ComplaintsforGranular, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  06/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Seldom do I leave reviews or publish a complaint but every small, medium and large business needs to know that if you use this company for ************ advertising they may hijack your account. Do not give them full permissions to ****** or Meta Business Suite. Powers ************ contracted with Granular on January 6, 2023 for the purposes of running ****** Ads only. Their account management fee of $5000 monthly is steep so we started with an ad budget of around $3000 to do ****** ads only. A total of $8000 monthly. They requested full permissions to be given to them for our ******** Business Account in mid January to "fix a problem". We unfortunately gave *********************** our Granular account manager owner level permissions to "fix the problem" There was no problem. Let me be clear in that we were not advertising with Granular on ********. I control our Meta Business Suite as the owner of Powers ************ and I am the sole owner of our FB Page. In **************** had a recorded zoom call with Granular - not to discuss our ****** ads but to discuss why we were not running ads with them for ******** Advertising. In this Zoom call the *** and team of 6 men joined the meeting only to berate me on why I would boost my own ******** posts and media and advertise myself on FB. My response was "well, because I own the page and we have an agreement right now for just ****** ads ONLY". Somewhere between our mid-May 2023 zoom meeting and June 16th Powers ************ Meta Business Suite was hijacked by a creator at Granular. My *** daughter was able to see the backend of our systems that they used to manipulate our account without my permission and knowledge. I have requested resolution to our problem in the Creator Studio with cooperation from Granular. I have been professional, clear in explaining the problem, and met with harsh emails, denial we can prove, and no remedy to our broken video embedding capabilities on FB. We are requesting resolution and repair.

  Business response

  07/05/2023

  Hello,
  
  My name is ********************* and Im the President of Granular. Our company was retained by ******************* to manage ****** Ads on November 28, 2022, with services beginning on December 1, 2022. 
  
  Next year, Granular will celebrate our 10th anniversary of being in business. In 2014, we started with a single employee, our Founder & CEO, ***********************. As I write this message in July 2023, we have grown to a team of 22 employees. We have been recognized within our industry, within the state of ********* and locally in the Greater ********* area as an example of a company that leads from the front and does business the right way. 
  
  Granular is one of a handful of companies in ***************** recognized by ****** as a ****** Premier Partner, a status only 3% of ****** Partners achieve. Further, we are one of just three ****** partners singled out and referenced by name on ******s Work With A Partner page as an outstanding agency, out of ***** available partners. 
  We manage the digital advertising for several industry leading companies, including several fortune 500 brands, several more publicly traded companies, some of the leading private equity backed businesses, as well as great, privately-held, family-owned companies. These companies range from coast to coast, as well as overseas. However, we take particular pride in the every opportunity we have to help ********* owned businesses thrive through our partnership together. 
  
  Granular has never received a BBB complaint, or for that matter, a negative review on any platform. At the time I write this message, our ****** Business profile has a rating of 5.0 / 5.0. We have a total of 62 reviews. All of these gave Granular the maximum of a 5.0 rating. 
  
  The ********* ******************************** (WEDC) recognized Granular as a Top Ten Place to Work for Young ************** The ********* ************************ of ******** (****) cited Granular as an exceptional example of an employer that values their employees, creating a video specifically highlighting our unusually strong and deliberate focus on employee culture. Just last year, The ********* **************** awarded Granular as a Best Place to Work. We take great pride in this because we believe the best path towards providing exceptional client service is by taking care of our employees, so they in turn can put as much energy as possible into taking care of their clients.
  
  The entire time Granular has been in business, almost ten years, we have managed hundreds of ******** ad accounts on behalf of organizations. Not once have we been accused of acting with ill intent, acting in a careless manner or behaving in a way that affected any client we have ever worked with utilizing their ******** account. In fact, ********************** has one of the internets top blog posts on the topic of how to troubleshoot disabled ******** ad accounts. Written in 2021, this post still consistently ranks towards the top of ****** searches globally for search queries related to this topic: ****************************************************************
  
  I feel compelled to write all of this to provide context to show how seriously Granular as an organization, and furthermore, I, personally, take client service and our commitment to maintaining a reputation for doing the right thing. And given the claims made by *************************** on behalf of Powers Realty, I needed to set the stage for how false, unwarranted and, frankly, unusual, these claims made against Granular are.
  
  Granular has been professional, courteous and helpful every step of the way with ***************************, her team and any vendor, previous and current, that she put us in touch with. From the pre-engagement, during our engagement and since weve been notified she was canceling service with us. This includes this specific issue she cites regarding her ******** account having issues, starting on June 15, 2023.
  
