Thumbtack - Great Concept, but too many Fraudulent Requests for Services are Robot Generated!
I had reservations about THUMBTACK for quite some time now but I gave it a chance.
I like the concept but CERTAINLY do not believe the professionals should be charged. It seems they are defrauding professionals and free-lancers....
The "INTERNET ROBOT" service they have is only causing them to further lose credibility.
"Requests for services" come in at all hours of the day and night...including 9:00 pm to midnight, not to mention: 1:00 am, 3:00 am, 5:00 am! Seriously! Can't they scam better than that??? Or at least hire a robot company that is mindful of the time zones?
Do they honestly believe I am gullible enough to think that at 1:36 a.m. some woman named "Lisa M." wants home staging in Oceanside? at 1:36 AM???? Or that at 6:45 a.m. "Judith" needs a home remodeler in Pomona? Or one of my favorites: "Anaiz L." needs an interior designer in Lakeside at 1:53 a.m.? Yes, 1:53 AM!
This is increasing in frequency...sometimes these requests come in every 15-30 minutes! It's gotten worse and worse. I have kept every email and text notification to prove this craziness. (see attached for 2 examples)
It's blatantly obvious that these are fake requests. They are defrauding people by suggesting they submit quotes to these fake requests.
And yes, it would be great to get a refund, simply because I feel very defrauded. They need to clean up their act, be transparent, stop charging the professionals, and be accountable.
Reason of review: 80-95% of Requests for Services are fraudulent and generated by company..
Monetary Loss: $90.
Preferred solution: Full refund.
Thumbtack Pros: Concept, Idea.
Thumbtack Cons: Fraudulent customers and leads, Charging professionals, Ripping off professionals, No corporate transparency.
Location: Murrieta, California
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THUMBTACK IS THE NEW WALLSTREET WITH HIGH PRICED ATTORNEYS AND COMPUTERS!!!!!
BACKGROUND CHECKED?!?!
MORALITY AND BEING ETHICAL?!!!
THUMBTACK IS ROBBING THE BUSINESS OWNER BLIND_
REPORT THEM TO THE BBB!!!
I get requests to quote at all hours of the day and night and have gotten quite a few clients this way. The clients don't realize you have to answer within a short time--or that your phone is pinging you--they're awake because they have an odd schedule or are insomniac or whatever and figure they'll do this now and look at the responses in the morning. It's not as if they're calling a business that is open from 9-5.
I too am a victim of this service. I am tired of paying for credits and not seeing any results.
When I first started I had 10 of my customers write testimonials. They claim the more you have the higher your chances for hire. I must have replied to over 40 quotes and only got 2 jobs from them. I think if any of us contractors have our quotes selected we should automatically have a customer contact number to follow up on.
That is bull. How can I close a sale if I never know who looked at my quote. After all, it cost me money to get it viewed. They take the credits and than your left waiting for a response that never comes.
It is actually a very *** concept if you ask me. I'm done with this garbage company. I track my quotes too. It's funny that the same requests for specific jobs like floors that need to be installed always have different credit prices.
They range from 7 to 10 credits. That's a lot of money for a request. The description box should have a description of what they want. There is never enough info to give a quote.
In my field of wood flooring, there are so many factors to determine a price. Like detail box. They say steps. Good!
How many?, would help me give a quote better. The system is ridiculous.
I'm done TT. NEVER AGAIN WILL YOU GET A DIME FROM ME!!!
Just another "get rich quick "scheme that apparently plays on the naivete of consumers and contractors. The feds keep their eyes on everything else, why not these clowns!
From 12/6 to 12/15, i have received 12 auto-generated SPAM requests for a "Resume Writer" from Thumbtack. It's ironic that I have to enter a "secure code" to post this message on Thumbtack; however, they don't employ the same security standards when it comes to their own website's postings!
Enough is enough. I am canceling my account today.
I had a few friends suggest Thumbtack, and decided to give it a shot, actually purchasing numerous credits.
However, I agree with the other complaints.
If I've been fortunate enough to actually reach a potential client, they flaked on me or were downright rude. One customer promised to keep in touch, then never returned any of my follow-up efforts. Second customer didn't have all the money upfront, then got indignant when I wasn't able to meet the one time she suggested. Third customer hung up on me as I tried to go over everything with her.
