May's product roundup

[JasonB]

Below is an updated list for the month of May. We’d love to hear what you think and we want your feedback!

Don’t see your idea on this list? That doesn’t mean we aren’t working on it. Some features are much more complicated than they seem and take time to implement. Have other ideas? Reply below to share your suggestion and you may see it in a future update!

Updates for pros in May:

• Per-day business hours: You run a tight ship. So you know how crucial it is to set a schedule and keep to it. And we know after a customer views your business hours — and sees when you’re available — you’re more likely to get hired. You told us you wanted more options when setting your availability. Based on the feedback we heard, we added the ability for you to set your business hours for each day of the week. Work the same hours each day? No problem. You can still set the same hours for the whole week. But if your availability changes day by day, we’ve got you covered.  Learn more here.
• Jobs tab distance filter: As many of you know, you’re now seeing more opportunities in the Jobs tab. We want to give you as many chances to get hired as possible, so that's why we’re now showing all opportunities in your category within 150 miles. However, we heard from some pros that this made it more difficult for them to sort through opportunities. Now you can filter the Jobs tab by distance, making it easier to find the right opportunities. If you don't see the new filters in the app, just upgrade your app to the newest version.
• Added additional targeting preferences: We received feedback from pros like you that you want more control over the types of jobs you automatically pay for. We recently added additional targeting preferences in many services to give you more control over the jobs you pay for. Check your preferences to make sure you’ve told us which leads you want.
• New leads reminder email: As a pro, you will now receive a reminder email at 5pm local time for all leads that you haven’t responded to yet. This is our way of helping you respond quickly in order to win more jobs.
• Updated lead terminology: You may have noticed that some of your leads are labeled as being an “exact match.” This means that the customer’s job exactly matches the preferences you’ve set for the jobs you want to target, and so you've paid automatically for this lead.  We made this change to make it easier to quickly identify and focus on the leads you’ve already paid for - the leads that are the best fit with your preferences.  Spend your time on these.
• Requesting reviews within messenger: We received the feedback that you could not request reviews from customers through the app. This improvement now makes it possible for pros to request a review from a customer through the messenger, right in the app. This should help you get more reviews.
• Turning reviews into past projects: For eligible services, you can now turn verified reviews into past projects on your profile.  This way, customers can get a better sense of the work you’ve done on Thumbtack and the great experience other customers had working with you.  Just click on “Feature this project” on a review to get started!

In case you’re curious, here’s one of the updates on the customer side:

• Encouraging flexible scheduling: This update allows customers to give a wider window of availability for when they want their project done, and encourages them to select more days and times when they are free. Ultimately, this makes it easier for you to find a time that works for both you and the customer, and therefore gives you a great opportunity to land the job.

[TheLast10SF]

@JasonB The monthly product roundups are great, but I've got two requests:

1) Could you please include not just new functionality but any functionality that's changed? Knowing depreciated features is as important to know as what you're adding.

2) Is there a way to send the list via email? It's still mysterious to me what threads show up in my highlights and product changes are important enough to warrant direct communication. 

Thanks. 

[DJStevie]

@JasonB 

I also think that the monthly Product Roundups information is great, but why not give the monthly roundup information at the beginning of the month, or at the end of month for the next month(eg. for June at end of May, for July at end of June). I think that I've mentioned this before, but shouldn't we know of the updates prior to being implemented, instead of being surprised?

DJ Stevie 5-24-2019

[JasonB]

@TheLast10SF thanks for your note.  Yes, this month's round up includes significant changes to old features...not just new features.

And we do send emails or in-app notifications for siginficant changes! The goal of this post is simply to gather all changes, large and small, in one place.  We're always careful about sending too many emails to pros, but we do link to this post in our monthly pro newsletter, which goes out via email every month.  So every pro has the opportunity to see and read this list!

[DJStevie]

@JasonB 

Can you or someone else please explain to me how these changes will provide quality leads to Pros?

We're still receiving jobs in Jobs Tab up to 150+ miles away. Most of us will not travel outside of our travel preferences that we have set, but that only works for Promote for some reason. Would you travel 300 miles round trip to work for gigs that are way under budget? Or would you travel outside of your travel preference for a job?

