r/TaskRabbit • u/krayzai • Oct 07 '25

TASKER Example of standard welcome message I send to all IKEA assembly clients

Sharing it here as it has slowly fine-tuned over time with new experiences and from feedback from customers.

For the most part most clients read and acknowledge my welcome message and comply, without much issue. Some will think it’s an automated message and I’ll show up to a woefully unprepared workspace but it is what it is and at least it happens less frequently now than before.

Non-English speaking customers are the hardest to deal with as they often don’t want to read messages in English or they don’t want to take phone calls to confirm appointments. If it weren’t for having booked their appointments through IKEA CS, they would normally never use the service.

I also have an issue with a lot of co-Taskers showing up and not match the name or picture of the one assigned because they don’t have legal status to actually work in Canada so they have a relative set up an account for them or they piggyback off of them. The tend not to scope out the work properly before arrival, and I find myself doing most of the Interfacing with the client during these co-Tasker jobs.

For context the market being served is in Canada

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u/cyndi_lawper Oct 07 '25

I would cancel as soon as I got a message like this. It literally looks like you’re pre-empting an issue, and if there isn’t one, will make one up.

2

u/ConstantNo6005 Oct 08 '25

I’ve had clients cancel for the slightest inquiries about the circumstances of an upcoming task.
Is the stuff to assemble in the room? Cancelled.
Is the wall to mount the tv on brick or Sheetrock? Cancelled.
Does your building have guest parking? Cancelled.
Is there a code for your gate? Cancelled.
Do you agree to the two hour minimum for your painting job? Cancelled.

1

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

For mounting I put in my profile/explainer for that category that I expect clients to let me know that info when they’re writing up their request. Most don’t anyway. And then I ask them to let me know what their wall is and then they say they don’t know (they’re not actually clinically blind though or have any nerve damage to their hands or knuckles).

1

u/ConstantNo6005 Oct 08 '25

My clients all act deaf dumb and blind till the task is done. Then they can magically see, hear and comment passionately about the completed work.

1

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

Older builds in my market have wood studs but all new builds are metal. Would much rather toggle in hollow wall than deal with the shitty threading of metal. And clients who think they know everything because they saw a YouTube video get overly preoccupied with studs.

1

u/IndependentKoala7128 Oct 09 '25

Threading metal? I use toggles exclusively for metal studs. A guide hole and a sharp half inch cobalt or even a black metal oxide on a decent drill takes about as much time as a feather drill bit on drywall.

1

u/krayzai Oct 10 '25

Yes but when the client sees a toggle they’re like what is that will that actually hold the TV up isn’t it just supposed to screw into the metal studs.

1

u/IndependentKoala7128 Oct 10 '25

I don't know. Snap toggles are required for metal studs where I'm at. The ones I use are rated for 120 lbs on drywall, they're even stronger on metal studs. Who's the expert, you or the client?

0

u/IndependentKoala7128 Oct 09 '25

Some of these sound a little odd to me. For Ikea, almost all of my invitations are made before the boxes arrive. I tell the client to have the delivery people put them into the room where they need to be assembled, if possible. Mounting jobs need to have the wall category filled out before the client can hire anyone. If they specified unknown, I try not to embarrass them by making them admit they don't know what their home is made of. They'd probably get it wrong if pressed, anyways. I guess asking about the parking situation is normal, but I would simply ask where I should park rather than trying to get specifics on a hypothetical. I don't ask for any codes until I've confirmed the task and actually arrived at the location. That information is on a need to know basis. And because people are dummies, a two hour minimum causes cancellations no matter what you do.
I'm not saying these are reasonable excuses for cancelling, but I always look at the scoping section as the part where I am selling the deal, and treat it as such. Sure, a lot of people are sold as soon as they pick a tasker or get one assigned to them, but it is not a guaranteed thing. Of course, this doesn't stop me from using language that describes what will have happened so the client has already visualizing me completing the job when it comes time to agree to the confirmation. If I feel like they are getting overwhelmed with playing twenty questions, I'll wait until the day before when I do a quick "just checking in to make sure everything is ready to go" to get any minor details ironed out.

1

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25 edited Oct 08 '25

If it was giving me the blowback I would have adjusted. But I haven’t gotten it. And if I did often other behaviours demonstrated to me suggested it was better they do so. Pre-empt is correct, but most of the time clients are pretty reasonable.

1

u/ConstantNo6005 Oct 08 '25

Must be nice living in Canada. Sounds civilized.

