LocksmithDirectory.com?

[Anavaree]

Have any of you operating locksmiths had any experience with LocksmithDirectory.com?
I have been getting calls from them trying to get me to sign up for a referral service. They want to charge $14 a call they send me but claim that it won't be just lockouts. $14 would be my entire profit from a normal lockout and they said they would only market me towards higher value calls.
Anybody?
Jesse

[lockjock50]

never tried any of those services. i had a call from aaa late one evening. they wanted me to unlock a car 35 miles away for $30.

[zeke79]

Not dealt with locksmith directory but have with aaa, etc. Their pay is a set rate but after xx amount of miles they pay a per mile fee. Don't expect payment fast (my experience is no faster than a month) and be sure you keep track of work you have done for them seperately and follow up as they sometimes tend to "lose" paperwork it seems.

[Capt_Tom]

I had the same call last week. I told them that I was not interested. Maybe they are OK, maybe not. BUT, here we have started getting internet paid sites sites popping up claiming to have shops in every populated area in the two counties. They all have the same phone number, and some have toll free numbers. We have approximately 30 locksmiths in the area..... the internet count is 127. How can one advertise against that? I forgot to mention, some are changing one letter of a legit shop's name and advertising with a sound alike name. I.E. "POP A LOCK" is a legit company. These people use "PAPA LOCK", and are taking business from the established company. Not sure where all of this will lead, as this state requires NO LICENSE for the trade. Maybe it will come to a head over this!

[bjornnrojb]

I set up an account with locksmithdirectory.com and it was an f'ing nightmare. They spammed information about my company to a lot of b-grade websites like insiderpages.com and yp.com with information about my company but with their phone number. It was hurting my SEO on google, not to mention that people looking for my business based on word of mouth were calling up locksmith directory's number so I was getting billed $20 for a call that I would have gotten anyway.
After a lot of time calling to them and complaining they agreed to remove their listings of my business from everywhere but their own website.
Another problem is that they claim they will only give you high quality calls but they will also charge you for calls from people who want their key copied for $2. I don't do automotive work but I get lots of people calling and asking me to originate keys for their car, even though the ad on locksmithdirectory.com explicitly states I don't do auto work, and I don't copy keys.
If you really need more calls and you live in a market where there is a lot of competition, you can build your customer base this way but otherwise it is definitely not worth it. I have to call them right now to ask them to credit me one call because I had a customer call me twice for the same job.
Finally, it will be really hard for you to cancel service with these people. You will most likely have to stop payments to them based on my experience. If I get charged for a few more calls from people who want their keys copied, that is it, I am done with them.

[alockguru]

They constantly harass me. They where trying to charge me $20 per call. Guess they had to come down on their price to attract more people. I have a "SPAM" contact on my phone that I add all numbers too that I don't want to answer. They are are in that group.

[scooterpower]

I have some knowledge that might be useful. When they get a call they will refer that caller to the nearest locksmith registered with them. If you are the only guy for many miles around registered you will get calls for people way too far outside your area. If you turn down the job or show for a lockout and the original caller is gone they still want to charge you for the referral. On top of that if you use an answering service now you have paid twice for that call.
I would ask questions about who else is registered in your area/state.
Most of the call are for people that have a problem and use the cell phone and search for locksmith and get the directory.com number and assume they are a local business.

[globallockytoo]

I used them when they first started out.
It was ok at first but quickly developed into many nuisance calls.
I cancelled my service with them, even though they continue to want me back.
I did some research into the background of the company.
I found out some interesting stuff related to the shenanigans surrounding those phony locksmith activities, we hear about across the country.
In a nutshell, I found out that the hierarchy of the company is directly connected to the outfit that advertises many of the sham locksmith masqueraders.
they decided that because of their marketing prowess, in leading most of the online "paid" search categories (like the sham operators do)....they could convince legitimate locksmiths to pay for their leads.
It's a con....outright. not only do they ripoff the consumer but this is another way they try to ripoff the honest locksmiths too.

STEER CLEAR!

[paganpicker]

Capt_Tom,
I am a beginner locksmith but I am a professional Software Systems Engineer and please allow me to assist you with your issues. Simply put the best and ONLY way to combat scam and snag artists like that is to hire someone who really knows their stuff about web site SEO. Have them improve your web sites SEO, keep on it, create a small blog section where you do something like give tips once a week. Post to it religiously and soon they will not even be able to steal ANY of your internet traffic at ALL! Hope that helps you and others. =)