Thumbtack
Reviews and Complaints

Hello to all,

I'm actually a service provider who utilizes "Thumbtack" for the majority of my business. I would like to point out that there are always scammers out there trying to take advantage of people, and this is true on both sides of the fence. I've bid on jobs only to show up and find 5 times the amount of work described in the request, I've also had a customer scam me out of close to $1800 on a minor home improvement issue.

However, after all that being said, I have no one to blame but myself. I didn't get ANYTHING in writing, it was all verbal/hand-shake...

1.) Contracts are but ONE way to avoid scammers
2.) ALWAYS check to see if they are Licensed, Bonded and Insured!
3.) Take a look at the companies profile, read it... How many grammatical errors are there? How many people have hired them? How many reviews? Are the reviews good or bad? What is the ratio of Hired/Reviewed? Does the profile have photos? Does the company have a website? Does the website have photos?

These are just steps one might take to make sure that who you hire are who they claim to be.

Thank you very much for your time!

I started my Housekeeping service on $ 60 in cleaning supplies and $20 for my first credits, that was 2 years ago, I have had nothing but success with Thumbtack. For those of you having issues about not getting jobs from the leads you spend your credits on you first need to look at your reply message, then you need to pick and choose the jobs that are benificial to you, then when you do get a job you need to be dedicated to giving the best service you can offer. After a job have the client give you feedback about what you have done in case you missed something. If they are happy ask them to please give you a review when they are sent the link for it. I can say this because I am their top pro housekeeping service in Charleston SC, I won the 2015 Top Housekeeping Service Award for Thumbtack because of my reviews. Don't blame Thumbtack for your shortcomings, they are a great tool for your business, you are the one that makes or breaks your business and remember one other thing you have compitition out there so don't over charge for your service. Also on the client side of things if they want to pay cheap and you go above and beyond to do the job, don't waste your time, your worth more then that. But there is room for you to lower your price for someone that really needs your help, even then you do a top notch job. You make your business from the way you present yourself, the job you do and earning the great reviews that you work hard for.

I received superior plumbing service from Mike of Air One for a very reasonable cost!
Mike is very knowledgeable about installing heating and hot water systems. He works with a twin brother who also is very knowledgeable about electricity. Mike is very intelligent and in my house they installed a Navien Tankless combinaton heat and hot water system.
This was a very complicated installation. It was replacing a "un inspected" AO SMITH 75 gallon water heater set up to do home heating for one occupant.
Mike is an excellent diagnostician and extremely resourceful
And prior to this he replaced a pump blower for a part which could not be obtained for six weeks! I was freezing so he found a pump, cut out the old one and sodered in a different one obtained in a day.
He is patient and thorough.
My pipes froze and he very methodically analysed the situation,
Gently shocked them so they would thaw and not burst and through questioning figured out the upstairs condo was empty and asked me to call the owner to put the heat way up. The next day all the pipes were thawed!

During this Navien installation he obtained advice from two different experts but it was Mike who figured out the problem and solution.
I highly recommend Mike who is a gentleman, extremely professional, very trustworthy(I left him and his brother alone in my house with my keys), one of the hardest workers I've seen and won't stop until the job is done right!
For a personal reference call Air One for my telephone number and no, I'm not related!
Helen E. Brophy

Kathryn was not only very personable, a pleasure to work with, she is an incredible visually talented designer.We worked as a team which she preferred and re-designed and re-purposed my courtyard located on the side of my house. Kathryn always consulted and made suggestions to me before making any changes. She moved outdoor table and chairs in to a much more functioning area of the courtyard and painted all of the furniture, which was rusting, a pretty off white. She place a small decorative column as as a center piece for the rounded patio table and placed a small potted plant on to it. Then she surrounded the column with vibrant, colorful candles in little tin painted bucket-like holders. She re-organized placement of potted plants and put them in both better visual and a more flowing pathway to walk through. Along the wooden fence she hung a warm white string of lighting which added a relaxing mode. She also re-purposed some cement, mosaic tiles I had made a long time ago and had laying around, and she created a stepping stone path leading up to the front gate of the courtyard. She actually found numerous art pieces that were not being used for anything. Kathryn managed to clean them all up and displayed them my hanging them in various spaces of the surrounding wooden fence. She also found random white shells, cleaned them up and made a really pretty group display with those too. More hanging plants were added along with some tactful solar lighting and we have a very comfortable added space to spend time at our home now, thanks to Kathryn.

In February of 2015, I started the process of obtaining a Change of Use permit... I thought it would be an easy process but I had no idea how challenging it would be dealing with Building and Safety and the bureaucracy I would have to go through, or the different departments I would be shifted to or the constant fees I would have to pay only to be denied in the end because of the lack of parking spaces. I was frustrated, aggravated and totally worn down, leaving in tears after my last visit... I was almost ready to give up... Instead, I decided to hire a professional to help me obtain the permit... I came across Thumtack and explained my project, within minutes I was contacted by building designer, Reza Nasr. From the beginning of our conversation, he seemed knowledgeable, professional and genuinely empathetic about my situation. He explained the process and encouraged me not to give up... This made me feel comfortable and confident that he was the person that could help me... From the time I handed him all the paperwork, blueprints and information I had accumulated over the past year, he took the reins. He came out to our property, re-did our blueprints, booked appointments with planners, dealt with Building and Safety on my behalf, all while and keeping me informed in each step of the process Finally, after 3 months, he did what I had been trying to do for over year... And now with my permit in hand, I couldn't be happier! I will use Reza in all my future projects and refer him to anyone that needs a trustworthy, professional, knowledgeable building designer that can get the job done!

