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5.0

I signed up for Thumbtack exactly 18 days ago. I submitted 21 detailed quotes to 21 leads I received throughout those 18 days. Usually I received about 3-15 leads every day (mostly from my area, and some out of state) and the reason I did not respond to more leads was because I did not want to spend more credits and most quotes were too vague to even produce an accurate quote.

( I bought the $35 package).

The problem with Thumbtack is that MOST customers will not even view your quote, therefore all that effort actually elaborating a custom quote is wasted.

The customer NEVER provides adequate information or even enough about the project to give an accurate quote.

I tried submitting quotes from all price ranges and nothing worked so either Thumbtack users are extremely uninterested in what they're shopping for or the leads are fake.

I provide extremely competitive prices in my area and have done enough research to know my prices are pretty hard to beat. So I was expecting a better response since I invested so much time and effort building my profile (that was only viewed ONCE by ONE lead the entire time I used thumbtack).

So here is the breakdown:

Spent: $35 for 30 credits

Sent: 21 quotes

Quotes viewed: 9

Quotes NOT viewed: 11

Quotes answered: 3

Hired: 0

Time: 18 days

Responses: Only 3 customers actually asked a follow up question but never heard back from anyone after that.

In conclusion, I believe the Thumbtack idea is GREAT and I was hoping for a better response since it is an excellent idea with a great platform, unfortunately being free for customers makes them prone to not putting any effort on their end, they submit quotes they never plan on responding to, much less hire because its easy and FREE for them. From a professional stand-point I would not recommend it to grow a business or find new leads, it involves investing a lot of time answering quotes without any real payback. Also it is not free nor cheap.

I have attached screenshots to support my review.

You can see most messages were "auto-refunded" because the customer never even opened the quote, and the few messages marked "viewed", were just that, viewed and nothing else.

Reason of review: Not as described/ advertised.

Monetary Loss: $35.

Preferred solution: Full refund.

Thumbtack Pros: Idea, Lot of leads.

Thumbtack Cons: Never hired, Customers do not view quotes.

Location: Miami, Florida

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Guest

Thumbtack limits bids to about 5... meaning that if you ever use Thumbtack, youโ€™ll be guaranteed to get bids from the five companies who werenโ€™t good enough to be busy at the time.

Itโ€™s not a good way to hire and I donโ€™t feel like hovering over my text notifications like a buzzard hoping to make an uninformed bid based on too little information.Just use a search engine or friend references to find your pros.... donโ€™t use this facacta service.

Guest

Most of the leads are fake that are written by Thumbtack employees or a hired 3rd party contractor. For the scam to be profitable for Thumbtack the quote has to be "viewed" by these same fake entities.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1336215

That's not true...ive been hired over 30 times.

Enes Bxg
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1459943

Thats irrelevant. I have been hired 147 times.

I know the system Better than anyone. 100% fake leads mixed in with a few legitimate ones, this got exponentially worse in late 2016 Also clients viewing quotes and not replying was infuriating. So you get billed by thumbtack for fake or disengaged clients. There was a lowball war going on too.

Fake leads made competitors think they had to lower their prices to below profit or near no profit.

I refused to bend. If it costs $80 to get a $100 job, thats not making money by anyones grade school math.

Guest

I think Thumbtack is scam.

I am vendor and I have spent money for leads.

Not a single deal has been made. I think the leads are fake.

I haven been doing my business for 10 years.

Yelp is more reliable to get real deals.

#thumbtackisscam

Guest

I use Thumbtack and have gotten a lot of customers. In general, I will sent out 8 quotes at 3 credits each and get 3 refunds back and 1 customer who over the coarse of a short time, gives me my money back through the coarse of proving service and getting paid.

So much better than Home Advisor who charges $30 a lead and you reach out to many leads with no response before you'll actually get a customer. Plus the $250 sign on fee.

What a money pit! Thumbtack is way much better and I'm very happy with them.

Guest

You are paying Thumbtack for leads, and that's what they give you. It has helped me find a lot of new customers and continue to do so.

Yes, there are people that will not even read your quote but you get refunded for those. Many will choose another company but the life long customers I find through Thumbtack more than make up for it!

Guest

I had the same experience re response rates, experimenting with different level bids, and large amounts of time invested -- but I was required to make an initial investment of $105.

3ยฝ weeks later with $40 worth of credit still in my account, Thumbtack stopped sending leads. First they said it was a known technical problem affecting some accounts and to change my account email address.

I did that and then was told that I was required to "finish" my profile to receive more leads.

It took a full weekend to build my profile. Every part was complete. They have a series of questions that they recommend (but do not require) that you answer 8 - 10. I had answered 11 of these questions, had a comprehensive portfolio of my work showing 7 different completed projects, and had one extensive review from a recent client.

I was not interested in paying an additional $20 for an โ€œoptionalโ€ background check.

If Thumbtack considered my profile incomplete, they should not have approved my account and accepted my money. I have requested a refund twice now for the credits they required me to buy and now are not allowing me to use. I have received no response from Thumbtack.

I wasted a lot of time which is of course much more valuable than the $40, however the money was paid on false pretenses and they did not deliver what was promised.

This is what Thumbtack wrote about why they stopped sending leads: "Iโ€™m sorry you havenโ€™t been receiving requests from us lately. I checked your account and it looks like you just need to finish setting up your profile to start receiving requests again.

