212-920-8181

we need to let frost & sullivan and IDC who they are partners with know about their scams.

how do we go about doing this?

Go to the contact us page and email them these links.

the gds scam will certainly start emailing the various agencies and also draft some kind of letter.

keep semding stories to us and we will post them on the blog, but what would help is companies, names of executives and industry sectors. We will do the ground work of chasing them down and informing them of links

send the details you have to the above address and we will take care of everything for you. If you want to remain confidential, make up an email address and send the details then, if you not worried, your details will remain confidential

Alright, let's get a few things clear.

None of these publications are audited - check the website they are neither audited or in the process of.

-Mails are sent out and the circulation statistics are altered for every single client - this in point of fact fraud.

Managers use other employee email accounts without informing the recipient that it is not the person on that email who is writing to them - again this is illegal, as is using your employees name when doing a call back. You are impersonating an individual for your own gain = fraud.

Emails are legally binding documents, I am surprised that no one has sued due to this reason alone.

Media kits are set up by the person on that section and emailed to the manager for Bristol to set up a fax pack for you. The sales person gets the relevant info from Google.

How is it that every company is able to have a Q&A with a named CEO in the mag, I have heard people pitching the fact a named exec is discussing everything from CRM, disaster recovery, finance, telco etc and will be having questions posed to him from the prospective vendor in each - WTF!!!! If this does not point out a scam to the employees I do not know what will.

I have spoken to clients myself, they have advertised in the past and have had horrendous dealings with GDS.

Leads blatantly made up
Spelling mistakes in article
No delegates they were expecting at summits
Endless problems with people chasing for finance before agreed date

This is a scam - any employee that tries to defend this company is a fool!

Naivity can only excuse to a point, the evidence is glaringly obvious!

These guys are making around 500k or more between their offices globally, they really do need to be stopped and as soon as possible.

I used to work for this company.  I was straight out of school, needed money, and they had promised to a salary well over 100K through ad sales.  The physical office environment is a boiler room.  All the sales people on the floor wear headsets with attached wires, the sales director tells you to close your computers & ''start smiling & keep dialing''.  Additionally, he tells the employees when to sit & stand (to get the tempo 'up' in the office).  When GDS salespeople make a sale, they have the client fax them back a signed contract within 24 hours.  When the contract floats through on the shared fax machine, the entire office claps & that salesperson is to ring a big asain-style gong.  

So what's the incentive?  GDS pays absurdly low base salaries with extremely high sales commissions.  Additionally, sales people are rewarded with lavish gifts, champagne, dinners, nights out, and of course, island vacations.  Where as one company might use corporate incentives as a just reward, GDS uses gifts to make people stay a little bit longer.

Some of these people in the company have drug issues, as cocaine runs rampant here.

Might I mention, the infamous CEO, who is a raging alcoholic - who hits on all of the female employees.  There have been quite a few cases where after a days work, the company would round everyone up like cattle to go to a bar & drink.  The CEO would ask new, young, female employees to join them in his hotel room for the night & if they refused, he would say "well, you haven't been doing too well lately, and I think it's about time we let you go"....In turn, the girls that threaten to call the police, the media, etc... He had written them checks for $10,000, $30,000, etc....

The most ironic part of this company is that - at their address on Whitehall St. in NYC - they are on the same floor as the U.S. Dept. of Labor.  

A couple of other GDS bits:

1. They won't send you a magazine, and if you ask a salesperson to send you one & it winds up ''not a deal'', aka, the client doesn't purchase any advertising, they make the employee (of GDS) pay the company (GDS) $30.
2. On the back of the GDS business cards, list the ''global offices'' of GDS International.  The only offices they have is a NYC office, a Cardiff office & a Bristol office (Bristol is the ''HQ).  The China & Australia office had shut down years ago.
3. They *only* hire attractive, in shape, people to keep the office ''alluring'' & incestual.
4. Salespeople will tell you all publications are "BPA Audited" - Which GDS pays $15,000 for 1 BPA Audit, usually just one time - and then they tell clients time & time again, all publications are audited.  I'm not sure who runs this BPA Auditing company, but these publications do not go out.
5. I've heard the conferences are actually pretty good & very bountiful; however, the publication is not.
6. They've had various run-ins with independent analyst firms such as Gartner, etc...


If you are at GDS and are reading this: Don't kid yourself. I was a ''top'' selling salesperson during my employment, made tons of money - which allowed me to luxuries I would've never had elsewhere.  However, I was young, foolish & didn't realize the importance of ethics.  