D. Dixon, Administrator
Ella's Foundation
Los Angeles, CA

I hired Valerie and Jerry from Tender Deep Cleaning Service to clean my apartment a couple of days ago. I am glad to say that they did a wonderful job cleaning my medium sized apartment! First off, my carpet was horrendous before they came to clean it. I knew that it was filthy before I even moved into the place however, I didn't know it doesn't look so bad until I saw how fresh/new it looked after they cleaned it. I don't know what they did but honestly they worked a miracle on my grey carpet. I was finally able to see that my carpet actually has a nice shade to it. It's just been dirty this whole time. I also had bedbugs in my master bedroom, however after they steamed the carpet in there I have not had one single bedbug bite. The second area they cleaned was my bathroom and I wanted special emphasis placed on the tile in my tub and the floor due to the mold and mildew on both areas. After they finished doing whatever it is they do, my tub tile no longer had that mildew in the cracks. Also I found out that my tub tile is actually a pretty pink color and not a rusty red. Also, the floor no longer looked muddy and the whole bathroom smelled way better than when I first moved into my apartment. They also cleaned the walls above my tub area which had some kind of green fungus on them and that disappeared as well after they were done. I really just want to compliment them on the quality of their work and the kindness they exhibit in their attitudes. I live in a poor area and no one else would come clean for me, however Mrs. Valerie and her husband were willing to come clean my apartment and I thank them very much! Thank you again and when I can afford their service again I will be hiring them to come clean.

Do not trust thumbtack! Again do not trust the people who put there company on thumbtack. Steve Wood reported to thumbtack that SK Design was a company ran by a con artist Kennth Keever. Steve Wood was taken for $3000. 00 by Keever. Steve reported the con artist to thumbtack on sept 1,2016. Thumbtack refused to let Steve Wood know what action was taken against Ken Keever, some so called privacy laws. In less than 2 weeks, ken Keever has another company on thumbtack called American design. I get caught up in his con for $11,550.00 on Sept 16,2016. I contacted thumbtack to complain about Ken Keever and what do I get. Another story about how they will take care of it and I have no right to know what action was being taken! Thats because thumbtack is in on it with these con artist. Here's a link to a KENS5 news report on Ken Keever and how he has scammed more people out of money ranging from $3000 to $40,000.00 and again thumbtack does not care. When I complain about how there not vetting these so called qualified professionals there putting us in contact with! All I can get out of thumbtack is we are taking care of it, yeah by getting kick back from the scams!

http://www.kens5.com/news/investigations/eyewitness-wants-to-know/id-like-to-get-my-3k-back-says-customer-after-contracting-job/281957480

I tried to explain that I was a disabled veteran and was trying to remodel my bathroom, because of the physical disability I received serving my country. Thumbtack could careless and does not support veterans. They basically said its my fault and my disabilities are my problem. Wow, I feel so good after sacrificing my body for my country. I have also posted a waring to all service members and veterans on veteran boards and blogs, that thumbtacks professionals are not to be trusted, due to improper vetting of the so called qualified professionals..

I had a VERY large move the other day. I hired Movers Connections after getting a Thumbtack account and hiring them after they sent me a quote. We, (my sister and I) have very large and old heavy antique furniture. We were moving from a 3 bedroom house to a 2 bedroom townhome. She wanted to take EVERYTHING! And the three guys from Movers Connections did just that! On top of that, some things were not packed and it was chaotic and frustrating for us and doubly so for the movers. When Michael, Julio and Edwin showed up to move us I was doubtful they could actually do it but how wrong I was! Michael the team leader was a wiry little guy with no muscles showing. Julio is 57, and Edwin looked like he still should be in school chasing the girls! These guys were astonishing! The move took about 10 hours to tell you how much stuff there was. They had stairs to climb with the heaviest furniture, a piano and couches, chairs loveseats and boxes, so many boxes! These guys deserve a rating of 10 STARS! Additionally, they had closed the contract because they thought they would be finished but ended up having to stay about 4 additional hours. Michael told me his boss said we needed to go back on the clock and I was a little huffy about that. At a two hour minimum for $95.00 an hour was getting to be too steep. James, the big boss said he would cut us some slack and allow me to pay for just one hour. I wasn't happy but i said OK. In about another hour and with still more furniture to unpack, Michael came to me and said the deal with squashed! They were not charging me another dime! I couldn't have been happier of course! And they still were not finished! And, they had a small move after that and I believe it was going on 8 or 9pm! Whenever you need a big move, call Movers Connections! You will not regret hiring these guys I promise you! Clean, neat, professional and they really care about how your furniture is treated. They were careful not to break anything at all and spent a few hours just wrapping and securing the furniture, removing the weights from the clock, tying down furniture so it didn't slide, etc... Hire Movers Connections!

