@Zac wrote: This is disturbing...  "As part of this process, Thumbtack and its service provider will receive in real time and store data about your text message, including the date and time of the text message, your phone number, and the content of the text message." I have many past thumbtack clients that have become friends. We have discussed family and personal matters in detail via text. I think this is the most disturbing thing I have learned about Thumbtack.  I don't think anyone signed up for this type of privacy invasion.   Yeah, that's.  They need to put a time limit on it, stop it when the job is done.   What they really need to do is NOT track the content of the message.   ... View more

I think it makes a lot more sense for someone with a  wedding videography company to set their travel setting much farther out.   I guess my real question is like yours... why not let everyone set their own.   That's how it used to be.  I'm not sure where this 50-mile radius came from, but I've always been able to not only set my own radius but pick and choose which zip codes I wanted to work in.  That is until they took the option away to penalize me for not using Promote.   ... View more

150 MILES!?!  Please tell me that was a typo.   You really think a Pro is going to travel 2.5-3 hours away to say, install a dishwasher, then travel 2.5-3 hrs back?   I'm pretty sure there are people a LOT closer who can do it for a LOT cheaper than anyone would who has 5-6 hours of travel involved.   NO, of course not I nor any other Pro is going to even give that job a second thought.   So why even send us those requests when you know no one that far away, in his right mind, would ever take that job?   ... View more

Wow, this is really getting out of hand.   I started getting job requests from way outside my travel preferences and asked a chat agent why this was happening.   I was told setting travel preferences was now only available when you use Promote.   So they are now hijacking that holding it hostage until we sign up for Promote.   Nice, TT.  And they just did it without telling me.   What's next?  What else are you going to take away?  Are you just going to keep whittling away at our options and abilities until we are forced to sign up for Promote or leave the platform?  It sure seems like that's what's happening. Please have the guts and respect for us to give us the common courtesy of simply telling us this is where it's headed.   ... View more

To be fair, we can't expect TT to allow customers to see our phone numbers or website which have our phone numbers until we've paid for the lead.  That would allow us to circumvent the system and get the leads without paying the fee.   The debate over the prices we pay for leads is a valid one and I'm one to point out that the new system stinks and is too expensive.   But I don't have any problem with TT withholding our contact info until they get paid their fee.   It's the same as how we can't see a potential client's phone number until we pay.  Many pros would simply call the client directly and skip the TT process.   ... View more

I was looking through my jobs list and there was one that showed "14 pros contacted."  The lead costs $63.75.   That means TT makes almost $900 and only one pro gets the job.     ... View more

That's not what I was told by the tech support person I was chatting with.   It seems we're not the only ones confused by the new system.   Thank you for the correct info.   ... View more

And just like that, I got another badge!   LOL! ... View more

I've had parts of my posts redacted, as well.   The problem with their community guidelines is that they are too subjective.   What is non-constructive?  By whose definition?   If we point out something that we think isn't being done right or could be done better, we can get deleted.  What used to be called "constructive criticism" is now seen as simply criticism.    Either the designers of this forum are millennials or the designers feel like they have to cater to that generation to keep them from leaving the website.    Because we get badges for everything on this forum.  You get a badge for replying or starting a thread or giving someone a thumbs up.  Badges.  This is because kids now get participation trophies for playing and gold stars on their assignment just for turning them in.   They will probably see what I just wrote as "negative" and delete it, when in fact it's a valid constructive criticism that illustrates my point of view.  I see all these silly badges as disingenuous and it gives me the impression that I'm being patronized and condescended to.  I'm over 50 and grew up at a time when accolades had to be earned.  You didn't get an 'at-a-boy!' just for doing what was expected of you.   My feelings on this matter should be just as valid as the feelings of someone who sees this as negative.   Enjoy that constructive criticism before it gets deleted.  :-)      ... View more