Overview
Bark has a rating of 3 stars from 1,642 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with Bark most frequently mention great job, quick response and next day. Bark ranks 1st among Service Marketplace sites.
Most leads are complete time wasters and most of those replying to potential clients, are agencies just after another quick and cheap monthly to tie into a contract. There are much better options out there. I got the starter pack and they renewed it after I had nothing from the first lot of credits. I got nothing from the second lot either. If you try to make contact with someone and they never reply to an email or pick the phone up, you are still charged. Don't waste your time.
I found it quite difficult at first to interpret the difference between someone who is interested in using your services, someone who has looked at your profile, and just organic leads.
I do think the process could be improved because there are a lot of time wasters. It has taken much of my time and money to get to the 'real' leads.
That said, I have found the customer service to be excellent, and have, on a few occasions received credit returns when I have raised concerns.
I have invested approximately £900 so far and from that have 5 regular customers.
If there was a better way of weeding out the time wasters, this platform could go form good to excellent.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We're glad to hear that you've had success with some regular customers and that our customer service has been helpful in resolving concerns.
We understand your frustration with time wasters and the challenges of distinguishing between serious leads and those that may not convert. We’re always looking for ways to improve the lead generation process, and your comments are valuable in helping us refine the system.
We do have a Credit Return Policy in place to address concerns like this, so if you ever feel that a lead is not a good match, don't hesitate to reach out to team@bark.com. We are continuously working on ways to improve the platform and reduce these frustrations.
Thank you again for your thoughtful comments, and we look forward to continuing to support you in your journey with Bark.
The Bark Team
I have already responded to 45 leads since December 2024, and I have not had one hire as of yet. I tried different approaches to respond and can't seem to get a contract. When I call customer service representatives are helpful but now, I am wondering does anyone get hired via Bark? If it is free for clients to post, then they are not very serious about their requests. Anything free people are not vested in it. There should be some charge for people to be serious when they are posting their requests. It is somewhat unfair to have service providers pay but not the business owners requesting services.
Hi Immaculate,
Thank you for sharing your experience. We understand your concerns, and we know how challenging it can be when leads don’t convert into contracts. While Bark does not charge clients for posting requests, we strive to provide quality leads. We also offer a credit return policy for situations where leads don't meet expectations. You can review it here (https://help.bark.com/hc/en-gb/articles/13256562638108-Credit-Return-Policy).
If you’re finding that your responses aren’t yielding results, we’d be happy to assist with refining your approach or help with any other concerns. Feel free to reach out to us at team@bark.com.
Best,
The Bark Team
Very helpful for both customers and Pros, although it has a huge potential to be amazingly good by interacting with customers to zoom on their demands before job is published to direct them to the correct pros, as many people don't know what to look for
Hi there,
Thank you for your feedback! We're glad to hear you find Bark helpful on mobile. We appreciate your suggestion about refining customer interactions before job postings—this is valuable insight as we continue improving the platform. Your input helps us enhance the experience for both customers and professionals.
If you have any further suggestions, feel free to share. We’d love to hear more!
Best,
The Bark Team
The cost to engage is significant for the disappointing ROI. Despite monitoring all leads to actively pursue each suitable opportunity within 3-10 minutes on most. Then leaving courteous voicemails, sending emails including demo videos and other evidence to verify decades of my expertise, I received ZERO responses in all efforts. Even my attempts to follow up with a thoughtful reminder of my interest ended with no response whatsoever.
Bark is simply not worth the money required for investment.
Hi there,
Thank you for sharing your experience, and I understand your frustration. It’s disappointing to put in so much effort without receiving a response, and we recognize the value of your time. We aim to connect professionals with genuine leads, but sometimes results can vary based on several factors.
Regarding the unresponsive leads, you can report them through our credit return process, especially if they haven’t engaged with you. Please check our Credit Return Policy here: (https://help.bark.com/hc/en-gb/articles/13256562638108-Credit-Return-Policy).
If you’d like to discuss specific leads or need assistance, please feel free to reach out to us at team@bark.com. We’re here to help.
