If you need to do some type of project, just about anything really, then I’d have to recommend that you check out Thumbtack if you haven’t already. Of Course, doing your research is wise before you hire someone to do some work for you, but don’t leave all that research to just google.
What I like about Thumbtack
I’ve recently had to do a few projects around the house now that I’m a homeowner. I used to just call up my landlord and let them know something was wrong and it would be fixed (usually), but now I’ve got to do it myself. I definitely try to DIY if I can, but sometimes projects are too difficult or too big for me to do alone.
So how do you find the right person for the job? You can search google for the work you want done and then pick and choose a company or someone after reading their reviews and deciding on them. Or maybe you got a recommendation from a friend or neighbor. That’s great, but sometimes it isn’t the easiest experience. What if you could just go online and tell a website exactly what you wanted done and then they would go out and find someone that is ready to do the work for you?
That’s basically what Thumbtack does. You go to the site, you put in some info about the project you want done, and then you wait and hear back from some pros that are willing to do the work. I have to say, I have loved the model from the first time I used it to try and find a good person to trim my trees. I actually had a few different people from Thumbtack come out and give me quotes. I also had a few come out that I found myself using google search. Finally, if it wasn’t enough, I had a couple come out that were recommended by friends or coworkers.
I ended up liking the first person that came to give me an estimate who I found through Thumbtack. I sent out the project request and he replied to me with an hour or so. He was ready to do the work. That’s another thing that I really liked, it was that these contractors were ready to work. The ones that had time to do the job were the ones that were contacting me. Of course, when you ask for the work to be done you can put in your request that you need it done asap or that you are in no hurry. I let them know I wanted it done asap and I heard back quickly.
Not all Thumbtack contractors are great
Although I did get a great candidate for my tree trimming I also got a group of very unprofessional people you could say, to keep this article “professional”, so you can’t just assume anyone on Thumbtack is going to work out. The good news is though that this group did have some reviews and I noticed that some of the reviews were not so great. I gave them a shot anyway with a free estimate, and it didn’t go very well for them.
That being said, I have asked for other projects to be done and had wonderful people reply. I asked for water heater replacement estimates, and most recently a job for wildlife removal. I did end up doing the water heater repair myself, but I did get an idea on price with a free estimate. It just made more sense to do that one myself. However, these crazy squirrels that I here running around in the chimney walls is going to need someone that knows what they’re doing.
Thumbtack has reviews of the people that will work for you
The great part is that you can request the service, and then once the person contacts you letting you know they are available you can then read their reviews that they have on Thumbtack. You can also research somewhere else like on Angie’s List, or within google maps to see if there reviews matchup. This is basically another way to research them thoroughly.
A key thing to do when searching for a worker within Thumbtack
One thing I noticed when I was playing around with Thumbtack was that you don’t always get the same people that want to work for you on the job you are asking about. I put in a request for tree trimming three different times and I got two to three contractors contact me each time, and each time it was someone different.
Of Course, I’m getting contractors that are available to do the work at the time, but also it’s because that person was first to get back to me during that specific request. When I’m getting different contractors each time it meant that the ones that were willing to work were the ones that are contacting me. I investigated further into this and asked one of the contractors how Thumbtack was working for them, and they said pretty good with leads, but a lot of them don’t pan out. He also told me that they had to pay for the lead, so that means for them to reply to your request they had to pay for it.
$1 Million property protection
Another thing that Thumbtack offers is property protection if you hire someone using their site. I would recommend that you make sure whoever you hire is licensed and insured, but it’s nice to know that Thumbtack also stands behind their pros.
In Thumbtacks own words this is how it works below
How it works
Start by hiring your pro on Thumbtack. To be protected by the Thumbtack Guarantee, the pro you hire must be marked as “hired” on the website or in the app before they start their work and within 30 days of when you submitted your project request.
What it covers
The Guarantee covers up to $1 million for property damage directly and primarily caused by the negligence of a professional hired on Thumbtack.
The damage must be a result of services rendered based on your original request. Add-on projects or future projects not requested through Thumbtack, even if completed by a Thumbtack pro, aren’t covered. Projects must be completed within six months of your Thumbtack request.
Pretty good stuff. I really enjoy the whole process. The next time you have a project to do you should definitely give Thumbtack a try.