312-499-5900

Same thing as above exept for the "banker" guy above... what a joke these people are. Karma's a B!tch. They dont have to be so mean to someone they dont know and why would anyone want to do buisness with with a company that calls and does these things? It's sad!

I received a call from a Mike Palumbo that was similar to the other calls listed.  He caught me by suprise with his introduction.  I told him I would get back to him, and I don't expect to hear from him again.

This guys calls a couple of times of week - sounds very put out when I tell him the CEO, whom he calls by first name, is not available - he then says he will call back.  I must say, he is consistent - he must get paid by the number of calls he makes because he speaks with me everytime he calls and gets the same answers!

These calls belong to Houlihan Smith & Company Inc whos corporate head quarters are in Chicago IL. www.houlihansmith.com

Male called and asked for owner of business by first name. I explained he was in a meeting and he asked if I knew when he would be available. I explained that his meetings are all running behind and I was not sure. I asked if I could take a message and he said his name was Matt Drew with Huller Smith but refused to leave a number. His tone was that he knew the owner and said he would "catch up with him later" when I requested his phone number.

The lady asked for our CEO by first name like she knew him. I asked who was calling and she matter of factly said "courtney." I said, "Courtney, where are you calling from?" She said she was calling from Houlihan.

I felt she was deceiving me into getting our CEO on the line.

Just got a call from a guy and asked for my boss' name who's the president of the company I'm working for. I told my boss the name of the caller and since the name didn't ring a bell, he said to put the call to his voice mail. When I went back to tell the guy that my boss is in a meeting, he said in a very arrogant manner "I tell you what, I'll give you my number, it's 312-499-5900 to give to (first name of my boss)". Good thing I researched this number on the internet first before doing anything further...

this is a scam, same entry as below and a complete waste of time. will write an editorial submission  for newspaper and see how long it take so ride the blogs.

appreciate this website gives me a place to at least attempt to stop this type of business practice.

ps you can return call and ask for their ceo voicemail as well. it is at least satisfying

To all the people that claim Houlihan Smith is a "SCAM"

I had the pleasure of having a position at Houlihan Smith in the headquarters in Chicago IL. I think I saw one comment on here that said "those guys must get paid per phone call they make." That is not the case and I think any Research Associate (Prospector) that works there now wishes it was that way.

Each RA there averages a little over 350 calls a day in hopes that he/she can reach a business owner to find out what kind of state that business is in. These are not sales calls - they gather information to see if Houlihan Smith can be of assistance to help them climb there way out of an economic crisis.  

Now for the business owners that they actually connect with on the phone. The RA finds out what any business may be trying to accomplish to improve the overall state of the business. It is approached with a sense of "professional arrogance" because many of these business owners think they have it all figured out and do not need assistance. They may not have another "way out" by continually speaking to traditional banks and get turned down, time and time again for funding. Especially in the economic climate we all currently face. Business owners do not know there are other ways to accomplish what it is they are looking for (raising money or to sell the business for what the company is actually worth). That is why Houlihan Smith is around. To help business owners find another way by taking an objective look at their overall operations.

I am no longer employed with Houlihan Smith for my own reasons (very little pay for the amount of work put in). It was a tough job and I applaud all those that still put in the hours they do and make as many calls as they do to reach out to the business owners or CEO's of small to mid size businesses across the country. They are there to help, not to annoy or come across as rude.

Houlihan Smith is NOT a Scam - They are licensed properly for the work they do and more receptionists, gatekeepers, etc. should give them a chance to speak with the CEO or Owners because it could be imperative to your job and lively hood if there are financial hardships going on with the company. Houlihan Smith literally saves companies in the small to mid size market. They have proven this many times over since conception in 1996. So you cannot hate until you have all the facts.

Sincerely,
Former Employee and Prospector of Houlihan Smith

They may not be a scam, but they certainly don't act in a professional manner. The sales reps are rude and discourteous. They continue to call, even after being told by the company's owner not to call here again.

Here's what we do now:
When they ask if the owner is in, instead of answering the question, we simply ask "who's calling please?" The rep will reply with a name, probably fake, but not the company. That's your first clue. A legitimate business caller will almost always say "Bill Smith from Worldwide Widgets"

So, you then ask what company they're with. (Remember, it's your phone, and you're in charge of the call, not them. You don't have to follow their script.) They'll then reply, usually in annoyed tone "Houlihan Smith". Then you simply "Please hold" and put them on hold. That way you waste some of their time.

Works great. I've actually had them stay on hold for a minute or so, then call back. "Oh, I'm sorry, he didn't answer, let me try that extension again" and then quickly put them back on hold before they can reply. :)

It's also foolproof in that if it really is Bill Smith from Worldwide Widgets, you've answered in a polite and professional manner and you can pass the call along.

