This is just plain ridiculous.

Has everyone seen the commercial for a new website called ServiceMagic.com?  In Arizona, it pretty much runs constantly, so I am assuming it does so everywhere.  I could be wrong though.

Anyway, the commercial is an insult to anybody's intelligence right from the get-go. 

They boast that they will help you find the best contractors in your area, and it implies that there is a rating system or something.  You know, before you use so-and-so, you'd better check them out with ServiceMagic first.

And it's all free!  They point that out over and over.  As if we don't know that nothing is free.

So it must be a charity right?  Or maybe it's run by the government?  I can't think of any way-- other than charity or government-- that a site could operate for the benefit of consumers and at a cost of zero.

They've got this nicely produced television commercial; are advertising the heck out of it; and they most definitely have employees.

But it's all...ahem..."free."

Actually, it's not free for everybody.  The contractors that ServiceMagic recommends-- you know, as a free service because they love you so much-- they are the ones that pay.

On the ServiceMagic site, I clicked the link for contractors.  It brought me to a page that said:

They also offered me some free leads.  Leads?  Now I'm totally confused.  How do they get leads to the contractors?  Because...I thought that a consumer just goes to the site and clicks on "carpet installers" and finds a few top rated guys.

So, because I actually need help with a garage door right now, I decide to check it out anyway.  Just to see the name of the company that they match me up with.  I'll take it with a grain of salt, because I know these guys just paid to be ServiceMagic-approved, but it doesn't mean they aren't good guys.  So I'll be objective...

But guess what?  You never get to see the names of the contractors.  You have to fill out a 3-page form and after you give them lots of information, they ask you for your name, address, and telephone number.

After that, they sell your information-rich lead to four different contractors.  Now you are going to get four guys calling you at work, because each one paid for a non-exclusive lead from this gigantic lie of a company.

Please discourage this type of dishonesty in the marketplace.  Please do not use ServiceMagic. 

Pass it on!