During my employment there, I have made some amazing friends - some of whom still work for GDS, and that's the sad part.  I try to tell them to leave, but they won't, the place is like a warped sense of reality.  I've been wanting to shout from the rooftops about this place.  I've wanted to alert the media, get this place raided, but I've been very scared b/c there are some dear people that still work there.  

If you are a past client of this company or an attorney, please, you have to do something about this.  I am begging you.  It's a disservice to companies all around the world.

Thank you for reading.

People have been saying for years that they couldn't continue but they have and are still growing. If they are billing 500,000 a week thats 26 million a year.

If you really wanted to check the distribution figures go to companies house in the UK and buy a copy of the annual report they have to submit. This give a breakdown of all expenses + revenue it only cost about 25 pounds.

If that shows minimal printing costs then you know what they say is BS.

This is exactly what I do not understand - if they are so corrupt, then how are they continuing to grow? Why aren't there more corporations that have been scammed coming forward and filing suit? What legal action has been filed against GDS? None of this make sense.  To be quite honest, most of the complainers on this board sound like former employees who had a bad experience at this place. It definitely sounds like a horrible place to work, but if they are actually corrupt, where is the proof?

If half of what's said here is true then they are doing something wrong.  I speak from experience - they DO NOT DISTRIBUTE ANY PUBLICATIONS so if your spending anywhere between 3 - 10K on advertising then your paying to look at your own ad - nobody else sees it other than the other vendors who've been conned in the same edition.

Selling something that doesn't exisit may not be illegal but it is morally wrong.

I recently left GDS New York and everyone in the NY office knows about this website.  The people that work in the GDS International NY office come onto the website and write phony 1 line comments to throw off the truthfulness of this forum, this site and the company as a whole.  

Do not stop posting the names & contact info all of the upper management so this company can be shut down.

They are an illegal company stealing for hardworking businesses.

The office at GDS has recently moved from Whitehall street to

GDS Publishing, Inc.
Trump Building
40 Wall Street
Floor 5
NEW YORK
NY 10005
USA

Well Madoff's Ponzi scheme lasted 48 years... Just because a company has history and growth doesn't mean it's legit. Fact of the matter is most companies who have been screwed (and called them out on it) either haven't paid them, settled out of court, or just called it a loss and made a note not to do business with them again. Unfortunately, due to the amount of effort and time it takes to take legal actions against a company like this, most companies would rather cut their losses. After all, 10-50K for a fortune 1000 company isn't that big of a loss. What other choice do they have? They could sue, but the costs (time lost, court fees, etc.) outweigh the benefits. And even if they did sue, the company probably wouldn't be able to pay all the damages. The company has grown, but the numbers they will tell employees and prospective employees are grossly inflated.
Keep in mind, it's easy to grow when your overhead is extremely limited... the Majority of the revenue they make is pure profit because they pay low salaries, don't publish or mail magazines. Every extra perk.. nights out at the bar, team trips, etc, are tax write offs... Which raises another question, I understand writing off a client dinners, but can you write off happy hour every Friday? I'd imagine getting wasted with your friends is probably not a legit tax write off... Maybe their is some room for the IRS in this investigation...

Madoff's Ponzi scheme lasted 48 years... Just because a company has history and growth doesn't mean it's legit. Fact of the matter is most companies who have been screwed (and called them out on it) either haven't paid them, settled out of court, or just called it a loss and made a note not to do business with them again. Unfortunately, due to the amount of effort and time it takes to take legal actions against a company like this, most companies would rather cut their losses. After all, 10-50K for a fortune 1000 company isn't that big of a loss. What other choice do they have? They could sue, but the costs (time lost, court fees, etc.) outweigh the benefits. And even if they did sue, the company probably wouldn't be able to pay all the damages. The company has grown, but the numbers they will tell employees and prospective employees are grossly inflated.
Keep in mind, it's easy to grow when your overhead is extremely limited... the Majority of the revenue they make is pure profit because they pay low salaries, don't publish or mail magazines. Every extra perk.. nights out at the bar, team trips, etc, are tax write offs... Which raises another question, I understand writing off a client dinners, but can you write off happy hour every Friday? I'd imagine getting wasted with your friends is probably not a legit tax write off... Maybe their is some room for the IRS in this investigation...

Obviously an brain washed employee!