Note to telemarketers: Don't want me wasting your time like this? Simple solution, DON'T WASTE MY TIME BY CALLING ME! (Especially after being told to stop calling)

I just got a call from these guys asking for my CEO. We have two gentleman by the same first name, so I asked to clarify and he tells me "The owner of your business." I told him he was in a meeting. The guy asked me when the meeting would be over and I told him I wasn't sure. He tells to pull him out- he's returning my CEO's call and expecting him. Funny. You didn't know the guy's last name? I told him he was behind closed doors and I couldn't pull him out. He finally tells me "That's fine I'll catch him on his cell later." This is when I got to mess with him and told him "You really must not know him then because you'd know he's one of those anti cell phone people and doesn't carry one." and hung up on him. If they weren't rude, it wouldn't be an issue. They should remember that when you're calling the main line, you don't know who you're getting on the phone.  I love this site- thanks for the opportunity to vent against these [***]!

These guys are a joke.  They call here all the time asking for our CEO, lying about appointments and meetings, refuse to tell you who they are calling with, etc.  Today they told me they were calling from "the gates of hell."  It is always entertaining when they call - as our CEO is not even in this country, doesn't speak English, and has never been to this office.

The only reason I know it is H&S is because a friend of mine almost left his good job to gain an entry level position with them - these kinda sites saved his ass.  I saw this site and immediately knew who it was that was always calling being complete pricks.

They called, must have found my resume on Monster/Careerbuilder.com, about coming in for an interview. I had no idea who they were, remember they called me, and asked the lady on the other line to tell me about them. She literally said "Ugh" and seemed completely annoyed that I would want to know anything about a company that wants me to work for them. Needless to say, I declined an interview with them and yet I still get a couple calls a week from them! Sounds like a well run company to me!!! -NOTE THE SARCASM!

These guys are scammers and they call all the time...they keep calling even after you forefully tell them to stop.  I would urge anyone getting a call from these people to report them.

A man called and asked for the owner by his first name. I told the caller he was on another line and asked if he would like to leave a voicemail. He told me he wouldn't mind holding.

I told him that the owner doesn't take these kinds of calls directly, and it would be best for him to leave a voicemail. He sounded very angry and asked "What kind of calls? I don't know what you're talking about!" I said, "Unsolicited calls. I can hear the call center in the background." He got snotty and continued to deny it. I told him again that I could hear other calls in the background.

He asked my name, and his tone suggested that he wanted it so he could complain about me to my boss, and told me he would "just send him an email."

I just love the obvious insiders leaving comments pretending we should be thanking these cold callers for attempting to save our jobs, when all they are doing is trying to save their own.

The caller said he'd like to speak to (my boss's first name).  I said he wasn't available, take a message?  He wanted me to just let my boss know that Rob Becker was on the line.  I said my boss wasn't physically in that morning, but I could get a message to him.  Then he asked for one of our executives by first and last name.  I let the 2nd person know about the call - he didn't recognize the name and wanted him put into voicemail.  I told Rob that the 2nd person was in an employee training meeting and would have a break in a hour, would he like voicemail.  He said no, he'd try back later, and we ended the call. That's when my 2nd person forwarded me this link.  I'll be on guard against any future calls.

I used to work for this company. This company is [***].  They tell you that they got their your info as a referal also a lot of them lie about their name that's [***].  They can also be very rude to you and your secratary.  If someone from this company calls you tell them to shove the phone up their ass.  The biggest thing is that they treat the employees like [***].  They yell and scream at their employees like, the hours are long and the pay is [***].  When they hire they don't do a background check on the applicants because they hire you the next day.  For all you know business owners you could be giving your company's financial info to an ex-con.  I want to see what houlihan smith has to say about that.

calls and doesn't leave message.

A gentleman continues to call and ask for our current CEO - when asked what it is regarding the caller becomes completely evasive.  

I was given the following information from him during my call - Caller:  Mike Pulumbo Company:  Houlihan Smith  

I was told to pass on the information but I would have to provide a name of the person they could expect to call back as they "heavily" screen their calls.  I answered "then we're at a stalemate as I am not providing that information" I was hung up on.

"These are not sales calls - they gather information to see if Houlihan Smith can be of assistance to help them climb there way out of an economic crisis."

"This isn't a sales call." or "You don't know who I am." Yeah right. They're just calling to get information so they can try to sell you their services, but it isn't a "sales" call. Hey, fits my definition to a "T". The kind of call the boss has emphatically stated he DOES NOT WANT.

Oh, by the way, letting a call like yours through will not save my job. They don't keep ineffective people on the switchboard. (Nor do they fire people for following instructions.) And implying you're sooooo much smarter than me is not going to endear you in any way.

But hey, go ahead and call again. Let's see how much time you're willing to waste playing What-Part-of-NO-Don't-You-Understand?