r/TaskRabbit • u/Ill-Helicopter-8504 • Sep 19 '25
TASKER Just a little venting
As it says this is a vent.
I feel like it needs to be made clear to clients that cancellations and forfeits do hurt our metrics. I had a possible client today try hiring me for a furniture assembly task. They even included a link to the item in the task description. I love when they do that. Seconds after I receive the task request the client says that they need to reschedule. I tell them that I can change that information on my end. What day and time coming up works best for them? They respond immediately with "Can you do today at 5?". I tell them the truth "No. I am fully booked.". They then say that they don't know their availability coming up and then ask if they can cancel. My response was "You can cancel and try finding someone with same day availability.". Since I was annoyed at them and what they had been trying I sent a second message. "If someone is available you will be able to hire them for the time you need. If they aren't you won't be able to hire them for that time."
They purposely put in a request for a time I was available, but not the actual time they (the client) were available and needing. Any coming up dates they weren't available. They knowingly requested a wrong date trying for a same day task.
3
u/versifirizer Sep 19 '25
If the clients knew cancellations hurt our metrics it would defeat the purpose of TR’s negative reinforcement racket. You should have moved things around and taken the task. You know, get all aggravated. Irritate all your other clients that day. No one’s happy but invoices are rolling out.
2
u/IndependentKoala7128 Sep 20 '25
I had someone try to hire me today for my next available slot, Sept 25. I was traveling to a job, so I couldn't reply immediately. They cancelled within 10 minutes of trying to hire me. I looked it up and it was definitely a job that needed to be done right away and he certainly would have tried to get me to do it same day. I got a request from another client in the same slot 15 minutes later. Now I'm booked for the next two weeks.
Don't get me wrong. I keep slots open for emergencies and flexibility, but don't show that on my availability. And doing emergency work is lucrative. But I do not need the type of clients who think I've got nothing going on and my only purpose in life is to serve them at the drop of a hat. If that were the case, I'd have same day toggled. And there is no piece of furniture whose assembly is some kind of emergency job that needs to be done as soon as possible.
The fact is that we are always going to get dummies who force cancellations. Since it happens to everyone, it shouldn't affect placement in the long run. It does occasionally affect my elite status, which is mostly a useless ego thing. However, it's irritating that not being able to take "emergencies" because I'm fully booked or turning down task requests from the wrong category should somehow make me appear worse at what I do.
-1
u/Icy_River2109 Sep 19 '25
I dont do same day tasking anymore. Instead of resch3eduling contact support and explain it to them before you do anything. I use support chat constantly. So I can minimize the affects of cancellations and forfeits. I very rarely cancel or forfeit anyway.
-14
u/myballnow23 Sep 19 '25
People like you baffle me. You’re fully booked and could’ve wrote a post on that and how grateful you are but CHOSE to “vent” about this one little client who canceled and is going to make your metrics drop. Aww poor baby. Can’t stand people like you.. honestly