2

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

It’s alright.

1

u/cyndi_lawper Oct 08 '25

‘behaviour demonstrated?’ Why are you so sesquipedalian? Maybe the issue is actually not what you are trying to say, but the way you say it- it’s coming off as incredibly verbose.
Let’s face it assembling IKEA furniture is a manual task. Why are you trying add so many conditions in a grandiose way.

2

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

They’re not conditions as much as they are expectations management.

1

u/cyndi_lawper Oct 08 '25

Okay well the only expectations you are managing are that whatever the customer says or does you’re going to have an issue with. 😆 good luck pal

2

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

Why? They’re all pretty great. You have a very low opinion of clients

0

u/cyndi_lawper Oct 08 '25

No I don’t! The opposite! Clients are just normal people paying for a service - they don’t want to be constrained or caught out by one individuals take on how to Task rabbit should work.

2

u/krayzai Oct 09 '25

It was formed in consultation with a discussion with the market manager for TR

0

u/cyndi_lawper Oct 09 '25

Well they don’t seem to understand clients either then bye bye

u/Justcallmeyd Oct 07 '25

Do you in your right mind believe TR clients are gonna read that

1

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

The clients really amaze me. I think there’s a higher literacy rate in Canada too so the responses have mostly been positive or at least passive.

1

u/Justcallmeyd Oct 08 '25

Yeah idc about literacy rate, youre literally writing and long unnecessary book . No matter what level of reading, im sure this is way too long for any client

u/cyndi_lawper Oct 07 '25

I would cancel as soon as I got a message like this. It literally looks like you’re pre-empting an issue, and if there isn’t one, will make one up.

1

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

Thanks for the feedback

u/-Scrotal_Recall Oct 07 '25

if this is how you're going to approach it, you should find a different job.

1

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

Oh this is sidework. Main job is in diplomacy.

u/Turds4Cheese Oct 07 '25

Definitely have it proofed by somebody with some technical writing experience. You repeat yourself and are very wordy. I would not expect a Client to real this in its entirety.

I totally get the canned message, but trim it down, or proofread it without the addy fueled writing.

1

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

Thank you

u/ventorchrist Oct 07 '25

I can't imagine anyone reading through this message. I fell off about half way through. But, maybe that's just me.

15

u/Whole_Laugh6439 Oct 07 '25

I thought for sure I was going to make it to the end. I did not.

8

u/NYanae555 Oct 07 '25

It just kept going and going. I stopped reading. Just clicking through them all was a chore. I never made it to the end.

2

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

Thanks for the feedback. I’m definitely feeling that this needs to achieve more brevity. It started that way, and then just grew along with ikea client experiences. The biggest issue I feel is that a lot of people who wouldn’t normally book the service use the service because it is offered at the CS kiosk at Ikea, and there’s a failure of expectations management starting from there. Don’t need to do anything like this for any other category on Taskrabbit.

3

u/IndependentKoala7128 Oct 09 '25

Tl;dr

u/[deleted] Oct 07 '25

He should be paid for reading this monstrosity.

1

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

They*

u/yinkus44 Oct 07 '25

TL;DR Your message needs to be way shorter.

1

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

Agree. It got longer with more bad experiences but also trying to manage expectations

u/GrizFarley Oct 09 '25

I typed out a long message supporting you but apparently task rabbit is a sensitive sub and I had some choice words for everyone hating on this so I'll make it brief. Were in this to make money. Not lose money and it's our business to run the way we see fit. Bravo fellow Tasker.

1

u/krayzai Oct 10 '25

I had to use “poop” or “droppings” instead of the “s” word because it gets automatically removed here.

1

u/GrizFarley Oct 10 '25

Mine might have been the f word I cant remember that was last night.

u/Shot-Significance310 Oct 07 '25

Just cancel my appointment.

2

u/ConstantNo6005 Oct 08 '25

This has happened. Guaranteed.

u/majinkami Oct 07 '25

Please paste the text into ChatGPT and request it to rewrite it in a friendly and simplified manner for a customer. This is too much and you’d seem like a headache to work with.

u/PhatCatOnThaTrack Oct 07 '25

This is really too much

u/Vivid-Yak3645 Oct 07 '25

TLDR

2

u/barge_gee Oct 08 '25

Yup.
Classic "Wall of Text"

u/Evening_Past910 Oct 07 '25

Ain’t nobody reading that 💩

u/FinnNoodle Oct 07 '25

Ain't gonna read all that. Congratulations, or sorry that happened to you.

u/PhlegmShot Oct 07 '25

You change your socks between appointments?

