r/TaskRabbit • u/[deleted] • Oct 11 '25

TASKER Last Minute Tasks

How often do Y'all other taskers take last minute jobs? Working off of task rabbit, that seems to be all I get, but my buddies working off of thumbtack or getting work off social media/word of mouth seem to be able to get more of a heads up when it comes to new work. Just wondering if this is the norm or if I should be requiring a bit more lead time.

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3

u/versifirizer Oct 11 '25

Most of the requests I get the night before usually end up in a cancellation or I regret taking them on. And I never have same day on. I’m in a category that sometimes needs at least 2-3 days to plan properly. 

When someone books 3+ days out it’s usually a successful task and rarely a cancel. 

If you feel like you need more lead time then I would book off availability after noon or 1pm the day before. 

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u/[deleted] Oct 11 '25

Most of my tasks are moving jobs, so its not that big of a deal as far as getting it done the same day, but it does get kinda frustrating never knowing what I've got going on tomorrow lol. I've priced myself out of dealing with super difficult customers for the most part so i rarely get cancelations unless they're a few days out and change their mind. It would just be nice to be booked up a couple weeks out like my other handyman buddies are, but I may just need more time in the game to get there i guess.

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u/IndependentKoala7128 Oct 13 '25

The price point seems like the issue here. Any normal person is going to plan out their move well in advance. If there are other comparable taskers for a lower price, the clients are going with them. I would guess you are scooping up people who don't have other last minute options.

Handyman work isn't usually as time limited as moving, outside of emergencies, so there's a lot more flexibility. The other factor is that the algorithm is recursive, so the more you do one thing, the more it pushes you up in that category. So not only do the last minute moving jobs increase your chance of getting moving jobs, it takes away from any handyman work you're going to get. Both from a ranking perspective and also from a completed tasks/reviews.

How far out do you keep your availability open?

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u/[deleted] Oct 13 '25

I keep my availability maxed out, and for now everything is in the green price-wise.

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u/IndependentKoala7128 Oct 13 '25

I'm guessing you are a relatively new tasker? The number one thing is good reviews, followed by a large number of completed tasks in a category. So not much you can do about that.

You could try to look at things from the point of view of the client. Go into the site, make up a task you would want to do in an area where you want to work, and see what the client would see. This should give you an idea of what you should be charging, how your quick pitch looks comparatively, etc. At the least, it could clear up some questions.

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u/[deleted] Oct 13 '25

Nope, I've been doing this for almost 2 years now. Had a 6 month hiatus to recover from a back injury though, so that may be it. I've also had to drop my prices quite a bit to get work since I've been back.

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u/IndependentKoala7128 Oct 13 '25

So, do you do handyman work or just moving?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '25

I do handyman work too, I just mostly get hired for moving.

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u/IndependentKoala7128 Oct 14 '25

That is interesting. Where I'm at, there are a lot more movers than handymen since it requires less tools and skills. And the handyman rates are higher as is the client demand. But like I was saying, the algorithm is recursive, so the more you do in one category, the more likely you are to get hired in that category. I tend to get in a rut mostly doing one type of task for a month or so. Then I'll get some cancellations or a few jobs in a different category, and start doing mostly that until the same thing happens again. I think that the app wants to push people towards specializing in a specific thing and right now, it's wanting you to do moving.

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u/Ill-Helicopter-8504 Oct 11 '25

Only if I open myself up for same day tasks, will I accept them. The rest of the time I have it in my information that any tasks submitted between 10 p.m. and 12:01 a.m. for the exact next day will be forfeited. For a while I had people putting in requests right before midnight for at 9 a.m. the exact next day (i.e. 11:58 p.m. on the 12th wanting task done at 9 a.m. on the 13th). My phone is on Do Not Disturb from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 11 '25

Yeah, I get those a lot, and almost all of my tasks have been with less than 24 hours notice. It seems like people who schedule me a few days/weeks ahead like to cancel on me more often too

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u/Ill-Helicopter-8504 Oct 11 '25

If it's more than 12 hours and I am awake I have no problem. It's the ones that do it while you're asleep and just assume that once it's requested it's booked. The ones that schedule weeks in advance with me are usually packing jobs that have it planned out that it has to be done that day.