Here’s what I’m thankful for.

[MarcoZ]

This feels like an understatement, but 2018 has been a crazy year. I’m so grateful that you’ve stuck with us through it all. We’ve made a lot of changes with the goal of getting you more and more happy customers, but the process to get there has been rough.

There are some parts of Thumbtack that I think we can all be thankful for:

• The biggest product changes are over. The updates we made this year felt like making a 90º turn while driving 80 miles an hour. Everyone felt the whiplash and a lot of people are still rubbing their necks. The good news is that the road ahead looks a lot less intense. It’s never going to be a straight line — our business needs to keep evolving and changing to stay alive — but the turns are going to be a lot more manageable.

• The new customer experience. About 80% of the customers who came to the old Thumbtack never actually talked to a pro. They’d put in a request and wait and wait and sometimes they’d get quotes and sometimes they wouldn’t. Now when they come to Thumbtack they get the experience they expect from the internet: they see their options, they do their comparison shopping up-front, then they contact a pro. That means a whole lot less tire-kicking and a lot more leads.

• Tackling the price of a lead. Figuring out how much a lead should cost is a never-ending process that’s hard to get right. However, we recognize that in a lot of cases we’ve been setting prices too high. So in the last month we’ve been adjusting our prices to make sure your ROI makes more sense, small jobs are less expensive than big jobs, and using Thumbtack works for your bottom-line. It may never be perfect for everyone, but we’ll never stop tweaking and adjusting and trying to make it more fair.

• New ways to stand out. In the new customer experience, your profile is the way you stand out from the competition. But you told us you couldn’t properly showcase your work. So we added past projects. And links to your social accounts. Plus a section for all the Top Pro badges you’ve earned over the years. Now you can show customers exactly what you can do, and how well you do it.  

We’ve made a lot of progress. And so much came from the feedback you gave us in person, in Q&As, and in the many forums here in the Community. Keep it coming. It’s how we’ll build a better Thumbtack.

Thanks for all you do and Happy Thanksgiving,

Marco

CEO & Co-Founder, Thumbtack

[gradyr1953]

From my perspective, it seems that the changes will increase profits a lot - for Thumbtack. For me, not so much.

If I’m not one of the first to bid, I don’t bother. I’ll see a request that’s less than a half hour old and the client has already contacted 5 photographers. At best, that’s 4 photographers who will never see a dime from the project, but still get to pay Thumbtack for the privilege of not working.

[p19581]

I'm seeing fewer customers since the change. Not hard to understand why:

Marketers assume that the more choices they offer, the more likely customers will be able to find just the right thing. They assume, for instance, that offering 50 styles of jeans instead of two increases the chances that shoppers will find a pair they really like. Nevertheless, research now shows that there can be too much choice; when there is, consumers are less likely to buy anything at all, and if they do buy, they are less satisfied with their selection.  Harvard Business Review

https://hbr.org/2006/06/more-isnt-always-better

[Inspector-Dave]

All the friends I have made in the 1200+ Professional Inspections provided over 16 years.

[DJStevie]

@MarcoZ

I am thankful for God, my family, my friends, prior and new customers and for a very successful DJ Business. But what I'm not thankful is this new Promote. I've voiced my opinions, thoughts, concerns and even gave my suggestions how to improve it to many reps via this Forum, Private Message, Email and via Phone.  One suggestion that I keep voicing over and over again, If a customer reaches out even with a generic reply, Pros shouldn't be charged until after we decide to see quote/customer profile and then charge us if we decide to reply to a customer.  After all, we know our business better than anyone.

As @gradyr1953 said, if I'm not the first one to bid, then I'm not bidding at all. If I leave Promote on, I don't see the cost of the leads, customer profile. I need to see both before making a decision to reply to even a generic reply.

