

When I was there, we were saying 60,000. Good luck at finding them.

I do not see where I assasinated anyones character, The only character assasination seems to be by the few here that are complaining. You have the right to complain but when you use an open forum where anyone can write anything and the forum sponsers don't require any sutantiation of fact you have to be careful what you write in order to be believed. I am sorry if your experience was negative but there are those that have done well and are pleased with the results. What more can one say. Open eyes equals an informed decision.

I'm fairly new to the EASI business, but would tell you that my money bought what was promised: excellent, comprehensive training by highly educated, brilliant individuals, and an opportunity to start a business of my own in the field of energy conservation. My limited experience with EASI has given rise to my needing a reference letter for a particular industry, at which time I sent an e-mail to the President of EASI. He responded immediately and within 2 hours I had a scanned, legitmate reference letter, signed by a real person with a real phone number.

EASI did not answer all of my questions prior to my going thru training either ... but my experiences with EASI's support (once I was 'in the business') have been impressingly positive. If EASI had been open with their financial information and with their dealer list and with installation references, I know that those lists and that information could have been easily 'contrived' if they were of a mind to be crooked. A crook will be a crook in every situation. Just because EASI has not provided you with what you consider to be verifiable information as to installs, dealers, etc., doesn't mean that the information is non-existent. Maybe there aren't 80K installs out there ... maybe they do sell more dealerships than product ... maybe they hold their dealer lists in confidence ... and maybe I can't offer a customer a 2 year return, and maybe my profit margin won't be quite 50% ... but I still have a business to run and calls to make and demos to present and savings to offer and equipment to install and money to make. I thank EASI for the opportunity.

"Dave" I see that you're not interested in addressing the real issues at hand here: Fraudulent inducement to buy, Misrepresentation of material facts, and questionable, if not Fraudulent business practices. You can attack a person's character all you want; but it doesn't change the facts.

Let's review your statements. Yes, "it is common knowledge that 80% of all new businesses fail within a very few years." However, when Joe Merlo, the president of the company leads you to believe that most of his dealers succeed, and actually the truth (based on my contacts and experience) is that 95% fail, that's misrepresentation. When the president of the company knowingly does not divulge that 95% of his dealers fail within the first 12 months, that's concealment. When the president of the company claims that his company has made over 80,000 (eighty thousand) installations world-wide, and the facts show otherwise, that's material misrepresentation of fact.

Given that set of facts up front, who in his right mind would buy into EASI? Nobody!!

You stated "It takes hard work, determination, planning, money and the desire to succeed. If you are looking for someone to do it for you, you should not even try." I agree. But I wasn't looking for someone else to do my business for me. Nor were the 25 other people in my class who were similarly ripped off. We were looking for what we were promised, a turn-key business opportunity with virtually no competition in a market that was wide open. Thats not what we got.

What we received was a misrepresented business opportunity that has a 95% failure rate. From what I hear through other dealers, the other 5% either do not even use EASI any more, or are struggling to make it with EASI.

You also stated "This company is filled with highly intellegent people, when you listen to them you realize that this cannot be faked." If you are a dealer, you realize after having bought EASI just how intelligent those people are. They faked you into buying their only really profitable product the EASI dealership.

Your character assassination attempts aside, the facts remain. The EASI dealership is not a good buy for the vast majority of businessmen. I did not have the benefit of the facts. Joe Merlo made sure that we could not contact other dealers before we bought our dealerships; he would not provide names, emails, or any information on his supposedly successful dealers. In my opinion, it was nothing more than an elaborate con.

And, by the way, I am "taking my lumps" and moving on. But theres no reason for others to have to get scammed by an unscrupulous business, whose only real profit comes from selling their dealerships to unsuspecting entrepreneurs.

"Dave" I see that you're not interested in addressing the real issues at hand here:

What a shame that a few that don't understand what it takes to start and operate a real business and blame their failure on anyone but themselves try their best to destroy what some one else has built. It is common knowledge that 80% of all new businesses will fail within a very few years.

It takes hard work, determination, planning, money
and the desire to succeed. If you are looking for someone to do it for you you should not even try.
Go into this business with your eyes open and understand what is being offered. No successful business is going to be easy. If it were there would only be employers and no employees.

If you can't make it take your lumps and move on.
This company is filled with highly intellegent people, when you listen to them you realize that this cannot be faked. I could go on but the nature of this is not for those who are sour and vendictive but for those that have the ability and desire to achieve. You need to know what it takes to run a business, if not find out.