Instant bookings update hurting my business

AlexPDX
AlexPDX Posts: 4
edited May 2023 in Thumbtack Resources

This hurts us! The forced instant bookings are priced higher then the job. I was told to lower my competitive settings. I've never been charged so much for a lead. This is disappointing to say the least.

Comments

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,582

    @AlexPDX I am sorry this happened - I have reached out to the team and am trying to get some insight into why this happened. I will update here when I learn more. Thank you for posting! In the meantime I would encourage you to send this to support@thumbtack.com as well (if you haven't already done this).

  • AlexPDX
    AlexPDX Posts: 4

    I sent an email and I got an automated response telling me I choose my settings. This didn't help. Do instant bookings always cost more then the job it's self?

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,582

    No, that should not be the case. The team is looking into this (actually in the middle of a convo with them right now). I will update you with anything more that I find out!

  • AlexPDX
    AlexPDX Posts: 4

    I tried to dispute the charges via app and calling in. Was told that because my prices are set to competitive,there is nothing Thumbtack will do. My budget for the entire week is about 700. these two leads took a huge percentage of that and my company is at a loss. These are one time jobs. I understand the max pay but usually if multiple items are selected the it can balance out. The Squre footage of the home is not the Squre footage of the project either. This system does not help the pros in anyway.

  • chilogm1
    chilogm1 Posts: 56

    Yep I receive so many of those instant booking not only they don’t have an options to turn off instant booking for some services. It’s literally a money grab opportunity for thumbtack and trust me I’m 100 percent sure those type of instant leads are fake cause I get some off them and client don’t respond to text call and not even acknowledge my response in the app.

  • AlexPDX
    AlexPDX Posts: 4

    @DustiO any word on this?

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 1,582

    @AlexPDX For now I think the best thing to do is make sure you have your Max Lead Prices set to prices that you are willing to pay for leads. It looks like you are already on top of those. That is your best bet at having more control over what you are willing to pay for a lead. But, if I hear anything new re: Bookings and lead pricing I will pass it along. Thanks for the patience!

  • WDodson
    WDodson Posts: 27

    There needs to be an automated check for this odd situation so users get an authorization alert before being charged.

  • I’m sorry my business is hurting tremendously from this

  • As a top pro one of the things I do daily is to go to my services page and then I look at my maximum pricing I look at where I'm rated at whether it's less competitive competitive and I adjust my daily. The markets are always going to be different however I always try to price on the lower end to where I'll just at least show up in the leads. That way at least I know what the charges will be. Good luck for anybody that needs any help please reach out to Dusty she is amazing or is the top pro I'm Brett Douglas and I would certainly assist you if you need my help 386-500-8217 warm regards Thumbtack is still the best platform out here

  • Yeah you definitely need to hide your business cause oof they eat your budgets and the crazy thing is the fact that your estimates for the job to be done is lower den the lead price

  • Thumbtack does not care about the pros all they care about is the money. Instant book is nothing but a cash grab that is crazy overpriced leads. I’ve talked to pro support about this till I’m blue in the face and all I get i from the thumbtack robots is same paragraph script they taught to say adjust max lead prices. We all need to remove our businesses from this platform until they stop price gouging lead prices and remove instant book feature.

  • This instant booking thing is an absolute barefaced robbery and money grab by thumbtack. How can you automatically enroll me into a service that i didnt agree to and charge me more money for it? Makes absolutely no sense. This isnt beneficial for me or my business. The majority of these questionable instant booking customers dont even respond whether you call or text them and on top of that when you request a refund from thumbtack it'll be denied.