All other quotes went ignored, even though I've still wasted money on credits that only get refunded if someone doesn't read the quote. I've gotten more business from Craigslist, and that's free.
There's flakes there too, obviously, but my success rate is much higher. Once I get rid of these last few credits, I'm done with Thumbtack for good.
To test this theory:
I created multiple fake leads and Thumbtack said "customer" Viewed the Quote
I DID NOT View or Open ANY of them !!!
SCAM ARTISTS!
I also agree with everyone. I've been suspicious of many of the leads that come through.
Additionally, I have done everything as suggested by the FAQS and I have never received any work from this site. The work that I do can be scheduled in time blocks which causes the price to vary. Having to state a price up front requires me to choose one price when there are instead options available. I will not buy anymore credits.
I'm using up what I have left and then I'm done. What a waste of time and money!
I agree with everyone. I've always ask questions to leads and nobody replies.
I even ask right questions right after the bid is checked. So for me I'm done.
Unless the person putting the bid in has consequences I'm not going to put anymore money in. If thumbtack wants me to bid on clients everyone of the needs to have a phone number to call.
Iโm really sorry to hear that you havenโt had a good experience with us. I want to address your concerns and hopefully make things right with you.
I understand your suspicions, especially with an online company.
Itโs not only important to us that customer requests turn into real work for our professionals, but that pros feel secure while using the site as well. If thereโs ever a request thatโs concerning to you, let us know and weโll look into it. We're definitely growing and weโre seeing more and more customers submitting requests everyday.
The nice thing about our site is that you have the ability to control how you get notifications and how often you receive them. Thereโs also a setting on your profile where you can opt in or out to getting requests between the hours of 9pm-8am.
When you receive anything in between those hours, customers are not necessarily wanting the services performed at that time. I sometimes find myself surfing the internet late at night; we find that itโs not uncommon for customers who also prefer to do their internet perusing at those odd hours submit requests at those times.
Youโre never in anyway obligated to respond to any of the requests that come through and if youโd like to lessen how many requests you are getting, you can opt out of certain categories.
I hope this has shed some light on your concerns. If you have any other questions or concerns, please know you can reach out to us at anytime.
Weโre always here to help. -Alexis
As I relayed to your associate, Michelle:
In over 12 years of being in the architectural and interior design profession, NEVER have I experienced a "lead" contacting me or any of my colleagues in the middle of the night (namely, from 10 pm until 8 am the following morning) needing architectural or interior design, home staging, or remodeling.
A friend of mine, a make-up artist, also has this experience...and never has she received a request for make-up or event services in the middle of the night/early hours of the morning except for Thumbtack's "leads".
THAT wreaks of your company having hired proxies or shills to submit fake leads/customers. THAT is fraud. Now I am seeing the same "customers" repeating their requests, so I guess you are recycling the 'leads'.
I am documenting all "leads" that I have received and that continue to come in at absurd hours of the day, so that when someone finally investigates your company, my documentation will help to enforce ethics and transparency with your business model.
It's a great concept...if only Thumbtack was ethical in its business practices.
Very, very sad...and so disappointing to so many hard working professionals. Have a wonderful day.
Are you people who work at thumbtack even real? You sound on the phone and in your written responses like stepford robots and not even remotely human.
Your call center is in utah so you're probably one of those weird religions out there!! And your comment "we're always here to help" is a BIG FAT LIE!!!!!!
BS THIER CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NON EXISTENCE THEY TREAT PAYING CUSTOMERS LIKE TRASH,NEED HELP OR ANSWERS, WON'T HAPPEN.. I SPENT 1.5HRS ON PHONE WOULD NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, TALKED IN CIRCLES, RUDE, AND FINALLY AFTER 1.5HRS OF ZERO HELP GEROME HUNG UP ON ME. TOTAL ***, VERY UNPROFESSIONAL!!!!!!
Liars
Be sure to mark their Messages as Spam!
I am documenting all "leads" (their hired shills) so when there is a class action suit against their fraudulent and unethical business practices, I can help stop this. They need to clean up their act.
I wouldn't mind paying for leads if they actually generated any business. But I am seeing requests from the same names over and over again, and I agree that they come in at the oddest of hours.
What's more, most contain too little information to know whether it's a job worth bidding on.
The solution offered to me by Thumbtack customer service was to just do more of what I was doing -- in other words spend more money -- because I was doing everything right. If I was doing everything right, why was I only spending money and not making any?