[Ross]

More information about the job required from the customer and weather a pro is hired or not because i am paying for a lead that is already done or lack information that makes it essential to contact the client for more information and thus paying for uncertain job or a job undoable 

Thank you

[acollinsphoto]

And good luck seeing that bid if you don't have auto-quote turned on. I got burned by so many quick-reply messages costing hundreds that I just can't take the chance. Even if things are improved and they are fixing that issue, the auto-quote forces me to provide pricing for 2 hrs, 3 hrs, etc for wedding photography and my minimum booking is much more than that. So what am I to do, just put my six hour booking price under every smaller booking? This would be ok if I could include a custom message explaining the minimum booking, but the auto-quotes are completely generic and they'll only see that I want thousands for their request for two hours or what have you. I just don't see how to make it work. 

Instant quote would be 1000x better if we could just set up template replies instead of them only seeing a dollar amount.

[mikejackson561]

Please make the change to Corporate and make it separate from wedding and events so that the clients have a CLEAR understand they are looking at Corporate Event ONLY NOT WEDDINGS AND EVENTS. This is still a BIG PROBLEM!!! for the Corporate community.

I have been on this topic for over a year now.

Thank you!

Michael Jackson

[Rangerss2018]

I thought I was the only one experiencing less customers after the change. But now that ive heard it from you I see I'm not alone. I am thankful for Thumbtack service and not being like Home Advisor

[IanH]

Since the switch I have also seen far fewer requests and those that we do bid on, far fewer responses. I will have potential leads reach out once via chat (so that I am charged), and then go completely silent. Leads also are misusing the categories (construction). There might be a need to add additional categories to their options. "General contracting" does NOT mean "just some stuff that needs fixed."

[Coastshark]

Smart business model and I will stay on board for a little while longer until they work out the kinks, but for now Promote has been turned off.  The ROI just isn't there. 

Thumbtack needs to hold seeking customers accountable for contacting Pros with generic messages.  Too many times I was contacted with a generic response, diligently replied, only to never hear back from that customer again, even after multiple follow up attempts.  So I am stuck with a $14.02 bill for literally typing a message.  Granted I am new to the game, I still see this as a glaring problem and so does every other logical person I have explained it to.

Business is a two way street.  It is a partnership of give and take, take and give.  Until Thumbtack realizes this simple philosophy, I don't think I will buy in.  Your customers are Pros and those seeking Pros.  Your model doesnt exist without the other.

[3Vanessavr5]

Hi.

I am an image consultant and I do not design clothing (this is a very specialized skill) yet I have been charged for a connection to people who want this service.  

I sent a message about this about 10 days ago and I am disappointed that I have not heard back from anyone at Thumbtack.

Please get back to me and please reimburse me for the charge.

Lynda Jean

[artieaj]

;I am a pro for thumtack... I think something is very wrong.. You take $10. Or so to contact client.. day later 3 contractors contacted client YOU MADE $30. and client still on looking for a contractor!! DOSENT SEEM FAIR...

[Meckell]

@3Vanessavr5 I'm sorry you haven't heard back, let me get you taken care of! Go ahead and send me a private message with more info on what's going on and I'll look into things. I look forward to hearing from you. 

[GetithomeLLC]

Thankful for the people I’ve met on Thumbtack this year. So thanks for that!! The one and most important thing Thumbtack doesn’t seem to get - is that the pro’s are its customer and happy customers mean more business for Thumbtack. More business = More Money. In all the years I’ve been a pro there are a very large percentage of unhappy pro’s. Recognize who’s ultimately keeping your doors open. Homeowners/shoppers/customers can look on google and use the better business bureau to find good professionals so what’s the benefit of using Thumbtack?

[Meckell]

That's a valid concern @IanH. We have a wide variety of categories for customers to choose from when searching for a pro. If you have any suggestions on a category we should add, please let us know!

I also want to add that if a customer states their looking for a general contractor and you then find out it's not a general contracting job, we want to make sure we get you taken care of. The next time you run into this, send me a private message with the name of the customer and I'll dig into things. Thanks for your feedback! 

