About StringBender

StringBender · ‎08-21-2019

@JasonB I want to try and add my opinion here. The last time I attempted to post the moderator deleted it because I shared my honest opinion of Thumbtack. I was verbose, even complimentary at times and made no personal attacks but was very critical of how I thought TT was working for me. This apparently is not appreciated here so we will see how this goes. The criteria is unrealistic. Five verified reviews was almost impossible as the leads generated by TT had slowed to a trickle. I documented this in previous posts as proof. I am referring to my service category. I was a Top Pro for 2 consecutive periods until July but due to the LACK of leads I was receiving and gigs I was able to book I didn't make the cut. Now you have added another requirement - Background check. I DO NOT AGREE! This has nothing to do with the services I offer. There is NOTHING in my background that is negative so I have no fear there. I simply DO NOT want to share my Social Security number with TT or any other site that I don't have to. As far as I'm concerned the background check needs to remain an option. TT figures out how to do one without asking for my Social Security number and I won't have a problem.

StringBender · ‎06-07-2019

Thanks @DefiningImagery ! I'm a TopPro and have noticed similar. TT is simply NOT generating enough leads for my Service Category which is Musical Entertainment. In a recent Insight they indicated very few jobs for the 157 Active Pros for a 3 month period. I'm very disappointed. I tried "Promote" for a 3 month period and won exactly 0 gigs. Now they are calling it "Targeting" but it's essentially the same thing where you are auto charged for targeted leads. I may try it one more time but I'm afraid their business model is simply no longer working for me. I'm a Top Pro and provide excellent service and very competitive pricing. If I have to go months on end without winning business as a result of being here, it makes little sense to continue to pay for leads. If things do not improve quickly I'm sure others will do likewise.

StringBender · ‎05-12-2019

OK, I gave it a shot. I drank the Kool-Aid and went with Promote for 3 solid months. I am a Top Pro with many High Quality Reviews. My Profile is complete and I have had 2 sessions with Customer representatives helping me tweek my Profile. They even admitted there was not much they could suggest because I was already doing the right things. I made very minor changes over 3 months ago and have not gotten a single Gig since. Prior to that things were already sketchy as TT had implented changes and I could tell something was different. As best I can tell they simply are not generating enough leads for the number of "Active Pros" in this category. In fact their own statistics bear this out as recent Insights indicated. 235 Jobs in 3 months for 150 Active Pros. That is not per week, that is not even monthly. That's the last THREE MONTHS! I did significanlty better prior to their recent changes, I respond quickly and follow up. It is simply NOT WORKING for this PRO! I'd really like to see things go back to the way they were. I got a lot more for my money. I'd like to know what other Pros are seeing.

StringBender · ‎03-01-2019

@Kameron Thanks for the follow up. I hope the Rep you mentioned is well. He seems very knowledgeable a nd professional. That is why I was surprised when I didn't receive the follow up or response to my inquiry. At this point I don't think much can be done. There are not enough leads coming in vs the number of providers competing for them. That is probably good for TT but not so much for the providers. I have Promote on but the past 2 weeks have been incredibly slow.

StringBender · ‎02-28-2019

I'm a Top Pro. I have done EVERYTHING support has requested and the leads have practically disappeared. I don't know if they have changed things but 3 weeks ago tomorrow I had a consultation with a Representative that I will not mention here. He suggested some minor changes that I agreed to allow him to make while we were on the phone. He scheduled a 2 week follow up and then FAILED to follow up 2 weeks later. I sent a response to a reminder email from him and CRICKETS! He stated that I was just the type of PRO they wanted TT to work for and assured me these changes would make a difference. I have had ZERO additional contacts since . I'm sharing this now because I have yet to receive a response from the representative. TT should at least have the decency to do what you say you are going to do. Bottom line folks, this site is NOT the answer but MAYBE, MAYBE ONE of the tools you should CONSIDER to grow your business. I'm very fortunate because I don't have to rely on this line of business to provide for my family. It's just one of the hats I wear but I'm truly disappointed with the level of effort I have put forth and the lack of results. It was NEVER great but it was BETTER before they made the changes. I don't know what to think. This is just my honest opinion. I wish all my fellow ENTREPRENEURS great success!

StringBender · ‎02-14-2019

I had a long discussion about Pricing with Adam. TT has it locked down so you can only state per hour. There are too many variables there. I don't mind giving a range but it is rather short sighted for that not to be a free form field IMO.

StringBender · ‎02-13-2019

I guess it should come as no surprise why business is so slow. 283 jobs in the last 3 months for 117 active pros.

StringBender · ‎01-19-2019

@DJStevie I just started using Promote to give it a try but I think I'm going to pause it after all the negative comments. TT's old model is far Superior to Pros. At least you had the ability to send a quote without being charged!!! They should also require the customer to commit to a budget and share that information up front. It let's a Pro know immediately if the lead is worth considering. Many potential customers are simply looking at what it cost them to book someone in our line of business without any real intention of hiring someone. I just had a customer indicate as much to me. Now that was a decent lead and I don't mind paying for it, even though they are not ready to book, as it could still turn out to generate real business but that is not always the case. Letting that same customer see a quote without charging the Pro is fair. If they still want to work with the Pro they now have a ballpark for the price. I'm trying not to be cynical but I believe TT is doing this solely to generate more $$ on their end. Again, there is nothing wrong with that! We are all in the business to make money. I just don't want to be charged when there is no REAL potential to generate business.

StringBender · ‎01-17-2019

@DJStevie I don't think it is near as critical in our line of business. I'm not sure why TT pushes it so hard. I've never heard the first concern from a customer. If that was all that was keeping me from getting the gig I would probably go ahead and do it. I just don't see where it is that big a deal.

StringBender · ‎01-17-2019

@Meckell Thanks for the response. I have NEVER had a customer inquire about the background check. The only reason I'm hesitant is that the background check requires my SSN. I HATE to share it anyhwere. I really don't see where this would help regardless in my line of business. I had an extensive conversation with support on Promote and I may try that. Right now I am concerned it will simply result in more charges to me without generating addtional business.

Posts	14	Kudos Given	10
Solutions	0	Kudos Received	30

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