[Cole]

I just realized that I have had a number of bad leads from Service Magic and havent done anything about them.

Do these fit into the bad lead categories:
Wrong Phone Number
Called Numerous Times - ( never answered, left messages )


What can I do about getting some of my money back?

 

[hauoli63]

You can call them, but their general response is that they do not guarantee customer response or that you will win the job. I've only gotten money back from them one time ... I called the customer and they were looking for a GC, not a plumber ... didn't even want us to bid on the job even though it was a remodel job similiar to what we do all the time. Service Magic had to call the customer after I argued with them for 10 minutes and then they credited my account.

EDIT: The argument was with Service Magic ... not the potential customer!!!

 

[carpenter 1st]

we've had some discussion along these lines recently.you might check out the "mailing lists" thread.

 

[Glasshousebltr]

You argued with them for 10 minutes Lisa?

"Look, I'm going to do your frickin plumbing and you gona dam well like it!"

What a Gal.

Bob

 

[hauoli63]

I didn't argue with the customer .... I argued with Service Magic!!

 

[slickshift]

You argued with them for 10 minutes Lisa?

"Look, I'm going to do your frickin plumbing and you gona dam well like it!"

That's what I got from it

I was wondering what the closing rate on that approach is?
Does a large scary-looking tool in one hand help?
Over the shoulder, or tapping against the open palm of the other hand?
...also would you be willing to re-locate?

 

[ProWallGuy]

Does a large scary-looking tool in one hand help?
Over the shoulder, or tapping against the open palm of the other hand?

Not sure about work, but that does keep the wife in line. :cheesygri

 

[AHS]

Something tells me there are service magic executives sitting in there office laughing at all the bunk leads they make us buy. I recieved an exterior painting lead from them a few days ago, called the number & it was the number to a temporary employment service asked for the guy & of course no one heard of him, so I was thinking maybe they got the number wrong by a digit or something. The day after I got the lead I was 2 blocks from the address & decided to drive by the house. The lead said it was a 3-story house that needed to be re-painted, I pulled up to the house and it was 1-story with maintnance free vinyl siding on it. I'm not sure why a homeowner would send in a bunk project like that. I don't tolerate bad leads like this from any of the other lead services but the bottom line is service magic works & thats why they can get away with it. What can you do!

 

[slickshift]

Not sure about work, but that does keep the wife in line. :cheesygri

It doesn't work on Irish women

 

[slickshift]

Do these fit into the bad lead categories:
Wrong Phone Number
Called Numerous Times - ( never answered, left messages )


What can I do about getting some of my money back?

I don't use the service
And no-one's answered so far so I'll ask

You pay per lead and there's no mechanism for a refund for bad leads?

 

[Teetorbilt]

slick, I looked into it years ago and it was like gambling, all of the odds are in their favor. Locally, their contractors are all lowballers who later run into 'problems' to raise the bid price.

 

[Grumpy]

SM will credit within 5 days (maybe 3 days) for a wrong number, but not for a no call back. This type of stuff happens with all lead service providers. SM has a refund policy which I have read a few times because I have gotten several refunds from them.

I do not agree with Teetor's above statement about the odds being in their favor and I am most certainly not a low baller. Quite often I am the most expensive and still get the work. I find I get all types of requests from SM the same as other services, the same as other advertising media.

I find myself defending SM, and I don't know why I put forth the effort. I do not benefit from it... but I do know that I can not understand half the crap I read about SM and other lead service providers. If not for SM my former bosses' company would have went out of business, literally. If not for SM my company would be half it's size. I could EASILY add a few more salesmen and do well with their leads.

 

[slickshift]

I never really looked into it, none of my contemporaries use one so I have no gauge of them, so to speak
That's one of the reasons I was hoping to see an answer to Cole's Q

I would think you would get a lot of tire-kickers and one-leggers from a service like that
...but then you get that from any advertising

 

[Teetorbilt]

Look at it this way. They make their money as a referal service, period. You pay them for each referal, period. They do not care if you win, lose or draw, they get theirs regardless. When I went through all of their preliminary BS and took their sample leads, they put me into counties in which I was not licensed and places that I would not work if I was licensed there.
I have gone on about this d*ckweed service before, I will never work for them,ever.
To anyone in my area, I'm blowing off QSI too. They just bug me too much.

 

[Grumpy]

With all lead service providers I am a member of I choose my service area. Currently I expand and contract my service area based on work load. I have two service areas setup with service magic and from time to time I will turn off my secondary service area but almost always keep my primary area active.

I have actually choosen my service areas by zip code, which is nice because some cities around here are strange and have million dollar homes and down the street a ghetto. Obviously I don't want to work in the ghetto so I exclude those zip codes.

 

[Teetorbilt]

We have some areas like that too. $5 mil waterfront homes on one side of the street, slums and crackheads on the other side. Unfortunately they share the same zip.

 

[slickshift]

We have some areas like that too. $5 mil waterfront homes on one side of the street, slums and crackheads on the other side. Unfortunately they share the same zip.

I think that's great that the rich people don't have to go far for their crack

 

[carpenter 1st]

and the drug dealers don't have to go far to rob the people who can't pay up because they have a million dollar morgage.

 

[Teetorbilt]

Carpenter, a lot of these people don't even know what a mortgage is. They like it and they buy it. I have noticed that the one that I used to own has been torn down. The new buyer is smarter than I was.

 

[carpenter 1st]

years ago when i was in michigan, i lived in an area like that. one side of the street was high-dollar dearborn heights, on the other was inkster, a.k.a., crack central. those people were so nuts,the COPS didn't slow down on my street. i've never seen so many people pay with food stamps then load up in a new mercedes.