Copyright 2002 New York Times Company This article is reprinted without permission from the New York Times under the fair use doctrine. When Michael Gonzales, an aerospace engineer in Arlington, Tex., lost his job in October 1999, he turned to Bernard Haldane Associates (news/quote), a business that describes itself as the nation's oldest and largest career - management company, with 93 offices in Britain, Canada and the United States. Mr. Gonzales said he paid Bernard Haldane, which is based in New York, an upfront fee of $4,815, a decision he says he now regrets. He said Haldane promised to deliver "hidden market" job leads, but instead provided a mostly useless "data dump" of company information, much of which could have been obtained free on the Internet. Mr. Gonazales has since found a job on his own, but he is battling for a full refund from Haldane. He is among hundreds of dissatisfied Haldane customers, some paying as much as $20,000, who have complained about the company's practices to 11 state attorneys general, including those in California, New York and Texas. One state, Kansas, is investigating nearly 100 consumer complaints against the company.in response, Haldane said some complaints were to be expected given its history of serving more than 600,000 customers over 53 years. It also said Mr. Gonzales received what he was promised, and that it never guaranteed career advancement. "What we do is give our clients tools so they can have a successful job search, " said Jerold Weinger, Haldane's chairman and chief executive. Haldane has faced similar complaints in the past.in 1982, after the attorney general in New York accused the firm of making "false, misleading and deceptive" statements, Haldane agreed, without admitting guilt, to make refunds to clients.in 1983, California obtained an injunction against the company, preventing it from making misleading statements to potential clients. And in 1992, the district attorney of Contra Costa County, Calif., reached a settlement with the company under which it agreed, again without admitting wrongdoing, to refund $60,000 to 63 clients. "They give the impression that the big check leads to the big job, " said Bill Mitchell, president of the Southern California Better Business Bureau. After receiving many complaints about the company, Mr. Mitchell in 1998 wrote an article in his online newsletter about the complaints. While headhunters, executive recruiters, employment agencies and outplacement companies earn commissions and fees from employers, retail outplacement concerns like Haldane are paid directly by the client. According to Tom Rodenhauser, an independent consultant for the recruiting industry, the ready availability of job listings and databases on the Internet has eliminated much of the exclusive value that companies like Haldane used to be able to offer clients. Critics argue that Haldane compensates for its outmoded business model by misrepresenting what it can do for clients. Mr. Weinger said his firm does not promise to make calls or provide contacts, set up interviews, create networks, match clients with recruiters or guarantee job placement for any of its clients. "It would be ridiculous for us to set up interviews, " he said. "That would be another person getting in the way between our client and the prospective employer. "He said Haldane offered clients guidance in redesigning a rsum and access, via a password, to an Internet service that consolidates job-search engines and databases. It also assigns each client to a career adviser, usually a former executive, he says, though not a "career counselor, " a designation that, in most states, requires licensing by the state. For access to these services for three years, Haldane clients pay from $4,000 to $20,000. Mr. Weinger, the chief executive, said they are charged roughly 10 percent of their most recent salaries. Pamela Pagliochini, a career counselor whose company Vocatus, based in Manhattan, offers career development and management services at $110 a session, said she considered $20,000 a staggering sum to charge. "I think upfront fees are unethical, " Ms. Pagliochini said, "because if it's not working for you, you should be able to stop. "Haldane, which has expanded greatly under Mr. Weinger's leadership since 1989, operates by a system of licensing, meaning that various businesses pay royalty fees to Haldane for the use of its name and program. Mr. Gonzales, the aerospace engineer, said he first learned about the firm in a newspaper advertisement reading "Job Hunting." Such advertisements appear weekly in many national newspapers, including The New York Times (news/quote). He sent his rsum to the firm, believing it was a recruiter, which called him for an interview. Before meeting with Robert Lewis, a Haldane vice president for client services, Mr. Gonzales gave information about his job history and his savings and other