Pricing

[jcp]

Thank you. I did get a response from your team saying that when we promote - our prices don’t matter - only our availability and travel. So I see it from both sides. However, it should be taken into consideration because I don’t feel pros should have to pay for a promote lead when their specific budget and hours needed don’t fit our price. A price we list. Having a paid conversation with someone who is no near our professional rate is not fair. Strict rules on this should be lifted when requesting a refund. It’s the right thing to do in a partnership relationship.

[Lar]

Right on the money @jcp, I've raised the same issue in the past.

This is the not so secret little secret with Promote isn't it? Thumbtack pitch Promote to Pros saying that we automatically pay for the leads we ALWAYS want. That's not true though is it?

I don't want to ALWAYS automatically pay for leads who can't afford to hire me. @jcp doesn't, nor do any of the other Pros who've raised this particular issue with Promote. Despite all the protestations by Pros here over the months Thumbtack continue to automatically charge Pros for leads they don't want. It's wrong.

I only want to charge you guys for leads that are worth your time and money. If I’m sending you something and you’re looking at it saying ‘not worth my time, not worth my money’ we haven’t done our jobs right. I acknowledge that we have a challenge where there are clients who come in and never respond, never engage back, which is incredibly frustrating , and there’s the cost aspect which is certainly annoying but it’s the pain of having done the work and sent the message and then not getting anything back and having that burden completely on you. So we are working really hard right now to mitigate this problem, to avoid you having to waste your time and money on things that you have no shot of winning. That’s not how we’re trying to make our fees; that’s not what we think you should be investing your money in, so it’s something we are working very hard on.
Marco Zappacosta, Thumbtack CEO, Thursday March 21, 2019

Today, 47 days after Marco's Q&A Thumbtack are STILL sending Pros leads that in Marco's own words 'aren't worth [our] time and money'.

Staying 'solutions focussed' because I don't want this post deleted I suggest that Thumbtack's product team take what Marco said in his recent Q&A to heart and give Pros a system that doesn't make them 'waste their time and money' on leads that aren't suitable for them. 

Regards,
Laurence.

[jcp]

@Lar Well said and well documented! We are not partners in business if this much time has passed to resolve an issue while in the meantime TT profits. I’ve asked for refunds on these types of leads where - for example I am unable to have a price posted - and they won’t grant it. If I can’t post a price range or my general fee - come on - that’s just basic sales 101. Why is ok for me to be on Promote - which TT constantly pushes - but I can’t post my rate. That just doesn’t make logical sense to any professional business owner. Why I keep myself on promote in this category is my own poor financial choice. It just baffles me why Marco would believe this choice is helping us get the leads we want. Marco - ask Jeff Bezos for advice on this. He seems to be doing something right. Show price - show customer reviews in order of most recent. Pretty simple model for success.

[jcastille2nd]

Potential client asks for availability but not a quote. I’d prefer to quote and be competitive and not pay for an alleged lead which is simply a quote in disguise. For example, after   learning of my availability she questions the cost of the job. Because I want the job I reply with a quote. She then decides to look elsewhere with my quote as bargaining power. I’m at a disadvantage because I’m locked in and paid for the limitation while she has a quote from a local provider that others bid against. She doesn’t come back to me for a counter offer. I lose every time.  This lead versus quote method has reduced the number of jobs for me. Please advise. Potential  client is waiting on a direct  response from me. (Which will cost) Direct support from thumbtack is not available directly.

[Kameron]

@jcastille2nd I took a look at your account to see that you hadn’t yet set up your preferences and listed your pricing. This would be the best way to let the customer know your prices ahead of time before they choose to reach out. If you don’t prefer that route, you can always list your rates in your profile as well. In this instance, I’d simply respond back to the customer with what your prices would be for their needs and try to close the sale.

[jcp]

Just checking in - we were told several times many months ago - “big changes” are coming that will address most of the topic on the community board. We pros continue to “pay the price” while we wait. Last insight report of mine was the highest I’ve ever paid in almost five years with no bookings. Though bookings are few and far between compared to how successful my numbers were before all these changes - changes that should be made that effect cost of doing fair business with Thumbtack have yet to be made. My biggest issue - how a customer was able to contact 28 of us on a lead that Thumbtack profit was minimal $350 for a job who’s budget was under $400 and she contacted all of us! How is that right? I asked for a refund because this was way unacceptable and was denied. This along with many other changes that should be addressed. When are these promised changes coming? I just keep pausing promote on and off. The only way to manage my dollars. And when asking for a refund - it’s black and white. Never taken into consideration of the thousands of dollars I’ve spent with Thumbtack and can’t even get $7.14 refund on a bogus lead. So ..... when are these changes coming? I just hope it’s not another costly experience for us like “instant Match” was.

[TaraC]

Is there an option for Small Job pricing? As an Embroiderer, many customers just want one item done as a gift. I will pay $7 for a lead and then charge $8-$10 for the job . Hardly worth the thread or my time. Any pricing options coming for services of this kind?

[Meckell]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention @TaraC! I'll definitely pass along this feedback to our product team 🙂 

[TomPotter]

For those of you in trades where every job could be vastly different, what are you listing for your prices? I used to get a call back on every job I sent a message for and with the terrible new promoting system I dont ever get calls-even with all my reviews being 5 stars . It's really a disservice to the customer. I've primarily stopped using thumbtack and have been doing just fine on word of mouth, but I'm thinking of opening a new service. I noticed today it said customers dont see my replies towards the top because I dont have prices listed, but as a remodeling contractor, theres not just a set price. How are people getting around this? Just listing $1?

[Meckell]

Hey there @TomPotter, I'm sorry to hear about the experience. If you go to your services and scroll down to General Contracting, you'll see that there isn't the option to set prices. This is because it's an unpriceable category and we understand that pros need to see the job to give an accurate estimate. If a customer is interested, they'll just contact you for the price! 

I want Thumbtack to be a useful tool for you and your business and there are a few things that I think would really help you! First is expanding your profile. Your profile looks great, but adding more of your past projects and getting a few more reviews will really take you to the next level. The second thing I'd recommend is setting your preferences by promoting your business so that you get more of the jobs you want!

If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to reach out! We're happy to help you in any way that we can.