MY OFFERING
Let me be specific: I am an ACADEMIC TUTOR. Once I get engaged with a student, and it is going well, I tend to meet with that student on a weekly basis for MONTHS, even YEARS. And then I work with their younger siblings and friends. All this work for the initial "Three Dollars" when I first respond.

THUMBTACK LEADS
So, if I have to reply to 15 leads, even 30+ leads, to get a match with a student, the cost to me is wholly paid for after 3-4 sessions. The remainder -- and I mean [protected] more sessions with the student -- is gravy. I will also note that the leads in my area are so prolific that I have greatly reined in the radius that I work in. From 20 miles to 5 miles; and only certain age groups. I now engage colleagues to take on certain students so that I can stay focused on the most interesting / rewarding jobs and their results.

THE COMPETITION
It helps that there are not many tutors in my area who offer what I teach, at the level that I teach it. I also offer to travel to the students' homes, which makes my service attractive. I do charge for mileage... and the parents gladly pay it. Additionally, I have good rapport with the students, and they make significant improvements in their studies, and their parents post good reviews.

THUMBTACK ISN'T...
I also understand that Thumbtack is only a connecting service. They are not the contractors, etc. As far as my experience, they do not referee complaints about the actual services rendered. Not everyone will be happy that Thumbtack limits its engagement to, say, making sure the website works, or helping me connect with a client whose request has expired, for example. But Thumbtack has worked for me as the ONLY ON-LINE LEAD SOURCE for my tutoring business since 2013.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
At first I replied to lots of requests. Then, as I watched the details more closely, I started to filter out the jobs that might put a strain on me, my time, my resources. It was tempting to answer all the calls, but many did not respond at all (and I got a refund), and others were not a good match -- and that was a sunk cost. I looked at my price per hour, and gave myself a limit of how much I would spend on leads. It started slow, but because the work is on-going, the income has flourished -- with no additional payments to the lead-generator whatsoever. I suggest you figure out what marketable skill you have that a client would like to receive on a repeating basis, and start the motor that way.

Whatever your decision, Best of Luck!

I simply requested a Solar Equipment review for a possible malfunction, which warranty company would work with a legal Arizona Solar Business and I pay labor costs. Easy I woulg give an estimate to the well known warranty company, they would approve deliver necessary equipment and I would pay the labor costs.

Instead Thumbtack referred a criminal who did unaujthorfized and never requested Electrical work because it was an emergency fire risk that I was in danger since I am Federally Recognized Medical Homebound Disabled Person. He said he was Solar but also a licensed Afrizona Electrician since he did the work to save my life I owed $390.00. Not what I expected but I thought Thumbtack recomended Pro I paid not expecting Thumbtack to sell my private information to a criminal,

I have been communicating in writing with Thumbtack since 6.18.2023 proof that the company is not a legal solar company or electrical company, wrfitten proof of the Thumbtack Pro utilizing the Thumbtack Platform to perform fraud on me and professional Legal Arizona Electrician who I am willing pay the Legal Electrician not me, $1,500 repairs of unauthorized electrical damages.

Thumbtack Sujpport in writing acknoledged and stated valdated my complaint as true no disagreement there. Thumbtack,com Support written statement is Thumbtack.com is a neutral party, Though they haven't provided documentation and I can't find any public infofrmation, IK was responsible for determing if a Thumbtack recomended Professional Busiess was really a Professional Business or a criminal. Thumbtack.com written statement was the criminal would give ne the $390.00 refund if I signed legal waivers provided by the criminal releasing him from any financial resposibility of his criminal damages to my property because he, the un qualified illegal electritian, had decicded that the qualified legal electrician was in error not him and Thumbtack has no control of illegal activity on Thumbtack.com Platform, I can't find and haven't been provided documentation I was responsible to monitor illegal activity on Thumbtack.conm Platform

Thumbtack.com acknowsledge and didn;t disagree illigal activity veing performed by a Thumbtack Pro on Thumbtack.com Platform. 8/10/2023Thumbtack.com iks still profiting selling tghe criminal leads for his illegal company, the criminal has my $390.00 and according to his Thumbtack.com website page not only is still fraudalent advertising but did a 20,000.00 illegal solar job for a Thumbtack,com customer who I hope doesn't have any issues because he has no construction license or construction insurance as requied by Arizona Public Law for any building modifications over $1,000.00.

Glad the criminals Thumbtack and the illegal business Mesh Bros Enterprises are still profiting where I, the Thumbtack Customer have to still have my solar equipment reviewed, my original request, but I was provided unexpected expensive financial responsibilityh of $1,500.00 to pay for illegal activity by Mesh Bros Enterprises.

