Home Advisor Review

[RyKR]

I am putting this in 101 forum because it is more for the beginning tree companies. If it needs moved to the business section, please move it. It's been awhile since I've seen a post about Home Advisor, but I'm sure one will come around again soon.

RUN, DON"T WALK, AWAY FROM HOME ADVISOR

I was hopelessly optimistic that they would be of service to me, and for a while they might have been. In the last year I have paid more for the service and leads than what I have made off of them. In all fairness, I kept the leads shut off for most of the year because I was too busy to deal with more. As soon as I turn them back on I get bombarded with a bunch of crap leads for no work. In the beginning they were really good at refunding the money from crap leads, but now they don't want to do that anymore. For instance, I got a lead on Friday. EMERGENCY, TREE IS ABOUT TO FALL ON MY HOUSE. I called within minutes of getting the lead and left a message. I went to the address, no one answered and I saw no tree in peril. Tried calling multiple times to no avail. Now Home Advisor doesn't want to refund on the lead. 3 of the last 4 leads I have received will not respond to text messages, phone calls, or emails. Home Advisor requires that you call them multiple times in order to be considered for a refund. Their requirements are starting to border on harassment.

I've called leads and had them tell me straight up that I'm not going to get the job, but they want an estimate so that they know how much to pay their nephew to do the job. More than once! I've had competitors call us out to give a bid just to compare pricing. Home Advisor sells itself as promoting only "qualified leads" who are "ready to have service performed". Not even close. I had a customer tell me that $600 was too expensive to remove a 60' Walnut tree hanging over her house (I did not quote her that, she knew how much her neighbor paid and told me that I'd have to be lower than that). Another gentleman counter offered a $200 for a $1000 estimate to drop 4 trees close to his house. These are "quality leads"?

This is only my experience, but I have heard many similar nightmare stories. I hear that it is worse in densely populated areas where they will contact a bunch of companies with the same leads. 8 or 9 companies all show up and compete for the same job, with Home Advisor cleaning up on lead fees.

 

[David Gruber]

They're not the greatest for customers either. I needed some work done on my lawn mower. Checked out Home Advisor they replied with 3 shops that were 60-70 miles away as local. I live less than 20 miles to a city with a population of 350k and no one is closer? I laugh at them now

 

[ATH]

I have used them and got some really good clients out of it who still call me today. In a brain fart moment I let my membership Renew at the beginning of 2019. I have had my leads turned off the entire year...new PIA for 2019 is that they can only be paused for 30 days at a time. I agree more recently deleted been terrible. Very few return the phone call. I think all that they would need to do to make those better discharge a client $5 before they hit submit. That could be refunded to them once a contractor approves the legitimacy of the lead. I will not let it renew for 2020.

I think having the annual subscription with leads turned off actually had a better Roi. My company is still listed on their website. But when somebody submits a request I don't get charged $30 for them not to return a phone call.

 

[RyKR]

They surprised me. I called to cancel my service and explained the situation. They refunded half of my yearly fee, all of the lead fees that i bitched about, and gave me some free leads.

 

[ATH]

so the lesson to not use them wasn't too expensive! I'm sure you'll get a call in a few months asking for you to come back.

 

[TheAMMIXman]

I have not used them. Will not use them. In the busy season they leave me two or three useless voicemails a week trying to get me to subscribe to their service for leads.

Any service that needs to sell their leads so badly they contact someone who has never used thier service every 5 or 7 days or even more often does not have their stuff together. Usually a different sales person every time too. Can you say high turnover??

Speaking of my experience here in western MA.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

That service and others have called me several time over the years. I've said no thanks every time, because I'm after a different kind of customer that goes beyond such a limited and constrained service for choosing and vetting.

 

[SuperDuty04]

One only needs to spend 10 mins researching online to know HA is absolutely horrible. When I started my business up a few years ago I knew I'd NEVER work with them. Best decision ever!