Bark is one of the many companies that look to connect people selling a service, with buyers looking for that service.
Whilst that can be good from a buyer point of view (to be honest the buyer could just search on any browser and still get as much if not more info), from the seller point of view it isn't always worth it.
When I first started as a Personal Trainer I tried Bark as a seller, and quickly realised that it wasn't going to work for me. So, as someone that used to be involved with software testing and looking to make things work better, I contacted them and suggested some easy tweaks they could make. I contacted them several times and each time was just told "thanks, we'll look into it". Nothing changed
Here are some examples of how it isn't smething that works for me.
1. PRO status.Anyone can beocme a PRO on Bark, it's not down to how many great reviews you get or anything that could be useful - it's down to how much you are willing to pay them in order to be called a PRO. But for that extra money you will get 'preferred status' and a special badge.
2. When a buyer says they are looking for a Personal Trainer in an area, they have to answer some questions to supposedly narrow down the search a bit. That is where it really starts to fail.
A few months ago they decided to list who was the best company in any area according to reviews.
I am the number one PT for Northallerton area.
So I now have a special badge for my business (the pretty picture for this blog).- even though I am not using the service because I won't pay for a lead that may not be real, isn't looking for a male PT, is going to cost me money to contact and then they may never get in touch with me.
Oh, and has been told a cost that could be less than I charge.
So if you found me on Bark, please contact me direct from this website :)
UPDATE. There is a follow up blog on the subject of "Why I don't use Bark"
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