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Thumbtack generates numerous accounts to send false leads (potential customers) to the "pros." With each generated account, they send one "lead" to five pros. Each pro is charged $30 or more for each "lead," which I have experienced and observed, multiple times, every day I was a member of the platform. Shameful, deceptive and unethical practices. Customer service is poor, nearly non-existent. And, don't expect any refunds...you won't get any.
Date of experience: July 14, 2023
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Thumbtack has a rating of 1.6 stars from 1,566 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Thumbtack most frequently mention customer service, credit card, and phone number problems. Thumbtack ranks 99th among Local Reviews sites.
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Cut the grass, pulled weeds, finished with mulch all in 30 min! Did a fantastic job! Thank you Roberto Lopez from Lopez Landscaping and tree Services. *******226
Don't bother working with them! They are useless and using bots and not qualified leads that request a job and want to pay 50 bucks while some projects are minimum $500-750. No customer service total bs and you will lose loads of money on "leads" as they call them but it's just fake accounts that show some sort of activity.
Be careful with Thumbtack. They don't verify license status. I hired a plumber on their site and found out he was unlicensed which caused me a lot of hassle with trying to get a permit for my project. It was a hard lesson learned, but it looks like any old Joe can get on Thumbtack and start advertising services.
Date of experience: May 17, 2017
The prices have jumped twice in about the last 2 years, and now there is not even a set price for specific leads!
The wait time for phone support has also increased. It used to be under a minute. Now it can be 5-10 minutes.
My worst complain about Thumbtack.com in the 7 yrs I have used their service is that they charge the customer NOTHING! All the expense, and risk, is borne by the vendor. Why? Just charge the customer a small amount ($2-$5). You don't respect something you don't pay for.
Date of experience: July 5, 2018
Those who claim they "hire" you are given only a very short time to review and many of those I dealt with (tax preparation issues) come in for a free consultation and never really hire you at all. No money is paid to the pro! Especially when I tell them that there is nothing they can do about their IRS tax problem except make arrangements to pay it. I then get a bad review. For not charging them and for telling them the truth. Review process is one sided and if people don't pay you when truly hiring you there is no way to let the community know they did not pay you. I would not waste my money with this company!
Date of experience: October 19, 2016
I tried this service for 6-months as a pro and I routinely got bogus leads that went nowhere!
The leads were expensive and often the customers don't respond at all when you respond with a yes I'm available.
It's one thing to bid on a job and not get it, it's another to get zero response from a customer after an inquiry of your business.
Customer support was very non helpful and refuses to even credit your account for bogus customer leads! Very disappointing experience!
Date of experience: March 1, 2019
As a business owner who was using thumbtack beware. They have doubled their prices for the contractors. We pay a lead fee when a customer is interested in our services. If you customers are not getting people contacting you I would do what you can to find that contractor through google Facebook whatever means necessary. I can not afford the prices they charge so unfortunately customers are missing out. It's sad but those are the facts and they do not want to do anything about it. So to the customers please try to find people you are interested in through Facebook the web instagram however you can find them!
Date of experience: June 11, 2020
From good to worst lead generators.
Thumbtack struggled to advertise on CNN and other known TV Station. In other to be able to compete with other lead company, they have to change their lead pricing and makes it so bad that, a project such as " I need a TV installation" will be sent to at least 15 Pros. Is TV installation a rocket science?
The fact and truth is that, they needed to compete and grow their business via adverts but at the detriment of their Pros.
Yet, with their bad and greedy services, they are still looking for more Pros and wanted Pros to refer another pro to get free credit. A reasonable Pro should not in any way refer Pros to thumbtack. It is a business killer.
Just less than 2 years with thumbtack we have spent most of our profit from other businesses on their shady baits.
Very Inconsistent and hidden pricing.
Please Pro. Do Not Waste your Money! Do not refer pro.
Money Hunger!
Date of experience: August 26, 2018
I'm also a Pro on Thumbtack been with them going on six years. When I first started pricing was reasonable. They would sell you a pack of credits and show how many you need to send a estimate. Credits 1.67 each. Then they went on and change from credits to dollars they would even show you how many you need. Estimate 12 credits = 20.04. They don't do that any more. When they change to what their doing know, I called to get a ball park pricing. The person I spoke with could not give me a figure. He said it all depends on the job size. Makes no since. And still no figure. I sent a estimate that use to be 20.04 I just checked my payment 75.00 dollars. That is F**K UP Talk about Price Gouging Thumbtack is getting away with it.
