Quote:
Originally Posted by Driller1
Bad news. I just joined Service Magic. I answered some VERY basic questions. Paid my $99 and I am in. Three minutes. They checked nothing. That makes it just an ad.
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Driller1,
Don't be so hard on yourself!
Just kidding you know.
SM has major issues that come up in recurring conversations with others deciding whether or not to sign up for their referral service.
1. Your description above is one. There are many good contractors, service people, etc. signed up but these same good ones also know of others not so good signed up.
2. The service providers have little to no control over screening out what leads they receive and are charged for every lead. For example SM has no method to screen out leads from rental dwellers asking for services they do not have the right to perform without the landlord's approval.
3. SM sends out the leads to some small number of the total service providers listed for that service. Then they rotate the providers for each incoming lead. If you have a large number of providers then you will miss out on many potential leads. Also the consumer misses out on your superior services. I've heard some providers state that SM told them they only send it out to 3 or 4 service providers only to discover later it went out to a dozen or more.
4. If the consumer misstates their needs, and the service needed does not apply to you, and you get the lead then SM makes it difficult to receive even a credit for the referral fee for a bad lead.
SM could easily change their business model to not only help consumers but also the service providers and at the same time make additional money from the referral fees. Of course it is so simple a method that they would never figure it out.
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