Has anyone tried using Service Magic? It is an inernet based outfit that advertises, gets good search result placement and then charges you for sending leads. The cost is per lead and can go to up to four providers total. Just wondered if anyone had used the service...pros & cons.
Anyone Tried Service Magic??
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240 Posts
I used them about 4 years ago and would not recommend them to anyone. I only signed up for a few zip codes but was getting calls from all over the state. Most of these calls were for fertilizer which I do not do (I had not clicked that I did applications). I called and told them and I was told that there was nothing that they could do because the leads had already been sent. I was with them for 3 weeks and did not get but 1 mowing call which is all I was looking for and ended up owing them 800 and some dollars which was automatically drafted out of my account. The one mowing call I got after pricing it the lady says thank you I was wondering what I should be paying my son to cut it.
NICE!...thanks for the heads up...anyone else with experience?
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2,617 Posts
stay away, they are the biggest scammers on the net. i tried them and 90% of the leads were no good. i think in a year i got 1 or 2 jobs out of it.they were sending me leads for home remolding and same thing told me to bad the lead was sent out already. even after i canceled they were still sending me leads and trying to get more money from them. i gave them a credit card # that i just used for them. i had to call the credit card company and have them refuse payment. they just wouldnt stop they still want me to pay them 200 for leads they sent me 2-3 weeks after i had canceled.
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2,646 Posts
yeah stay away from them. i used them last year, and i got a few accounts but i spent alot of money on leads that i didnt land which isnt worth it in my opinion!
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4,230 Posts
I have no problems with them. I stay on top of my account online. I have had leads refunded most of the time if they aren't the homeowner. I occasionally get offers out side of my coverage area but they tell you this lead is outside of your coverage area would you still like to accept if you do your screwed if you don't there no charge.
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206 Posts
I submitted info partially to them last year, but never went through with it, seemed too much like a scam. Then had a representative, named wayne i believe, constantly call me daily, multiple times a day to try and get me to sign up. Became quite annoying. He would start calling from roughly 7am all day long. Got to the point where I ended up loosing my cool on an already bad day and told him exactly what I though about him, his job, the company he works for and what he should go do, and what I was going to do if the calls didnt stop. Needless to say the calls stopped. These internet scams are getting out of control. Best form of advertizing via the world wide web would be to have a professional web site, full of information and pics of the work you do. Throw the web address on your trucks, trailers, shirts ect. Sometimes its easier for a potential client to remember a website then it is a phone number.
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22,465 Posts
It's not the first time I've seen a thread about this company,
and although I've never used them I also don't recall anyone
ever saying much of anything positive.
This thread is no exception, unanimously speaking, I am pretty sure I've heard that story
concerning the costly bad leads before as well as I have difficulty understanding
how so many Lco's on this site could have possibly made the same mistake.
Apparently this is definitely a company to avoid.
and although I've never used them I also don't recall anyone
ever saying much of anything positive.
This thread is no exception, unanimously speaking, I am pretty sure I've heard that story
concerning the costly bad leads before as well as I have difficulty understanding
how so many Lco's on this site could have possibly made the same mistake.
Usually that's quite the clue when it comes to scams.
Apparently this is definitely a company to avoid.
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780 Posts
Do a search for this topic in the archives. stay far far away from them.
It's easy for me to understand. Posting this thread was almost an afterthought. I'm very thankful for all the posts, and I'll be sure to check here before trying something like that again. Thanks again to all who posted.
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859 Posts
Plenty of complaints here:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/servicemagic.html
And (scroll down the page):
http://service-magic.pissedconsumer.com/
And
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/servicemagic-inc-c36017.html
The complaints are endless!
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/servicemagic.html
And (scroll down the page):
http://service-magic.pissedconsumer.com/
And
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/servicemagic-inc-c36017.html
The complaints are endless!
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361 Posts
I'm one of the few that has had good luck with them, no complaints here. Maybe it's better in some demographics than others.
I have actually had a good amount of success with them too. They are pretty easy to deal with. You can decide how many leads you want per month. Lawn care leads are $12 a piece. they only send the leads to three guys. You figure if you get 10 leads you may get 3. Even if it is 2. If someone guarantees you 2 customers to sign a yearly contract in your area for 60 dollars a piece, I would take it. I have been around 50% this year. It seems like a lot of the guys don't even respond to the leads. That leaves me against one other guy. There are pros and cons to the service for sure but I have had good luck with it.
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780 Posts
No one is guarantying you they are going to sign a yearly contract. If they send the leads to 3 company's, that would be 2 other company's I would have to compete with on price. I don't compete on price.... No thank you!
Might not be for everyone. If I put an ad in the paper for $120 and got 10 solid leads I would be happy. I am not saying you will get them all. I am saying that if you landed 2 out of 10 jobs you went on, it might be worth it. The difference is, in a newspaper, you have to compete against 10 or 20 and I would never win the bid. If they call service magic, the contractors are screened. They have to carry insurance and be legit. Still can lowball you, but not as bad as the kid down the street with the wagon that put an ad in the newspaper. If its not for you, don't do it. I noticed that most everyone that has bad things to say about it hasn't actually been using the service. I wasn't saying that they would guarantee a yearly contract but if you get 10 estimates I would hope to score 2. My other point was that even with them giving out the three leads...I usually only go against one other person because one of the guys will not call the lead or not show up for an appointment. I am about 50% so far this year on leads from here and not always the lowest bid. The people are looking for quality work from people who are insured and legit when they go through service magic.(for the most part)still get some tire kickers. I paid $200 a month to go in the yellow pages and I don't think i got 5 jobs out if it over the course of a year. If I want to spend $100 a month with service magic I am guaranteed either 8 lawn maintenance leads or 5 hardscape leads a month and if they don't give them to you, you don't get charged. I don't know.....works for me. Anyone who doesn't like it, don't use it, more leads for me.
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