I have a good conversion rate even if I don't respond within 1 hour, and I usually respond quickly by combining multiple contact methods: TT Chat, text, and phone calls.

But this is very stressful, to the point of stopping the car to respond, taking my phone to the bathroom, stopping work to respond, not being able to focus in a meeting...

And I'm worried about the response time to maintain my Top Pro Platinum status, AND also about my stress. 😅

So I'm trying to find ways to automate the first response/contact.

Does anyone know how to tell me?

I've already checked if there's an option on Thumbtack called Front Desk, but I've read that it can take up to 2 minutes. And I want something faster/instant.

I'd also like to hear from people who already use Front Desk, I did some research and saw some negative reviews.

Can anyone who uses it tell me more?

Hello everyone,

I’m hoping a moderator or someone from the Thumbtack team can point me in the right direction.

I recently disputed a review because I genuinely believe it contains factual statements that are directly contradicted by the documentation and evidence from the appointment.

The customer stated that I discussed pricing and provided a quote, but no quote or pricing was ever given. The review also states that I never inspected or opened the electrical panel, yet I have photographs showing the panel open during the inspection, signed inspection documentation the customer acknowledged and signed, and inspection notes completed during the visit. The customer also explained that the panel was relatively new and that they intended to contact the original installing electrician because it was still under warranty, which is why no repair work was performed.

I’ve attached a photo of the customer’s electrical panel open during the inspection, the signed inspection paperwork, and the inspection notes that were documented at the time of the appointment. These documents reflect what actually occurred during the visit.

My question is: If a review contains factual statements that appear to be contradicted by signed documentation, inspection records, and photographs, is there a way to request another review by the Trust & Safety team? If so, what is the best process?

As a small business owner, reviews have a tremendous impact on our reputation and ability to earn future work. My concern isn’t that a customer had a negative opinion—it’s that the review contains factual claims that I believe are inconsistent with the documentation from the appointment. That’s why I’m hoping the evidence can be carefully reviewed.

I also have another question. We have worked incredibly hard to earn Top Pro status and build our business through many positive customer reviews. Does a provider’s established history and reputation on Thumbtack play any role when a review dispute is evaluated, or is each review considered entirely on its own? I completely understand that every review matters, but it has been discouraging to see one review that I believe is contradicted by documentation have such a significant impact on our business.

I’m not asking for special treatment. I’m simply asking for a fair review of the evidence and guidance on whether there is another avenue available for a case like this.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this, and thank you to the moderators and Thumbtack team for any guidance you can provide. It would truly mean a great deal to me if someone could take another look at the documentation I’ve attached.

It's freaking an abomination that people are allowed to pick that many pro's.

We’re a remodeling contractor and have been receiving direct leads, but we’re struggling to get consistent responses after the initial inquiry.

We respond as quickly as possible (sometimes the inquiries come in overnight, but we follow up first thing in the morning), and we typically reach out via both phone call and text to try to connect.

We understand that not every lead will be a fit, and that’s completely fine — we just want to improve our response rate and actually connect with the homeowners who reached out.

For those of you having success, what strategies are you using to increase reply rates on direct leads?

Any insight or best practices would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Instead, I’m seeing the opposite:

• More minors reaching out with gaming console issues.
• More Google Voice / masked numbers.
• More leads where no one answers, no one calls back, and no one even reads the messages.
• And now almost every PC job is treated as a “qualified” job, even when my profile clearly says I don’t do hardware repair, only simple component swaps and software-related work. I’m not a licensed electrician; I focus on software issues and upgrades.

On top of that, customers are being connected with multiple pros at the same time. It’s not a true direct lead anymore – the client is shopping around and comparing prices – but we’re all paying as if it is. Instead of the cost per lead going down, the total we pay just keeps adding up. Before, I used to get fewer leads but more real customers; now I can pay for 20 leads and maybe 1 person actually books and pays. The success rate is getting worse, not better.

It feels like the system is optimized more for charging pros per interaction than for making sure the interaction is actually meaningful.

So I’m genuinely wondering, as other PC techs and service pros:

• How are we supposed to “improve” the quality of leads ourselves when minors are being allowed through in the first place?
• How do we filter out third-party “pros” using fake or disposable numbers?
• How do we deal with leads that are clearly just price shopping, when we’re still paying full price for each contact?
• Is there really an effective way to use the platform and get fair refunds when leads obviously don’t meet our criteria?