As for Exact Match, we had a discussion with @Meckell on this topic 2 weeks ago here , so Exact Match needs further definition from Thumbtack.

https://community.thumbtack.com/t5/How-Thumbtack-works/What-exactly-does-quot-Exact-Match-quot-mean/...

The business hours and Review via Messenger doesn't affect me, as I don't have set hours for DJ business, and I use laptop for all of my correspondence, not a phone(which I explained in previous threads as to why I am unable to be on the phone 24/7)

The email notification, even though it's at a decent time, I would still like to see notifications as they come in, not sit by my laptop 24/7 waiting for jobs.

And what other changes are on the "customer" end besides flexible scheduling? This one doesn't affect me, as I need a confirm date because I rely on other platforms, word of mouth, local ads, etc to fill my schedule, not have a Job Poster provide me a list of dates that he/she possibly wants a DJ for.

But from what I see with these updates, there have been NO significant changes to Promote thus far. So I ask, how much longer do we have to be patient for? Majority of us have given suggestion for improvements 7+ months now

DJ Stevie 5-29-2019

[TheLast10SF]

Thanks Jason, can you show me where to sign up for the newsletter? I've never received one. Thanks. 

[DJStevie]

@TheLast10SF
I never heard of nor have I ever received a newsletter either. This is news to me
DJ Stevie 5-29-2019

[Kameron]

@DJStevie while you may feel that most of these updates don't apply to you, many of these are things that we've heard different pros across all channels asking about for some time and are things that I'm sure many pros will be excited about. Specifically, Per-day Business hours and the Jobs tab distance filter are two that I've discussed with many pros. In terms of working to provide more quality leads the "Added additional targeting preferences" note is a big one that I think will help to do just that for the categories that it applies to. Again, while it may not have been yours specifically I think it's a good indicator and proof that it's not just a concern of yours, but one of our major concerns as well and something that we're working to improve on. 

[TheLast10SF]

@DJStevie re: jobs tab, this actually works much better on the mobile app than on the desktop browser. on the mobile app, you can set a permenant filter to only show jobs by distance, category, and a few other attributes. @JasonB it would be great to have the same filtering on the desktop, like djstevie, I also do most of my job selection on the desktop browser. 

[DJStevie]

@Kameron 

I, for one, haven't seen any of these changes discussed here in the Community.

I belive that you and I discussed travel preferences via Private Message at one time. Many of us will not travel outside of our travel preferences for jobs that are way under our pricing.

As for providing quality leads, can you, @Meckell , @DustiO , or@JasonB answer what additional target preferences are being added/deleted? I haven't seen any notice on that as of yet. Or have they been changed without notifiying Pros?

DJ Stevie 5-29-2019

[DJStevie]

@TheLast10SF 

For various reasons, I will not travel outisde of my travel preferences. Back in January, we were still receiving local jobs via jobs tab, and then that was taken away from us, as we were given outside of area jobs for some unknown reason. If I was to even bid on a job say, 25 miles away, I will have to increase my fee a bit, but there is no filter in pricing to include for outside of travel(hope this makes sense).

DJ Stevie 5-29-2019

[Kameron]

@pastadeej @twintroubleinc you are two pros that came to mind that had previously asked about Per-day business hours. Have you had a chance to set it up for your accounts yet? Do you have any continued feedback on this now that it's been implemented?

[Kameron]

@TheLast10SF @DJStevie I'd say for you both to double check your notification settings that involve any Thumbtack emails. If those are all on, keep an eye out and/or check your junk and spam folders.

[DJStevie]

@Kameron
I just checked my notifications. Email and text have been on. So, I don't know why I haven't been receiving notices.

So, @Kameron , please find out why I'm not receiving notifications.

Thanks,
DJ Stevie 5-29-2019

[pastadeej]

Yes, I have! And I absolutely love it. This will save me and other pro's hundreds of hours (collectively) in setting up our schedules to reflect our availability each week (since we no longer have to go through the entire year, one day at a time and do it!) . Thank you so much for listening to our needs and making it happen!!! Super-happy!!!

[TheLast10SF]

All my email notifications are on, including feature announcements and there's nothing in the spam folders. 

Makes me wonder what else I might be missing. Is there someone who can look into this? Thank you. 

[ScottArcangel]

The job filter that we all desperately need - is not so much the distance filter, which we already had the ability to set in our preferences.

