Toloka support: what it covers and can help with. Part 1

There are more than 25 people on the Toloka support team, and they're there to respond to user requests and help everyone out every day, with no breaks or days off. Unfortunately, not everything depends on them. A query might need to be passed on to the developers or one of our payment system partners, only the Toloker didn't send all the information the team needs. Another example is questions only the task owner can answer.

We put together a guide that goes through the main questions Tolokers have for support, including what you should keep in mind when you ask them. In the first part, we'll talk about how and when to contact support after you've been blocked, you found a problem with the platform, or you're having trouble with a task.

You were blocked

When support can help

There are different levels of bans in Toloka, and we wrote about them in detail in this article. The support service can help in two cases.

If you're temporarily blocked, you'll get instructions for what to do next and a link to contact support. Follow the link, fill out the form, and attach a selfie with your documents. You'll have to contact support yourself if you're completely blocked, however. Ask them to reconsider the ban if you think there aren't good grounds for it. Once our staff has reviewed your request, they'll come back with questions or a solution.

What to bear in mind

When you're sending documents, make sure the scans or pictures are good quality. The support team's most frequent reason for rejecting requests to restore profiles is blurry selfies. If your name, the document number, and other important information can only be read by squinting and going over everything a few times, the quality isn't good enough. Take clear pictures the first time so you don't have resend them over and over again.

When support can't help

If you received a project ban or were personally blocked by a task owner, there's no point contacting support. We won't be able to tell you which project you were blocked for or why. Those decisions are made by an automatic quality control system or the requester, and the support staff doesn't have any say.

Something's not working for you: there's a site bug, the platform isn't loading, or you can't get tasks to open

When support can help

If you're having issues with the site or app, the support team will help figure out what's going on. The problem might be solved by clearing your cache or switching to a different browser, though some info may need to be submitted to Toloka's tech support so they can fix it.

What to bear in mind, or common Toloker mistakes

If you're reporting an error from the app, the technical information we need is attached automatically. We'll need examples and technical diagnostics if you're writing about a site problem, on the other hand. Before we can figure out what's going on, we'll need more than "I haven't been able to get the site to open for a while".

Attach screenshots so the support team can help as quickly as possible. When you're ready to take them, switch to incognito mode in your browser, open the Toloka website, and log in to your account.

You'll need three screenshots:

1. The browser's error console. To open it, press Ctrl + Shift + J for any Windows browser or ⌥ + ⌘ + C for macOS. The console tab will be active in the panel that opens. Take your first screenshot.

2. The network tab in the error console. Before you close the console panel, select the network tab. It may be hiding behind the » button, which is what happens when there isn't enough room for it. Refresh the page and take your second screenshot.

3. Your cookie settings. You can read our Help to see how cookies are saved in different browsers. Find the page in the browser you use to access the Toloka website and take your third screenshot.

Here's what you should also include in your message:

• Your browser name and version.
• Your operating system and version.
• Whether you're using a VPN or ad blockers.
• A detailed description of the error and screenshots or screencasts from the site. If you don't attach screenshots and your technical specifications in the first message you send, the support service will ask you to reply with them. Send everything at once so you don't make the process longer than it has to be.

When support can't help

If the problem you're encountering is about a specific task or project rather than how the platform works, the support team won't be able to do anything about it. Keep reading to find out what you should do in that case.

You're having a problem with a specific task or have a question for a requester

When support can help

If you've already reached out to the task owner and didn't get a response, we'll contact them on our side. Hopefully, that will be enough to get you an answer. If we're receiving a lot of complaints, we'll draw the requester's attention to problems with their task. They may not respond to us right away either, unfortunately, but we'll do everything we can to reach them.

In the meantime, you can file a complaint with support about the task. The content might offend you for some reason, for instance, or the task might be impossible to complete. We went into detail on how to report issues about tasks in this article. In short, go to the task and select Feedback → Problems with the task. The support team will receive the message that form generates. If we get enough of them, we'll warn other Tolokers about potential issues.

What to bear in mind, or common mistakes

Always go to the task owner first when you have questions about specific tasks. That's still true even if you contacted them earlier about a different task and never received a reply. If you skip that step, the support team won't be able to do anything about your query.

Another important thing to remember is that you need to wait at least three days after contacting the author to reach out to support. Whenever you contact Toloka, attach a screenshot of the message you sent to the task owner as well as confirmation that you've waited those three days.

When support can't help

If the instructions for a task don't make sense or you don't understand how to complete it, we'll have to hear back from the task owner regardless. Before you contact them, read our article on what to do when you aren't able to complete a task.

Not wrapping up just yet

This was the first part of our guide on how to submit questions to support. In the next, we'll tell you what you need to bear in mind when asking about profile changes and withdrawals.