[Goodtimesrva]

Hey @3Vanessavr5... Here’s Thumbtack’s phone number. You have to call them directly to remotely get anything done.

(800) 343-1710

[DeborahBrooks]

Marco,

I've known you since you started Thumbtack with Heather.  I was the first interior designer with Thumbtack.

The past year I have lost business, leads are way too expensive and you have cut out much of my business in Remodelling by your insame requirement for a General Contractor License.  There are many contractors in California who do not have a General license and they do beautiful work, on time for a good price.  My contractor that I use is the finest and I've been in this business a long time.

Where does Thumbtack who is supposed to be working for me, get off telling me I can't do Remodelling and takes the leads anymore?

It is the client's responsibility to decide who they use based on their criteria not yours.

I've been doing remodels in tandem with my contractor for a long time, but you have practically killed my business and I am literally broke and more qualified than most designers you represent.

You have taken on too many design pros and changed an exorbitant amount if a client should evean ask us a question.

I am more than disappointed and have stated my views and complaints to people on the phone there that have no clout, no understanding of what my business is about, much less the entrepreneurial business world.

I would like to hear back from you personally.  I can be reached at 949-285-1577 CA time.

Deborah Brooks

Interior Designer

[Dogtrainerandra]

I’m so annoyed that I have to pay $11-15 when a customer wants me to quote or schedule a job directly. There is zero guarantee they will hire me even after I msg them. I have been hired by one customer in the last month quoting this new way. I prefer the old way of $3/5 a quote and I can decide if I want to even do the job or not before sending that quote. Additionally the form the customer fills out is not detailed enough for dog trainers.

[Fred]

Things can be simple. Example: The merchant pays a reasonable percentage of the service 20 to 30%. Simple & Transparent! 

[LeePfalmer]

Yes, very confusing, they're very different and should be in the same catagory. 

[drfekete]

Since the new changes, I haven't seen a single customer, a single request, nothing!

I've been a Top Pro for 4 years, but in the new system Thuntack has managed to make me totally invisible to customers, and I'm not seeing any requests either. The new changes have made Thumbtack 100% disfunctional for me.

Really, really sad! 

[Meckell]

Thanks for posting your feedback @p19581! We had a similar conversation like this in another thread, go here to check out our response. If you have any further questions or concerns about this, I'm happy to have a conversation with you! Send me a private message at any time and we can chat. 

[Kameron]

@drfekete I'm really sorry to hear that you've experienced a recent decline in jobs. If you'd like to reach out to me in a direct message I'd be happy to answer any questions about the recent changes and work with you on ways to use Search Results in your favor, and continue your success with Thumbtack. 

[Meckell]

@DeborahBrooks you've been with us for a long time and I truly am sorry to hear that you aren't finding the same success as you used to. We never want that to be the case for any pro. You bring up a lot of concerns and I want to make sure you feel heard. If you'd like to have a conversation about any of this, please send me a private message and we can talk. I want Thumbtack to be a useful tool for you and I'm happy to help in any way that I can. 

[DeborahBrooks]

I agree totally with you.  It's insane marketing and insane business decisions.  Our lives and those of our families are at stake.

Deborah Brooks

949-285-1577

[Meckell]

Hi there @artieaj, thank you so much for reaching out! Pricing is something we're constantly working on and re-evaluating. We had an entire Q&A regarding pricing which you can see here.  Your feedback is always appreciated, so please know that we're listening! If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to send me a private message at any time. 

[DeborahBrooks]

Futher to my previous post you now are offering up to 15 designers to one lead, (yes, I said "Lead") because that's what they are.  

One client actually told me he was still looking at the 15 pros sent to him, and actually going through each profile.  I thought he was crazy to waste that time, and that Thumtack is crazy.

You should give a "lead" no more than 3 to choose from, people get confused and can't make decisions.  That basic Marketing/Sales 101.

