Angi Pro Leads - Lead generation & payment

The service costs a lot but the quality is lacking. They charge for every lead, even if reaching out fails. Angie's phone service often has issues. Sometimes there's a significant delay. Plus, they don’t provide customer phone numbers for direct contact. Adding notes to leads is impossible. The button exists, yet it rarely works and tells you to try again later.

The app feels sluggish and unpredictable. Notifications arrive late, not when they should. When using the app to call a customer, it prompts with "did you speak with the customer?" before even dialing the number. This mishap prevents the dialer from showing the passcode needed for connection. On top of that, opportunities take about 30 minutes to come through.

The app lacks a feature for adding negative words. This creates issues when customers seek services unrelated to what we offer. They send these leads anyway, charging $24 each. Often, the customer doesn’t respond to calls or messages. For instance, we received a lead about closet door tracks and got charged $16 for it. We don’t handle that kind of work, yet the lead came through. That’s my perspective. Including negative words would help refine the process.

Home Advisor is a fantastic marketing app. I’ve used it for nearly two years. One big issue stands out. The refund process for inaccurate leads needs improvement. Clients sometimes just want a price or change their minds, leaving contractors in a tough spot. Getting refunds for those bad leads can be challenging. Despite that, the app delivers good value overall.

This company turned out to be a total scam. They promised me a $100 credit for signing up since I was already skeptical because of the bad reviews. They said I'd pay between $8 and $55 for referrals in my Low Voltage industry. The reality hit hard with a steep $299 sign-up fee. The referral costs range from $30 to $185 instead. What a shock! The first two leads I received were complete garbage, and I ended up getting charged $75 for those. Even price shoppers come at a cost. There's also this spend limit thing. If you go over it, no more leads roll in. I can’t deal with this anymore. I'm cancelling the service.

The idea behind the app is solid. Unfortunately, the execution falls flat. Customers often request tasks that fall outside your expertise or licensed capabilities, yet you still have to pay for those leads. Picture this: a carpenter getting inquiries about plumbing work. It happens frequently. The app simply states, “We connected you. Pay us!” You can ask for credit, but if it occurs too often, they penalize you and throw you into a review process. A complete overhaul of the app’s structure is needed before I can give a thumbs up.

Angi has its moments of being a decent service. The app used to be pretty user-friendly, but it feels like it's been going downhill lately. I’ve reached out through email to share my concerns, but it hasn't helped much. A problem I pointed out two updates ago still isn't fixed. With each new update, more features start to act up. It’s frustrating because now the app takes longer to use than before.

The app functions really well. As a small contractor, it's just me handling everything. I need a feature to limit the number of leads I receive each day or week. Otherwise, I end up pausing the leads and might forget to turn them back on. Suddenly, I get flooded with leads that I can't manage or pay for. The lead fees feel way too high. I've wasted $200 in just one week on people who were only "curious" or gave me fake contact info. I can't keep spending money on leads that aren't useful.

The app is impressive. It works smoothly to provide leads just as it should. Big shout out to the team behind it for delivering such a solid product! Home Advisor? That's a different story. It's a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Some days are great, some not so much. As long as my cash flow stays positive, I can handle it. Just be prepared for some frustrating moments. Like when you pay for a lead and they never pick up the phone. That $35 can feel like throwing money down the drain.