As you add pictures, describe your business, and ask past customers to leave reviews on your profile, youโ€™ll earn profile points. The more you complete your profile, the more profile points youโ€™ll have. And most importantlyโ€”the more customers will see how engaged and committed you are to your business. Because you're in a competitive field, I recommend that you try to get between 200-250 points.

Currently you have 127 points, which you can view by visiting this link here after logging into your account. Here are some recommendations for earning points: Get Reviews (15 points each) - Ask past customers to leave reviews on your Thumbtack profile by sending them this link: https://tack.bz/2nthU. Reviews are crucial, and customers are 400% more likely to hire you with 5 or more reviews.

Link to Social Media (5 points each) Pass a background check (20 points total) Once you get more points, I'm confident that you'll start receiving requests again. If you've gotten more points and haven't received them again, please let me know.โ€ me know."

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1022139

I just got a similar message today after asking Support why I stopped getting leads, though they didn't mention linking to social media or passing a background check. The question they have NOT answered yet is why I had enough points to get leads for a solid month.

By the way, as for customers being "400% more likely to hire you with 5 or more reviews," I have six reviews, five of them 5-star. And I've been hired five times in less than 30 days.

And I have a gold-star profile, whatever that means. Yet all of a sudden I need 50 more points to get leads?

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1022139

So howโ€™s work at the Thumbtack office? Nice benefits plan?

Guest

The leads are fake. Why else they don't ask or demand numbers?

Because if they did they cant create fake leads. Google some of these names and you won't find the person in your area

Hoa Kxh

We never enjoy hearing that a professional on our site was unsatisfied with their results. We want every pro on Thumbtack to feel like the money they invested with us was well spent.

When communicating with customers online, follow up is important. Sending a short and friendly message after the initial quote reminding the customer that youโ€™re still interested is a good practice, and it has helped professionals in the past.

If you feel like customers are looking for the lowest price, breaking down your quote estimate can help as well.

If customers have a detailed outline of what the quote includes, theyโ€™ll have a better understanding of how you work as a business.

We want you to do whatโ€™s best for your business. If you ever want to give us another try, you're always welcome to call us at 1-800-343-1710 so we can best help you.

-Megan

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Hoa Kxh

Joined Thumbtack as a Computer Professional about a week ago, read as much on the Thumbtack site as I could about how the process works, and have NOT felt comfortable quoting jobs because of 1 glaring fault in your process: If NOBODY who sends a quote gets hired for the job, Thumbtack still keeps all the "credits" we Professionals spent to send our best quotes! That is just not right IMHO!

It just doesn't pass the smell test IMHO. Who has the time/money to spend time AND money on tire-kickers (not to mention left wondering if the job was ever even real to begin with... this is far too ripe for misuse in order to drive up Thumbtack revenue, there is no check to prevent Thumbtack employees from making fake jobs up just to boost Thumbtack profits and that sincerely troubles me!).

Ergo, I probably will never bother to buy your credits until/unless this serious flaw is resolved.

Thumbtack wouldn't be the 1st company to be caught with it's employees essentially committing fraud (sic: Wells Fargo current scandal). Regards!

Guest

Wow!!! You are not lying.

I thought I was the only one. I got to thinking today my mind told me go and do a review on thumbtack. Wow...

And I keep coming across stories similar to mine experience with the site. Not cool!!!

Guest

Frankly you're almost better off if they don't view your quote. At least you don't end up spending any money.

What almost always happened with me is that people would view the quote and nothing else; not my profile or my website or anything.

They never asked for more information. I came to the conclusion that most were either not really looking, didn't know what they were looking for, or looking for cheap prices that you can't possibly afford to give.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1007213

My experience was very similar, though I did get five jobs within a month. But I'm still waiting for two of them to pay me, and at least 98% never gave me the time of day.

Guest

Heres a prediction for you, ready? The thumbtack employees that monitor this page will respond your (very accurate) review with the following worthless garbage.

"I know it can be frustrating to have potential customers not follow through" Please give us a call at XXXXXXXXXX so one of our employees can give you advice on how to get hired" Translation, "Call our 800 number so we can take this offline in a desperate attempt to save the crumbling reputation of this company" The negative momentum is finally picking up now. This website is doing so much damage, its like a ship taking on water and all the employees (who know zilch about running a business) are clueless about what to do.

Do I sound angry ? Good because I am, and its only a matter of time until your boiler room operation is shut down.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1006743

Hey, you know what? I called that number and it's a recording that never takes you to a real person.

Even their website on the contact page only provides headings for areas you need help with. You're never actually able to connect with anyone. I get these people looking for quotes in my inbox and I sign in and click on 'Send a Quote' and all it does is take me to Thumbtack's wesbite as if I were a customer and not a professional wanting to send a quote. So far, no ONE-and i mean NO ONE has gotten back with me after i give a quote.

Now keep in mind that I am published in 38 countries worldwide and have illustrated for many Marvel Entertainment books and have even been featured in an 8 page story in China's Fantasy Art Magazine showcasing exemplary artists from the western hemisphere. And yet NO ONE even gives me a peep. Surely this is a bogus operation.

You should at least get a polite no thank you from at least a few. Something's up and it smells like a rat.

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