(312) 499-5900

I just received a call from Ross Wheeler.  He didn't introduce himself well and was pushy and arrogant. He also asked to speak with our Owner and when I said he was out, he said that he would call back later.  I am not sure if he will, but if he does I will be sure to tell him that we're not interested.

I just got another call from Ross Wheeler.  He asked to speak with the Owner .  He was pushy and rude.    Why do they keep calling?  The owner does not want to speak to them.  I have ***g up on them but they call right back.  This company makes my blood boil!

Joe Bockman; very rude, very pushy, wouldn't leave a number to call back (which I would have done). I hope all those who have to answer phones get this message and know to just **** up on callers from this company. If your president is interested in an aquistion and wants to speak with these people he has already contacted them, left them personal numbers and ways of contact. They certainly wouldn't have that kind of business call going through the main line!

I just got a call from Ross Wheeler, and just like the others he insisted to speak with the Owner and he did know the owners name.  He was quite aggressive and kept pursuing any way to speak with the boss.  When I asked what it was pertaining to, he said it was a confidential matter that he could not share with me.  I said OK, so if I tell my boss, he will know who you are and what its about? Ross laughed and said that he certainly would hope so.  Long story short, my boss had no idea who he was and I got to deal with interrupting the boss's vacation for what I thought was an urgent confidential matter.  I don't know enough about them to call them a scam, but would suggest that if deception is the way they introduce themselves to prospective clients, I think any reasonable person would seriously question the legitimacy of the business.

Mike from Houlihan Smith called today and ask for the President.  He was very rude and pushy and wouldnt tell me what it was regarding just an important business matter.. well.. he didnt know I was google the business name as he was going on with his chatter and I told him my boss didnt take phone calls from business brokers. He acted taken back that I knew that and said his business did more than that. And then tells me that my boss had ask them for money.. haha  He ***g up after I wouldnt put the call through and called back in the next 10 minutes and ask for the President a***n. These people are crazy if they think they will ever get to talk to the president of this company.

They call my office about once a week with the same bologna. They always want to speak with the CEO. Today they mixed it up and said that he had been told that he could speak with the CFO also. Guess what, they aren't available.

JOE BOCKMAN called our company.  They have been calling our company.. very rude and pushy.  We are a small company, and I work in Accounting.  He tried to tell me I dont know what I'm talking about and wanted to talk to the president... umm... NO ****off.  I told him I was going to google the company name to see if it was a scam and he said, no, just go to our website.  A complete SCAM.. After about 30 calls in the month of april.. and never able to get through to our President.. you would think they would stop calling!!!!!!!!!

Received a call from this number from Houlihan Smith. Called often, didn't tell the receptionist their name. Just kept asking for the boss. I picked up the call and said that I was the personal****istant and could I help. They said it had to do with a confidential business referral whatever that means, if I am the personal****istant then I would be privy to those things. They asked if "she" was out for lunch and I said no "he" is on another call and asked me to take a message as he does not take unsolicited calls and they ***g up. If it was legit then they would have left a message.

Nate Brown called for the owner of our company.  Acted surprised that he wasn't in and became pushy and rude - said that they were working together on a deal.Hello..... I am the finance Director for the company and just happened to pick up the phone to help out.  The person he asked for is retired and I handle all the finances.Pushy Liars.  How do they look themselves in the mirror?

I RECEIVED A CALL FROM THIS NUMBER ALSO. ROSS WHEELER WAS HIS NAME. WANTED METO INTERUPT INTERNATIONAL CALL MY BOSS WAS ON TO TELL HIM HE WAS ON THE LINE.NOT VERY FRIENDLY & TOO PUSHY FOR MY TASTE. IF I ANSWER THE PHONE WHEN HE CALLS A***N I WILL NEVER PUT THE CALL THROUGH.

I received a call from this number, Ross Wheeler was his name, he was rude and acted suprised that I had never heard of his company. Wanted to know if we needed to raise capital, I told him no, and he was still pushy and rude. I will not be accepting his calls in the future.

these guys come in waves trying to get to ceo of company they are a scam i have ask them to put me on the do not call log they still call i really can see why most people just let you leave a msg because of people like this they wast your time ND ARE RUDE WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO BE NICE AN GET THEM OFF THE PHONE

Logan seems to go to all the bad comment websites for Houlihan Smith and makes the same claim.  I believe Logan is actually an employee.  Seems funny he is the only living soul to say anything positive about the company.  "Tom" called my office as well.  Same scenario as many others have listed.  I am to busy and to wise to spend time with such callers.

