Introducing the new Pro Community manager!

[Drew]

Hi all,

My name is Drew and I’m proud to introduce myself as the new manager of the online Pro Community! I’m new to Thumbtack and beyond excited to join the amazing team of passionate individuals, dedicated to seeing you succeed. Before I turn my focus to the Community, I think it will be helpful for me to explain a bit about myself:

I come to Thumbtack after working in workforce development for nonprofit organizations. “Workforce development” is a jargony phrase that means eliminating barriers to work and connecting jobseekers to the tools and resources needed to be successful. Most recently, my work was focused on educating low income communities on how to succeed as independent workers. I most enjoy working with individuals who are striving for continuous improvement, which brings me back to why I’m excited to work with all of you!

This Community is unlike anything else that exists in terms of support, collaboration, and education. I love what is stands for and I’m blown away by the engagement it has generated in the last year-- its mere existence is evidence of how much Thumbtack cares about seeing Pros be successful. And I think there are opportunities for improvement.

It doesn’t take long to recognize that some of you are frustrated. As we get to know each other, my ask is that we strive to keep our conversations encouraging and solutions-focused. Please continue to offer your constructive criticism, as well as your best practices. Please share your struggles, and also your wins. But taking a moment to reflect on the impact your words will have and the way you frame a post can make all the difference. (Take a look at our Community Guidelines for a refresher.)

We are all a part of this Community and we all have a part to play. @Meckell, @Kameron and @DustiO do an incredible job of answering your questions, cheering on your successes, and championing your voices because at the end of the day we’re all on the same team. The Community can be the vehicle for you to reach your potential as a small business owner, and to help others do the same. It is proof that independent work doesn’t mean you’re alone.

Now, let’s get to work. I can’t wait to see all we accomplish together.

[Meckell]

Welcome @Drew! We're so happy to have you!

[mm]

Welcome. First order if business I would suggest is stop banning pros who give honest, constructive criticism otherwise this community is useless.

Second, you really need to look at your review policy. It is non-sensical to ask for a review prior to being hired.

Good luck.

[DustiO]

@Drew We are so excited to have you join our team. Together we can make great things happen!

[Torbenson]

Thanks for top pro I think I’ve gotten it last few years ..unfortunately I’m not using thumbtack til I get resolution on credits .. there was a mistake a few months ago and never got resolved so I stopped using the site.. it was overva 75 lead ... you guys are giving up 1000+++ month to keep that 75.00 fee... doesn’t make sense to me.. but I honestly can’t use this when there’s no resolution s or compromise made.. I have tons of work and typically just used thumbtack to find different jobs for variety.. I’m ok eithver way.. justvthiught id give one last effort to try to get this resolved.. and move past the $75 lead costs. It’s way too much for ppl that are shopping for cheapest price .. can’t justify spending 75 like that...anyway if anyone want s to figure out a resolution or talk abt why I don’t take thumbtack work anymore let me know
Masterpiece Mechanical LLC. Bob Torbenson (763-482-1232)

[Meckell]

Hey there @Torbenson. I recently sent you a private message about this. Please check that out and feel free to respond there with any further questions regarding your situation. 

[ChefOfAllSeason]

Agreed! I did not know this new policy was implemented until recently. After explaining this awkward happenstance to a client who hired me, she told me she doesn't care about TT's messages. She only reads her emails and texts. Well, that is an interesting feedback from a client. I prefer to be in the driver's seat as far as contact with those that hire me. Why does TT even do this? It is unnecessary. I know how to ask for a good review; I have over 4 dozen of them here. there, and other platforms. It seems prudent to seriously consider not reporting any more hires. If they want to intercede on our behalf, TT can send them a reminder email directly after we bid.

[ChefOfAllSeason]

What does a Community Manager do? How is this position different from a Moderator? Are there any other staff positions involved in this community?

[Drew]

Great question, @ChefOfAllSeason .

My job is to get pros the tools and resources needed to be successful on Thumbtack and beyond. Sometimes that means communicating new product features and updates, and sometimes it means tapping into the wealth of pro knowledge.

Moderators are most often your main points of contact for questions and assistance. They do a great job of moving conversations towards solutions and they work tirelessly to resolve issues. 

You won’t hear from me too often but I’m always happy to chat about ways to improve the Community. And since you asked what I do, I’m happy to share:

Lately I’ve been working on building out a Community Calendar for the rest of the year. We want the Community to be always new, relevant, and insightful. If I’m doing my job well you should want to visit the Community because it moves the needle for your business! 

If you have ideas on what we should include in the future to help you be more successful, please let me know! 

