Got into work today, logged onto my email and there were the usual requests for credit and to change account information but one email in particular stood out. I guess it was because the company has just written in last week.
They were concerned last week that they were not getting enough leads from us. I responded quickly to let them know that since they only take one county and will only service two products within that county and will only work within five zips codes for those two products that it is unlikely we will be able to provide them with an abundance of quality leads. I suggested that they either widen their area or the products they service. I got no response last week from them.
So today I was anxious to see what they were up to now. Upon opening the email I read that they were again concerned about the amount of leads they were not receiving and they also wanted to take out one of their products. This completely blew me away. Now their chance of getting a lead that matches their criteria is next to impossible.
Between this type of behavior and the behavior in an earlier post regarding refusing work, it's a wonder that these companies are still in business. LOL! It's companies like this that I would really just like to say, "Hey, based upon your preferences it really doesn't look like we are going to be able to help you." I guess that wouldn't be very good business practice. It sure would weed out a lot of the wastes of time and garbage that we have to deal with on a daily basis and would free us up to devote more time to customers that actually use the service appropriately. The majority of my time is spent reiterating the same information to the same few companies several times. This is after it is all put in writing for them.
It's like talking to a child, they only hear what they want to hear. It's funny because it's like the contractors think that we don't know our own policies or that we will be willing to break them at every request. How could we stay in business if we just gave all of our business away? I'm sure there aren't many contractors out there that give away free home improvement projects!
Tomorrow is the beginning of another brand new, exciting week in the industry, I'll be sure to report on it as soon as I get home and kick my feet up while waiting for the leftover lasagna to heat up! Until then, if you are a over particular contractor that apparently has enough work that he really doesn't need a lead generation company's service but likes to hire them just to drive their employees batty with ridiculous requests..... visit us here to get Quality Contractor Leads!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Home Owner's Questions
Not much of interest happened today at the office. One of the things we try to do at our company is respond to each and every email. We get a few from homeowners too. Usually this is a request for an estimate on their home improvement project but we also get some questions regarding warranty work. Now even though we do not provide any type of service like this I still try to assist the homeowners. This can be anything from simply helping them find a phone number to a contractor to sometimes referring them elsewhere. I always try to help though wherever I can.
Today a customer had a question that I am all too familiar with. It seems that the company that did her replacement windows a few years back had gone out of business. Often times a homeowner does not know what to do in this situation. They call the company that did the work to find a disconnected phone number then they search the Internet and find us.
I will usually refer them to the warranty paperwork that came with the windows. If that doesn't work I will advise them to call the Attorney General's Consumer Department. That has proven to me to be a great reference point in finding out what to do and where to go for recourse in these situations.
I know how frustrating it can be to have an issue regarding a service provided and not be able to turn to the company who installed the product or provided that service. Not only do the companies go out of business but even some of the existing companies that I have dealt with are less than helpful when it comes to repair or service related issues. They can at least point you in the right direction when you are ready to pull your hair out from listening to recorded messages and getting lost in phone trees with some of these companies.
It is always the way though isn't it? When you are buying from the company they are your best friend but when something goes wrong it can be compared to squeezing blood from a turnip to get your issue resolved. I have over 15 years of customer service experience so I have dealt with a vast array of customers and companies as well. Sometimes it's nice to just be able to vent your issue to another human being instead of pushing buttons on a telephone trying to get things resolved.
If you are one of the many home owner's I have responded to in the past I hope my advice has been helpful to you. If you are a homeowner with a home improvement question feel free to ask me, I can not guarantee you I will have the answer but I don't mind spending some time helping you look around for it. Everybody learns that way and isn't it better when we all work together anyway?
Find possible solutions to home improvement questions
Today a customer had a question that I am all too familiar with. It seems that the company that did her replacement windows a few years back had gone out of business. Often times a homeowner does not know what to do in this situation. They call the company that did the work to find a disconnected phone number then they search the Internet and find us.
I will usually refer them to the warranty paperwork that came with the windows. If that doesn't work I will advise them to call the Attorney General's Consumer Department. That has proven to me to be a great reference point in finding out what to do and where to go for recourse in these situations.
I know how frustrating it can be to have an issue regarding a service provided and not be able to turn to the company who installed the product or provided that service. Not only do the companies go out of business but even some of the existing companies that I have dealt with are less than helpful when it comes to repair or service related issues. They can at least point you in the right direction when you are ready to pull your hair out from listening to recorded messages and getting lost in phone trees with some of these companies.
It is always the way though isn't it? When you are buying from the company they are your best friend but when something goes wrong it can be compared to squeezing blood from a turnip to get your issue resolved. I have over 15 years of customer service experience so I have dealt with a vast array of customers and companies as well. Sometimes it's nice to just be able to vent your issue to another human being instead of pushing buttons on a telephone trying to get things resolved.
If you are one of the many home owner's I have responded to in the past I hope my advice has been helpful to you. If you are a homeowner with a home improvement question feel free to ask me, I can not guarantee you I will have the answer but I don't mind spending some time helping you look around for it. Everybody learns that way and isn't it better when we all work together anyway?
Find possible solutions to home improvement questions
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The craziest lead refusal ever, and it happened twice!
Today, at work, did I ever have a weird one...I guess I should start by introducing myself. I work for a nationwide home improvement lead generation company that's been in business for a few years now and is quite successful.
