ComplaintsforAerial Digital Agency LLC

• Initial Complaint

  01/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Mr. John K********, owner, Aerial Digital Agency agreed to carry out a Business Development effort to completion, with at least securing two early adopter ********** clients for our product. But he insisted on conducting market research first as he required this research to provide to potential clients. He said that this "phase-1" market research would cost $10,000 which would be followed by phase-2, which was to cost additional $5,000 for each client he secured. I specifically told him during our engagement meeting (which I have evidence of), that I did not want to end up with a bunch of papers costing $10,000 and no end result, which were the enterprise clients, and he agreed to. I clearly explained to him that my goal was enterprise clients and not market research. He explicitly assured me multiple times during our conversation and by email (all of which I have evidence of), that he would take it to completion and not drop out after his "phase-1" market research. Several weeks after an upfront payment of $10,000, John K******* did exactly what he promised NOT to do - he produced a six-page report with information presumably gathered from ****** searches, and sent me a notice of termination of agreement by email, as he was unable of actually securing enterprise clients for us. I asked him to refund at least a part of the $10,000 that I had paid him on good faith, but said according to his contract, he had completed phase-1 and he did not have to refund any money because he was incapable of performing phase-2.

  Business response

  01/26/2022

  Good day, *******,  

  I am contacting you in response to the complaint from *** ***** at *********. 

  We took on the contract in good faith assuming ********* represented their product truthfully and based on his counterproposal.  The comments *** sited are edited from the counterproposal and the full email is attached.  The fact he would edit an e-mail is indicative of the interaction with *********.  The full unedited email chain is available if requested along with status reports and the marketing deliverables. We took on the contract in good faith assuming ********* represented their product truthfully. 

  Our contract was reworked based on his direction into two phases.

   

  1. Marketing research, messaging, and recommendations that were delivered. - $10,000
  2. Beta Client Identification - An at-risk payment of $5,000 if we secured clients.  
  3. See the counterproposal and the signed SOW.   

  Below are some of the challenges in our engagement. 

   

  1. Inability to contact existing client - ********* - *** is part owner in ********* and would not provide any information on the number of users, use metrics.  The estimated user count when from thousands to 600.  We continued to press to talk to the *** of ********* and were stonewalled until December of this year.  To take a product to market even in a Beta phase, you need some metrics of use, and we were locked out of the conversations.  It was highlighted for weeks on our weekly status reports. 
  2. Communicated the ******** *************** was a client.  This was a complete fabrication. We were told they were a client along with their former reseller ******************.  
  3. No security testing or validation - ********* is a password security product.  It has not been tested or certified by any outside party.  *** was unwilling to have the product validated.  Cyber-security requires some testing and proof.
  4. Insufficient back-end metrics and maintenance.  A cyber-security product requires an administrative function to manage the process.  Non-exists. 
  5. *** did not know what his product does - ******************, Aeria Digital, and ********* had a joint call with the ********* *** in early December.  *** ***** started the call by saying ********* could front a ******* login.  The *** corrected him and said it could not be done.  It was the final straw. 

  The ********* product is not ready for the Beta phase as it does not meet the minimum acceptable bar for a security product. We completed the research and contacted potential Beta clients with no interest.  The deliverables included recommended steps to bring the product up to standard. After the disastrous meeting with the ********* ***, we lost all confidence in *** and *********.  I am unwilling to tarnish my company and personal reputation by leveraging my network with a company that is not trustworthy.  Editing an email to paint another company poorly is not a sound business practice.  Based on the counterproposal and contract, we felt a refund was not warranted. 

  Business response

  02/18/2022

  Good day, *******,

  
  

  As for complaint: ********, we withdrew from the second phase of the contract after a meeting between ******************, Aerial Digital Agency, and the CTO of ********.  The CTO of ******** contradicted ***********'s understanding of his technology after claiming they could front a ********* Operating system login.  We requested ************** confirm his assertion before the meeting to respect the time of those attending and he failed to do so.  The revelation caused ****************** to withdraw as a partner of ********, ************** separated from his business development partner with a payment dispute, and Aerial to rethink our relationship with ********.  We no longer trusted ************** and his statements regarding the technology, claims of users, and other relationships.  

  
  

  We completed the phase 1 deliverables to the letter and based on the contract. No money was paid for beta clients after attempts to secure companies interested in the technology which is detailed in the contract.  The contract structure, values, and terms were proposed and agreed to by **************.  We worked for 6 months with ********* to provide a competitive landscape and make introductions to prospective beta clients.  The revolutionary idea was not accepted by the market.  

  
  

  We value our clients and do so by detailing our contracts to specify what we will deliver and how.  ************** entered into the agreement willingly based on his requirements.  We made no contractural guarantees to secure beta clients.  

  
  

  As for the insults from **************, they are not worth a response.  *************'s technology, however interesting, is not being accepted by the market.  His own CTO and other company modified the interface to simplify a complex security login.  This limited the market opportunity, use cases, and usefulness. 

  
  

  We consider this case closed and **************'s complaint unfounded as he provided the structure of the agreement, entering into it willingly

  Customer response

  02/19/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  Sir/Madam:

  The only thing John is right about in his response is his considering the "case closed" - We presume that, in his own mind, John DID consider the case closed the minute he cashed the check for $10,000!  John keeps bringing up ****** protection; however, ****** was our client well before John came on board. He simply coat-tailed on a meeting we had set up with ******; he had nothing to do with it.

  All John did was produce a six-page report with data mostly gathered from ****** searches for $10,000.  If John is really a man of honor and cared for client satisfaction, he could have agreed to at least a partial refund of the money we paid him, as we requested.  Even the janitor who cleans our house every other week refunded / waived the fee for one cleaning that she did badly, and John's esteemed marketing company seems to care less for its client than our Janitorial company. Again, the only way to settle this and truly "close" this matter to satisfaction of both parties is for John making a partial refund to us.

  Regards,
  
  *** *****
  

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