Deborah Brooks

Interior Designer

949-285-1577

[p19581]

I don't see a previous discussion between you and I at the link you posted.

[ny2fsu]

Thumbtack has been great to me in the past, but it's becoming more difficult to get new customers.  And one reason i suspect is lack of relevant information from the customer's end.  I think sometimes customers may become fed up with back and forth messages and forgoe the whole thing. 

I do computer repairs, and here's an example of some of my interactions.  CUSTOMER:  I have a computer that is not working, how much to fix it?   ME:  Can i get the make and model of it, and can you tell me in detail exactly what happened??

And, I never hear from the customer again.  But, I think that if I had all the relavant information at first, like make and model and so on... I could then reply to them, the first time with the exact cost of the project and how long it would take to complete.  So, I think that asking more relevant questions from the customers upfront, will benefit us all.

[3Vanessavr5]

Hi Meckell,

On Nov. 13/18 Amanpreet Kaur requested a designer for his uniforms.  Fashion Design is very specific and I don't know the first thing about it because I am a certified image and etiquette coach, yet I have been billed $10.45!  I want a refund please - this is simply not fair!

Also, my fees differ considerably!  Why am I charged $16.70 for and $10.45 for the same work?  I have been charged less at other times and there is no consistency.  More than half of the time people are just curious and I don't get the job yet I am charged for them!  

Please correct my billings - I believe I have been overcharged - this is not the Thumbtack that used to work so well.  I am considering leaving if this nonsense continues (I am not blaming you - I realize you are not the one who sets the fees).  It seems that no one is happy with the changes and I think the company needs to review them or they will lose business.

I look forward to your response.  Thank you.

[Greg]

After reading all the responses so far at 6:25 PM, I see that there are very, very few positive responses. I have tried Service Magic, Home Advisor and the like and never had success with them.

With Thumbtack, I've never spent a dime. I see leads, and I'm an HVAC contractor. It is VERY HARD to give an estimate on a broken system over a text or email. It could be anything from a breaker off to need a completely new system. That is to hard to estimate, therefore, I don't bid on jobs. There needs to be a much better template in place before contractors use this tool for jobs. Otherwise, it's a waste of my time. I cannot bid on jobs without more info, yet I have to pay for the info just to see if they are fishing for a price or info.

There needs to be a better platform for me to go all in. Someone somewhere can do it. I just haven't seen it yet.

[GMC]

When you have an issue with a bid that was not categorized correctly and you paid as a Lead.

Contact TT directly, don't send email use the chat with a live repersentative.

I use it a lot.

thanks

Gary

[JandMServices]

Well the last year has been very challenging for us. With the help from Thumtack our business has grown steadily. Becoming a Top Pro has also helped. A status that definitely gives us a little edge. Only problem we run up against as a Landscaper each job can be very different making it difficult to quote. Myself I like to meet the customer, see the project to give an honest quote. I find it more personal.

[RCPS]

@DeborahBrooks, I feel your pain.  Thumbtack was a healthy portion of my business for the past couple of years.  I haven't had a hire in months with all of these new changes.  Check out my woes and feedback here.

[RCPS]

@drfekete - ditto for me!  I'm going through the same thing with Thumbtack right now. 😞

[DJStevie]

@Kameron

We've reached out on the forums!! Some have reached to you, @Meckell and others via private message and phone. but if you read everyone here thus far in this thread, the number of angry, upset pros are growing, more than the 3 that Meckell had tagged the other day. And I'm sure that there others out there, and they may be afraid to say something. I hope that @MarcoZ sees this thread and changes things soon, very soon. Majority of my questions and concerns haven't been answered and addressed.

I've given my valid reasons to improve Promote, if that's the way Thumbtack is going. But all I get "your feedback has been passed on". Please provide me and other pros proof of this. Maybe with this open thread to Marco, he will see first hand that the majority of the Pros, or the ones that aren't afraid, are angry and upset.

