The degree to which commercial services like locksmithing, window cleaning and general handyman work have been dominated by scammy referral businesses that use SEO to crowd out actual businesses is extraordinary.
I once spent an hour trying to find the name of an actual neighborhood locksmith I had driven past dozens of times, with every search redirecting to a referral scammer that would send out an unqualified asshole to drill out my lock and charge me $300 to replace it.
Today I went looking for a local business to apply UV film to our house windows. The top results - not ads, but "organic" results - on both Google and Duckduckgo are scammers whose addresses turn out to be PO boxes.
At BEST these are useless intermediaries who interpose themselves between buyers and workers to suck up commissions.
More typically, they're scammers who crowd out qualified professionals and send out idiots who overcharge and underdeliver.
More typically, they're scammers who crowd out qualified professionals and send out idiots who overcharge and underdeliver.
In the meantime - any Angelenos know of a reliable UV window-tinter?
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