I did not receive services requested and my home was damaged $2,000.00 by criminal activity because I used Thumbtack.com as opposed to other referral companies where I wasn't unknowingly put in a situation of a criminal approaching me. I, Marie Ishol. Publicly swear this is my true experience and all documentation has been submitted to Arizona Attorney Generals Office to review my claim of Thumbtack.com Fraudalant Advertising. Thumbtack.com did not inform me prior to my legal agreement with Thumbtack.com I was giving Thumbtack,com permission to sell my private inforfmation to a known criminal. The illegal solar company did not find publicly I wanted a free estimate for possible solar equipmdent failure, Mesh Bros Enterprises were only aware of me because I agreed for Thumbtack to sell that private information to Thumbtack.com's Private Professional Network.

Many of the complaints about Thumbtack comes from people who hire professionals. This review is from the professional's viewpoint and it might shed some light on why there are so many unhappy customers.

While Thumbtack has great potential for helping professional service providers find new customers, after using their service for about a year and spending several hundred dollars on leads, I have decided it's just not worth it.

THE PREMISE

You want to expand your business and Thumbtack offers a "free" website and dashboard where you can set up a profile, a mini-website, etc. and show potential customers what you can do for them.

They will send you quote requests from potential customers then you and four other pros can respond with quotes.

The potential customer can review the quotes, contact the pro or pros and ask questions about the quote and then make a decision about which pro to work with.

Sounds great, but here are the problems.

PROBLEM 1 - Poor Quality Quote Requests

While the interface is nice and they are working to improve the quoting process, about one third of the requests I have received no real useful information for professionals to actually quote on the project.

For example: After paying to respond to a request, I usually email a brief note to the potential client with a few basic questions like, "what is the size of the postcard you need designed?" or "how many do you need printed?" or "How many products will your ecommerce website have"and 90% of the time the potential client never responds, though they do open and read the quote message that I send.

It is obvious that there is no screening of the quote requests other than the form field have a check box or default response.

I can choose not to respond at all, and do choose to ignore a lot of the quotes, so I'm only losing my time spent reading through the emails.

However, because the quantity of incomplete quote requests is so high, the quote requests that are detailed get snapped up in less than a couple of minutes typically.

In some cases where I have been able to talk to potential customer, there is no written information and the customer will give different information to each pro they talk to, so the quotes the customer ends up with is all apples to oranges.

PROBLEM 2 - People Requesting A Service

I realize that many people are using Thumbtack who have never purchased services before and they just don't realize why the information is important, but one would think that Thumbtack would be capable of putting in a screening filter so that quote requests lacking any real information would be filtered out or sent back to the requestor for more information. Not so, that I can see.

If I were hiring someone to do something for me, I would want the pro to know as much as they could so they could give me a fair price.

I can only assume that some people requesting quotes are:

- Too lazy to complete the forms,
- Reading on a third grade level
- Purposely being vague so as to get more out of the pro
- Totally clueless as to what they need

What I have attempted to communicate with Thumbtack over the last 12 months or so is that their various quote request forms were to general and not adequate in terms of information needed to give an estimate, let alone an actual quote.

ABOUT THUMBTACK CUSTOMER SERVICE

While Thumbtack does have a help center where there are articles and some videos, if you have an issue or a question and you want to email them, you are limited to a Twitter response--just a few sentences,

By making it hard for professionals to give useful, detailed feedback it is clear to me they are not really interested in hearing detailed feedback or actual suggestions that could help them improve the service for both vendors and for end customers.

TOTAL DISCLOSURE

Last year, when I first started using the service I did get one response from customer service regarding an issue with quotes being sent, but with potential customers never reading or responding to the quotes. Thumbtack does have refund policy in the case where the quote recipient does not open a quote.

I did win one project for a client that totaled about $1,500. However, I have spent around $250 on credits to purchase leads and probably 30 + hours responding to quote requests and following up on quotes. My ROInot even a break even when I consider my hourly rate and time spent on quotes that went nowhere, not to mention the time spent setting up my profile (and the endless questions Thumbtack asks), mini-website and asking clients to post testimonials on Thumbtack.

HOW CAN THUMBTACK BE IMPROVED?

1) Screen all quote requests and reject or send back incomplete requests.

2) Allow a quality rating of the customer and their quotes by the pro. If I could rate each quote I see in terms of good to bad information and rate the customer in terms of whether they respond to a quote or not, this would be helpful to other pros considering working with a particular customer. Ebay has a 2-way rating system and it is easy for both the buyer and seller to see each others ratings.

3) Offer a "Window Shopping" version where uninformed customers can submit requests that are free for Thumbtack to respond to or where the customer pays a small fee to get educated. These would be for the, "I don't know what I want but I want to talk to someone first. Pros that respond to these type of requests could be given credits for purchasing quotes.

4) Require customers respond to each and every quote they get from professionals even if it's just a short note to say, "hey, your price was higher than everyone else," or "I really want to work with someone locally."

5) Offer a concierge service for professionals so pros can know that Thumbtack actually cares about pros and so Thumbtack can get better feedback on what needs to be changed. My bank and grocery store surveys me regularly.