assets.in his complaint to the Texas attorney general, Mr. Gonzales stated that in two meetings, Mr. Lewis "described how after years in the business, Haldane amassed a robust and proprietary network of contacts to which I would have access." Convinced Haldane would be the conduit to unpublished jobs, Mr. Gonzales paid by check and signed a contract. People familiar with the firm say those taking legal action against it face high hurdles because clients sign a contract that does not bind Haldane to specific tasks or results. Clients also regularly sign off on a waiver that states they have not been orally promised anything that contradicts the paper contract. Mr. Gonzales said the promises made to him were mostly oral, a claim echoed by hundreds of other former Haldane customers across the country and in Canada. Asked why he signed the documents, he said, "I was vulnerable and convinced by the sales pitch. I didn't scrutinize the paperwork." Other clients claim they were told to view the wording in the documents as nothing more than legalese from the company's lawyers. Haldane's executive vice president, wrote to the Texas attorney general in response to the complaint, "I am having a difficult time determining where Mr. Gonzales misunderstood our program." He stated that the written contract was very clear that Haldane made no guarantees of providing career advancement. Bernard Haldane Associates was founded in 1947 by Bernard Haldane, revered by many as the father of outplacement. Dr. Haldane, who holds a Ph. D.in management and human resources, sold his interest in the firm in 1974 and now, at age 91, continues to lecture on career-management issues at the University of Washington. He said that while his contact with the company was limited to a meeting perhaps every two years, he thinks it provides a useful service. "In all the reports I have seen intermittently over the years, everybody says they have gained a great deal from being a client, " he said. Disgruntled clients tell a different tale. Teresa King of Indianapolis, for example, said she paid $4,005 to Haldane in March because she was "promised an inside track and a database of clients they match you up with." While she has cut off contact with the firm and posted an account of her experience on a Web site, she says she has not complained directly to the company. Jay Jungalwala of Hudson, Mass., did. Mr. Jungalwala was looking for a position as an executive vice president and pledged $17,000 in April because, he said, Haldane gave him the impression it had personal relationships with chief executives in his field, which was related to Internet technology. Upon unearthing unfavorable opinions about Haldane, Mr. Jungalwala said, he demanded and received a refund before his contract was fully executed. Tom Sparber, a former Haldane vice president who worked for a year in a Haldane office in New Jersey owned by B.L. Marketing before leaving last May, said he was encouraged to make vague references to potential clients about a beneficial relationship Haldane had with an outside company called Sterling Hightower. This company, these potential customers were assured, would put their rsums in front of thousands of executive recruiters across the nation.in an interview, Mr. Weinger acknowledged that this supposed third-party firm was in fact owned by the Haldane licensee in Tucson, Ariz., Sarah Hightower - Hill. Ms. Hightower-Hill said the company provides rsums to executive recruiters who request them, but she declined to identify the recruiters or to say how many used her service.in Kansas, Assistant Attorney General Dave Harder said the highly unusual number of complaints there raised a red flag. His office has tried to mediate by seeking refunds for dissatisfied customers, which he said Haldane had refused to provide. He said he was in the process of taking sworn statements to determine whether Haldane has breached state statutes protecting consumers against deceptive practices. Asked about the nearly 100 complaints in Kansas, Mr. Weinger, Haldane's chief executive, said he did not believe the number was that high. Positive feedback from clients far outweighs the negative, he said, adding that he was aware of very few unhappy customers. Haldane provided the phone numbers of three customers, one of whom responded to the request for an interview. "I am satisfied, " said Larry Jalowiec of Quakertown, Pa., whose former employer financed the service as part of an outplacement package. "Haldane helped me by bucking me up whenever my job search got frustrating. "As for Mr. Gonzales, he found a job on his own by answering a want ad in the newspaper. Haldane has offered him a partial refund in exchange for signing a confidentiality agreement that would prohibit him from telling his story, a settlement he has refused. AshleySan Francisco, California
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