This is so not true.  My****istant Judy after she had got numerous calls, came to me and said these guys wont give up... I said put them through, the guy I spoke to was an intern which he admitted, he also told me it was a cold call.  Prior to this I was trying to secure 5m for expansion for nearly a year with out any luck.  It took some time, and some money (takes money to make it) but I got what I was looking for.  I've been able to create 38 new full time positions, and business is looking great.  I even recomended my uncle who was able to sell his business and all of his employees kept their jobs, which they may not otherwise have been able to do.  I dont know why people think they are a scam, they are regulated heavily, and if they were a scam how has the business not been shut down.  These guys are sharks, and if it werent for their persistance life may not be as sweet as it is now.  I can say with complete confidence had it not been for that "mysterous" call, business may have been bad, jobs could have been lossed.  I know it can be annoying, I know Judy was annoyed, but she is happy now that she has less responsibilities I let her take time off if she needs to tend to her family... Things that werent possible with the staff we had before.  Do your homework before you s**** slamming a company for doing what they do.  And Judy if you're reading this THANKS

Tony called me as well and said I do not just call out of the blue .Yeah right what a rude joker .

This number called asking for Keith our president. I said "He is in a mtg. can I take a message?" The caller responded with "I know you are just screening his calls please tell him so and so is on the line." I said "I most certianly was not Keith is behind closed doors, how can I help you?" The caller said he would "try back later", I am waiting for that call....

you idiots this is what all banks do. You think citi, wachovia, and any other ins***ution just sit and wait for you smart people to come to them. No, the company who recieved a valuation. You ran out of money because you did not have any money. This is exactly why we are in a financial crises now. People pointing blam on each other people. Its your fault. YOu probably blame your forclosed house on the banks too.  Wake up people this is how the financial industry reaches the consumer. Yes these people are brief with a secratary, because they know how ****** you all are. You want them to tell you that they are calling to help your boss sell your company? You want a stranger to tell you that you might loose your job because your boss is ready to move on?

Same issues as above, some guy called "Ed Ziegers" called from this number saying he heard we were looking for Capital.  We actually are which is what got me :P  I wasted 10 minutes on the phone with the guy until i realized things s****ed sounding fishy... he didn't know the proper company name and coulnd't say who his referral was.  I s****ed digging around the web while he kept asking me questions then found this page.  What a waste of time.When he s****ed asking detailed financial breakdown and our cap table I didn't tell him anything then got off the call.I'm the CEO of a tech company as well.

They call at least twice a week, asking for my boss by name. The caller we get  calls himself Damion. He is always rude and sounds like he is in a hurry, and is never forth coming. My boss doesn't know of them, even though Damion says the call is regarding "private matters". HA! They never get through and insist on calling and calling and calling AND being extremely RUDE. This company must be run by idiots if they this type of telemarketing, or any telemarketing works.

this is exactly their game.  i used to work for them and they attempt to get to the business owner and then coerce that person into signing up for a "valuation" report, which is garbage.  beware of this company....

My former employer was scammed out of business by these guys…unfortunately he was desperate and gullible. They called the CEO with the “we understand you need capital” routine and were flown to our office within 2 days. It sounded too good to be true from day 1, but the CEO and COO had swallowed the hook. Close to $40K later, we had a valuation do***ent that looked great, complete with the resumes/biography of each of the key employees. The problem is that there was never any capital going to come our way. Originally they had promised we’d have access to the money in 4-6 weeks…several months later…nothing. The CEO and the COO became greedy from the first phone call and effectively pushed our main investor out of the valuation and finally out of the company.Once the scam was complete and Houlihan had all of our cash reserves and we couldn’t afford to give them anymore to produce these pretty looking folders…they disappeared. No return calls, emails that were never replied to, contacts ALWAYS in a meeting, etc., etc. No money ever came to us (because there was never any in the first place) and after being drained, the owner of the company finally realized he’d been rooked and gave a tearfull goodbye to all the employees as he announced the closing of a business he had run for 18 years.Houlihan will tell you that they CAN’T tell you how they got your name and number, just that somebody out there has their eye on you and is interested in investing or purchasing your company. They follow that by fluffing up a series of relationships/alliances they have with banks and firms that will swoop in and dump cash on you after the valuation is complete.I could go on and on and I’d be pleased to answer any question anyone might have.

