TERRIBLE COMPANY. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

I tried to use this company to subcontract out some work for a client of mine as I was short on my own time with other clients. Worst decision of my business life.

Nothing was delivered on time. When a first draft was delivered, it was so basic it wasn't even worth sending over to my client and they didn't follow ANY of my initial detailed instructions. A 2nd draft was virtually unchanged, though I provided specific feedback. There was VERY little communication forthcoming from this company throughout this process. At 2 points in this time period, just to get a reply from my contact there, I had to 1. Message on the terrible platform they use (DesignUtility) 2. Call their number (no answer) 3. Text their number 4. Email the company 5. Message the FB chatbot 6. Text Paul Mason (the Operations Manager Design & Animation Services who onboarded me) and then suddenly I finally received a call from my contact updating me saying "oh sorry, nothing's really been done yet, but we're working on it." The project was due the next day and I hadn't received a draft worth sending to the client yet...

In the end, they were 10+ days past the initial due date (of the final draft to the client mind you, and I had yet to receive a decent first draft from this company). I gave in and just begged for them to send me the After Effects file (which I prepaid for) so I could just continue the basic progress they made and bring it up to a decent standard so I could at least send the client a rough first draft. After hearing back another promise of "oh ok, it'll definitely be to you within 24 hours." It wasn't.

Though I hired this company to complete this project, I had to scramble together and create this project myself (never receiving the After Effects template after all) and deliver to the client in 24-36 hours.

This was the WORST process I've ever had in the 17+ years of running a video production company. They didn't deliver anything on time, they didn't deliver anything of value I could've sent to my client (as nothing was followed from my original detailed questionnaire... so why did I fill it out in detail then?)

They moaned and 'apologized' but then wouldn't give me a full refund. 2 months of fighting this company and now I'm supposedly receiving 30% back. SUCH. A. JOKE.

Have worked with almost a hundred vendors throughout my career, and I can say with utmost confidence that Video Proficient is absolutely the worst company I've ever worked with. I will share a number of examples to support my claim, striving to be honest in both the vast negatives as well as limited positives.

NEGATIVE

- Horrendous Professionalism

-- Deceitful
Almost everyone I worked with at VP was deceitful. For starters, the entire team is clearly based in India and uses American-ized names to blend in. When I asked them if they were based in India, they told me that they were all Hispanic.

Additionally, VP always tried upselling me on additional services and would go back on their word. For example, I was originally told that VP would hold onto all of my raw files even after work concluded, indefinitely. The following day, I received a call saying that my raw data would only be around for an additional week until I paid a few hundred dollars. It was clear that my account manager would debrief with his team each day, and they would advise him to revert back and try to milk me for each dollar.

The most egregious offense came towards the end of my project. The original salesperson I spoke to start my contract was named Paul Mason. A few months into my project, I called their mainline and spoke to someone named Jack (he oddly had the same voice as Paul). I asked to speak to Paul again and he proceeded to transfer me to someone else; this phone tag continued for another five minutes; it was clear that he was buying time to get someone on the phone. It eventually came to Paul, and he had the same voice as Jack whom I spoke to earlier! I asked him why they sounded alike and he said "oh, we're brothers." After this conversation, I received a call from someone claiming to be VP's Chief Financial Officer, but it was cleary Paul pretending with a fake voice! I seriously couldn't believe that these guys were serious.

--Rude
I was on a call with their Head of Design or something similar and made a comment about being upsold constantly. This individual got incredibly offended and HUNG UP ON ME. I don't care which country you operate in, no one ever hangs up on a customer. Again, I couldn't believe this was happening.

--Upselling
I mentioned this before, but these guys will try to upsell you on EVERYTHING. I started my contract paying X, and ended up having paid out 3X. I felt like I was a sucker the entire time, but it is what it is.

POSITIVE

-Quality
At the end of the day, the quality of the work was on-point. I can't lie and say that I didn't get what I wanted, BUT, I would never work with these guys again given all the headaches. You should never feel like you're walking on pins and needles with a vendor, and I felt that the entire time.

SUMMARY
VP needs to be put of out business. It's an absolute mockery of what business professionalism looks like.