Monday, May 03, 2010

How Cheap Is Huron?

According to the New York Times, they are so cheap they billed one of their clients $2.36 for a pack of gum. The Huron Witch is not only evil, she is cheap as hell!

"No charges have been too big, or too small. The Huron Consulting Group, a management consultancy {bottom feeding outsourcing outfit} involved in Lehman, charged $2.54 for 'gum in airport.'"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/business/02workout.html

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

do you have a link to the story?

Anonymous said...

No charges have been too big, or too small. The Huron Consulting Group, a management consultancy involved in Lehman, charged $2.54 for “gum in airport.” In the G.M. case, Brownfield Partners has billed $230,209.55, including an $18 fitness-club charge at a hotel.

A Brownfield partner said an employee didn’t realize that there was a separate charge to use the fitness club and didn’t notice it on the hotel bill. The firm agreed to remove the charge after the examiner brought it to the firm’s attention.

Analysts say that nickel-and-diming might be worth a laugh or two — if some of the larger fees weren’t snowballing so quickly as well. They say these bounteous fees reduce the money left for creditors in the bankruptcy cases. In the Lehman case, some unsecured creditors, including bondholders, banks and vendors, are likely to get just 14.7 cents on the dollar for their claims, according to Lehman’s proposed reorganization plan. Nor will they get their money quickly — some experts say they believe that the Lehman case could drag on for three to five more years.

Lawyers and restructuring pros who are picking up the pieces of companies swamped by the bankruptcy wave say that their fees are well deserved and that their services help make the bankruptcy process more efficient. And they say the pay is more than made up for by a tidier resolution of a financial debacle — or, as in G.M.’s case, the revivification of a wounded company.

Anonymous said...

Since when is the NYT's reporting on staffing agencies? If it is within the context of a story with a deeper context, please provide lead to story headline, date, and staff reporter/writer. What is the link to this story?

Anonymous said...

the story isn't exclusively about Huron, it's here

Anonymous said...

Thank you for providing the link to verify credibility.

Stupid Sexy Flanders said...

Let's put this in perspective, it was a pack of gum "at the airport."

Everything at airports (or train stations, or even NJ Turnpike rest stops) has like a 300% markup. captive consumer, ya know?

Anonymous said...

Who is the Huron witch and how did she get that nickname?

.. said...

Next they'll be charging tampons.

Sonia said...

What is Huron, who is the witch, and why should I worry about her?

Anonymous said...

Huron Consulting is one of the firms that started up after the demise of Arthur Andersen. Among other things, it does doc reviews (mostly for big banks). The Huron Witch is probably one of the nasty project managers who resembles...well...a witch.

Anonymous said...

I am wondering if anyone can help me on a 1099 issue.

I worked on a 1099 for a lawyer. Later that work erroneously got classified as employee work by the Dept. of Labor but I wrote in to them that it was contract work and I do not need benefits from this employer.

The lawyer/employer and I submitted the letter to the Dept. of Labor and they said we will have to wait for the hearing. Now the lawyer is refusing to pay me saying he has had to spend thousands on consulting his own lawyers and producing hundreds of files to the Dept of Labor and IRS.

I can't imagine he has to produce all this BEFORE the hearing. Does anyone know how this process works. I have already written the letter and will appear in the hearing to testify that my being classified as an employee was a mistake. But the employer is already saying he has suffered a huge loss.

Any advice would be appreciated as I stand to lose money I really need - and am behind on my rent.

Anonymous said...

If an agency bills me out for $40 an hour anyone know how much they charge the firm?

Anonymous said...

If an agency pays you $40 they will typically charge the firm about $100 plus or so. After that the firm then takes their cut by marking it up to somewhere less than a first year's rate to their client.

Anonymous said...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/business/02workout.html?scp=1&sq=huron%20lehman&st=cse

It's a real article from April 30, 2010. But is this Huron the same that staffs document reviews?

It's about time someone is nickel-and-diming the temp agencies. Hopefully that'll trickle up to the law firms who clearly overbill temp attorney work and under bill the temp attorneys themselves. Glad to be leaving this rat nest.

Anonymous said...

The era of the agency big payday is over. Most get a much smaller multiple these days, perhaps 1.4 of the temps pay. It's nothing like 2.5 the temp salary anymore.

There are just way too many agencies and now LPOs undercutting the price. Some agencies will still try to gouge, but the GCs and firms are pretty wise to the temp agency scam these days.

I did hear of one case recently where Agency A was paying $32 and Agency B was paying $40. I would imagine the agency was getting $50 or $55.

Remember, the firm still needs room to pad out the billing for the client. Temps are often billed out $125 to $150.

In other cases, the firm is going with a flat fee from the recruiter and paying the attorneys directly.

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FrankZ said...

http://www.summation.com/ResourceLibrary.aspx

https://www302.livemeeting.com/lrs/0000012523/Registration.aspx?pageName=x2wmgdk5v6pgljc0

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Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

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