This Ranks very highly in the search engines. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this group.
DirtyRoofcom said
Feb 19, 2014
Its the old service magic. Lots of companies have a lot of complaints with them. worse then Angies list. I personally have not used them because of the complaints.
Barry Landis said
Feb 19, 2014
They offer horrible leads. I wouldn't recommend using them at all.
Andy Hinson said
Feb 19, 2014
Gotcha, Service Magic was a stankin mess. Thanks.
Jeff said
Feb 19, 2014
Hello Alabama! I use Home Advisor pro. The Good:As a small- part time business, I like the fact that they allow you to build a profile page, create a gallery, gain exposure, can be used as a SEO optimizer and another way to show you are a vetted business of sorts. Paid advertising is what it boils down to for me. You can set the geographic area you are willing to receive leads from by zip code. I have received leads that have turned into jobs so it has worked to a small degree. They have revamped their sight, controls and it looks professional. You can also turn your leads receiving on/off. But only for two weeks at a time. You do get reminders automatically when leads are on/off and when they are about to come on. You just go back into your account and turn them off again if you are busy..= no leads no charges. They have e mail service thru them, scripts, ratings etc.
The Bad: But, I do agree that problems are a bound. I have googled Home Advisor and read all of the complaints etc. They give you the impression they cater to you and watch for leads suited for you. They may do this, but they are also doing for a bunch of others. Potential customers get flooded with contractors calling. If your not one of the first to call back or make contact via e-mail, your chances of getting a call back drop fast. They automatically bill you for leads whether the lead calls you back or not. I have had a few with bad phone numbers and addresses. Customer service is hard to get a hold of and they are very slow to get back to you. You set the monthly limit of what you are willing to pay for their leads. They typically charge $8-$14 a lead. I have my limit set pretty low to reduce my financial risk. I have heard of contractors getting huge bills for lots of bad leads because their monthly limit was set high.
All in all I figured as a rookie and small time operation I would give it a try. I would give it a "C" so far. But the pro’s on this board make a lot of sense and talk from experience! Hope this was helpful some. V/R Jeff
Brian C Jackson said
Feb 20, 2014
I was thinking about trying them just to see for myself. But now I'm rethinking it
Capital Roof Wash said
Feb 20, 2014
Jeff wrote: All in all I figured as a rookie and small time operation I would give it a try. I would give it a "C" so far. But the pro’s on this board make a lot of sense and talk from experience! Hope this was helpful some. V/R Jeff
Jeff, great follow up post! Great information for anyone looking into giving this a try.
Andy Hinson said
Feb 20, 2014
I called them before I made the post and when they asked for my phone #. Then they said it appears you have back charges we will check records and call back. When Ya'll told me it was service m----. I realized the charges were for leads I never got. Or leads that never answered phone or had an answering machine.
Barry R said
Mar 3, 2014
Once they get a business to pay for their leads, they use that business name and content to rank up....while aggressively calling your competitors to sell the same leads. They are like a virus that infects a whole market area and spawns low balling. They are one of the reasons I created the roof cleaning directory...they sell roof cleaning inquiries to roofers.
I'd stay away...
If you can't beat homeadvisor in google....you aren't trying very hard.
Andy Hinson said
Mar 3, 2014
The guy that does the contacts for them has sent me a text after a dropped phone call saying. Wow if that's the way you treat your customers Im surprised you have any.
We wont be doing business!
BlueRidge said
Mar 3, 2014
Barry Landis wrote:
They offer horrible leads. I wouldn't recommend using them at all.
Hello Alabama!
I use Home Advisor pro.
The Good: As a small- part time business, I like the fact that they allow you to build a profile page, create a gallery, gain exposure, can be used as a SEO optimizer and another way to show you are a vetted business of sorts. Paid advertising is what it boils down to for me. You can set the geographic area you are willing to receive leads from by zip code. I have received leads that have turned into jobs so it has worked to a small degree. They have revamped their sight, controls and it looks professional.
You can also turn your leads receiving on/off. But only for two weeks at a time. You do get reminders automatically when leads are on/off and when they are about to come on. You just go back into your account and turn them off again if you are busy..= no leads no charges.
They have e mail service thru them, scripts, ratings etc.
The Bad: But, I do agree that problems are a bound. I have googled Home Advisor and read all of the complaints etc. They give you the impression they cater to you and watch for leads suited for you. They may do this, but they are also doing for a bunch of others. Potential customers get flooded with contractors calling. If your not one of the first to call back or make contact via e-mail, your chances of getting a call back drop fast.
They automatically bill you for leads whether the lead calls you back or not. I have had a few with bad phone numbers and addresses. Customer service is hard to get a hold of and they are very slow to get back to you.
You set the monthly limit of what you are willing to pay for their leads. They typically charge $8-$14 a lead. I have my limit set pretty low to reduce my financial risk. I have heard of contractors getting huge bills for lots of bad leads because their monthly limit was set high.
All in all I figured as a rookie and small time operation I would give it a try. I would give it a "C" so far.
But the pro’s on this board make a lot of sense and talk from experience! Hope this was helpful some.
V/R Jeff
I was thinking about trying them just to see for myself. But now I'm rethinking it
Jeff, great follow up post! Great information for anyone looking into giving this a try.
Once they get a business to pay for their leads, they use that business name and content to rank up....while aggressively calling your competitors to sell the same leads. They are like a virus that infects a whole market area and spawns low balling. They are one of the reasons I created the roof cleaning directory...they sell roof cleaning inquiries to roofers.
I'd stay away...
If you can't beat homeadvisor in google....you aren't trying very hard.
We wont be doing business!
I agree 100% with that statement Barry!