MERRILL ADAMS ASSOCIATES FRAUD * Rebuttal - Better Business Bureau claim no unsatisfied claims exist *REBUTTAL owner responds *EDitor's Comment

----- Original Message -----

From: Jobmensch@aol.com

To:

Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2002 4:37 PM

Subject: Re: Merrill Adams (Employment services)



MERRILL-ADAMS ASSOCIATES

400 Lanidex Plaza Parsippany, New Jersey 07054

973-884-2833 Fax: 973-884-0135

Email: merrilnj@bellatlantic.net



To: RipOffReport.com



From: James F. Marken

Executive Vice President

Merrill Adams HQ.

Parsippany, NJ





I truly want to believe that you are a wonderful resource for consumers who have been "ripped off". I also believe that you have an awesome power which, when misused, even unintentionally, can be devastating to innocent people who should be protected.



Our organization has 31 wonderful people, many of whom have been here for many years. We have always taken pride in the meaningful work we do. We feel we serve a purpose, that we help others achieve a balance in their lives between home and work. These people have included Presidents, General Managers, functional Vice Presidents and senior Managers from manufacturing and service sectors, as well as scientist, attorneys, human resources and finance executives, and professionals from education, government and the military.



Many of those we help are corporate refugees from downsizing who only followed the methods of the past and found themselves scared, unemployed, thought of as old in the marketplace, with outdated skills. Rather than giving them a way to remain vital, their companies helped to make them disposable. In today's very difficult job market, these companies only offer them a cookie-cutter outplacement service for a few weeks or a few months.

To engineer our futures, to be able to change jobs at will, to move into this whole new world of technology and global competition did not come with instructions from prior generations or educators.



Three thousand people come through our doors every year. Out of those three thousand, we can only service three hundred paying clients. For the other twenty-seven hundred, we spend a few hours giving a one-on-one workshop. With our high level of intuitiveness and expertise in job change and career

management, we help them to move from the problem side to the solution with the best "do it yourself" program available. We have never charged those people one dollar, and they have numbered into the thousands each year.



We provide a very expensive resource on a shared cost basis. Our clients pay a small fraction of what it costs to create our service. They each receive our proportionate best effort. Our fee is received as our service is rendered. The service is front-loaded. We realized when we began this service that we could not operate on a contingency basis.



We teach our clients how to launch a successful marketing campaign. The materials this requires are crafted before launch. Our process is accelerated. Essentially we have a power launch into the market. We enable clients to have swift, comprehensive coverage of their available market. Normally within ten days, a new client is fully immersed in the market.



We make ourselves part of the solution for our clients' career- related challenges. Our fees are more than reasonable for the valuable service we provide. By comparison, recruiters who work on contingency charge 30% to 35% of annual income plus expenses associated with the search. This is simply not practical for our clients.



We charge the lowest feasible amount required to maintain our high standard of service. Each one of our employees knows he or she could earn more in Corporate America with their extensive credentials. Almost all of us are over fifty, and some in our sixties and even seventies. We have excellent work ethic, good morals, and are extremely knowledgeable in our field. We

To: RipOffReport



From: James F. Marken, Executive Vice President, Merrill Adams Associates



Subject: Rebuttal



I have no idea who this anonymous person is. The experience they speak of is not at all familiar to me, which is strange since I am the Executive Vice President of Merrill Adams. The Consumer Affairs and Better Business Bureau claim no unsatisfied claims exist against our firm.



If you have spent years building a business you are proud of with wonderful work ethic, fine morals and a mission of doing unto others as you would wish to have done for you, you need to understand you can be almost destroyed overnight by false accusations. We understand the risk but are willing to build anyway.



Honesty and frankness may make you vulnerable to attack. We understand the risk but we are willing to be honest anyway.



People who need help can be confused and distressed and they may attack you when you try to help. We understand the risk, but we are willing to help anyway.



If there is any truth in this accusation, let this person come to me and take responsibility for the accusation rather than hide behind anonymity.



Good morals and high ethics has been our direct route to success. I guess we have to expect to encounter a few who would attempt to diminish our reputation, rather than take a closer look at themselves.



It is hard for me as a proud member of the Merrill Adams organization to not pay attention to ill-natured remarks about our service. The one thing I know for sure is, as we have for the last decade and a half, the staff of Merrill Adams will remain proud of our ability to powerfully impact the well being of our client's lives. We have done so for thousands in the past and look forward to that worthy purpose in the future.



Please feel free to contact me at 973-884-2833 or jobmensch@aol.com. I can always show you proof positive.



Respectfully,



James F. Marken

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