What pros NEED - is protection against customers who, in spite of seeing our clearly listed prices, insist on low-balling us for discounts of 60-85%!! This happens regularly, and it costs pros $$ while driving down the market.

These are not valuable leads for pros, and not something I want to continue to pay for.

Can we please have a filter that does not force us to pay for leads from customers who aren't willing to pay our clearly stated minimum pricing?

@Kameron  any thoughts on this subject? Is there anything in the works to protect pros from being undervalued and taken advantage of by customers who aren't reaching out to us in good faith?

[Barisgraphics]

Just got my first notice today. I’ve had all my notifications on as well. Recents changes have been anything but transparent. I hope you’re getting the bumps out and the work starts flowing in again. May was a frustrating month.

[HansenJC]

Why not email? @JasonB This is a very big issue. This puts us Pros in the position of having the find this post once a month. And what happens when TT must add or expand or clarify what was left out here?

If you will not use email, my suggestion is to create and use a well defined space in the community for "Monthly Program Changes" that is findable.

[HansenJC]

Are the job posters reading my availability? It seems lately that they are all asking "What's your availability?" And then BAM! I get charged. I wish those one-thumbclick questions would go away. 

[HansenJC]

@JasonB  Did the May changes do something to disable my services? I am unable to access my service to change my mileage preferences. I am also unable to see what changes affect my service.

[Meckell]

@ScottArcangel thanks for your thoughts on this! Kameron and I have both passed on your feedback about your concern previously and will continue to do so. Although we don't have any updates to share on it, I can assure you that our teams are listening.

[Russ86]

You need to add more important things not futures about business hours and distance sorting... imho. I don’t need it.

1. If I use Jobs tab to contact a Customer, this customer should get my message directly in Inbox also email notification. Now 98% jobs feom Jobs tabs are not viewed by customers.

2. If I have activated Promote option and I charge $300 / hour I don’t want to pay for a lead with $500 budget for 8 hours.

This is why I have paused Promote option. I paid enough for Under $500 leads.

[Meckell]

@HansenJC I don't think May's updates would do anything to disable your services, so let's see what's going on. Can you send me a private message with more info on what's happening when you're trying to change your travel preferences? 

[HansenJC]

@JasonB  When you wrote: "And we do send emails or in-app notifications for siginficant changes!" Here is how this plays out for me.

I have never seen any email that forwarned me of changes, deletions, or additions to the TT program. If by chance I lost it in spam, help me out and tell me the email address that would have sent it to me so that I may adjust my spam filter.

And I am certain that I have set my account preferences correctly. I check my settings every time a moderator or staff at TT suggests that it could be my settings.

The importance of getting this Feedback and critical Update Information by email is that I receive so few leads that the moment that I receive a new lead is the WRONG TIME to be reading about a critical change to the TT program. It just might cost me a job while I read the notice for 10 to 20 seconds and then try to decipher how that may impact the response that I am about to send to a Lead.

Many opportunities are time-critical as you well know. Thumbtack keeps reminding us of that fact.

Just send all update notices to the Pros via email.

And send us all updates about how the program works for the Job Posters. Knowing how the Job Posters are guided by Thumbtack may alter how we respond to them. Without that knowledge, we are constantly set behind the learning curve and find ourselves at a disadvantage.

[DJStevie]

@Kameron
Have you looked into why I'm not receiving email notifications? Along with @TheLast10SF, my settings have always been on. There have been no Thumbtack emails in my junk or spam folders
DJ Stevie 6-10-2019

[Meckell]

@HansenJC not every update will be notified through email, but some have been. Most of the time pros receive an in-app notification when there is an update. Have you seen those come through? Are you receiving any emails at all from Thumbtack? 

[Meckell]

@DJStevie @TheLast10SF let's have you both add the following emails to your email contacts: professionals@go.thumbtack.com, support@email.thumbtack.com, and do-not-reply@thumbtack.com. 

If you use Gmail, be sure to check your "promotions" folder. If you find any Thumbtack emails in that folder, drag that email to your inbox. You will then be asked if you want emails from that sender to always go to your primary inbox; you should click yes.

[DJStevie]

@Meckell
Thank you.
But how do we check on emails that we have missed?
And when can we expect the next email to be sent?
DJ Stevie 5-10-2019

[HansenJC]

@MeckellI receive email from Thumbtack for leads and jobs. I have never seen any email related to program updates, changes, or depricated features.

