What did your first 30 days on Thumbtack actually feel like? 👀

ArvinC · May 26

Starting on Thumbtack can feel exciting, confusing, motivating, or all three at once. We’d love to hear how your experience started.

Your story could really help newer pros set expectations and learn from real experiences.

SwiftFix · May 27

Thumbtack seemed like a great opportunity for me and a very cool resource to just start my business and hit the ground running. The reality is I haven't made very much money considering how much I have paid to Thumbtack. I am a handyman and I had a fake customer out of India say they were a business in Florida and that they were working with a homeowner near me and that they needed the lawn cleaned up the locks changed and a lock box installed for keys.

They had found a vacant home on the MLS and they were attempting to have me burglarized the home so that they could list it on Craigslist for rent and then I would have changed the locks and added a lockbox that they had the code to so they could charge someone first month's rent last month's rent and deposit. I had to call the county sheriff the state police and the local police and this is a federal crime. They were going to hire another person off Thumbtack and belittled me and called me names after I refused to do what they were asking because I had called the realtor after I had suspicions. Thumbtack refused to give me a refund for their customer who was attempting to get me to commit felony burglary.

That was probably my worst story but at least once a week something unfavorable happens in my life directly tied to your app and it's at the point where it is damaging my life to attempt to be on Thumbtack. There is no quality assurance as far as who these Pros are so even though I have the tools and the skills and I'm going to show up and do a great job I am competing sometimes against people who may have no skills and just thought this is a quick way to make money and are ripping off customers so it makes my entire business model look bad.

I frequently have customers who are just bargain shopping I had one who was attempting to get me to break state law and said she regularly hires people off Thumbtack because licensed professionals are too expensive when she is performing work that requires a license and permits which is another one that Thumbtack refused to give me reimbursement for.

It would beIt would be much better if thumbtack only allowed customers to contact one pro and then pay for each other Pro that they want to contact.

II had a customer who was allowed to contact me that lives 3 hours from my location and way outside of the area I cover and I was charged almost $70 for that lead and that was just today.

II haven't heard back about a refund for that either.

I feelI feel like there is a high likelihood that this is going to end in some sort of legal action. When you are allowing scammers to hire local small businesses to commit crimes there is a problem.

ArvinC · May 27

Thanks for sharing your experience, @SwiftFix. You did the right thing by stopping the job, verifying the property information, and reporting the situation to local authorities.

While I can’t directly handle refunds or account investigations here in the Community, I’d encourage you to continue working with Support regarding the leads you mentioned, especially the suspected scam lead and the lead outside your targeting preferences. For lead charge reviews or refund disputes, you can reach out to refunddisputes@thumbtack.com with the lead details, screenshots, and any related documentation for further review.

Feedback around lead quality, targeting accuracy, and customer experience is important, and posts like yours help surface areas that can improve for pros using the platform.

DustiO · May 28

Tagging in some Top Pros to share their first 30 days experiences!

@amccarthy @busyb @Bretdouglas @Chuva @Cliff @Jack_Marquardt @Bretdouglas67
@CodyRisner @TechExpert @AntilleanRestoration @callargo @JWC @Juliano_50 @_Nura101 @ShaquealThomas @Trevorbelk @AR2i @soonerkimmy @SarzozaPhoto @adonayflooring

ShaquealThomas · May 28

My first 30 days took some testing and adjusting before things clicked

my first 30 days was just navigating the platform figuring out my greeting message budgeting how much I can spend job locations areas was it worth driving to? how to save message making sure I actually knew what every feature meant I was going all in on entrepreneurship thumbtack was my first step into going independent.

The 30 days felt like 1 year hahaha I remember not even going live for weeks just bidding on opportunities but it was worth it that’s why I try to give back so much game knowledge mentorship and feedback as much as possible.

Mbravo650 · May 29

first 30 days of thumbtack were great it gave me confidence that I can actually have my own business and work for myself. However I’m worried for new pros that will be joining thumbtack pro I don’t think their first 30 days will be the same with this new update removing our access to the phone numbers of the clients. I don’t think most new pros will stick around for the 30 days. I have not spoke to one pro that says this update is good I’ve only heard bad feedback

marylandman · May 30

I started getting leads and jobs quicker than expected

For the first 30 days, Thumbtack was a massive growth engine for me, with ultra-low costs. While it continues to supply a steady flow of inquiries, it has matured into a much more expensive acquisition channel. As you can see, my cost per lead increased considerably after the first 30 days, and my cost per booked job, which was less than $10 during the first month,is now OVER $70.

SarzozaPhoto · May 30

My first 30 days took some testing and adjusting before things clicked

I definitely feel your pain. I poured a lot of money into leads before my first booked gig. It wasn't until I narrowed down and focused on a category that I was able to turn the corner. I think in my field, Pros are too broad with their services. For you as a handyman, maybe you start on Thumbtack as a handyman who only provides service for bathroom repairs. For a photographer like me, it would be the equivalent of only offering portraits instead of everything.

Thumbtack has been great for my business overall due to repeat hires and referrals, but it is a significant upfront investment.

The pain of the "spend" never goes away, though. I must have spent a good $300-400 this month on no reply leads. That's painful, but hopefully the new changes next month will help with that issue.

marylandman · May 31

I started getting leads and jobs quicker than expected

I'm a piano tuner. I offer one service: piano tuning. It's pretty simple.

What did your first 30 days on Thumbtack actually feel like? 👀

What did your first 30 days on Thumbtack actually feel like? 👀 3 votes

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