6) Act like a real company. Publish a phone number and an address. I have both on my website and if anyone has a complaint about my company, I want to know.

7) Statistics. Thumbtack should have a ROI (return on investment) graph or analytics that shows pros what quotes get read, for how long, how much time the pro spends responding to quotes and tracks won projects.

CAN YOU MAKE MONEY WITH THUMBTACK?

Maybe. Getting a project and making a profit are two different things.

Be prepared to spend both money and time/effort. Keep a time log of all your Thumbtack activities to track your time.

If you have a low frustration level and don't mind working with a faceless company, that has no known address or phone number, and limited customer service, give it a shot.

If however, you value your time and you are looking for a real return on investment, you might want to look elsewhere.

THE THUMBTACK DASHBOARD

The dashboard Thumbtack provides is one of the best I have ever used. Its organized and it shows incoming quote requests and quotes that are in process.

The quote window is a split window with the quote request on the left and templates for replying on the right. In Safari on my iMac, the right side scroll bar doesnt work, but it works in Chrome so its a minor irritation.

After submitting a quote, you can follow up through Thumbtack to email privately with the customer as well as upload files so your conversations are captured until you are able to win the job and contact the customer directly.

In the dashboard you can select the different types of services you provide so you can receive only a few per day or many depending on how many different services you offer.

A good strategy is to save your different quotes with a different name or description so you can quickly respond to a quote request using a template, then just change the price or other details as needed.

COST OF QUOTES

Thumbtack uses a sliding scale for leads which appears to be based on the project budget, but many quote requests dont have a budget.

Quote requests for me cost between 3 and 14 credits typically, and a credit costs $1.67 but you can get a discount when buying large blocks of credits.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I am a professional graphic designer and website designer. I have worked with five or six lead providers over the past 10 years. The best I worked with was QuoteCatcher, which is not around anymore. They actually talked to each lead to confirm they were a real business and shared each lead with five vendors, but even with personal screening a few bad leads slipped through.

The cost with QuoteCatcher was $25 per lead. My closing rate was 20% but only about 50% of the leads were people ready to buy so there was some wasted time on quotes and followup only to discover the lead was actually a startup and not an established business.

However, one of the leads from QuoteCatcher turned into a regular client with significant ongoing work for about a year. This is an exception, not the norm.

Thumbtack appears to get leads from internet searches. While there is some screening by the customer who is looking for a service, the Thumbtack website is relying on what the customer enters on a form and the process cant distinguish between real businesses and people who have a real need and those who are window shopping or just trying to get information.

Many requests are from individuals with unrealistic expectations. I want a logo, business cards, a brochure designed and printed, and a 20 page website and the budget will be under $500.

My advice is to start slow and be selective about the leads you respond to. If you are getting too many leads, change your settings so you get a slower flow otherwise youll be going back and forth all day and getting your real work done.

ACTUAL QUOTE REQUEST EXAMPLE:

This is what I call an incomplete quote requesttheres just not enough information for me to quote or estimate.

Service needed
Print (e.g., cards, posters, signs, artwork), Logo / branding, Web / digital art

Type of organization
Business or nonprofit

Project scope
One-time project

Budget
Not sure yet

Additional description
(Intentionally left blank)

Printing services needed?
Yes, I would like help with printing

Printing service details
(Intentionally left blank)

When
I'm flexible

Where
Frisco, TX 75035

Travel prefs
Professionals may travel to my address
I will travel to the pro up to 25 miles
This can be done over the phone or internet

Here is an example of a more complete quote request:

Business size
Small (fewer than 10 employees)

Social media goals
Increase user engagement, Gain visibility and brand recognition, Improve search ranking, Other (Introduce two new important products - achieve max engagement and conversion for purposes of investor presentation)

Social media channels
Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, Other (Pinterest, Instagram)

Monthly estimated marketing campaign budget
Less than $500

When
As soon as possible

Where
Francestown, NH 03043

Travel prefs
Professionals may travel to my address
I will travel to the pro
This can be done over the phone or internet

I had a contract with Wolf Property Services to install a vinyl fence, drain tiles and remove my whole lawn and put in sod. I gave Jake Wolf the owner $4,000.00 down payment. After three months all he did was remove approx. 3/4 of my lawn. He just quit and left my lawn a mess. He refuses to give me back my money. I contacted Angi, who referred Wolf to me. They contacted Wolf and he said he would pay me $500.00 a month for 6 months starting Nov. 5th., He even sent me a contract to sign. He never paid me. Angi has deleted him from their contractor list. He's a crook and a thief, he cannot be trusted!

I just signed up to do house cleaning but never communicated with any clients or agreed to any jobs at all. There were leads coming in my email but were very far.

I never authorized anyone to anything. Like I mentioned, I just started my account and want it canceled asap.

Unbelievable

My checking and savings accounts are at zero!

I am disputing this.