Best regards,
The Bark Team
I have responded to dozens of customers looking to hire a PI. Not once has anyone even contacted me to inquire about my services. I find it hard to believe that in all of those responses...not one would contact me back!
Hi There,
Thank you for your feedback. We understand your frustration and apologize for the experience you're having. While it can be disappointing when leads do not respond, it's important to note that many factors can influence lead engagement. However, we’re always working on improving the quality and responsiveness of leads.
If you'd like further assistance or if there’s anything we can do to help, feel free to reach out to our team directly at team@bark.com.
Best regards,
The Bark Team
Bark.com is very quick in their response to any issue I've had over the years. My only issue (other than some posts being overpriced) is that too many people who post on Bark.com don't realize the it costs money to purchase their lead. I've mentioned it to posters on a few occasions and they're shocked to hear that.
Hi Mike,
Thank you for sharing your feedback! We’re glad to hear that you’ve had positive experiences with our support team. We understand your concern about lead costs, and we’re always looking for ways to improve communication about this. If you ever need further clarification on any charges or policies, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at team@bark.com.
Best,
The Bark Team
Bark offers a wide number of people a huge variety of suppliers. Sadly it does not inform potential customers that the suppliers who answer them pay a lot to actually do just that. So there's a hell of a lot of phishing. Bark has also put their prices up considerably over the last few years for suppliers. Resulting in a situation that as a supplier, if you're getting one in five gigs ( which is a brilliant response rate by the way) you can easily end up paying 70 to 90 quid to get a single gig
Hi Alex,
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We understand your concerns about the increasing costs and the challenges of dealing with low response rates from leads. We are always working to improve the platform and its processes to ensure a more transparent and valuable experience for both suppliers and customers. If you'd like to discuss your specific situation further or have any suggestions, feel free to reach out.
Best regards,
The Bark Team
I've been using Bark.com for several years now. They do a decent job advertising and referring people to professionals who can help. They recently changed their policy regarding credits that must be purchased to follow leads. Their credits now expire after a year from purchase. I use the credits as my schedule allows. Being on a time frame isn't helpful. I may have to purchase much less of their credits going forward to avoid having them expire on me. They aren't inexpensive.
Hi Stephen,
Thank you for your feedback and for being a long-time user of Bark! We appreciate your insights regarding the recent policy change with credits. We understand how the expiration of credits can be challenging, especially when your schedule doesn’t always align. We’ll take your comments into consideration, and if you ever have questions or need assistance with credits, feel free to reach out.
Wishing you continued success!
The Bark Team
Quick response to my enquiry.
Also suggestions for the future.
Communications emails very good and professional
Highly recommend using them if your looking for things to better your life if thats a plaster to martial arts etc.
Hi Sheena,
Thank you for your kind words! We're so glad to hear that you found our responses quick and our communication professional. It’s great to know you’d recommend Bark for finding new activities and opportunities.
Wishing you all the best in your search!
The Bark Team
You need to vet potential customers in a better way. I used 7 credits to phone a job, first in within 5 minutes, left a lovely voicemail. It was a Saturday afternoon at 4 40. Nothing back. Rang again on Monday, nothing. I contacted BARK to let them know I spent £11 of my hard earned money for nothing, not even a chance to give a quote. The chap said that's just the way it is.
Hi Andy,
Thank you for your feedback, and I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I completely understand your frustration with the unresponsiveness of the lead. While we strive to ensure quality leads, we also recognize that not every interaction will result in a quote opportunity.
To help address this, we do have a credit return policy in place for cases like this, and I encourage you to reach out to us directly at team@bark.com to look into this further.
Best regards,
The Bark Team
I'm so happy with the outcome of the return credits. I am, however, a little frustrated with a few clients people weren't reaching out back to me. I've been doing nothing different since I joined Bark in September. I contact everyone the same way. Send emails text message. Phoning following up with phone calls getting voicemails that only say you've reached and the phone number. I spent a lot of money in the last few months with only one job. Oh well it might just be this time of year this too shall pass thank you, Bark.
