Why is Thumbtack Automatically Adding Services?

DerHilfer_LLC

Been meaning to address this for a week. My apologies.

Does Thumbtack understand what kind of mess they've just created for me?

I will fix a shower door. It's only by the hour and no, I'm not giving an estimate because a simple irritation created by a well intentioned DIY-er or unskilled contractor can easily turn a full day's worth of work for someone else to fix.

True Story: had a home owner ask me to fix her bypass shower door that would randomly open while in use. Styed closed until it got hot and steamy. I had to completely dismantle the entire enclosure, hack off incremental bits to make work correctly and reassemble, which due to the size should have been a two-man job. It cost her more money to fix it than it did for the first unskilled person to assemble it.

Another true story: refused to work for a very good customer because his swing out shower door was worn and the nearest part available on the market requires re-cutting the glass in a larger T-shape to fit. I do not have the tools nor skills to do this. Told him to contact a local glass shop who also refused the work.

I have no course of action at this point other than to delete by business if Thumbtack is going to throw me out of the frying pan and into the fire.

DustiO

Hi @DerHilfer_LLC! Thumbtack made this change based on customer demand, and feedback we have heard from pros. This will allow customers to find pros that offer these services, however, if you don’t want to receive these leads, you can always opt out of this option in the job types section of your targeting preferences. Hope this helps!

DerHilfer_LLC

I see "Add Service" I do not see a "don't auto add service" option.

How do I ensure Thumbtack doesn't add any others? I will be inaccessible for six weeks in the coming three months. If I pause all my services, it doesn't matter if my business goes live unless of course if Thumbtack does this again while I'm away and then fees start rolling in for a service I never asked to be in from Users that I can't contact.

DustiO

@DerHilfer_LLC You will be notified by email if there any upcoming changes so that you have enough notice (like you were for this one). There is no way to blanket opt-out of updates. If you are going to be unavailable I would recommend hiding your business during that time.

DerHilfer_LLC

I hide my business quite frequently. In fact, I've found that if you have more than three days of work scheduled in the next week, it's beneficial to hide my business so I can focus on paying customers rather than Thumbtack Users.
However, Thumbtack will only allow me to hide for 14 days at a time and thus, I planned to pause all my services before I leave. If I "go live" with no services, that means no User will find me, and thus, no fees.

If I have no access to my phone or email (as I anticipate), or the modern world at large for two or three weeks, a one-week notice will not do. Please ask your development team to ensure that it's at least 30 days so I have time to prepare.

Thank you.

DustiO

You can hide for up to 30 days - so hopefully that will help. Otherwise I think the only solution for longer than 30 days is to turn off your targeting. I will be sure to send the other feedback to the team as well. Thank you!

DerHilfer_LLC

Sweet. Just tried the 30-day hide my business option, it worked. Used to be 14 days.

Thanks. I was unaware. This will work during my time away. But I must add, I prefer to only select the categories I want to work in.

Appreciate the concern and passing along my feedback.

Keep up the good work.