Does anyone here remember Owen Wilson?  He is the former Vice President of Recruitment.

He is the person who trained and hired the group I came in with.  

I heard that he got "sacked" (as GDS calls laying off or firing) about a year ago and he was one of the guys that's been there since the beginning of GDS.

I still have his contact information so assuming that his cell phone number still works someone should contact him and try to get his input and information on GDS and the best way to bring them down.  I wouldn't be surprised if he felt betrayed because from what I could gather GDS was a home to him that provided for his life in America.

On another note I know that they are opening an office in Malaysia and some of the employees from the New York office are going to be transferring there for at least a year.  Is it possible that they're opening the Malaysia office as a way to keep their operation going if their New York and UK locations are finally exposed and taken down?

As a side note I liked the people I worked with (at least the ones I got to know and hang out with), however there is definitely a lot of crooked stuff going on in that company.  Someone should try reaching out the the IT guy, Joe (a good guy who just does is work), who works in New York as I'm sure he'd be able to provide a mountain of data (though I know he gets paid well so would probably not be willing to give that information up in risk of losing his well paying job and lifestyle).

Word on the street is Owen Wilson, former VP of HR is now a Sales Rep at Raymour & Flanagan, the furniture store. Word to the wise... GDS does nothing for a resume. From a 6 figure salary to selling bed sets, not exactly what I call career progression.
If you're looking for a great place to start a career, this is not it. Senior management ending up in low level sales jobs after a decade of service.. hustler's looking for a quick buck will be kindly welcomed here.
College grads stay away. To those who have already been sucked in... i would suggest you start looking at your options or save every penny you make...

Word on the street is also how hard it is to get a job after GDS.  All of the sales people think they have real sales experience and that they have great training.  They know how to manipulate lie and cheat.  If you have a good head your shoulders you will leave soon and get a job that respects you and can show you actual skills.  Or better yet, will allow you to be promoted and reap the rewards!

Anonymous said...
Go to CFOHEALTHSUMMIT.com, CLICK ATTENDEES, TYPE IN ''health1011''
- http://www.cfohealthsummit.com/summit-delegat ... mmit-us-2010/1/

03 November 2009 11:17
Anonymous said...
Here is a list of the Attendees for the CFO Health Summit, please start emailing them:

Adventist Health System - Terry D. Shaw, CFO
Ascension Health - Anthony Speranzo, CFO
Banner Health - Dennis Dahlen, CFO
Baylor Health Care System - Frederick Savelsbergh, CFO
California Pacific Medical Center - John Gates, CFO
Caritas Christi Health Care - Mark Rich, CFO
Catholic Healthcare West - Michael Blaszyk, CFO
Charleston Area Medical Center - Larry Hudson, CFO
Christiana Care Health System - Thomas Corrigan, CFO
Community Health Systems Inc. - Larry Cash, CFO
Continuum Health Partners, Inc. - John Callura, CFO

03 November 2009 11:18
Anonymous said...
Exempla Healthcare Inc. - Todd Conklin, CFO
Geisinger Health System - Kevin Brennan, CFO
HCA - David Anderson, SVP of Finance
HealthEast Care system - Robert D. Gill, CFO
HealthSouth Corporation - John Workman, CFO
Inova Alexandria Hospital - Todd Lockcuff, CFO
Inova Health System - Richard Magenheimer, CFO
Intermountain Healthcare - Bert Zimmerli, CFO
LSU Health System - Jaquetta Clemons, CFO
Main Line Health - Mike Buongiorno, Executive Vice President, CFO
Mayo Clinic - Jeffrey W. Bolton, CFO
Memorial Health Services - Mike Scialdone, CFO
North Fulton Regional Hospital - Wesley James, CFO
North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System - Robert S. Shapiro, CFO

03 November 2009 11:18
Anonymous said...
Northwestern Memorial Healthcare - Peter J. McCanna , Executive Vice President Administration and Chief Financial Officer
NYU Langone Medical Center - Richard Baum, CFO
Rush University Medical Center - Catherine A. Jacobson, SVP and CFO
Scottsdale Healthcare - Todd LaPorte, CFO
Scripps Health - Richard K. Rothberger, CFO
Sisters of Mercy Health System - Randy Combs, CFO
Texas Health Resources - Donald Long, CFO
Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) - Steve Filton, SVP and CFO
Vanguard Health System - Phillip Roe, CFO

03 November 2009 11:19