Are you a “Jack of all trades”, love flexible work hours and enjoy being your own boss? I made the jump from being an employee to being THE boss, and I just love it. There is nothing better than being able to set my own work hours, decide what kind of work I am doing and how much money I want to make.
I don't have to leave my house to make my income, and if I want I can do it wearing my boxers all day long. That's my dream life. But some of you want to be able to make income with more flexibility than a 9-5 provides and you don't mind leaving your house to do it. If that's you, then you may want to read my TaskRabbit Review below. Anyone that just wants a position that's all work from home can skip this article for now unless you just enjoy reading my “Eddy'isms”.
What Is TaskRabbit?
TaskRabbit is a San Francisco, Cal based service company that caters to clients which need help for any kind of tasks. Founded in 2008 by CEO Leah Busque, TaskRabbit now operates in 18 cities in the USA, and in London GB.
“The vision for revolutionizing how work gets done led Leah Busque to pioneer the concept of “Service Networking”, forging a leading role in the Collaborative Consumption movement.”
In plain English, TaskRabbit recruited a small army of 30,000 diligent people aka rabbits which are willing and able to take on any task clients cannot perform themselves, or want to outsource for whatever reason.
Where Does TaskRabbit Operate?
At the time of this writing the company has a presence in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, LA & Orange County, Miami, NYC, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco Bay area, Washington, DC and London GB.
How TaskRabbit Work!
Leah and her staff created their own software and smart phone app. When a client requests a task through the TaskRabbit website, the algorithm of the program checks which qualified rabbits that fit the price range of the job, are available in the area and at the required time.
It then sends the offer to the rabbit's smart phone. A worker can decline or accept the offer. After the offer has been accepted, the client and the rabbit will get a verification notice. After the rabbit finishes the job, the client sends notification to TaskRabbit, which at that time will charge the client's credit card with the agreed upon fee. TaskRabbit takes its cut of the deal, usually 15% (in some cases as much as 35%). TaskRabbit carries Insurance of $1,000,000 (1 million) for every job just in case anything goes sour so everyone is covered.
What Does A TaskRabbit Tasker Do?
Basically anything you can think of; it ranges from simple stuff like walking a dog, shopping for certain items, delivering dinners, house cleaning, doing laundry to assembling furniture or other items. You may help people moving, do some gardening work or fix stuff. It really varies.
How To Become a TaskRabbit Tasker?
You apply online on their site; they require to login with either your Facebook or LinkedIn account and you will have to go through a rather extensive vetting process that includes Identity Check and a Criminal Record Check. There also will be an app oriented training session. After you are verified, you specify your skills and interests for specific tasks. That's it……you are ready to start tasking as a TaskRabbit.
How You Get Paid!
You are going to like this! There is no weekly or monthly pay schedule. You will get paid AS SOON as the client notifies TaskRabbit that the job is completed and the tasker reported the hours. TaskRabbit uses direct deposit to pay taskers on the platform, and a valid checking account and routing number are required during the Application process. The money should be available to you within 24 to 48 hours. Of course, TaskRabbit deducts their fee, but you know that already 🙂
How Much Money Can A TaskRabbit Make?
That depends on a lot of things: What kind of job you have to do, how much the client is willing to pay, how long it takes, and of course where you are located. The minimum you get paid per hour is $11.50 (after TaskRabbit's cut), set by the company.
I found some info on the web though, and there a taskers making $40, $60 and even $150 per hour. For example, Brian in San Francisco claims to make $1,500 a week. He had one job where he got paid $70 per hour for folding T-shirts for a start-up company. Or take David in New York, charging $80 an hour for moving people's stuff to a new home.
You see that the potential is there to make real money. You can read more detailed ‘rabbit testimonials‘ here.
What Are The TaskRabbit Complaints?
TaskRabbit taskers must be doing good jobs because I could not find any client complaints. However, I was actually able to dig up some complaints from the TaskRabbit workers that you may want to consider. It doesn't mean TaskRabbit.com is a scam. But like any company you have things that rub people the wrong way. Either way I've listed them below so you can make an informed decision.
The Change Of The Business Model!
Up until July 1st 2014, the company used a ‘bidding system' to assign jobs to their taskers. This was replaced by a new system that pegged each tasker on an hourly rate, accessible ONLY via smart phone and requires availability within 30 minutes.
Obviously, this change was not very much appreciated by many of the TaskRabbit workers as it takes away the possibility of planning ahead since the taskers don't see any longer what's ‘in the pipe'. Here is a sample of complaints I found on FB and some other forums:
“My bids were netting me between $400.00 – 500.00 a week. I have not had a single task assigned to me since this started. My income has been destroyed by the changes!”
“One wonders whether [an algorithmically assigned] job is the best available. Who knows where they will be “assigned?” There's no way to put days together geographically ahead of time. We must wait for the Bunny Lords to bestow life-giving work upon us from on high”.
“I haven't gotten one [task] since the conversion. Totally bummed as I need the money and am willing, ready and able to work!”
“I cannot imagine any success for the NEW TR… they have replaced a community with an algorithm… and algorithms don't give good customer service… they don't make people show up on time with a smile… they don't deliver burritos, stand in line, design save-the-date cards or play ukulele. People do these things… and it is truly unfortunate for everyone that TR could not see this as they transitioned so recklessly from a dynamic people powered program to a soul-less algorithm-driven app”.
“I have yet to receive an assigned task since they changed their format. I updated my availability so that I am free all the time in case there are virtual tasks that have flexible timeframes, yet I have still not been assigned. Taskrabbit used to be a good source of extra income, but now it is essentially unusable for me”.
WOW. This puts a damper on the overall positive appearance of TaskRabbit, at least in my book. The reason for the change is understandable taking under consideration that the bidding process took time, and some clients may have complained about it.
You have to leave your house.
My goal from a very young age was to make money in my boxers. So the fact I have to run around doing tasks for other people doesn't fit my make money online model. It's also not passive recurring income like I've taught people here. I don't mind putting in some work but a lot of the money I make money online pretty much happens on autopilot now because of what My Top Free Work At Home Recommendation has shown me. So this whole opportunity doesn't float my boat. But if you hate the idea of staying at home but want the flexibility of making money on your own schedule then this may not be a deal breaker for you.
It's not available everywhere
Unfortunately this opportunity seems to be only available if you live in some big cities. So if you're up in the boondocks or a country they don't serve than you can't take advantage of this opportunity. Hopefully this improves as they get bigger. But for right now it's limited to a few select cities.
Is TaskRabbit A Scam?
Nah it seems like a great opportunity for those of you that like leaving your money to earn. You definitely get a lot more flexibility than you would with a 9-5 and it seems like it would be a great way to make some extra income. I'm not sure if I would depend on it for consistent income since some factors seem to be out of your control. But it looks like a good way to make some quick money if you're willing to do some tasks around town for it.
Well that's all for me guys. I'm not here to babble on by myself, so do me a favor and post a comment down below. I always love hearing your feedback. So tell me what you think of this opportunity. Is it something you would try or have tried? Let me know.
I'll holla at ya soon.
Eddy with a y
I wouldn’t mind leaving the house but I would mind not being able to have a schedule that I could plan with. I am not a fan of being available in 30 min or even 1 hour. It is rude to think that you can have that kind of control over another person. Sorry Task Rabbit. Sounds like you should rethink the new algorithm.
I hear ya Robin. That’s my feeling too. Thanks for chiming in. It’s good to hear from you. It’s been a while.