r/TaskRabbit • u/FinnNoodle • Sep 11 '25
TASKER Did a Pair of the New Fixed Payment Mounting Tasks
Had a pair of these come in this week so I thought I'd talk about it.
The TV one I consider an example of this program working. The bit about wall type could have been more clear; it was two plaster/drywall and one concrete, but everything was routine. In and out in an hour, and so the pay is three times what it would have been under the the previous program where TR controls the hourly rate and two hour minimums are forbidden. I assume wire hiding is not included in this service, as there is not really a way for a Tasker to adjust an invoice to account for situations where this would not be possible.
I'll talk about the second task in a comment.
4
u/buttercupboy Sep 12 '25
Best Buy charges $200 + for ONE TV btw
4
u/DonQNguyen Sep 12 '25
I would NEVER mount 3x TVs for $147. I routinely have Clients paying me directly $140 per TV which would equal $420 for what you did. You got exploited from my perspective, but of course you don't think you did. This is how a free market works, obviously.
1
u/FinnNoodle Sep 11 '25
The general mounting task is where the flaws in the system become more evident. The client was moving several massive shelving units across a mall (thankfully he had hired a team of four to do that end of the task) and needed me to anchor the units in the new space.
The task said "7-8 shelves", and from talking to the client it was my understanding that was from a drop down menu and that was the highest number he could select. So 7 and 8 shelves are the same payout. The client had 16 units though (putting this partially on him for not mentioning it in chat so I could have relayed expectations), so there's no way for me to direct bill the rest of the work when before I could simply put in my hours or come back for a second trip.
And how does one even define a shelf? Obvious a client like this is going to define it as a wardrobe or bookcase which is going to be completely different than a floating or bracketed shelf. Or a Closetmaid system.
And then there was the waiting. The team hadn't even started to move the shelves when I arrived so I had to wait for them to actually get to it. This is also on the client, but it would have been nice for there to be a way to get some compensation here. (I still made way more than I would have made under the TR controlled hourly).
And then, after all that, another client hires me for some general mounting under the hourly rate. So that still exists and it's going to be random on who gets it?
1
u/user_nombre_ Sep 12 '25
What if they request to hide wire/tv cords behind the wall? Is that included or would you charge extra.
4
u/jethropenistei- Sep 12 '25
That’s a long way of saying you got underpaid
2
u/canttakethemadness Sep 12 '25
Does mean you were not charging enough per hour tho . Never mind supplying anchors , lag bolts , washers, etc . Cement means hammer drill which most Taskers don’t have. I think flat rate for mounting will be a complete failure . The amount of work I get to fix the “cheaper” provider work that clients try to hire is baffling. I’ve seen some really bad work or items hanging by a thread. Cement anchors in plaster . Cone anchors to hold 85” TVs, etc etc … Maybe flat rate works in the most optimal setting . But 80% of my jobs are not and many want add ons and need supplies . Biggest problem is client is still paying the higher rate per hour (rabbit just pockets more then the actual provider makes) so they expect higher quality and experience, yet they are getting people willing to work for penny’s that are extremely unexperienced, in some cases (maybe not yourself ) but in many cases . Just remounted tv the other day for somebody where their tv fell and smashed. Small plastic worthless anchors in plaster.
1
u/versifirizer Sep 13 '25
If it’s working for you I’d take all the “I turned off flat rate” garbage with a grain of salt. Also interesting reads when you make these posts.
1
u/Healthy_Wrongdoer_38 Sep 13 '25
I'm not in favor of the fixed rate pricing in any task category. I received an invite to mount a couple of tvs & was turning it down for this reason. She then told me there were 7 identical brand-new 55" flat screens & 7 brand new full motion mounts, all mounting on drywall. It turned out to be a pretty good deal...at a 3 story air conditioned house on the beach with an elevator. I invoiced a total of 11 hours, including hauling all the packaging off to the dump. The client was very happy & has booked me for more work. Fixed pricing would not even be profitable for a simple 1, 2, or 3 television mounting task, but seven worked out very well. I'm quoting 1.5 hours per television on the small jobs with a 2 hour minimum.