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Feb.,
2011
Muddy the (Search) Waters:
CertaPro retained Aviatech (now part of Mainstream Interactive), a company involved in "reputation
management". It appears to me the purpose of reputation management is to
call those who make complaints liars, or to try to bury the
complaints in a google search by flooding the web with favorable
stuff. Or maybe some of both.
The idea: If you
can get all of YOUR stuff to show up on the first one or two
pages of google, people may never see the complaints.
After this website was established, CertaPro (Aviatech?) established numerous new websites and uploaded numerous Certapro videos praising Certapro.
Aviatech explains
part of it's "reputation management" strategy this
way, at its blog:
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the primary strategy is to influence the actual
Search Results. This entails a combination
of Search Engine Optimization, Social Media
Optimization, and Content Publishing. If done
correctly, over time, what used to be two
pages of Google filled with negative content
can be transformed to two pages of neutral
or positive content. Research has shown that
92% of consumers researching your company
will never look past the first page; of the
remaining 8%, only 2% will look past the second
page. This fact gives every company a manageable
objective when beginning a reputation management
program. |
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source: blog.aviatech.com/online-reputation-management-%E2%80%93-two-sides-of-the-story/
Translation: Dump
a bunch of your own crap on the web, write a bunch
of articles at free publishing sites, make posts to blogs,
etc. In effect, it's what I consider to be a massive spam
campaign.
.
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Aviatech is now part of Mainstream Interactive
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IOW: Put a lot
of your OWN crap out there in the hope the complaints will
be buried in a search.
One such site I suspect they'd like to bury: CertaPro
Painters Complaints as well as, of course, this one..
And it appears
to me that's what Aviatech (now part of Mainstream interactive) was attempting to do on behalf
of Certapro.
Larry Carnier, Aviatech sock puppet?
A ton of stuff appeared on the web from someone named "Larry Carnier". Using a web search, I could not find a real person named "Larry Carnier". I suspect "Larry Carnier" was a sock puppet used by Aviatech.
Here's an example of one of many pro-Certapro videos uploaded by "Larry Carnier". I believe the franchisee who "put in the work" is now gone.
The "Put In The Work" Slander and Lie
CertaPro blames failed franchisees for failing to "put in the work"
or to "work hard enough" to make the franchise succeed.
It's a lie.
Here's a screen grab of a "put in the work" video
uploaded to YouTube by "Larry Carnier".
I have made notations.
"Larry Carnier" uploaded many similar videos, with different franchisees
:
Joe Scalzo doesn't appear to be listed anymore at the Certapro website.
So there you go:
- Certapro hires a "reputation management" company to load the web with websites and videos.
- All those videos and websites remain online.
- Even if they are now a lie.
Blame the Franchisee:
Kill the messenger:
A common technique to discredit people who complain, in the
hope of casting doubt on their veracity (as implied in the video above).
One thing I've observed
in virtually ALL franchisee-franchisor disputes: The franchisor almost ALWAYS
accuses the franchisee of being at fault, or incompetent.
I guess they hope nobody notices how
MANY failed franchisees there are.
Then, too, since many/most failed franchisees signed that "gag agreement", they can't talk about why they REALLY failed.
If you're a prospective buyer, you will probably hear a lot of blame laid on failed (and silenced) franchisees. Never mind the Certapro bullshit about "business in a box" and "no experience needed". It's lies. Marketing lies. Lies to get money.
Certapro marketing and franchise sales are based on Misrepresentation and Lies.
But then, can Certapro admit it's selling snake oil?
It HAS to blame franchisees for the failure of their franchises.
The only other option is to effectively admit they are engaging in misrepresentation and fraud.
How many franchises do you think they'd sell if they said, "There's a 90% probability your franchise will fail and you may lose $150,000 or more (but we'll make a lot of money), and when you fail we'll blame you"?
Honest to God,
I don't know how the assholes sleep at night.
Read
more about the Aviatech-Certapro tactics
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