Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/07/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I received telemarketing calls from Happy Grasshopper (even though I was on the Do Not Call Registry for telemarketers). After some phone calls and follow up I agreed to have some literature sent to me and eventually set a Zoom Meeting with owner *********************. During this meeting I tacitly agreed to try the platform with the understanding there was a free 30-day trial period. Though (as it was pointed out to me when I tried cancelling) it is not a "free" trial period merely a "30-day trial period". Throughout the course of the meeting I believe it was made clear by myself at multiple stages that if there was no risk to trying the platform for 30 days and could cancel, I would be willing to give it a shot. Since that was not accurate and that there were multiple points where this could've been pointed out I believe the way the agreement is presented and sales pitch is delivered is designed to deliberately mislead the consumer. After paying $3000 up front I had a few short calls with their team and saw drafts of the marketing content. While I appreciated their time it was template based and not as custom as expected. I decided to cancel and was told it isn't "free" trial period. The client commitment states that there is a "12-Month commitment (after your 30-day trial period). Between that and the implied presentation of a no-harm no foul 30-day trial period... It's misleading. Even though terms and conditions fine print DO state that all payments are non-refundable. I missed that I'll admit.On top of being called, though I'm on do not call registry, and the misleading 30-Day Trial Period (Not 'Free' 30 Day Trial period). During our Zoom it was implied that a national industry leader uses their product. I had someone that knows the individual text him and ask if he's used their product and he had not. I actually knew that prior to paying the $3000 upfront but wasn't going to fault a salesman for being salesy. At least I didn't pay for the full year commitment.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/02/2022

  As emailed from ****************************** on October 20th, 2022:
  
  **: Complaint #******** filed by ******* ********* against Happy Grasshopper
  
  Hello,
  
  My name is *********************, and I am the founder and owner of Happy Grasshopper. Over the past 12 years, our brand has built a solid reputation by helping real estate professionals grow headcount, production, or both.
  
  We have been featured by ******************* and Real Trends and are regarded as high-quality, reputable professionals.
  
  In response to ************************** complaint, I've elected to focus on the thrust of his complaint rather than his assertion that we violated the Do Not Call Registry, as we obviously did not call him as a consumer, but as a business.
  
  In his complaint, he says "I tacitly agreed to try the platform with the understanding there was a free 30-day trial period."
  
  Many services have free trials, however, Happy Grasshopper is not one of them. There is simply no way we could pay our staff to interview our members and write their custom content, so we collect an initial investment and the first month's payment when a client places their order.
  
  I first met with ********************** on August 9th, 2022 via Zoom and he was enthusiastic about joining our program. Afterward, I emailed him links to signup online and review our Client Commitment document.
  
  On August 10th, we had not yet received his order, and I followed up via email asking if he had any questions I could help with. He replied on August 11th, stating "Just dialing in whether I need to do annual or monthly plan. ******* moved up schedule on my home by 3 weeks. Will confirm."
  
  On August 12th, he emailed asking "Can you send me the contract for monthly plan please." I replied that day with a link to the contract.
  
  On August 15, 2022, ********************** placed his order, paid his fees, and also Docu-Signed our "Client Commitment" doc, which clearly states our terms.
  
  Our staff worked quickly to uphold our commitments:
  
  On August 18, 2022, he met with his Happy Grasshopper Account Manager (we call them "Success Coaches") and discussed his goals for our engagement.
  
  On August 22nd, he was interviewed by one of our *************************, who worked diligently to create the content ********************** had ordered.
  
  On September 6th, ********************** sent me an email requesting a refund while also praising the quality of our work. He stated, "The copy that **** made was great" and he was, "Happy with the services, staff, and content."
  
  If required, I will happily provide evidence of all these communications, along with my reply to his request for a refund.
  
  From our perspective, we clearly communicated our service and the terms in which it's provided, both orally and in written communication. He requested, received, and agreed to all of our terms before purchase, praised the quality of the work we provided, and then requested a refund in accordance with a policy we don't possess.
  
  If Happy Grasshopper were a restaurant, it would be as if ********************** consulted our Chef, carefully considered the perfect ingredients and flavor profiles, booked a banquet, ate the food, praised the staff and then asked for a refund.
  
  I'm still confused as to how he could believe we had a tacit agreement to provide one when all the due diligence he asked for asserted we do not.
  
  In my response to his email of September 6th, in which he requested a refund, I stated:
  
  I'd love to jump on a call and hear your feedback, and I thank you for being so clear in your email. Whenever the time is right, please book with me at https://happygrasshopper.com/***
  
  In the meantime, I certainly understand there are significant technical overlaps between Happy Grasshopper and almost every other CRM. As discussed during our call, organizing contacts and sending messages is not a significant tech challenge in 2022.
  
  The real challenges are:
  
  1) Quality content, which is perhaps the number one reason people choose to work with us. Remember, we're currently nurturing about 26 million contacts, giving us a unique perspective to measure and deliver content that works. This is our "unfair advantage" in the ** tech marketplace.
  
  and
  
  2) Implementation, as you know all too well. ?? This is precisely why we have our staff of Success Coaches we know how easy it is for busy brokers like you to get caught up in the day-to-day and therefore miss out on the enormous possibilities a well-managed and messaged database creates.
  
  In short, I see you ******* *********! LOL and I know you're better with us than without us!
  
  Finally, I'll close by thanking you and sincerely wishing you all the best.
  
  We'll honor our terms, of course, and you are no longer committed to the 12-months we agreed to work together.
  
  That said, you used the term "free trial" a few times in your message, and I don't want there to be any confusion. During your first 30-days, we agree to release you from the 12-month commitment, however there are no refunds for services rendered.
  
  We do it this way because it's the right way to help you succeed in the long-term. For example, it would cost you a lot more than your investment with us to go another year without implementing the right messaging plan.
  
  I've attached the Client Commitment doc you signed for reference and please know that we're all sincerely committed to helping our members succeed. Sometimes that means being flexible... for example, if you're in a cashflow pinch, let us know and we'll work something out!
  
  He replied in an email with the subject line of: "HappyGrass ****** Free Trial"
  
  "Ah I see that. I feel like there were multiple occasions in our conversation where my willingness to try the program was obviously connected to a 30 day trial and ability to cancel without charge if the program wasnt suited. If all fees are non-refundable then certainly having a 30 day trial period is in itself misleading. But I see now why the structure of the verbiage is delivered that way connected with terms and conditions."
  
  I do understand ************************** position, however, I do not understand how he came to believe we have a free trial.
  
  As a proposed solution, I'd like to offer ********************** the following:
  
  Re-join Happy Grasshopper and use our service free for five months. This equals the value of the refund he is seeking and will likely yield results worth far beyond what he has invested with us.
  
  If you have any questions or would like to discuss this matter further, please reach out to me.
  
  All my best,
  ***