I perform a plethora of duties from managing our lead verification department, answering phones, assisting contractors with sign ups and inquiries to managing our 7 day a week bustling office. I'm a pretty busy girl but I just had to find time to start this blog.
I thought it necessary to inform our contractors and homeowners alike of my daily run ins. These experiences range from informative to down right hilarious and finding the irony and humor in this job is part of what makes it so great to come to work everyday.
Today was a typical day at the office until I got a call from a prospect that was looking to have an estimate done on his home. He wasn't sure if he needed an estimate for siding or painting but he knew he wanted to do something about the drab appearance of the outside of his home. I jumped at this opportunity because it was an obvious lay down for any of our qualified contractors in his area. I told the gentleman that I would connect him with someone that could do both estimates if possible.
After that phone call I accessed our database and found 2 likely candidates.
Upon calling the first contractor I excitedly told them that I had a possible prospect for them, I noted that they had siding selected as one of their products serviced and I asked them if they did painting. The contractor responded with, "No, we don't do painting..." I said, "well, this customer is unsure of what exactly he needs and would like a quote on both if possible." The contractor just reiterated that they do not do painting and said, "But thanks for the call anyway." I hung up the phone dismayed. Here was a valid prospect ready to get an estimate and I couldn't even get the contractor to bite on it. I guess they must already have enough business. (crazy! they may have just as well said to me, "no thanks, we don't want to make any more money today, we already have enough...")
The next phone call went out...this guy said that not only does he not work that area, (BTW we have it selected for him since his sign up and have provided him multiple prospects there too!) but he was not interested and at the same time wanted to inquire regarding a credit he had asked for and never received. I looked into the credit for him, turns out it was for "No Contact" which is not valid under our contract. I explained to the contractor that we call all of our prospect and had contacted this one previous to sending it to him. He then responded with, "Well just cancel my service!"
Now, I wonder if the fact that I can't even get these guys to realize a qualified, valid prospect when it bites them in the ass could also be a reason why their credit card can not be billed for a single charge for $40.00 or why they shouldn't even be allowed to obtain a business license! Or even better why they request to purchase a lead through our preview program and then cannot be reached by phone or email to obtain billing information to sell them the lead they just asked for!
Oh, I get it...I should have told both contractors when I called to offer the lead that not only did this guy want a bid but I was going to give it to them for free and set the appointment as well as have the homeowner submit photos of the work area and possible supply the materials and tools for the job. This way the contractor wouldn't have to lift a finger and could just collect a paycheck.
This was a crazy day at the office let me tell you. Funny thing is stuff like this happens to me everyday and I can't wait to write about tomorrow's adventures. If you want to join our crazy contractor carnival go to I'm a nutty contractor that refuses work at any cost we'd love to have y0u on board, you'll blend right in.
I perform a plethora of duties from managing our lead verification department, answering phones, assisting contractors with sign ups and inquiries to managing our 7 day a week bustling office. I'm a pretty busy girl but I just had to find time to start this blog.
I thought it necessary to inform our contractors and homeowners alike of my daily run ins. These experiences range from informative to down right hilarious and finding the irony and humor in this job is part of what makes it so great to come to work everyday.
Today was a typical day at the office until I got a call from a prospect that was looking to have an estimate done on his home. He wasn't sure if he needed an estimate for siding or painting but he knew he wanted to do something about the drab appearance of the outside of his home. I jumped at this opportunity because it was an obvious lay down for any of our qualified contractors in his area. I told the gentleman that I would connect him with someone that could do both estimates if possible.
After that phone call I accessed our database and found 2 likely candidates.
Upon calling the first contractor I excitedly told them that I had a possible prospect for them, I noted that they had siding selected as one of their products serviced and I asked them if they did painting. The contractor responded with, "No, we don't do painting..." I said, "well, this customer is unsure of what exactly he needs and would like a quote on both if possible." The contractor just reiterated that they do not do painting and said, "But thanks for the call anyway." I hung up the phone dismayed. Here was a valid prospect ready to get an estimate and I couldn't even get the contractor to bite on it. I guess they must already have enough business. (crazy! they may have just as well said to me, "no thanks, we don't want to make any more money today, we already have enough...")
The next phone call went out...this guy said that not only does he not work that area, (BTW we have it selected for him since his sign up and have provided him multiple prospects there too!) but he was not interested and at the same time wanted to inquire regarding a credit he had asked for and never received. I looked into the credit for him, turns out it was for "No Contact" which is not valid under our contract. I explained to the contractor that we call all of our prospect and had contacted this one previous to sending it to him. He then responded with, "Well just cancel my service!"
Now, I wonder if the fact that I can't even get these guys to realize a qualified, valid prospect when it bites them in the ass could also be a reason why their credit card can not be billed for a single charge for $40.00 or why they shouldn't even be allowed to obtain a business license! Or even better why they request to purchase a lead through our preview program and then cannot be reached by phone or email to obtain billing information to sell them the lead they just asked for!
Oh, I get it...I should have told both contractors when I called to offer the lead that not only did this guy want a bid but I was going to give it to them for free and set the appointment as well as have the homeowner submit photos of the work area and possible supply the materials and tools for the job. This way the contractor wouldn't have to lift a finger and could just collect a paycheck.
This was a crazy day at the office let me tell you. Funny thing is stuff like this happens to me everyday and I can't wait to write about tomorrow's adventures. If you want to join our crazy contractor carnival go to I'm a nutty contractor that refuses work at any cost we'd love to have y0u on board, you'll blend right in.
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