Date of experience: July 7, 2018
We found Continental Custom Iron on Thumbtack. The guys came up with the perfect design for a railing along the walkway as well as a railing for our swimming pool based on our somewhat sketchy ideas. They were quick, efficient and right on time. Their estimate was extremely reasonable and we could not be happier. I would use them again for any future needs.
Date of experience: December 4, 2016
This company has no idea what its doing and if you have a problem, forget it. The answer is NO.
They allow Thumbtack members to leave "anonymous" reviews about your company. Which seems fine at first glance, until you realize that if the review has been made in error or is just completely unfounded or false there is no way for you to verify the if it was even someone you did work for. When you request additional information to prove the validity of the review or the claims being made by the reviewer, forget it, they won't even tell you if the reviewer marked you as hired.
My company has purchased over 100 leads from Thumbtack and we still don't have a single job from them. When you compare that to the amount of business we get from Angie's List, Yelp or Google. There is no reason to do business with Thumbtack.
Don't try and get your money back. Once you buy those credits that money is gone and they wont let it go for anything.
Date of experience: July 5, 2017
I wish I could give this company zero stars because they don't even deserve one. My experience with them has been nothing short of a nightmare. This company is the epitome of deceit and dishonesty.
This company is an absolute scam. They stole my hard-earned money, sent me fake leads, and then had the audacity to refuse to give me a refund. It's beyond frustrating dealing with a company that has no integrity or ethics. Avoid at all costs!
Date of experience: September 7, 2023
I paid nearly $100 and have sent out over 10 quotes and missed out on countless more by seconds. Thumbtack has a lot of potential but all you have to be good at is quick to respond to a request. People that are hiring are not always getting quality, they're getting the 5 quickest quotes. Very frustrating when you have to join the race and are limited to how much you write in your template. Also, people that are looking to hire are getting the cheapest labor or skilled person out there so if you're a professional this drives your product or service down just to compete with the other quick respondent. Don't understand why a lot of the requests ask for so many credits and others with the same type of job are at a third or quarter of the credits. If they had a deal that keeps you around until your first hire then that would have more incentive to stay with thumbtack but this system isn't in the providers favor.
Date of experience: April 28, 2017
Worst Marketing site you can use they'll take your money say they'll give it back if the connection between you and the customer doesn't work out but then if you try to refund something that's accurate they'll find a excuse to not give you the refund.It's there way of robbing you blind.Don't waste your time or Money seriously!
Date of experience: August 15, 2023
If you look at the leads in thumbtack you can see how many pros have responded to lead and how many pros have been reached by customer. Either way thumbtack collecting money from all those contacts om same lead multiple times i have even seen leads with 7 to 8 contacts.
The only person making money here is thumbtack and customers getting free information.
This company is a scam and dose not do business the honest way or fair way.
There is no limited number of leads to reach out by a customer. There is no restrictions. Bark is same too
Tip for consumers:
it is a scam
Products used:
advertising
Date of experience: February 3, 2022
I found the best cleaner I have ever had. Sherri Sherman was mature, reliable and very thorough. She worked overtime to help me get my project completed in time. My windows never looked so good... they looked brand new. She needed very little supervision and was reasonably priced. I highly recommend her.
Date of experience: June 22, 2014
Do not use this to expand your business if you are a small business owner.
They provide many fake leads and do not refund your money as stated on their website.
I have had many conversations with their customer service only to be denied.
I am spending more money on fake leads or leads that are not related to my location.
Be Wary! Do not use and make the same mistake I did.
Tip for consumers:
Do not use to expand your small business.
Products used:
Fake leads or leads that do not apply to you
Date of experience: February 16, 2023
They claim to do background check on the contractors that use their site however I hired someone from their platform to later learn that he was a felon and he attempted to assault me, after he conned me out of thousands of dollars. I ended up having to call the police. When I notified thumbtack they did not suspend his license. Now Juan Guarderas is using a fake name on their profile of Luis. They have 0 credibility.
Date of experience: May 2, 2020
I have been using Thumbtack to get leads and jobs for a couple of years now. Since I started I have seen a continuous change to their plans and how we are charged. For what I do the price has gone from around $5 to over $20. As well they have increased the number of pros who get to quote which continues to dilute the opportunities. This is beginning to be cashflow negative for me and I see it happening to many others. It is too bad they have gotten greedy. It was a good thing and now it is not. As well, using their system is slow and cumbersome. If a quote expires you cant delete it and your inbox becomes loaded with crap.
