Improving Quality of Leads

Boris_Shpitalskiy

Recently the system changed and more AI was added to the platform. At first I was actually excited, thinking this would mean better screening and higher quality leads for all of us.

Instead, I’m seeing the opposite:

• More minors reaching out with gaming console issues.
• More Google Voice / masked numbers.
• More leads where no one answers, no one calls back, and no one even reads the messages.
• And now almost every PC job is treated as a “qualified” job, even when my profile clearly says I don’t do hardware repair, only simple component swaps and software-related work. I’m not a licensed electrician; I focus on software issues and upgrades.

On top of that, customers are being connected with multiple pros at the same time. It’s not a true direct lead anymore – the client is shopping around and comparing prices – but we’re all paying as if it is. Instead of the cost per lead going down, the total we pay just keeps adding up. Before, I used to get fewer leads but more real customers; now I can pay for 20 leads and maybe 1 person actually books and pays. The success rate is getting worse, not better.

It feels like the system is optimized more for charging pros per interaction than for making sure the interaction is actually meaningful.

So I’m genuinely wondering, as other PC techs and service pros:

• How are we supposed to “improve” the quality of leads ourselves when minors are being allowed through in the first place?
• How do we filter out third-party “pros” using fake or disposable numbers?
• How do we deal with leads that are clearly just price shopping, when we’re still paying full price for each contact?
• Is there really an effective way to use the platform and get fair refunds when leads obviously don’t meet our criteria?

Or does it reach a point where the smarter move is to build your own website, focus on SEO, and stop relying on a system that seems to be shifting more and more risk and cost onto the pros?