I am not the only Pro who is not receiving notifications by email. While discussing this with other Pros, there have not been any Pros who have said they have ever seen an email that has notified them of program updates, changes, or depricated features.

And as I have said in the past, I would like to receive notification of all changes including knowing how Thumbtack features change for the the Job Posters.

I do not enjoy the game of hide and seek.

[HansenJC]

@Meckell   Perhaps one of the TT employees who is also a Pro might wish to chime in here. Have any Pros ever received a notice of program updates via their private email (not their internal TT email)? If so, when was the most recent email notice, and what was the email address of the sender?

[TheLast10SF]

Thanks @Meckell, it looks like all three email addresses are already whitelisted. 

[Kameron]

@TheLast10SF thanks for checking into that. In that case, I'll share this gap in email distribution to you for our teams to look into and get back to you with any updates as they come.

[HansenJC]

@Kameron Would you also please ask your team to evaluate this same gap in email distribution on my behalf? And would you also ask them to get back to me as well with any updates as they come?

I am sure that you won't mind if the other pros who are affected by this same gap contact you with similar requests.

[Kameron]

@HansenJC which specific emails are you referring to? The same pro newsletter that @TheLast10SF mentioned as well? 

To be thorough have you checked your spam/junk folders and made sure the additional 2 emails that @Meckell mentioned are added to your contacts list?

[HansenJC]

@Kameron  There is no email from any address associated with Thumbtack in my Spam/Junk folder. If by chance my ISP is not sending Thumbtack email to me, I have limited control over that. But I get all of my leads and job messages by email, and I get all of the forum messages forwarded to me by my ISP. So it is very unlikely that there is any cause other than Thumbtack is not sending any emails about program updates to me.

This topic is about May's Update. But no email from Thumbtack sent to me has ever announced any updates from any month before May.

[DJStevie]

@HansenJC
All of the email addresses that @Meckell mentioned have been in my address book, and I have NEVER received any updates and newsletters via email. I rarely receive them in the "Bell" notices either.
Still trying to figure out why.
So I ask Thumbtack, are these newsletters and updates for select categories and/or Pros? If it's for all Pros, please correct it and not submit request where we wait months to see if it gets implemented.
DJ Stevie 5-10-2019

[Meckell]

@DJStevie thanks for letting us know that those have already been in your address book. I'm sharing this info to our teams and will be in touch with you when I get an update! 

[DJStevie]

Thank you, @Meckell

[HansenJC]

@Meckell @Kameron @DustiO @JasonB at this point we have yet to see any pro say they have receive any update by email. I am going to ask again. When was the last email and what is the email address that sent it and what did it actually say? So far, even the TT staff have been mute on this. It is hard to be believe a statement that Thumbtack sends updates by email when no Pros have seen that email.

Show us the email, please.

[DJStevie]

@Meckell
Any news on why I'm not receiving email notifications on newsletters and updates?
DJ Stevie 6-14-2019

[Meckell]

@DJStevie no update yet. We'll be sure to let you know once we have a resolution. 

[DJStevie]

@Meckell
Any news yet?
DJ Stevie 6-25-2019

[Meckell]

Hey @DJStevie you'll get an email once this has been resolved. We appreciate your patience. 

[DJStevie]

@TheLast10SF 

Did your email notifications get resolved? I know that my request has been passed on, just waiting to hear back.

DJ Stevie 8-14-2019

[TheLast10SF]

If you're referring to the monthly newsletter, yes I'm now receiving that to my email address. 

[DJStevie]

@TheLast10SF 

Yes, the monthly newsletter is what I was referring to.  I was told that I would be notified by email when it's resolved. Just wondered if you were receiving it.

DJ Stevie 8-14-2019

[DJStevie]

@HansenJC 

Has your issue been resolved about receiving any emails(newsletters, etc)?

DJ Stevie 8-15-2019

[HansenJC]

@DJStevieI have little hope of being in the distribution pipeline. Since this topic was first started, I have recieved no roundups from any month. No June Roundup. No July Roundup, No August Roundup.

Have you received anything by email?

It is a challenge to believe anything that is said by any Thumbtack employee. Credibilty is on the wane. Perhaps there have not been any changed worthy of note?