Feel Free To Pay Nothing!

I spoke to one of our contractors the other day who was concerned about getting some credit for some leads that he says were "invalid." Well, let me tell you has there ever been an overflow of these types of requests lately! GEEZ! Nothing has changed on our end, we still advertise the same way in the same locations, and get the same type of clientele signing up as leads as we did back in May when business was really booming. The only difference between now and back in May is, yup you guessed it, the ECONOMY! Sure homeowners still have repairs and replacements to be made and they will inquire upon them but these days everyone is looking for a deal! So if they can't find it they will wait.

The contractors in the meantime are spinning their wheels, wasting their gas, and frankly, their breath too on buyers (or tire kickers as the contractors like to call them-lol) that are willing to buy but, "Not right now, maybe in a couple of months" etc. Well, the real deal folks is even though it may be a hard lump to swallow, that is a LEAD! No, they do not want to buy today, but they do need the work done, and they want it done, but it's the price or the contractor's ability (or lack there of) to SELL their product effectively that seems to encourage the buyer to hold tight to their pocket strings.

I had to tell this contractor in particular and many others that preceded him that there was no way they were going to get credit for things that did not warrant a refund. A person that signs up on our site, verifies with us by phone that they do indeed want and estimate and then changes their mind when the contractor calls because of a bad technique, or who knows what that is conveyed over the phone is not our concern.

Let me tell you a story, I went to a lead gen site and signed up to get a tree removed from my yard. The roots are very shallow and it is getting too close to the house for my comfort. The first gentleman that called said that he couldn't come give me a free estimate like the site advertised, but that it would cost me $250.00 just for him to stand in my yard. He also informed me that if someone could give me a lower price it was probably because they were high balling me somewhere else in the deal. He assured me that if I gave him a call with any numbers that I got from other contractors he would go over them with me and let me know if it was a good deal or not. "Yeah buddy, I'll call you right away when the other contractor's leave my house!" I mean seriously, who does this guy think he is? "Is this a contractor or a freakin' consultant?" I asked myself.

Well, we decided to go with another contractor who came out on our schedule and quoted a fair price, sure we could have shopped around but to us it's not the most convenient thing to do, even if we have to spend a little extra to get good customer service and a feeling of honesty is well worth it when comparing to the loser I had gotten off the phone with earlier. Thank God that guy doesn't work for us, what a nightmare he must be in the credit department!

So with the down-turning economy with no end in sight I suppose I'll keep fighting to hold on to our earned profits and at the same time stop the scammers that are out there from getting their leads for nothing and their kicks for free! If you're interested in some of my other quirky subjects I enjoy ranting about feel free to check out Another Blog I Like...