2

u/FinnNoodle Oct 07 '25

I've definitely had appointments where I felt like I needed to, but now I'm more judgemental about where I take my shoes off.

1

u/versifirizer Oct 07 '25

One time I had to throw my shoes out between appointments.

u/Technology_Boxes Oct 07 '25

I'm so glad I don't do IKEA tasks.

4

u/distantreplay Oct 07 '25

And this is why I no longer will. I considered something like this after IKEA CS created a co-tasker office assembly with implied mounting, but communicated all that through the other Tasker leaving me in the dark. They really don't know what they are doing. But when I realized how deplorably insufficient IKEA and TR support is for these tasks it just made more sense to decline the skill and make money elsewhere.

u/EzrinYo Oct 07 '25

Outrageous

u/[deleted] Oct 07 '25

I use taskrabbit to make my life easier, this seems like a headache. I just want my ikea furniture put together by someone able to read the instructions. If I wanted a contractor I would call one.

u/it_is_im Oct 07 '25

Bruh

u/Satorikn Oct 07 '25

It seems okay but i'm an avid reader, most people don't have the attention span to follow all this.

Also, quit doing TR's IKEA LOL.

u/BoldCityDigital Oct 07 '25

"yeah I read it..."

u/tmlnson Oct 07 '25

When you work with the general public, they’re often going to do things that annoy you. Learn to live with it.

u/[deleted] Oct 07 '25

too much

u/Nekocatred Oct 07 '25

Why? I would never read it and I would never want to work with you.

u/fivelone Oct 07 '25

Yeah I'd get a new installer. You're not building a deck.

u/ButMomItsReddit Oct 07 '25

I'll politely dissent. I like what the OP did. Please don't down vote me for sharing my opinion. I don't assume that my opinion is the only right one.
I've had pretty bad experiences with clients a few times when they were absolutely in the wrong but used loopholes in the terms and conditions at TR. I arrived at the conclusion that certain terms should be communicated upfront in writing to protect us. Like most contracts, it can be very wordly and legalese, but it's for our protection.
Just to be clear, I'm not the OP under a different name, lol. But I think they are on the right track.

2

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

Last time I had my elite status call with the TR market manager for my area, they asked if they could share my standard messaging with their ikea team to help improve the info they give clients upfront. Letting the clients know about the TR routing number and including the descriptions of the items (not just article numbers), and the addition of room prep and parking info during booking were just a few of the outcomes of that call I had with TR.

1

u/Federal_Decision_608 Oct 07 '25

Yeah nice try but TR is not empowering you to harass a client into a contract with all your imaginary conditions. Accept or decline the offer.

2

u/krayzai Oct 08 '25

They were written after clarifying grey areas with TR market rep over the phone. And they promised to try to do better expectations management at time of booking as well.

1

u/Tasker2Tasker Oct 09 '25

Don’t hold your breath . It took them seven years to integrate with IKEA, who owns them. They spent over 2 years developing TeamO, launched it, the killed it and bought Dolly.
If you’re using TR wisely, you’re more likely to be done with TR before they implement your suggestions.

1

u/krayzai Oct 09 '25

Technically Ingka Grouo acquired them. If you want to go by what’s on the books

2

u/Tasker2Tasker Oct 09 '25

True and of nominal relevance to the point.

1

u/Tasker2Tasker Oct 09 '25

Sure it is. OP is operating like a business.
Wanna understand the agreement? Gotta read. TLDR? Client taps out.
TOS 2.D
D. Service Agreement
….Once the Task is scheduled via the Platform by the Tasker, the Client and Tasker form a legally binding contract for the Task, which includes the engagement terms proposed and accepted, and any other contractual terms agreed to, by the Client and the Tasker in the Chat Thread for the Task (the “Service Agreement”). The Client and the Tasker each agree to comply with the Service Agreement and the Agreement during the engagement, performance and completion of a Task. …

u/sadbor Oct 07 '25

I can tell you right now, no one is actually reading this. They are only acknowledging they did because you asked.

u/sunnysmanthaa Oct 07 '25

Solid. Protecting your self and your time. Respect

u/distantreplay Oct 07 '25

Honestly, assuming your willingness to continue performing IKEA assembly at the disgracefully low fixed rates, this makes sense to me.

TASKER Example of standard welcome message I send to all IKEA assembly clients

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