[DJStevie]

@DeborahBrooksI feel your pain as well. I'm only on Thumbtack for almost a year, I had success for a good part of the year, but the last month or so, no bookings at all. Been in conversation with many reps and most of the time I get the same lines, maybe a few words changed around

"thank you so much for reaching out! Pricing is something we're constantly working on and re-evaluating. We had an entire Q&A regarding pricing which you can see here.  Your feedback is always appreciated, so please know that we're listening! If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to send me a private message at any time."

I asked a few to call me, invited them to call me, and nothing!! no replies at all. No response speaks volume. They want me to use Promote but I won't anymore. I am not going to pay for generic replies, and fight them for refunds if customer isn't good fit for me. I need to make that decision, not thumbtack.

[JayDeihl]

I do hope TT makes changes to their platform, which is why I will take the time to give meaningful feedback here.

The TT platform will only work if pros, those who offer services, are actively using the platform. Anyone can come to TT looking for help, but without pros offering a service, there will be no transactions. That being said, it has to be mutually beneficial for both TT and the pros, as customers have no real skin in the game. Customers can come and shop around but not hire anyone, and that's okay and should be encouraged. Unfortunately, it's not only not okay, its certainly not encouraged from the side of pros. I no longer bid on jobs when I see they have already contacted a pro. I figure, why waste either my money or another pro's money, as we both cant land the same job. TT is the only one winning when a customer contacts multiple pros...and that shouldn't be the case. It's just bad business and unethical. Pros should only be charged if they land the job. TT wants a big piece of the pie, but is getting this big piece of a much smaller pie. Wouldn't TT want a smaller piece of a much larger pie? This business model is not sustainable along with the unreasonably high fees TT charges.

I'm being charged almost 20% of what I make off each job. Meaning, 4 bad leads and 1 good lead....I break even. I actually lose money as I am losing time completing the jobs to break even.

Hypothetically, let's say someone comes to TT in hopes to hire someone. Let's say they talk to 10 different pros but doesnt hire anyone. Dont charge anyone!!! No harm no foul. And most importantly, no hard feelings. Given the same situation and charging each pro $20 each now makes TT $200 and 10 different pros make -$20. I say again, its unethical and just not right.

I've tremendously cut back using TT. Which I've heard many others are as well. If you feel this business model is successful and most importantly sustainable, ignore my post and keep doing what you're doing. If I'm even slightly right, consider doing the right thing before your pros switch to another platform or worse yet, someone creates a better platform after hearing the same complaints and steals all your business.

Hoping to be more thankful in the future...

[DJStevie]

@Greg

Many of the reps claim that there are many many pros who like this new format, even gave me and other pros a statistic, yet they don't provide us with that proof so we can see for ourselves. I've given them suggestions how to improve Promote, but it falls on deaf ears or something would have been done by  now.

[DeborahBrooks]

DJ Stevie

Thumbtack was good up until about 3 or 4 years ago, I've been with them since they were in one room in an office in the San Francisco area.  Now they've taken money from a Foundation, and grown, but in that respect they've expanded to buildings in Utah with a huge staff of young people who have no business experience and no skills in dealing with The Pros (Us) who are their actual clients.  They don't even understand the semantics of that.  They pander to the people who are called leads.  We, The Pros pay their salaries and are treated as nothing.

This is an unfathomable and faltering business plan.  As a DJ I don't know where you reach out.  As a top Interior Designer I don't know either, Service Magic hooked up with Angies List and it's all a scam. 

They have destroyed my business with their crazy business practices.

Deborah

[SillyCar]

@JayDeihl @MarcoZ @Meckell, I wish I could kudo Jay's post 100 times. I have seen so many pros take the time to write similar complaints and watched Thumbtack ignore them and make changes to benefit Thumbtack. I'm frankly surprised you didn't pull Jay's post down yet because of your policy that keeps pulling down posts for negativity, but if you pay attention to all the negativity, you might just realize why you're having to deal with all of it. I'm trying to be as constructive and not negative as I can in this post, but it's very hard when you see something happening that is as simple as 2+2 and reading so many similar opinions and watching a company ignore them or just say "I'm sorry you're having issues, please feel free to contact me in a private message". Have you guys noticed how many of those reponses you give on each forum post you start? I see a lot of them....