Hi Team,
Thank you for sharing your feedback! We completely understand your frustration with some unresponsive clients, especially when you've put in the effort to reach out in multiple ways. Our recommendation is to contact leads as quickly as possible to help counter leads not responding, and we also recommend calling the customer as the first point of contact.
If you need any support or have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at team@bark.com. We’re here to help!
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
Didn't enjoy my Bark experience one bit.
Had to chase clients - which I don't like doing.
Clients were condescending, as if they were experimenting with the idea of astrology.
I have plenty of clients who want to book with me, I don't need this kind of behaviour.
Hi Karen,
We're sorry to hear that your experience with Bark didn't meet your expectations. Our platform is designed to connect professionals with potential clients, but we understand that not every interaction may be the right fit.
If you'd like, our team would be happy to offer tips on lead engagement or explore ways to improve your experience. Please feel free to reach out to us at team@bark.com, and we'd be happy to assist.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
Bark is a great idea but our expenience as a supplier has been poor.
The majority of leads we were sold were casual enquiries with no realistic prospect of paid engagement.
When credit was claimed for lack of response or incorrect details no action was taken
Very disppointing from a Suppliers perspective.
Hi Robert,
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We're sorry to hear that your experience on Bark.com didn't meet expectations.
First and foremost, we want you to know that we are committed to delivering high-quality leads to our professionals. We invest a lot of time and resources into attracting genuine customers to our website, and we have a dedicated team that works around the clock to ensure a robust lead generation process.
We use an automated system to screen all leads, and we have a credit return policy in place to cover any non-functional contact details. We believe in fairness and we want to make sure that everyone is happy with the service we provide.
We know that dealing with unresponsive customers can be frustrating, but we believe that responding quickly to requests can help you connect with them before they make a decision. Sometimes, customers may be talking to other professionals, which can lead to delayed responses.
We really want to help you get the most out of our platform and improve your conversion rates. If you are open to it, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at team@bark.com. We're here to help and we appreciate the opportunity to work with you to enhance your experience.
Warm regards
The Bark Team
Far too many leads have the wrong contact details on, so you spend a lot of time (and money) chasing useless leads. Bark do generally do a refund on request if the phone number is incorrect, but it is still a lot of wasted time. Additionally, many leads don't respond after you've contacted them, so again, wasted time and money
Hi Team,
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry to hear that you’ve experienced issues with lead quality.
We have measures in place to verify lead details, but if you receive any leads with incorrect contact information, please report them to team@bark.com, and we’ll review them in line with our Credit Return Policy. While we can’t guarantee every customer will respond, we recommend following up multiple times and using different contact methods, as customers may take time to make a decision.
We appreciate your insights and will pass your feedback along to our team as we continue to improve our platform. If there’s anything else we can do to assist you, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
The Bark team are always on call to help and rate the job credits a lot better than their competitors.
The site allows for notes and follow up call to be emailed to you so you don't forget.
I should have signed up months ago.
Hi there,
Thank you so much for your positive feedback! We're thrilled to hear that you're finding Bark easy to use and that our team and features are making your experience better. We're glad you decided to sign up and we look forward to supporting you as you continue to grow your business.
Best regards,
The Bark Team
When you purchase credits you are guaranteed a refund of credits if no bookings. I bought credits 3 separate times, no bookings from this site, its hit and miss.
Customer service choose to ignore emails and definitely have not received any credits back!
Also, lots of listenings still showing when they have already booked elsewhere so you waste your credits following a lead no longer looking to book.
Its a mess!
Hi Amanda,
Thank you for sharing your experience, and we're sorry to hear that things haven’t gone as expected. We understand how frustrating it can be when leads don’t convert into bookings, and we're truly sorry for the lack of response you’ve received from customer service. This is certainly not the experience we want for our professionals.
Our credit return policy does cover instances where contact details are invalid or there’s inaccurate information on the request. However, we do not offer returns for unresponsive leads if the contact information is valid. We understand how disappointing it can be when leads are no longer looking to book, and we're continuously working to improve the quality and accuracy of the leads provided.