Or does it reach a point where the smarter move is to build your own website, focus on SEO, and stop relying on a system that seems to be shifting more and more risk and cost onto the pros?

I am a Thumbtack Top Pro since 2012, but a new community website user, I run a video and photo production studio in the bay area CA. I would really love to know if a few others pro would share 2 ratios. It is not something I can get from Thumbtack or online. (average numbers are enough)

RATIO #1 How many paying leads do you buy to get hired once (me I get hired 1 time out of 10 leads) My lead/hired ratio = 10%

RATIO # 2 How much is your ROI, return on investment, how much income do you get from Thumbtack compared to the money you spend on Thumbtack. (me, to make $100K I must spend $50K, 8 years ago to make $100K I spent $20K) My income/advertisement ratio is now 50%, and 8 years ago it was 20%)

What are your ratios? I am just curious and I am sure people would like to know where they stand compared to the Thumbtack community. Thanks for sharing.

Kongcrete Coatings specializes in durable industrial concrete coatings for Orlando businesses. We offer polyaspartic and epoxy solutions that resist stains, chemicals, and heavy traffic. Contact us at (855) 699-5664 or visit 10121 Lone Tree Lane, Orlando, Florida 32836. Learn more at https://kongcretecoatingsco.com/

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My targeting is set to a 150-mile service radius, and I can clearly see all selected areas on the map. However, my profile is not appearing in search results for multiple ZIP codes within that range.

Here are my current profile metrics:

• Unlimited budget enabled
• Response time under 1 minute
• 100% 5-star reviews
• Targeting area properly configured and saved

Given these metrics, I would expect to have at least some visibility, but in certain ZIP codes I’m completely absent from search results.

I’ve already reached out to support several times, but unfortunately the issue is still unresolved and I haven’t received a clear explanation.

This has been ongoing for several days and is directly affecting my ability to receive leads.

Has anyone experienced something similar or found a solution?

@DustiO — I saw your note about tagging you in posts. I would really appreciate it if you could take a look or help clarify what might be causing this issue.
Thank you!

Monthly on Thumbtack for leads

Here’s what I’m facing

My ROI is very low due the Nature of junk Removal Business/leas Of thumbtack

They are always shopping for cheap

And I’m trying to get some refunds from leads that never replies

I have a bunch weekly my
response time is 5 stars

average 1 minute to 5 maximum

And I text and call immediately

And never hear anything

and of course thumbtack knows that

Thr Analytics

I hardly get some credit back

it just a lot money spent

But man do I have a true love hate relationship with the way Thumbtack does business.

Here are questions that I'd like to see answered as I did a search and couldn't find results.

Do the leads have to check a box or otherwise acknowledge that each time they select a pro that that pro is charged a dollar amount. Something polite that says essentially "please be serious because you click submit and you will be making someone pay a lot of money." I find it absolutely appalling when I talk to someone and they "were just curious" about a question that a quick google search would have answered. Or the sheer number of leads that simply do not ever respond to any form of contact through the site or the phone number they provide.

When the hell will Thumbtack follow California state law on the job size unlicensed persons are allowed to perform. In California you are not allowed to do jobs over 1000 without a state contractors license. If you do a quick search for carpenters, painters, kitchen and bath the unlicensed "pro" are almost half the results. Their profiles show jobs that would cost tens of thousands dollars and they do not have licenses. Being listed as a "pro" on thumbtack gives these unlicensed folks a air of credibility they haven't earned. It is also a massive slap in the face to all the licensed operators doing it the right way.

There really needs to be a better way to screen leads. As an example today under the cabinet job preference myself and 3 other "pros" all got a lead that cost us $50 for a job that is at most $150 handyman special. There really needs to be a better way to screen this type of job out.

As an addition to this, you need to give us a way to screen out folks to select X number of pros. 100 percent of the time when someone chooses 4 pros to install a door they are shopping for the absolute bottom dollar cheap job. Those types of customers are not a good fit for certain contractors and it would be nice to eliminate paying for that.

I've made money here and probably won't give up but man your algorithm really makes it tough to want to increase our monthly budget.