Anyway, there are multiple solutions that would be great and here are two constructive examples.

1. Charge a small amount for people to take a chance on a lead, BUT let them see the amount before they decide to quote (sound familiar?). On this one I would say that you could also collect more information from the end customer so that pros can make a more informed decision on whether to quote. Since you say that so many end customers never talked to a pro the old way, maybe your time would have been better spent refining your questionaires to end users to give pros more information so they would better know if the customer was serious before they decide to quote and thus more serious customers would actually be talking to serious pros.... simple..... it certainly wouldn't make ANY of the pros upset if they got better information prior to deciding to spend their money and they would likely spend their money more often... smart.

OR, 2. charge a larger amount BUT only to the pro who lands the job (you haven't tried this one yet.... but if you read Jay's post again, you'll see that he, and many others would agree with this model). This one might be tough to implement and enforce due to people trying to not get marked as hired by clients etc..., but more pros would be happy and would likely contact more customers knowing they weren't going to get screwed if they didn't get hired, or worse receive no contact at all from the end user and still get charged.... More contacted customers means more hires which means more money for you from happy people and not from disgruntled people.....

I'm 99% sure that almost every pro who's ever considered thumbtack would like either of those solutions. 

I'm also 99% sure that NOBODY wants to be charged arbitrary amounts (automatically) based on what someone outside of their business decides to charge them. Especially on leads that they didn't get to see before they were even chosen for them..... nobody anywhere in any industry wants this.... 

Lastly, the only thing in Jay's post that I may partially disagree with is the part about customers being able to contact multiple pros (and I'm not sure I fully understood how he feels on that one to be honest), I do believe it's fair for customers to be able to contact multiple pros, but 5 pros is certainly plenty of pros to make an informed decision, like the way you used to do it. More than that makes it just not sensible. When you buy a washer and dryer, do you shop at ten stores? No. Nobody does. When you do a google search, do you scour through pages and pages of the results? No. Nobody does. I think letting the 5 pros who are quickest to respond be the ones who have a shot at landing the job is very fair....

Now, all of this being said (again, and again and again by so many people - sorry, I know that's a bit negative, but it is hard like I mentioned earlier, but this is the most important part of my post, please read it!), don't you think that it would be a better business model if you made a small amount of money from tons of people who are happy, rather than gouging as many as you can until they all leave your service from being unhappy with it? Sounds simple to me.

[DallasMike]

Hi Marco. I teach private lessons on guitar, piano, bass, banjo, and music theory in my studio in Dallas. I have lately been receiving requests from North Carolina and other states. Obviously, they are not going to drive to my studio so it is just a waste of my time to have to pass on these requests. I don't ever travel to customers' sites. I have written to Thumbtack several times about setting a "travel preference" distance limit for Pros who don't travel. It seems to me that if you can set a limit on how far a Pro will travel, you could just as easily set a limit on how far away a client will travel to a Pro. Yes, you have a "Willling to Travel" selection of 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles, but I repeat that I get requests from other states saying they are willing to travel 15 miles. That's kind of ridiculous. I don't want to even see those. Can't you please set up a limit on how far away from a Pro the Pro is willing to consider sending a quote?

I've never gotten positive feedback on this issue. Please reply.

Michael Ellis

[acollinsphoto]

I just saw a job for wedding photography where the user put a ridiculous low $500 budget for five hours of photography. Sometimes I submit on these because when they see the quality of work they can expect for their budget they realize what's what. But in this case, it said 14 pros contacted. Yikes!!!! How much money did TT make off this customer sending probably quick messages to everyone? A lot more than their photographer will make that's for sure.

