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Why do we still have to pay for a lead if the customer isn’t responding back

Hvachoms__1
Hvachoms__1 Posts: 2
in Thumbtack Resources

why should we have to pay for a lead if the customer isn’t responding back and once you finally talk to them they went another company isn’t that concerned double charging for one lead?

Best Answer

  • DustiO
    DustiO Administrator, Moderator Posts: 2,598 admin
    Answer ✓

    @Hvachoms__1 hi and welcome! Thank for the feedback, as a former business owner I understand how this can be frustrating. However, you are charged at the point of connection — and while some customers will only reach out to one pro, others want to get more than one bid. There are a few tips that we hear from pros often that can help you win more jobs. I would recommend making sure that 1) your preferences are really dialed in to the types of jobs you want to do and where you want to do them, 2) check that your budget and max lead prices are set to the amounts that work for you and your business, 3) include details in that initial message that you send to the customer - about the job they requested and add some things that make you stand out as the one they should hire (ie, "I would love to help you with your heating system repair. I have more than 10 years of experience and dozens of 5-star reviews and I take pride in doing great work for my customers."), 4) answer the FAQs section in your profile to address any up front questions they may have when they are searching, etc. If customers are reaching out to more than one pro it's important to make clear why YOU are the one for the job!

    Tagging in some of our HVAC pros since they may have some more specific advice for your industry as well as a few of our Thumbtack Pro Advisors. Hope this helps!

    @Mackenzie_17 @1stchoiceair @Adham @Haji_7 @emckin2 @chelseawray410 @JoyofMovement_1 @trevorlord @Ken @joltex @KingdomCooling @Vladimir @Bohannon639 @SetPointHVACR @Fix_Fitness @RubyPowell @amccarthy @Cliff @AntilleanRestoration @Jack_Marquardt @ShaquealThomas @Bretdouglas @CodyRisner @junkminers11

Answers

  • Cliff
    Cliff PPC Member Posts: 10 ✭

    I’ve been back and forth about policy on lead pricing and refunds. It is the job of the pro to land the lead. But what the pro can’t do is control the client’s willingness to respond. Some clients don’t EVER respond, on thumbtack, text messages, nor a phone call even. But us pros are still stuck paying for the lead. This is an issue I’m still working on. But if you are in contact with the client, it is definitely on you to persuade them to hire you.

  • Hvachoms__1
    Hvachoms__1 Posts: 2

    Yeah @Cliff that much is understandable that if you don’t land the lead then that’s basically on you but it’s the customer not responding to any messages or answering the phone and once they do pick up the phone after you have called a number of times and they say oh I have someone coming out already. But us as pros still paid for that lead and can’t get a refund or anything.

  • CustomHomeCreations
    CustomHomeCreations Posts: 1

    We receive many leads that we respond to initially, then text and even call with no response EVER! We have paid dearly for these leads to just get ghosted! This happens 90% of the time. How can we as Pros turn this around so that the leads are actually qualified?

  • danq
    danq Posts: 6

    As an IT services provider, I want to add a different perspective.

    Thumbtack’s model assumes the customer knows what they’re asking for — but in IT, that’s rarely the case. People don’t know how to classify tech issues.

    In plumbing or HVAC, the customer says, “my AC is leaking” or “my toilet’s clogged.” You know what you’re walking into.

    In IT? I’ve been charged nearly $30 for leads labeled “network issue” that turn out to be:

    • “Can you come to my house and swap a coax cable?”
    • “I need someone to push the reset button on my modem.”
    • Or the all-time favorite: “My internet is out. I just want someone to come fix it for free.”

    These are often labeled as “remote” jobs — and “high value” — when they’re neither.

    What makes this worse is the ghosting.

    You respond in minutes. No reply. No read receipt. Just money out the door.

    You finally reach the customer and hear:

    “Oh, sorry, someone else is coming. I was just trying to see how much it would cost.”

    Great — we just paid for an unqualified window shopper.

    No refund. No recourse.

    I get that Thumbtack wants to be fair and that competition is part of the platform. But for industries like IT — where the customer often doesn’t know what kind of help they need — you’re going to keep seeing professionals frustrated by misclassified, unvetted leads.

    Let us flag certain job types as “low-value,” allow better filtering on truly remote work, and give us the ability to contest leads that clearly aren’t what they said they were. Or…. Give us a no questions asked refund if we SHOW you that the work is in fact — not remote. Nevada — being well out of the service "range" for a local lead.

    We’re not afraid to sell ourselves.

    We just want the right people to sell to.

  • danq
    danq Posts: 6

    @DustiO — sadly, it wouldn't let me tag/ping on edit — after the fact.

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  • danq
    danq Posts: 6

    @DerHilfer_LLC I had not thought of it like that — I can see where confusion could hit.

    On to problem solving.

    If the clients are forced to put the problem into words, instead of a few clicks…. They could also be asked directly if they're price/window shopping. AI could go a long way to categorizing and measuring the value of an effort. It could also measure the "risk" of a lead.

    Here's AI's take on a random lead.

    Lead Summary:
    Selected Category: Network Support Services
    Client Request: “Cracked Mac Screen”

    Location: King, NC
    Preferences: Willing to travel or remote

    Corrected Trade Match:
    This task actually belongs under Computer Repair (Hardware), not Network Security.

    The client appears to be requesting a screen replacement on a Mac, which typically requires:

    • Physical access
    • Experience sourcing and replacing Apple display parts
    • A clear model number or photos to verify compatibility

    Remote Feasibility: Not realistic due to physical hardware work

    Engagement Risk (Pre-Match):

    Scored based on clarity and willingness to explain

    • Job Description Provided: No (one vague sentence)
    • Photos Uploaded: No
    • Model/Details Given: No
    • Timeline or urgency shared: No
    • Message from client: No
    • Service Category Accuracy: No (wrong trade entirely)
    • Remote appropriateness: No (selected remote but task isn’t feasible that way)

    Risk Score: 8 out of 10 – Poor Fit to Route

    Suggestion:

    Before charging the pro, flag the following:

    • Task is likely miscategorized
    • Physical repair not appropriate for remote selection
    • No supporting details or evidence client is actively engaged

    Then prompt the client with something like:

    “This sounds like a physical repair. Would you like to reclassify this under Computer Repair and upload a photo of the damage before we connect you with a pro?”

    This protects everyone:

    • Pros avoid paying for mismatches and ghost leads
    • Clients get routed to the right help with better results
    • Platform reputation improves from more accurate connections
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  • structuralguy65
    structuralguy65 Posts: 56

    @DerHilfer_LLC I had a guy late yesterday, maybe 2 hours left on a Friday, literally tried to beg me to bring my price down for a day's engineering time, and then had the gall to say 'I need you to do this by Sunday.' This is the quality of lead that Thumbtack attracts. These people think they're ordering pizza. So I told him the price for weekend work is double.

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  • kristipritchett3
    kristipritchett3 Posts: 5

    DerHilfer_LLC

    You have several great ideas in your response adding 10% to the ppl that hire you through thumbtack is very smart and i also am having the issue where they don’t respond or they are just getting prices right now or they have poor knowledge of what things costs these days and cldnt afford it to start with. How do u see how many quotes u sent out and how many never said anything?

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