Home/Growth/🔧 Plumbing/These Lead Gen Companies Are Screwing Plumbing Businesses Hard
These Lead Gen Companies Are Screwing Plumbing Businesses Hard
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FlushMaster
·4mo·42 replies·43 participants
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FlushMaster👑 LegendOP4mo
67
I'm so pissed at these lead gen companies like Angi and Thumbtack, they're flooding my inbox with fake plumbing leads for water heater installs that go nowhere. Been doing this in the Chicago area my whole career, and now every time I bid on a repipe job with PEX-A, half the 'leads' are just homeowners who ghost after I show up with my Ridgid SeeSnake ready to diagnose. It's like they're selling the same lead to every plumber in town, and we're all wasting time chasing shadows instead of fixing real clogs or installing SharkBite fittings. Saw a rant in Plumbers United group about this crap, and yeah, it's killing our margins on residential service calls. Someone in The Contractor Fight said to ditch them for Google Business Profile, but even that's getting saturated with BS reviews. Watched a Tommy Mello video where he talked about building your own leads through yard signs for drain cleaning jobs, might be time to try that. NGL, this whole system's rigged against us small plumbing outfits. FML.
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RustyNailBob4🏆 Master4mo
15
Don't touch those lead gen sites with a ten foot pole, they'll bleed you dry on fees for plumbing emergencies that never call back.
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CircuitSurfer2🏆 Master4mo
12
Exactly, I got burned on a supposed sewer line replacement lead last month.
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FrameItFrank⭐ Expert4mo
7
Fees are insane, like 30% on top of the job cost.
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BrushStrokePro3🏆 Master4mo
13
And the leads are cold as ice, total waste.
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BugBusterJoe3🏆 Master4mo
1
SharkBites behind walls? Hell yeah they're fine, save time on repipes without soldering.
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DirtBagLand⭐ Expert4mo
8
Fight me? Nah, you're right, I've used 'em in three story renos no leaks.
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WireWhiz2⭐ Expert4mo
7
But code inspectors in my area freak out over push fits.
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WattTheHeck10⭐ Expert3mo
7
Soldering's overrated anyway, PEX and SharkBite for the win.
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FramingFreak⭐ Expert3mo
12
As long as it's not exposed, who cares.
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PipeDreamer3⭐ Expert3mo
9
Controversial take: they're better than crimps half the time.
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CurrentChaser⭐ Expert3mo
16
Customer called me out for a leaky faucet at 3am, turns out it was their kid stuffing Legos down the drain. Charged 'em double for the stupidity.
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BrushStrokePro12👑 Legend3mo
33
Haha, sounds like my last toilet unclog, Barbie dolls everywhere.
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PrunePro2⭐ Expert3mo
16
Legos are the worst, took me two hours with the K-45.
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DustBunnyHunter7⭐ Expert3mo
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Never trust a DIY water heater swap, saw one explode and flood the basement last week. Stick to pros only.
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TileTerror12⭐ Expert3mo
12
Yeah, Rheem tankless install gone wrong, guy nearly electrocuted himself.
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WeedWhackerPro🏆 Master2mo
9
These PE vultures buying up plumbing shops are the real enemy, jacking up prices on everything from copper to service calls.
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NotAnElectrician17👑 Legend2mo
13
Tell me about it, can't even get a fair price on 3/4 inch PEX anymore.
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DrainDemon⭐ Expert2mo
13
And now they're undercutting us on bids for whole house repipes.
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RollMaster🏆 Master2mo
14
It's a takeover, small guys like us are screwed.
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NotAnElectrician7⭐ Expert2mo
10
Yeah, saw it in r/Plumbing, everyone's raging.
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PestPatrol4⭐ Expert2mo
11
Time to union up or something.
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DuctTapeDynamo⭐ Expert2mo
14
Switch to Nextdoor for local plumbing leads, way better than the big aggregators for drain services.
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AllAroundAce⭐ Expert2mo
12
Tried it, got three solid water softener installs in a month.
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PolishPro4⭐ Expert1mo
7
Yeah, neighbors trust neighbors more than some app.
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CastIronCrusher🏆 Master1mo
10
Boss wanted me to chase a lead for a cast iron stack replacement, ended up being a raccoon in the vents. Laughed my ass off.
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ColorCraze3⭐ Expert1mo
1
Raccoons in plumbing? That's a new one, hilarious.
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BugBlasterBen2🏆 Master1mo
7
Better than the time I pulled a snake from a high rise and it was another plumber's tool.
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BoltBuster🏆 Master1mo
14
Post short TikToks of you fixing clogs with the Milwaukee M18, leads pour in from locals.
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KeyMaster3000⭐ Expert1mo
2
Roger Wakefield style? Yeah, that guy's gold for plumbing tips.
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LiftLord🏆 Master1mo
16
Angi leads are trash, focus on Facebook groups for real plumber referrals.
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ShingleShark8⭐ Expert1mo
9
Plumbers United has saved my ass more than once.
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LiftLegend2🏆 Master1mo
15
These sites promise the world but deliver squat for fixture installs.
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CircuitSnafu2⭐ Expert26d
13
Preach, lost a whole day on a fake bid.
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PipeLord42017⭐ Expert23d
29
Same, and they still charged me the lead fee.
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ColorCraze4⭐ Expert19d
14
It's predatory as hell.
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TenYearVet28⭐ Expert16d
9
Boycott them all.
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WeedWhackerWill👑 Legend13d
14
I feel your pain, Chicago winters make chasing bad leads even worse.
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VoltageVagabond4⭐ Expert10d
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Hit $120k last year by ignoring lead gen and door knocking for repipes.
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VentVictor2⭐ Expert7d
29
Same here, the frustration is real with these scams.
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HueMaster2⭐ Expert3d
14
Every plumber I know is dealing with it.
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FrameFreak3🏆 Master6h
15
Yeah, it's exhausting.
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PipeLord4209⭐ Expert6h
26
Totally get it, feels like we're all in the same boat.
