IPA-IBA Business Analysis IPA-IBA International Profit Associates ripoff Buffalo Grove Illinois

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*UPDATE: Ripoff Report REVIEW - International Profit Associates recognized by Ripoff Report as a safe business service - IPA pledges to resolve all complaints, 100% commitment to customer service and satisfaction, feel confident and secure when doing business with IPA

We are a medium size business and the cost being generated by IPA would have bankrupt our business. The point is that we were misled into believing that an analysis of our business would cost $950.00--to be paid "upon satisfactory completion of analysis". WE WERE MISLED. The report they presented at the end of two days (along with a bill for $8,500) was very elementary--nothing we didn't already know. It did not provide any advice, direction or guidance on what it would take to improve our cash flow or how IPA could help our business. We later discovered we were being charged for hotel and air travel expenses for two analyst who were local. WHAT A SCAM!

I worked for IPA as a Senior Business Analyst, which is really a glorified title for a salesman. My job was to spend 2-3 days with a business, analysis their business from financials down to marketing and employee productivity. At the end of the analysis, during my findings meeting, my job was to point out the problems I had found and convince the owner they did not have the knowledge to implement the solutions. I got paid on commission, not for sending in the consultants, but on what they were able to collect.

After 6 months, I left IPA, not because I could not sell the consulting services; I actually sold $750,000 worth of consulting services. Rather I left because I got paid on about $10,000 worth. While the majority of the businesses I analyzed needed some help, they could not afford help at $200 per hour plus travel expenses. The $20,000 bill at the end of the first week would have bankrupted most of the business I saw. When I would tell the senior exec I reported to this, I was told to close the sale and let consulting worry about finding the money. What normally happened was the consulting team would come in, look at my analysis and financial projections, probe the business owner to see if they could borrow the money from some place and usually close down the project and leave the same day.

The company philosophy stems from the company founder. An attorney, he treated everyone, clients and employees alike, like they were a hostile witness under his examination. During our 2 week training at the home office, we were taught to keep the business owner under pressure for the entire time we were there. We were instructed to make conference calls with them present to let our "team" know how bad the situation was with this business. The consultants were always brought in the next business day, so the owners did not have time to remorse.

For a medium sized business, the service was probably valuable, but for a small business with cash flow issues, they normally could not generate enough cost savings to offset this expense.

In response to the X employee that was a telemarketer for IPA-IBA. I was an employee as a Sales Representative, before my eyes were opened to the huge scam this business is. IBA is suppose to be the larger division of IPA, but they have many of acronyms that they go by, so beware of new names, if they are out of Buffalo Grove, Illinois, BEWARE!

As a Sales Rep for this company, first they wine and dine you to the max to suck you in. Train you for a week at a nice hotel. Then they tell you, you can make about $140,000 per year selling a product that helps businesses be more profitable.

However, once in the field you are expected to cold call businesses as I did. I was told by IBA that Michigan was an Untouched territory, but when I arrived at my first (and same thing on my second appointment) cold call appointment I was told by this business You Son's of ***** have ripped us off before, Your nothing but a bunch of con artist, Get out of here before I call the police. When I called my superior at IBA in Illinois to explain what had happened to me, I was literally HUNG up on, completely ignored and my phone calls were never returned.

I was also promised a draw for a starter paycheck, which never arrived in my mailbox. I was promised nothing but extreme lies. Their employee turn over for sales reps is also 100%. When I asked that very question I was told very few employees ever leave because they make such great wages. And on goes this big fat lie.

Prior to going to work for them, I called the BBB in Chicago and in Canada (IPA also has an office in Canada), the BBB told me they had NO Complaints against them, which now makes me lose faith in the BBB.

IPA, IBA, ITA and ETC., have many of names and a wonderful web site to gaze upon, but buyer beware, if it sounds to good to be true it probably is.

Sure wished I'd seen this site BEFORE I ever met IBA or IPA.... Thank you all for reading.

I worked at International Profit Associates for several months. It is absolutely the WORST, MOST UNPROFESSIONAL place of business I have ever seen! The Zone Managers swear and cuss at the employees on the phone. While I was making outbound calls to business owners, a Zone Manager would get into an argument with another employee across the room. You could loudly and clearly hear the Zone Manager say, "Get the F... out of here!" Lots of swearing out loud. Everyone in the call center would stand up to see who was yelling. They threaten the employees that they can't go home until their Rep is booked for the following day. They do NOT pay you if you stay until your Rep is booked. You get paid $7.00 an hour to start. Then after 30 days, they drop your pay to $6.50 an hour. You can only get paid for 5 and a half hours. If you stay longer to book your Rep, there is no hourly guaranteed pay. You are voluntarily staying without pay in the hopes that you will set more appointments. There is something wrong with that! Two of my Zone Managers were bumped back down to workers because they couldn't treat the employees as rotten as they were supposed to, so they put someone else in those positions that could be the type of A..hole they were looking for. They have zone meetings every week where the Zone Managers will say, "I have to get rid of 20 people this week, so you need to book your Rep or you will be one of them." DAILY THREATS of being fired! The desks you work on are all beat up. you have to snatch a chair every morning before someone else gets it, or gets one that works. I booked several different Reps and all I got was excuses. None of the Reps sold a consultation. I worked there for several months for about $30 a day in the hopes that the outside Rep would do HIS job and sell a consultation so I could get a commission. The consultation fees are more like $30,000. The place is a revolving door. They hire 'em, they fire 'em. When an argument starts, it's like being at The Jerry Springer Show. This place needs to get sued and shut down. Their advertisements on the radio make it sound like you can make $100,000 a year. The lists they print to call are from www.ReferenceUSA.com and they just keep printing out the same lists week after week, harassing business owners that have told them 15 times already: "TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST!" Once the list has been called and marked up by several callers, they just print up the "same old, worn out, called a thousand times" lists again and start over. Since the employee turn over rate is so high, half the employees have never seen the list before anyway. Some employee quit before they get fired. I'm out of a job right now.

If the TV or radio media needs to contact me regarding this, I will definitely let them know what's going on inside IPA and supply them with names of Zone managers. When I called Human Resources they were not concerned and did nothing about the employee abuse.
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I filed a report with the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.com) detailing my experience with this company. I learned that they will investigate a company if they receive numerous complaints. I advise everyone on this website to please file your complaints.

I filed a report with the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.com) detailing my experience with this company. I learned that they will investigate a company if they receive numerous complaints. I advise everyone on this website to please file your complaints.