  It is a disappointing misrepresentation by Powers Realty in their complaint that Granular caused these issues with regards to their ********. This is in spite of repeated reminders from Granular to *************************** of the fact that Granular did not cause any of the issues regarding Meta or ******** that we are accused of.
  
  At the time of my response here with the BBB, we have sent emails to Powers Realty which are still unanswered. These communications have provided collaborative paths forward to help *************************** gain resolution to her cited ******** issues, in spite of Granular not being at fault.
  
  If *************************** continues to ignore our ******* efforts to rectify the ******** issues she is facing, we will consider this matter concluded. It is my hope she takes Granular up on the offer to assist as illustrated in our communications to her, which have been shared in this response here on the BBB. 
  
  Granular will fulfill our remaining contractual obligations and invoice the final amount of $12,333.33 that we are owed. *************************** has shared, in both written communications, and during a phone conversation on June 30, 2023, that she fully intends to pay Granular these fees which she agrees we are owed. 
  
  However, should ***************************, ****** Realty or anyone under her influence persist in making false accusations against Granular and its employees, we will be compelled to take the necessary legal actions to safeguard our hard-earned reputation.
  
  The timeline below, as well as attached files to this response, illustrate in clear detail the professionalism, communication and client service of Granular to support Powers Realty with this matter.
  
  -June 15, 2023-
  Starting on Thursday, June 15, 2023, *************************** emailed Granular at 1:37pm CT and made unsubstantiated claims that Granular limited her ability to boost ******** posts. Just eight minutes later, at 1:45pm CT, she then replied to that same email she sent and made a subsequent claim that Granular took control of her ******** account. She requested an in person meeting to sign off her email. Both of these emails from ******* have been attached to this response and is named suzanne_powers_emails_6_15_23.png
  
  At 2:24pm CT on the same date, Granular replied to her emails explaining that we did not cause these issues, that we have never managed her ******** ad accounts or managed her ******** account assets. Even though we did not cause these issues, Granular offered to work with her to resolve the issue and even offered to come in person to her offices Wednesday the 21st at 11am.This email reply from Granular can be seen in the same message thread, attached to this record and named suzanne_powers_emails_6_15_23.png.
  
  On the same date, at 2:37pm CT, just 13 minutes after Granulars email response, an email was sent to me by ************************ The email ************************** was the only other email copied on the message. The body of the message said, Hi *****, Please see the attached. Thank you, *****. To summarize, the letter was signed by *************************** and was an official written notice they would be terminating services with Granular effective that day. The letter goes on to reference Powers Realty intention to comply with the 60 day notice as outlined in Granulars contract with Powers Realty. The email communication has been attached to this record and is named suzanne_powers_email_cancellation_notice_email_6_15_23.png. The written cancellation notice is also attached to this record and is named powers_realty_cancellation_notice_document_6_15_23.pdf. 
  
  Later that day, at 5:40pm CT, *************************** emailed me directly with no on else copied. The subject line says Follow-up. That email has been attached to this record and is named suzanne_powers_email_540pm_6_15_23.png. To summarize this email from *******, she confirms she did send Granular a letter earlier that afternoon giving a 60 day notice. She then continued her claims from previous emails that Granular caused issues with her Meta Business account and that she had screenshots to support her claim. She then went on to claim to that Granular intercepted Powers Realty ability to advertise on ******** and Instagram from their corporate account. In this same email, she said there was no need to meet and that it does not bare a discussion.
  
  -June 16, 2023-
  
  * On Friday, June 16th, at 2:26pm, Granular replied to ******** email she sent at 5:40pm on June 15th with the subject line Follow-up. That email has been attached to this record and is labeled granular_reply_subject_6_15_23.png. To summarize, I reminded her that the path she took to abruptly cancel services without meeting with our team, or at the very least, connecting with me directly was disappointing. I then went on to reminder her that Granular did not cause any of the issues she cited in her communications. And in spite of our team not being at fault whatsoever, our team offered to help resolve these issues. Those offers were not accepted. I then closed my email by stating Granular would work with her to make sure she is successfully transitioned to her new provider. I then said I wished her nothing but the best moving forward and that we will proceed with terms of our contract, serving out the 60 day notice period.
  