If you're still facing issues, we would love to assist you further. Please feel free to reach out to us at review@bark.com with your account details, and we’ll do everything we can to help resolve your concerns and tailor your experience.
We look forward to hearing from you soon!
The Bark Team
I have had a very good experience with the standard or ordinary membership of Bark. I can highly recommend it's services to anyone.
However I had a very BAD experience with the Elite Pro category. All the free credits that I got the prospective customers will either have hired someone or they don't respond at all.
Some prospective customers will tell you they have hired someone yet I will be the only one who has purchased the lead. Prospective customers don't respond to the messages that I will have sent them or they don't answer their phones.
Hi Domzaa,
We’re glad to hear you’ve had a positive experience with our standard membership and appreciate your recommendation.
Regarding your concerns with Elite Pro, we understand it can be frustrating when customers don’t respond. The free responses included in your Elite Pro benefits apply to leads that have been out for 48 hours with no prior responses. While some customers may have already hired someone by the time you reach out, these older leads give you the opportunity to respond to a few more without using credits.
Please note that all leads are still covered by our Credit Return Policy if they contain invalid contact details or inaccurate information. If you come across any leads that meet this criteria, please reach out to team@bark.com so our team can review them.
Kind regards,
The Bark Team
BARK need to notify the clients, when completing the form on the web, that lawyers, have pay in order to contact them. This may range between £10 tp£30. Then the clients knew each calls are serious in nature.
Hi Ram,
We appreciate your feedback. While we strive to connect professionals with serious clients, we can't guarantee responses as engagement is ultimately up to the customer. We’re always working on ways to improve the experience for both professionals and customers. If you have any specific concerns, feel free to reach out to us at team@bark.com.
Best,
The Bark Team
The quality of inquiries is bottom level.
The cost to acquire the leads is expensive.
Bad leads result in low closing rates which means there is easily a loss on the system or at best a very small Return on Investment.
A few management changes to policy and pricing and refunding, and you guys would have a very valuable program. Right now you are getting only half the business right. Sadly it is not the monetizing half.
Hi Richard,
Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your perspective and understand your concerns regarding lead quality and pricing. While we strive to provide valuable opportunities, we recognize that not every lead will convert. Our credit return policy is in place for cases where leads don’t meet expectations—feel free to review it here: https://help.bark.com/hc/en-gb/articles/13256562638108-Credit-Return-Policy
Your suggestions are valuable, and we’re always looking for ways to improve. If you’d like to share more insights, please reach out to us at team@bark.com.
Best,
The Bark Team
We take the hassle out of finding the right professional for any job. Whether you’re looking for a cleaner in Nottingham, a web design in Boston or a personal trainer in Auckland - with over 2000 professional services in 8 countries, you’re bound to find the perfect professional for your project on Bark. Simply tell us what you need and will send you a list of professionals - for free!
Need new customers? We’ve helped thousands of businesses of all sizes keep find new clients. We’re passionate about helping businesses of all sizes find customers for life.
Life’s better with Bark.
Business History
January 2015 - Website launches to the public
February 2015 - Acquisition of Skillpages
May 2016 - 100,000th Bark
February 2017 - 100,000 professionals now registered
April 2017 - Launched in the US
December 2017 - Millionth Bark placed
September 2018 - Move into our state of the art HQ in Paddington, London after outgrowing 6 previous offices
January 2019 - Customer Success team moves to 7 day a week
February 2019 - Launch in Canada, Ireland and South Africa
March 2019 - Reach 500,000 professionals registered
July 2019 - New branding and fully upgraded website launched
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Hi Andy,
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re sorry to hear about your frustrations with the quality of leads and the challenges you’ve faced with unresponsive clients. We understand how this can be discouraging, especially when you’re investing time and money.
We strive to provide quality leads, but we know there are areas where we can improve. If you have any specific concerns about the leads you’ve received, please reach out to us at review@bark.com. We’d be happy to look into your case and explore ways we can assist you.
Best regards,
The Bark Team