[3Vanessavr5]

Hi Meckell.  You told me to respond to you and I did.  I still have not heard back from you.  You asked me to message you specifically.

I look forward to hearing from  you.

Lynda Jean

[DJStevie]

@Goodtimesrva

True, calling by phone may be the way to go, as the reps rarely answer private messages, but when they do, they answer every question, or give replies such as, "not in our refund policy" or "we heard your feedback and passing it on"

[DJStevie]

@MarcoZ

I will be very thankful if you take the time to read ALL of the comments here, mostly negative as well as in the other thread "Thank you for participating" and many others, AND also listen and use some/all of the suggestions to improve Promote that you want the Pros to use.

Also, I will be very thankful if you can have the reps not pacify us, answer private messages(even if there are some repeats in questions), have reps reply when invited to call, etc. Seems your reps do NOT care about the Pros, just ask majority of the Pros.

I am very tired of hearing the same replies from reps without providing proof "Thank you for your feedback, we will pass it on", or "we understand your frustration" or "We are sorry that Promote isn't working for you, give us suggestions on how to improve it". Well, it's been a month now, suggestions have been provided, and nothing is being done!

Mind you, I understand about change, it's a part of life, but implementing a change without asking Pros first what they think of it is wrong. Pros ARE your paying customers, not the customers who are going to click on a generic reply to reach a Pro and we get charged. I will not use Pro until there's an improvement and quick. I used it once at the advice of a phone rep, was charged for generic replies for customers that I would not have bid on in first place, and was told by many reps via chat, forum, email and phone that it wasn't in the refund policy, yet it was a rep who told me to try it. I ended up paying for it, which stinks.

I hope that you are listening, reading, all of the negatives which outweigh the positives. And make improvements quickly, or many many pros will leave.

Also, I am extending an invitation to you to call me. Any day/time. I understand that you're busy, but if you would just take a small part of your busy days to call me, I'd appreciate it.

[SillyCar]

So, it's really funny @MarcoZ. I was reading @DJStevie's post which is the same as so many others on here, but one sentence struck me even though I've seen it so many times before. "Pros ARE your paying customers, not the customers who are going to click on a generic reply to reach a Pro". It made me think, "wait a minute... is Thumbtack somehow monetizing by how many end users they can pump through their site? Maybe the pros they're gouging aren't thier primary customers?" but that would be unethical for sure, right?

So just for the heck of it, I decided to take a look into the privacy policy and another sentence struck me funny "We may aggregate and/or de-identify information collected through the Platform. We may use de-identified or aggregated data for any purpose, including without limitation for research and marketing purposes and may also share such data with any third parties, including without limitation, advertisers, promotional partners, sponsors, event promoters, and/or others."

Now, I'm not saying that Thumbtack IS monetizing traffic somehow, but if they were, their new business model would at least make sense to me for the first time.... you know except for the fact that eventually all of the pros are going to leave the service due to being unhappy and all.... but maybe raking in as much as humanly possible for a short period of time will allow the higher ups to retire and the lowly employees surely can all find new jobs once thumbtack is gone, right?

So, @MarcoZ, are you willing to post on here and say that us pros ARE indeed your primary source of income and that you are not also making money hand over fist on the other end too? I would love to see that in a post from you, or a cute video would be fine too.

@DJStevie, I would love to know if anyone from thumbtack even responds to your request to call you too. Feel free to send a private message to me and let me know how that goes....

I know this post will probably get pulled down because it isn't very constructive or positive, but I believe this is a very valid question I've posed to @MarcoZ and would love to see the answer....

[Meckell]

@3Vanessavr5, I'm not seeing a private message from you in my inbox. Do you mind sending it again? I want to make sure we get you help. 

[3Vanessavr5]

Where do I send your private message?

[DeborahBrooks]

deborah@thepainterofbeauty.com