They lie about how much exposure per amount of money. They wont even publish your ad unless you have a verifiable reference online including a phone number that will answer. My last employer ghosted me and cut me off, but I guess the CEO can still harass me with leads I can never access. They wont take down my profile, But they wont let me post an ad, although I am highly competitive in my work and can prove my skills. They just want to show customers how worthless they really are. SCAMS like this abound but sometimes the WHOLE PURPOSE is to be an unapologetic liar and creep. They need to be DELICENSED as a business. Many many many more JUST LIKE THIS. People cant ever find neighborhood jobs anymore (babysitting and dog walking and housecleaning) because these parasitic rackets scoop it all up and keep most workers unemployed if they are not the best of 300 others

I was told I would be walked through setup, leads, everything with onboarding. The guy who SOLD the service ghosted me as soon as they had their initial payment. They just turned on leads and I had no idea how the service worked or what was in my profile. I called twice, and emailed at least twice, saying i needed help with my account. To this day, I have not been able to get a hold of anyone but they continue to charge me for "leads." They just take your money and run away with it.

about a week ago I asked Thumbtack to provide a repairman to fix my dishwasher at Montebello in Alexandria, Va. Repairman showed up at my unit. He took my dishwashwer apart. He said the problem was a pump blockage. He told me the charge was $225. He insisted on a check made out to him which I provided and he made the repair satisfactorily. It seemed to me a high price for a routine repair. Is this the price one should expect for a routine repair.? Does the company condone his pricing practice?

i hired a plumber, referred to me from thumbtack.com. the job cost me (at the time) $1400. the plumber never completed the job. 5 months later, i hired another plumber to finish the project. the first plumbers work was substandard and done incorrectly. parts he purchased were incorrect and substandard. it will cost me $3500 just to fix the work he did wrong. thumbtack.com claims they will only cover up to $1000.

Yesterday, my wife accidently transferred $500.00 via Zelle to the above company. This was a mistake, no service have been preformed. We have put out a request for her to call us (Henry & Marilyn Johns) immediately. My wife and I have both sent text and have made direct phone calls to her. Nothing has worked. She is not communicating with us. Do you have any way to assist us?

Henry

I am seriously considering suing this company for that horrifying commercial that I get to see way too often of particular stations I frequent. The clever commercial is playing on Xfinity within different networks. It is the one with the body part talking and opening up. This frightening image creates images in my head that manifest into me not being able to concentrate and every time something tingles or itches on my body the horrible images come back. I feel I have to scratch the area hard in order to make sure that there is not a hole in my skin developing. It freaks me out and it is LONG lasting. Days and I'm sure it will continue and be restarted after each viewing. Your commercial is making me sick enough to sue and seek medical help. I'd appreciate not having to sue your company. Takes this commercial off of the air please. Sorry for any inconvenience but as we do not see beheadings or flashing lights that can cause harm to a person when viewed, I would like you to understand I will not stand for being freaked out! I would include a photo but not at the risk of being sickened any further.

I have app thumbtack in my cell phones, but the problem is i'm register my company Val Pool Services in riverside, and received emails several city for clean pools and don't make any actions and you guys charge me without i don't take nothing with any pools. my email is [protected]@hotmail.com. please answer if i need make any action for this not happen.

Thumbtack and similar companies are not to be trusted! I have been a user of Thumbtack since the beginning and it was amazing at first. I would get call after call and schedule jobs left and right. However, all of a sudden, I stopped getting any responses. This happened overnight and it was not natural. The jobs that were coming my way were also not real jobs. I asked Thumbtack what was going on and they told me that I wasn't getting jobs because I didn't have any reviews. But what happened to my long 5-star history? They wiped it out!

Recently, I decided to give Thumbtack another try. I updated my profile and added lots of pictures showing my 5-star work. However, the first lead that came in was clearly a fake customer. Then another fake customer contacted me. Both had pictures showing damage that was clearly beyond repair. And all three communicated in ways that made it obvious they weren't real customers. This made me realize that not only is Thumbtack shady, but competing businesses are also shady. There are businesses out there whose sole purpose is to eliminate their clients' competition. Shocking but true.

I used to make a ton of money from Craigslist, but then every one of my ads would get flagged. And then I found out that flagging services exist. On the front page of their websites, it would literally say, "Eliminate Your Craigslist Competition". How is that legal? This is why CL now charges for ads. The same thing goes on with Thumbtack, Yelp, and all the others. Games are played by both advertising companies and their larger customers.

Speaking of Yelp, they wiped out my 5-star history too! Yelp had been calling me for years wanting me to advertise. I learned from customers that I have nothing but glowing 5-star reviews. Many of them! Hey, I've been in business longer than they have! But when I asked the people at Yelp why I can't find my reviews, they said I didn't have any. So, I've got all these 5-star reviews from every similar business yet the biggest of them all has no reviews on me? Clearly, that doesn't make sense!

This had me questioning everybody that found me on Yelp. I would literally have them show me my reviews, which were so amazing. It made me feel really good to hear all the wonderful things people said about me. So, why did they eliminate my 5-star history? Because for the first time ever, I got a review that was less than 5 stars. In fact, it was a 2-star review. And now my single Yelp review is visible to everybody. Yelp turned my 5-star reputation into a 2-star one. And they did this to me all because I wouldn't advertise with them. I'm sorry, but if that's not evil, I don't know what is.

