
results: 10
topic id 25265: Pricing
topic id 22503: Leads
topic id 26197: Paying twice for the same lead
topic id 22064: Questionable leads
topic id 14288: Declined "Leads" charged
topic id 18721: Old format
topic id 18206: New Model?
Moderator Kameron

Re: Spending a ton and no jobs

@cgema I assure you Meckell meant no offense and is only trying to help find some ways to increase customer responsiveness. The response time is an average of responses in 30 days, so unlikely that one customers overnight message would have such an effect. Have you possibly taken longer when you choose to decline a lead or contact? This has an effect on your response time as well.

0 Kudos
Level 6

Re: Spending a ton and no jobs

No. I really do respond immediately if it comes to my inbox. The only time o don’t is if I’m sleeping.
At this point I need helpful advice and I’m getting tired of paying for leads and they ghost me. It’s simply not fair and not making me want to continue to use this service.
The lead I was just charged $12 for contacted about a dozen other pros.
Level 11

Re: Spending a ton and no jobs


Could be that Thumbtack incorporated this 7 hour delay into your response time. We had a discussion a week ago about putting a time frame on Pros responses. In this instance, it isn't fair to you because you were sleeping. As I mentioned in one of those threads, we can't be on our phones and computers 24/7, but maybe with your example and proof, they may seriously think of implementing a time frame

0 Kudos
Level 6

Re: Spending a ton and no jobs

I dunno. That was one job out of a dozen. I can respond in one minute and they ghost me. 

Level 6

Re: Spending a ton and no jobs

I say again - The client has no skin in the game. If TT was a paid subscription for them they would be more willing to respond. As it stands, we the contractors, are the customers....

Re: 4 secrets for happy customers.

Just a few months ago the price for quotes was under a couple bucks and now a quote cost over $67.00 for ONE QUOTE for a group under 125 guest for people who are just shopping for prices with no guarantee you will be contacted but you still get charged anyway.  I understand that you want to make money and everybody does but your prices are going over the roof.  Like myself, I buy the best of everything to make my customer's experence the best it can be and it cost me more out of pocket but it's working and I get great reviews.  But your prices are cutting in my yearend profit and maybe someone elses too.  I think there a lot of requests that I am not getting but just a few to maybe keep me happy??  venting!!

Level 10

Re: 4 secrets for happy customers.

TT needs to put a reasonable cap on lead price for all categories to prevent the system from charging runaway lead prices. I get that some leads have more value than others, but the highest price I pay for non exclusive leads on any of the other services I use is $28. 

The price that @sugar2sweet4me quoted at $67 is absurd given the model we are now working under. I dont know what is right for that category, but its not $67

Level 6

Re: 4 secrets for happy customers.

YUP I just got charge a ton more then normal for a "lead" that said the job was for headshots for 20-50 people.    Of course they ghosted.    Cause everyone ghosts and I just keep paying and not getting any legit help from Thumbtack on what I can do.

0 Kudos
Level 9

Re: 4 secrets for happy customers.

Had an encounter with a HVAC contractor today (recommended by a friend) who was doing a basic service of the AC at one of my properties.

Nice guy, he arrived bang on time, did what he needed to do and promptly emailed me the service report. It cost me $69 for a basic service.

When he was finished out of curiosity I asked him if he used Thumbtack. He said that he did at one time but he stopped using it because TT was charging him $20 per lead for a $69 service. Most of the leads he was getting weren't replying to him and he didn't think it worthwhile. I mean even if he turned every lead into a customer it is still way too much.

Given that Thumbtack leads are unvetted and most of them never respond I think Thumbtack leads are over priced for what they are.

With me I estimate that I'm turning 1 in 10 leads into customers because the lead quality is so poor. It doesn't make sense to me to pay more that 10% of revenue to get a real customer.

A typical lead for me is potentially $250, that's the 'estimate price' that the lead will see in Search. I don't want to pay any more than $25 to turn leads into one customer. If it's taking me 10 leads to get one customer then I don't want to pay anymore that $2.50 per lead. At the moment I'm paying $9 a lead and the only way I'm able to make Thumbtack work is by actively persuing refunds when Thumbtack charges me for leads who don't actually match my preferences or who cannot afford to hire me. Why should I pay for a lead who can't afford to hire me in the first place.

If I were Mr AC guy and I was turning 1 in 10 leads into customers then I wouldn't want to pay any more that $0.70 per lead. They're not worth any more than that. I'd end up paying 10 x $0.70 = $7 to get $69 worth of business which means I'm paying Thumbtack 10% of revenue which seems pretty fair to me. 

If you're paying more than 1% of the 'estimate price' or 'quote price' for your leads and most of your leads never reply and don't become customers then you are probably paying Thumbtack too much for your leads.

Charging 1% of 'estimate price' or 'quote price' per lead is equitable given the unvetted and poor quality nature of the leads Thumbtack generates. It's simple, straightforward and Pros will know precisely where they stand and how Thumbtack calculates its 'cost per lead'.

At the moment too many Pros feel like Thumbtack is ripping them off. Don't take my word for it, read this forum and you'll see lots of examples from Pros expressing that point of view. Lots of Pros have complained that the 'cost per lead' is too high because they aren't able to turn enough of their leads into customers - the main reason for that being that most leads never reply.

If your customers (and we as Pros are Thumbtack customers) feel like they're being ripped off then your company is failing in a very big way.