  Neither ***************************, or anyone on her behalf, replied to this email communication from me at this time
  
  -June 22, 2023-
  
  * On June 22nd, 2023, Granular emailed *************************** directly. The subject line of the email is Granular, *************************** - Relationship Transition. That email has been attached to this record and is named granular_email_relationship_transition_6_22_23.png. To summarize this communication, Granular thanked ******* for her partnership and confirmed we were moving forward in compliance with her request to cancel services. We then confirmed the last official day of service, attached the remaining service invoices, as well as restating Granulars offer from the June 16th email to assist her and any company she is working with on the transition. The email concluded by stating Granular wishes her nothing but the best moving forward
  
  * Neither ***************************, or anyone on her behalf, replied to this email communication from me at this time
  
  -June 26, 2023-
  
  *On June 26, 2023 at 6:30pm CT, *************************** emailed Granular. The subject line of that email is Resolution and Restoration of Meta Business Manager!. That email has been attached to this record and is named ******************************************************* Business_Manager_6_26_23.png. While the email is sent from ******** email, the body of the email states the message is From ********************** Team:. The email restates ******** previous claims that Granular caused the issues with her Meta Business Manager account. She specifically cites issues with restoring the settings in her media counsel in ********. 
  
  -June 29, 2023-
  * On June 29, 2023, at 2:49pm CT, I replied to ******** email from June 26th that had the subject line Resolution and Restoration of Meta Business Manager!. That email has been attached to this record and is named granular_reply_subject_Resolution_and_Restoration_of_Meta Business_Manager_6_29_23.png. I was out of office on vacation from Monday, June 26th through Wednesday, June 28th. My email response confirmed that was my first day back from being OOO. To summarize the email, I explained I attempted to get in touch by phone with ******* by calling into her organizations main line, as well as her colleague, *********************, who has historically been involved to help coordinate meetings on Suzannes behalf. I then went on to explain that even though Granular did not cause these issues, we would make time to drop what we were doing and come to her offices at a time that was convenient for her and her team to troubleshoot this issue.
  
  * Later that day, I followed ** in the same email thread at 5:09pm CT. I referenced calling ******** personal cell and leaving a voicemail. I stated in the email that I wanted to connect to work towards the approach I laid out in my email from 2:49pm. This email can be seen in the same file named granular_reply_subject_Resolution_and_Restoration_of_Meta Business_Manager_6_29_23.png attached to this record.
  
  * ******* then replied at 5:11pm and again at 5:12pm CT. In both emails, she said this would be helpful and that 9:30am CT would be the best time for a phone call. This email can be seen in the same file named granular_reply_subject_Resolution_and_Restoration_of_Meta Business_Manager_6_29_23.png attached to this record.
  
  -June 30, 2023-
  
  *On June 30, 2023, at 5:50am CT, I confirmed I would call ******* at 9:30am later that day
  
  * Later that morning, at 9:30am CT, I called ******* on her cell phone. That call lasted 7 minutes and 28 seconds. On that phone call, I started by stating I was going to ask some questions to confirm what ******* was seeing in her ******** account when she was logged in. The reason for these questions was to gain further clarity on what the potential root of the ******** issues ******* was having. Because Granular did not have access to the accounts, my questions were intended to help streamline the potential next steps to take when we eventually got together per my suggested offer in my email on the 29th. After I asked two questions, I was cut off and ******* went on to read what came across as a prepared statement. She again restated Granular caused these ******** issues, that she believed she had evidence to support this, that she fully intended to pay Granular our outstanding invoices and would sign a Hold Harmless agreement upon restoration of her ******** creator studio settings. She then stated she was going to hang up the phone and proceeded to abruptly do so without giving me a chance to reply.
  
  * In response to that phone call, I sent ******* an email at 10:56am CT to recap the conversation. That email has been attached to this record and is named granular_email_6_30_23_call_recap.png. To summarize the email: 1)  I restated the ******** issues ******* referenced on her call that she wanted assistance with 2) Reiterated Granular did not cause these issues 3) Granulars proposed next steps for helping her resolve these ******** issues she was having 4) I then went on to state that in the event she did not want to meet, this would limit our ability to help her solve these issues in the most efficient manner possible. With that, I said we could attempt to send an email with instructions if she preferred and to let us know.
  
  * Neither ***************************, or anyone on her behalf, replied to this email communication from me at this time
  
  -July 5, 2023-
  
  * On July 5, 2023, at 9:45am CT, I replied to my email from June 30, 2023. I have attached this email to the record and is named granular_email_7_5_23.png. To summarize, I restated that because Granular did not cause the issues ******* referenced, and because we did not have access to the Meta/******** accounts and assets in question, it was difficult to help diagnose the issue. I then went on to provide a checklist for ******* and her team to consult for best practice next steps for resolving the type of ******** & Meta issues she described. 
  
  *Neither ***************************, or anyone on her behalf, replied to this email communication from me at this time

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