Unfortunately, I do not get to implement changes to the platform.  Those decisions are out of my hands and I hope you can appreciate that. However, you might be surprised how much your feedback is considered, discussed, and relayed to the appropriate parties. I’ve learned implementing changes is not always a fast process so I appreciate your patience and trust in us that we’re working on your behalf.

I hope this answers your question and I’m glad you’re here!

Drew

[MR]

Hi @Drew 

Just curious, what software development methodologies are used at TT?  So many times it feels like your developers are hindered by a huge complicated system such that change is really hard to implement. The changes we have seen lately are cosmetic or very minor in nature since the massive change that was made late last year. Just wondering if you or someone could shed some light on why change takes so long as I know there are lots of pros here who would be interested.

I used to work for a major airline (one of the world's largest ) and was involved in their .com and app development projects and it was amazing how fast an enhancement could be rolled out using the development methodologies that were in place there, so I have seen first hand an extremely complicated system from the inside and, like I said, was amazed at how quickly a new app function could be added or changed.. a lot of it had to do with really good change management and issue tracking. Can you shed some insight on that? Dont worry if you get technical - you'd be surprised at how many of us will understand 🙂

[ChefOfAllSeason]

Thank you Drew, and welcome aboard; this is most informative and interesting. As you are a medium for communicating new product features to us we await with great eagerness your next update. It is understandable that any change implemantation resides outside your authority. One still wonders who does have that responsibility and what they may have planned next. Indeed I would be surprised (as you say) on how much our feedback is "considered, discussed and relayed to the appropriate parties". 

[Drew]

Hi @MR,

I’m happy to discuss anything related to the Community. Software development methodologies isn’t my sweet spot and the topic isn’t exactly relevant to the Community.... but I think your question, “why does change take so long?” is a good one, and I’d be happy to dig deeper and get back to you with a full response. 

Give me a week or two, sound good?

In the meantime, can you share more about your journey from app development to law? Have you changed careers or was your role realted to law for the airline as well? What lessons have you learned along the way that others might benefit from?

Thanks,

Drew

[MR]

Hi @Drew   Thank you for the response and we look forward to whatever information that you can provide regarding the development methodologies and reasons for the extremely long lead times between concept to promote.

Regarding my story, although an interesting one, I will save posting it here for another day as there are many critical issues being discussed at the moment and I do not want to distract the discussions regarding pro suggestions for enhancement and fixes to the system. That, to me is where the current priority lies.

[Liviacandys]

happy to somehow be part of this successful company. I started not long ago and already have excellent customer reviews. Well, I would like to suggest something in our favor, as we have had huge losses which results in a great barrier to greater investments in this application. For customers it is very important to quote without spending, but we end up paying the bill. I believe it would be fairer to be charged only to the person to whom the customer closed the deal. It should be mandatory at some point for the client to validate with whom he closed the deal. so that all those who received only a hello were not actually charged. I stopped promoting myself because limiting proposal submissions was also a factor that discouraged me. so my suggestion is to charge the one who actually won the job ... thanks!

[Troy]

You want to improve the community?  How about getting people to put honest information on your websites regarding various professions?  The old information was horrible, and the new update is worse for roof cleaning.  I e-mailed TT 1-2 times a year including technical bulletins and the information I sent was ignored, and the information posted is in direct conflict with the roof cleaning technical documents.  Considering I sent this info a minimum of 8 times, I have to believe TT doesn't do any research into providing accurate information. so the tools you're providing customers is very misleading.  By FAR the bulk of roofs in the US are asphalt shingles, and I have a document from GAF, a major asphalt shingle manufacturer stating they have seen granule loss with as little as 150 PSI, yet your site says to be wary of people using over 3,000 PSI.  That tells me TT would rather customers also bid on people pressure washing roofs so TT gets more money from leads than to protect customers from harmful practices.  Roof cleaning legally requires 2 people on site while anybody is working on an elevated surface (OSHA calls the second person a safety officer), but yet you say the average cost of roof cleaning is $350.  If you think this is a real average, TT is using numbers from people who are cutting corners legally which is skewing the true cost.  So if I'm spending $75 minimum on products to clean, about 1/3 of the job total on taxes, thats about $200, leaving $150 to pay myself and my helper for what is usually a 4 hour job minimum, not taking out for things like paying for leads on TT, putting gas in the truck, paying for a website, paying for e-mail, oh, and actually being profitable enough to be able to live.  TT says on the roof cleaning page - "Some roof cleaning companies offer discounts if customers get on a regular cleaning schedule, such as once or twice a year."  When I clean a roof using the methods in the roof cleaning technical bulletins, even not using my professional surfactants, 90% of the jobs I do will remain spot free for about 4 years minimum.  If someone needs to have their roof cleaned even once a year, the person that cleaned the roof did the job horribly wrong.  Your information is a total joke.