The person is usually rude when he asks to speak to the CEO, I do not know why they are so rude...and when you asks them who they are with they respond with an at***ude "Well is he available or not??" or give me a false name... I just put them on hold and let them listen to our ****py music.

they called asking for the CEO and I asked to take a message and "mike" responded with "i know you have to screen his calls, but I'll wait and stay on hold." I told him he would have to leave a message and he said "here's the message: i am on hold and want to speak with him." That's when I ***g up. If he calls back I'll put him on hold and leave him there until he ****s up. At least I did what he said!**** hole.

Houlihan called our office today . He was very rude and pushy. He also seemed to ACT like he knew of personal information of our company. I believe this was to try and get company info.

Got a call this morning. *Tony* asked to speak to my boss private business matter.  Was quite rude when I said he was not able to take the call would you like to leave a message.  Didn't want to - will call back. Unfortunaletly for him - i man the phones all day.  Looks like I'm gonna have some fun with *tony*.

They call a few times a week and have been doing so for about a year. Today I felt adventurous and I answered the phone. The guy was short with me and rude. All he wanted was to talk to the owner.Is there a way to get them to stop calling?

I receive calls from that number probably once a week and the guy "insists" that he has talked to my boss (President) before and I know he hasn't.  He also says, "I'll call him on his cell then."  Yeah right.  I just got a call from him and he pulled the same tricks but to no avail.  He left his # and I just called and spoke to someone named Kim and passed the message on to her to remove our phone # from their call list!  The guy that calls me all the time is "supposedly" Nick Passick" and always says it's in regards to a personal business matter.  I hope they'll stop calling now, and if they don't, I'll get in touch w/our local PUC.

www.ripoffreport.com and type in Houlihan Smith!

www.800notes.com and type in 312-499-5900, you'll be amazed!

It's an Investment Banking firm. Ask anyone of high repute in the business(Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Salomon Smith Barney, Morgan Stanley, etc), about their hours as an entry level****ociate, 7a-7p is considered a pleasure cruise.Investment Banking is for bold, driven, take charge individuals, not wusses. If you're looking to engage an IB firm to do half-assed work, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a 30-hour work week, Starbucks might be more to your liking.

i have had the same experance as all the other postings, thank god i checked these guys out. i have had my two days of meetings and BS and was quoted a price of $36,000.00 for a annaliss prior to selling my busness for *****ank god for this web site!

a guy called from this phone number asked for the person in charge of the company (he knows our company name by the way).  So I asked who is calling, he pulsed for a second then asked "is HE there?",  I told him SHE is actually out of town now and what is the nature of his business.  The ***** did not answer my question and asked another one: "when is he... I mean SHE coming back?"  I lost my patience, and told him I have no clue because she is visiting a foreign country and it can take weeks."  then he ***g up, before I had the chance to swear at him.  Why swear at him you might ask, because his tone was demanding, sounded like he's the #%*!ing boss.

Received a call from Jay Miller fro Houlihan Smith. He was very rude and pushy and did not like it when told that my boss was unavailable. He wanted further clarification. Since when is not available not clear. I like the put him on mute, I'll try that when he calls a***n and he will, seems he calls once a month or so.

A guy called and he knew my name.  I am a CEO of a software firm and he said that he is following up on that we were looking for "capital".  I told him the company had been acquired and ***g up. He said he was with Houlihan Smith

They are a financial firm and they are constantly making cold calls to sell/pitch.  That's why you guys had that sort of conversation.

A "lady?" named Carol called here and also asked for the CEO by name.  He said to get her # because he did not know her.  She was annoyed and asked in a very annoyed voice if I had a pen - I replied "of course I do - this is an office". She said she didn't need this "*^&%$".  I ***g up when she used profanity.  she called back 1 minute later and called me "a piece of trash"!!! I called them back and asked for a manager - I ws given the run around and then a very young man got on the phone. No satisfaction - but he did want my name, company & # - I refused.

A lady called and asked for the CEO by his first name.  I told her he was not in and she refused to leave a name or number and quickly ***g up.