I took the time to read the other Google reviews of SW Florida Media Consultants and although there were a couple of negative reviews most appear to be positive. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for SWFMC, I'm one of the few unlucky ones who had a miserable experience with Adam Hartig and his company.
Without going into a lot of boring detail I'll try to keep my experience short and to the point.
In February 2023 I paid Southwest Florida Media Consultants $2,000 to develop a marketing plan for my photography. No plan was developed or implemented by mid summer, which is when the busiest time of year begins with a lot of work and travel.
In October 2023 I began the process of trying to get my money back. I had received no goods or services and Adam Hartig's company, SW Florida Media Consultants, had received $2,000 7 months before for doing absolutely nothing.
Numerous attempts were made by me in October and November to contact SWFMC and their rep I worked with early in my involvement with the company. My request was very simple: just return my $2,000. ALL of my text messages, phone calls, emails and attempts to reach SWFMC through their website were completely ignored for 2 months.
Finally, on December 7, Adam responded to a strongly worded message I sent through his website. I decided to go with stronger wording because the nice guy approach was failing epically, proof that sometimes you need to get fairly firm in order to get a response. In his December 7 response Adam told me flat out that he would not be returning my full $2,000. He had paid my rep (his employee, or subcontractor, or whatever) a little over $600 in commissions and fees and in his mind that's why he didn't owe me the full $2,000.
After getting my attorney involved and having to threaten Adam with a trip to small claims court, SW Florida Media Consultants issued a credit of just under $1,400 to my credit card two weeks ago. This amount was never agreed to by myself or my attorney. So the way it stands right now is that I'm still out $600+ with nothing to show for it.
I know my review of the horrible experience I had with Adam Hartig and SW Florida Media Consultants is greatly outnumbered by those who have had good experiences, and that's fine. Had I been fully reimbursed I would not have taken the time to write a review at all but unfortunately his attitude that it's okay for a client to take a loss but it's not okay for him or SWFMC to do so doesn't really sit well with me.
Update, February 7, 2023: To his credit, Adam responded to my negative review (see his response below) almost immediately. But I was most taken aback by this: "As stated earlier, we issued a credit to your credit card as a gesture of goodwill. We apologize if the amount did not meet your expectations and for any miscommunication that may have occurred during the process." The guy took in $2,000 of my money. I received no goods or services whatsoever. He returned just under $1,400. That's Adam's definition of a 'gesture of goodwill'.