Others have been complaining and it seems only to be getting worse. Looks like they are trying to inflate profits to get it more attractive for a sale.
I would recommend to stay away and find other means to advertise and find clients.
Certainly not what it used to be... too bad!
Date of experience: August 1, 2018
10 Quotes with follow up emails; Zero responses! In the real world questions would be answered or asked by legitimate customers. It seems that a lot of customers are contrived or recycled from other markets.
They advise that it might take 10 quotes to get a job... I think it's more.
Not a good way to get business!
Date of experience: July 11, 2017
Jennifer at Lucky Dog Pet Sitting/Walking service is excellent. She not only takes care of the dogs but she falls in love with them. Her attention to detail due to my dog's health concerns was outstanding. I believe the dogs hated to see us return.
Date of experience: October 5, 2014
Forget about trying to get in touch with a real person. Everything is automated. What ever you try to do no way to get in touch. Also I have been getting charged twice again for a customer that created a lead a week before which was a BS call and than charge me again for making another which should already show out of how ever many contractors they contact they don't want to go ahead with them and we get charged again.
Tip for consumers:
If you don't mind spending alot of money for leads that no one picks up or are looking for dirt cheap prices feel free to sign up.
Date of experience: August 19, 2022
Thank you for sharing feedback with us. You can reach our support team by texting 415-299-6398 Monday through Friday 6am to 6pm MST. You can also email us at support@thumbtack.com, or send us a DM via social media. For refund requests, we ask that all pros follow this process: https://help.thumbtack.com/article/how-to-request-a-refund, you should be refunded for any duplicate leads.
Stay clear of this company as a Pro trying ro generate leads. Everytime sometimes clicks and contacts you, you get charged for that lead. 90 % of the leads either never contact you back and are dead ends. I believe this company is using phony bots as leads that you'll never hear back from or the site is full of scammers trying to get your personal information. When you request a refund thru the website not and actually person you're contacted back that you're request is denied because it doesn't follow the guidelines for a refund. Stay away and save yourself a lot of aggravation and money
Date of experience: September 5, 2022
Hi Joe, we're sorry to hear this feedback and that this has been your experience. We work hard to ensure the leads on Thumbtack are legitimate, and take immediate action on any spam or scam leads that our processes and teams find. If you do come across suspicious leads or have a concerning conversation with another user, we want to know here: https://help.thumbtack.com/report-a-concern. As for refunds, we approve or deny the requests based on our Refund Policy: https://help.thumbtack.com/article/refund-policy. If you have questions about refunds, or if there's anything we can do to turn your experience around, please reach out to us directly.
Hired plumber Mike Fisher through Thumbtack. He was nice and personable, but obviously green. More obvious when the leaks started. Now he dodges my calls and makes excuses why he didn't show up to fix the problem. Thanks a lot Thumbtack!
Date of experience: June 29, 2017
Hired P & P Painting (Victor Pina) to do painting of exterior trim on my home. He did such a good job, I hired him to paint a commercial steel building. Wow, what an awesome job - both projects. Would hire him again, should another project come up. I did not have him do any interior painting but he does that as well. Great job and very reasonable price for the project.
Date of experience: October 18, 2016
George was very professional and upfront. They came on time & were courteous. I was told I would still have Bee's for 3-7 days it actually took 8 but they are gone! I highly recommend this company. They are the ones I'll call in the future for any exterminator issues if needed. Thank you George!
Date of experience: July 2, 2016
These guys are another homeowner contractor search site. They have a different approach though. You tell them what you want and they will find the contractor for you. I'm a little uneasy about this approach as I would rather pick out the contractor I want before inviting them over to my house. Part of me wonders if they take this approach to mask their lack of content. I'm really not sure. I do like the nice clean layout of the site and they look professional. For me, it's not really how I operate though.
Date of experience: March 28, 2015
Thumbtack is a technology leader building the modern home management platform. Through the Thumbtack app, people can effortlessly care for their homes — confidently knowing what to do, when to do it, and who to hire. Bringing the $500 billion home services industry online, Thumbtack empowers millions of people to fix, maintain, and improve their most valuable asset. The company’s investors include Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, Javelin Venture Partners, Baillie Gifford, and Capital G, among others.
Thank you for taking the time to share this feedback, we're always working on improving. We believe it's important that customers have the opportunity to contact a few different pros, to find the one best suited for their project. While we understand that means not all leads will always result in a hire, we have resources available to help pros build a successful profile and gain a competitive edge, to win more jobs. You're always welcome to reach out to our team if you're interested in updating your profile or need success tips for the platform.