Research what people say about Yelp and you'll realize they toy with people's businesses and lives. People are very, very angry and for very good reason. I, for one, would like to file a class action lawsuit to stop these companies from destroying lives. I just can't believe this is allowed to go on.

I recently reached out to Stevan Nerrifuekd on Thumbtack to assess my Baldwin Acrosonic Piano. After setting an appointment for three weeks later, Stevan arrived and claimed that the piano was affected by verdigris, causing slow action and dead keys. However, there was no sign of corrosion anywhere in the piano, which should have been a red flag. Despite this, Stevan assured me that he had a treatment that would fix the problem and set another appointment for three weeks later.

Unfortunately, Stevan had to reschedule this appointment several days beforehand, which was frustrating. When he finally arrived, he started to dismantle the piano in preparation for cleaning and began cleaning it in an efficient and workmanlike manner. However, things took a turn for the worse when he removed the action for verdigris treatment, which consisted of him spraying copious amounts of WD-40 all over the action. Most piano technicians advise against this practice as it is a quick, cheap way of treating the symptom instead of addressing the problem. Repinning the action is the proper course of action, but this is cost-prohibitive on a lower-grade instrument.

After this "treatment" was completed and the piano was reassembled, Stevan began to tone the piano. However, his approach seemed rather ham-handed compared to other piano tuners I have observed. Eventually, he finished initial tuning and then completed final tuning. At this point, the piano was playable, but within days, keys were not sounding or repeating properly. I emailed Stevan to report the problem, but he did not respond for a week to 19 days. When I emailed him again, I still did not receive a response. It was only after the third email that he said he could perform regulating on the dysfunctional keys.

Trying to schedule an appointment with Stevan was an ordeal. You have to request an appointment on his website, which he chooses to approve or deny. He was supposed to be at my house for an appointment, but when he did not show up, he said that he did not approve the appointment because he was in Cincinnati. When I finally asked him to set an appointment, he agreed to one for today at 12:30. However, he did not show up, and when I texted him, he said that since I did not respond to his text, he went ahead to his next appointment. When I asked what happened to my appointment, he said we could try to reschedule another time. I told him to finish his work and then come work on my piano, but he refused.

I think that Stevan does not really know what to do, and his constant cancellations are his way of avoiding the problem. At every turn in trying to deal with this individual, I have met with one ordeal after another. Nothing ever went smoothly. Three and a half months since my first contact with Stevan Merrirfield, my piano is still unplayable, and he refuses to do any more work on it.

I've been using Thumbtack for almost three years now for my home appliance repair business. However, I recently received an email from them stating that my account has been suspended. This came as a shock to me, especially since I've been paying them $300 - $500 a month for almost three years now.

The reason for my account suspension was due to a 1-star review that I received on my profile. I have over 100 reviews, with 95% of them being 5-star, 4% being 4-star, and only 1% being 1-star. When I received the 1-star review, Thumbtack's market place trust and safety team contacted me by email, asking for any and all documentation I had about the job in question. However, I ignored their request as I believe that Thumbtack is a lead generation service that I pay for, and not a partner in my business. I don't think they have the right to ask for my private business records, and it would be negligent of me to release them to Thumbtack in violation of my customer's expectation of privacy.

Thumbtack didn't seem to care about my concerns, and after ignoring their first email, they sent me a second email instructing me to comply with their demand. They gave me 24 hours to comply, or they would "reevaluate" my account. I responded to their email, telling them that I would not comply with their demand, and that they were overstepping their boundaries. I pay them for lead generation, and once I pay for a lead, that lead becomes my customer, not theirs. They are not entitled to any information between me and my customer in any form.

Thumbtack then sent me another email, stating that I had agreed to their "terms of service," which they believe trumps the law and ethical practices of business in regards to the handling of customer's private transaction information. I again stated that I could not and would not comply with their demands.

Today, I received an email stating that my account has been suspended until I comply with their demands. I find this to be ridiculous. Thumbtack seems to think that I only have one lead generation service, and that they can arbitrarily position themselves into my business as if they have a stake in my company. They seem to have forgotten who their customers are. I pay them for a lead generation service, which makes me their customer. How do they treat their customers who will not let them entangle themselves in areas they don't belong? They get rid of them. They shut off their account and hide from them. They make demands they know can't be given in to and then stamp their feet like children when confronted.

I would not recommend using Thumbtack. I have just lost three years of time, money, and reviews because they think they should be able to give orders to their customers as if they are employees. I do not work for Thumbtack, they work for me. When they remember that, they might stop getting negative reviews about their service.

I am seriously considering getting my lawyer to review this as this has cost me a lot of time, energy, and now reputation and loss of income. Judging by the reviews on this site, I'm sure there are plenty of people ready to do a class action.

