The ultimate prank, or the ultimate tool?

If you've been in business for yourself for longer than a minute I'm sure you've had it happen to you. That customer who you built that deck for, or drew those blueprints for, or charged up his AC, or delivered those 5 crepe myrtles to. He hasn't paid you yet and now he won't pick up the phone when you call.

He knows your cell number, your office number, and even your home number so if you call from any of these he doesn't pick up. And forget about blocking your number, do that and he certainly isn't picking up. We all know this guy. Now we have a new weapon against him.

Introducing Spoofcard (and services like it). These services allow a person to do the ultimate prank call. They also make for an excellent tool for debt collection and tracking down deadbeat customers.

These services allow you to call someone and have your phone number show up as any number that you chose. That means that if you know a person's home phone number and their cell phone number you can call their cell phone and have your number show up as their home phone number. They are sure to answer that call, don't you think?

Not only that but some of these services allow you to change your voice, record the call, and send text messages from any number that you chose.

I will leave it up to you to investigate the legality of these services and if or how they can be useful to you in your debt collection efforts. Be sure to check state, local, and federal laws to make sure you use services like this in a way that is legal. As always, one of the main objectives of our company is to protect contractors from dead beat clients. So when we come across technology like this we are quick to share it with you!

is BBB a bunch of BBBS?

There has recently been a lot of talk on both local and national news programs about the Better Business Bureau and its inadequacy. As I've watched these news specials I've laughed to myself because they are just touching on a topic that we've been talking about for the past year.

The fact that it makes no sense for homeowners and customers to rely on a service, be it Angie's List or the BBB, that rates contractors and businesses who are paying customers of said service. Anyone with common sense can see that this scenario creates a huge conflict of interest, a situation in which contractors and businesses can essentially BUY a better rating!

In order for a service to be ethical, honest, and useful in regards to rating businesses, it can't also be making money off of those same businesses that it is rating.

We ascribe to the philosophy that it is better for a service like this to find other sources of income, such as advertising. Also, rather than trying to rate a contractor or a business based solely on the info received from customers of said business, we prefer to create a platform by which the business can showcase itself and its work and then allow potential customer to use this info to make their decision. Why? Because the customers that write in to the BBB or services like Angie's List often have their own agenda. They could be a competing business disguising itself as a customer in order to give their competition bad pub. They could also be the business disguised as a customer giving itself a good rating in order to give itself good pub.

Rather than weed through all of this foolishness, why not use a service that allows you the contractor to promote yourself and shape your own image by posting pictures, info, articles, etc. about your business? The harder you work, the better your rating. Oh yeah, and it's free. That's the goal of Watch Dog Contractor Service. So join us. Sign up, participate, post, blog, be a part of something unique and useful.

So much done, So much to do!

It's been almost a year now since my partners and I began working seriously on the development of our website and our company. In that time what have we accomplished?

1. First we came up with a really good idea. A website that would give contractors an edge by letting them know about homeowners and other clients who had a history of not paying.

2. We developed a website and set up a database that would effectively accomplish this goal.

3. We expanded our vision to include a business network where contractors, suppliers, and vendors could communicate with each other and share ideas about everthing industry related.

4. We promoted this idea and website through tradeshows, direct advertising and marketing, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets.

5. We gained over 3000 friends and followers on social media and over 200 members on our own web based network.

6. We learned a lot about the business of networking and social media and formed several lasting and meaningful business relationships and friendships with the hardworking contractors that build this country and this world.

What do we have left to do?

Everything!

We still have to finish the development of our directory which will allow contractors to advertise to homeowners. We still have to increase our on the ground presence here in the South East. Most importantly we have to keep the contractors, vendors, and suppliers interested and excited about our network.

We have a big job ahead of us, but with your help I am sure that we can do it! Thanks for being a part of something unique and useful.