If you have thought about joining Service Magic think hard….
I joined some time ago because I had heard of them, knew other businesses outside the computer repair industry that used them and everything seemed to be good to go. But, I did hear bad things also but I always try to look at the good side until I find out otherwise….
Well, I found out otherwise….First, you really have to monitor what you are doing with a thing called “Direct Leads” which is where customers supposedly ask specifically for your services. For this “Direct Lead” you will pay $X for the lead. A few months ago I received one of these leads and it was from a business that supposedly wanted our services. Now my services are suppose to be “computer repair” which does not take a genius to figure out what that means.
Now this “Direct Lead” was from a business that asked this:
“Just wanted to get an idea of what it would cost to do maintenance on our computers. We are not looking at having it done now but thought we would find out” (That came directly from them when I contacted them). I immediately called Service Magic and told them that this to me is “NOT” a lead….This is an inquiry asking a “general” question at best. But, nope
according to them it was a lead and it cost me $9 to make that phone call….Money well spent…I don’t think so….
Now my second “Direct Lead” was someone wanting a “fan” for their computer. They did not want it installed they just wanted a price on a fan. Well, again my service is “computer repair” not “Parts Replacement”. The chance of me beating a price from NewEgg or some other big box company is pretty slim…So I called the customer and low and behold no purchase.
Again, called Service Magic and of course on hold forever, call back again and again and bottom line it cost me another $9……
I was even confused as to how I received this “Direct Lead” due to the fact that I turned it off after the first mishap…But, come to find out you can actually only turn it off for a certain amount of time and low and behold it comes back on “unless” you turn it back off. Pretty nice way of doing things….
Now I am out $18 for two “Direct Leads” in Service Magic eyes. Well too me that is $18 too much. So needless to say I am “DONE” with Service Magic and will never venture into their world of “Direct Leads” again….
6 Responses to “Service Magic”
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February 9th, 2011 at 11:39 am
Like you, I had looked into Service Magic a few years ago and thought it sounded like a decent lead tool, until I spoke to other business owners in the area who had used them in the past & heard very similar stories of bad leads and unrecoverable fees due to “false” leads. To be fair, there were a few businesses that found it to work great for them, but I think it really depends on your business. For the computer repair/IT world, I just don’t think it’s a good fit… I agree with you – caveat emptor.
-Randy
February 10th, 2011 at 7:58 pm
Ohh this is all crazy; It’s hard to trust anyone these days. Thanks for sharing this.
February 12th, 2011 at 8:15 am
Thank you for sharing your experience. I think that the best way of getting new customers is by referral. Work seriously, and try to give the best customer service. If the customer is happy with your work, you will get more and more customers. Good and prompt service is hard to find these days.
February 26th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
This post is a perfect example of why care and attention are needed to avoid being nickel and dime.
March 15th, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Service Magic is terrible. You don’t know where your money is being spent. I’ve spent tons of money, and received little response.
October 12th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
You gotta think though, some leads are going to be bum either way. That’s how leads work. I’ve gotten about 4 crap leads from the engines (google) in the last week. SOME PEOPLE are just not qualified leads. For me, for example, I don’t want people looking to pay 70 bucks for a 2 hour repair, but I get them calling me anyway. Take the good with the bad. My uncle is growing his cleaning business with service magic like crazy! The guy is pulling in an extra 2 grand a month. It’s sick, and growing.