Hey there, fellow roofing contractors and others! I gotta tell ya, I used to love Thumbtack. It was a great site for us contractors, and I was a loyal customer, spending up to $500 a month. I was always quick to respond to leads, wanting to stay busy in the Houston, TX area. But things have changed, my friends. Thumbtack has a new model that's not so great for us.

Back in 2017, a roofing repair lead cost $8, and a new roof installation lead was $16, shared with five other contractors. But now? Hold onto your hats, folks. A roofing repair lead costs a whopping $23, and a new roof installation lead is $75! And they're reselling the same lead to up to 15 contractors instead of just five. That's a lot of competition, and it's making it hard for us contractors to get work.

I've tried reaching out to Thumbtack, but no one's responding. It's like they don't care about us anymore. They're making a ton of money off of us, even if we don't get the job. And the homeowners are happy because they're getting tons of contractors to choose from, which drives down our prices. Meanwhile, we're out here risking our lives to provide estimates and not even getting a response from the homeowner.

It's not fair, y'all. Thumbtack used to be a great company, but now they're just greedy. They're charging almost double what other lead generation companies charge, and they're bringing in way too much competition. It's like they're sitting in their air-conditioned office, raking in the dough, while we're out here sweating and risking our lives.

I just hope someone at Thumbtack realizes what they're doing wrong and makes things right. They need to be fair to both parties, not just themselves. I'm really disappointed in this company, and I know I'm not the only one.

I used to have an account with Thumbtack when they first started, but I deleted it because I thought it was a scam or something. However, a friend of mine told me that things had improved, so I decided to give it a second chance. For about a year and a half, things were great, despite the constant price increases. But today, they announced another price increase, and the leads are even worse than before. Who wants to pay $15-$20 for a lead when you can't even ask a question like you used to be able to?

I've noticed other issues too, like the same name coming up on a request for different categories. What's up with that? Are they just fishing or what? I've spent a lot of money with Thumbtack, but my return has been pretty much even for the year. Basically, what I spent with them was equivalent to one wedding booking (which wasn't even booked through Thumbtack). However, that has since changed too. I'll be taking my money to Google now. There's no way I'm paying this kind of money for leads that may not even be real.

Something has definitely changed with Thumbtack, and I can honestly say that the clientele is not there anymore. When I add credits to my account, I get very few hits, but as soon as my credits are low, I get a huge increase in requests. This makes me think that they're fake or that Thumbtack is trying to get me to purchase more credits right away.

Marketing is always the highest cost of doing business, and you're better off putting those dollars toward a service that you can trust and have more control over how you deal with a consumer seeking services. Thumbtack has now become a money pit waste of marketing if you ask me.

I can't believe there's another price increase. This makes it three within the last six months. It's ridiculous!

Thank you for being a professional on Thumbtack. We've seen tremendous growth in customer requests, and we're thrilled about the resulting business we've been able to bring you. To continue improving Thumbtack, we're changing how the number of credits required to quote is set for all customer requests.

Starting on May 4th, the number of credits to quote on all customer requests will be set for each individual request based on demand for similar jobs among pros. The updated cost to quote may initially differ from today's cost by a few credits and will be updated periodically, as demand changes. The credits required to quote will appear on the customer request, as always.

For jobs with low demand, we'll decrease credits to quote to encourage more pros to submit quotes. For example, requests for small jobs in areas with few pros. For jobs with high demand, we'll increase credits to quote to reduce competition to quote. For example, requests for big jobs in areas with many qualified pros.

Thumbtack succeeds only when professionals like you succeed. Changes we're excited to bring you soon include introducing quote templates so you can send quotes more quickly and easily, enabling automatic credit purchases for uninterrupted quoting, and improving how your quotes are shown to customers to showcase your offer.

Thank you for being a loyal Thumbtack pro. We value your business and feedback. To learn more about these changes, read the FAQs below or visit our Help Center.

The Thumbtack Team

I recently finished my very first manuscript and was at a loss on where to start with finding an affordable editor. That's when I stumbled upon Thumbtack.com. After doing some research, I decided to hire Christine Stewart, who calls herself "The Real Writer" and is based out of Baltimore, Maryland. She had three five-star reviews, which made me feel confident in her abilities. I paid her $800 for developmental editing of my full manuscript, which included subjective editing for consistency, flow, and structural improvement, as well as grammatical corrections, spelling, and punctuation.

However, my experience with Christine was far from satisfactory. When I received the clean copy of my manuscript, it was riddled with typos and formatting errors. She didn't even finish making all of the changes throughout the document, telling me to make the corrections "for practice." Her unprofessional attitude and lack of interest in my work was apparent, and she didn't seem to care about providing quality editing services.

When I gave her a negative review, she responded with personal attacks and edited my email to make it seem like I said things I didn't. Thumbtack.com even contacted me about my review, but when I didn't respond quickly enough, they removed it. Despite my attempts to explain the situation to Thumbtack.com, they haven't responded, and Christine's lies about me are still on her page.

If you're a new writer looking for professional editing services, I strongly advise against trusting Christine Stewart or Thumbtack.com. They don't care about providing honest and professional services and are only interested in making money. Don't waste your hard-earned money on their scams.