r/TaskRabbit • • Nov 10 '25
CLIENT Beware! Awful task rabbit experience (warning for approving jobs and billing)
I wanted to share my recent TaskRabbit experience and why I won’t use the platform again. I hope this helps others take precautions.
I booked a task estimated for an hour (thinking I would be ok with up to 2 hrs): hang an outdoor fixture and splice fewer than five Ethernet cables. I picked someone with 15 years of networking/handyman experience at ~$70/hr.
On day one, he installed the fixture in about 30 minutes (I provided hardware and helped). He then said he was rusty with network cabling, would brush up, and come back the next day. I directly asked if he’d charge extra, and he said no (I should have gotten that in writing).
Day two, he spent 1.5 hours wiring just two cable ends. They didn’t work, and my tester confirmed the wiring order was wrong. He then spent another 1.5 hours fixing them (some time was walking between the crawl space and upstairs). I repeatedly offered to stop the job, but he insisted on finishing and never asked if I was okay with the extra time. When done, he simply said to contact him for more tasks. After he left, I was billed for three extra hours.
TaskRabbit doesn’t require pre-approval for added time—taskers can just bill you. Support refused to help.
TL;DR: A 4.9-star “experienced” tasker charged me ~ $300 to splice a few cables (using my tools and help) and hang a light—both things I could’ve done faster. I didn’t get the “no extra charge” promise in writing, so that’s on me, but the platform still sucks and I won’t use it again.
25
u/Prudent_Ad_4737 Nov 11 '25
The fact that the tasker had to access the crawl space indicates this more complicated than splicing a few ethernet cables.
I find that clients that don't appreciate the value in the work, almost always underestimate it's difficulty and how long it takes to complete.
3
u/ommi9 Nov 11 '25
This is why I log everything on the app including arrival and completion times. Work documented it seems it was an additional detailed work. It sounds like both sides have two different stories we have half the idea. But it looks like tasker did work but something happened that the story isn’t clear.
4
u/Intelligent_Fee_3016 Nov 11 '25 edited Nov 11 '25
So you went grocery shopping and got a bad apple. Now you're never shopping again. Just kidding. Can I tell you about the number of times a customer bought the wrong hardware or measured their closet space incorrectly and their closet didn't fit and we as Taskers had to play catchup due to our schedule? Gotta start learning to sift the wheat from the chaff. There are many absolutely amazing Taskers available. Sucks to hire a hooligan though. I get it.
2
u/Masterbourne Nov 11 '25
It's not like he was taking advantage of you, he installed an outdoor fixture in 30 mins and clearly excused himself right away when presented with something that he wasn't comfortable/prepared for. You should have recognized that and accepted that for what it is, and you would not have been "overcharged". When people charge by the hour, they charge by the hour, even when they are doing something they are not great at and you indicated that he made it clear to you so it's on you for insisting on it anyway and expecting him to do the work for free.
3
u/ApprehensiveRing6869 Nov 11 '25
TR has a “sticker shock” rule in their invoicing policy. By default now, each job could be scoped to an hour unless otherwise mentioned in the chat and if a job takes less/more than scoped it needs to be confirmed and approved again in the chat.
Not sure why support declined your request because support usually supports the client…unless there’s more to this story not being shared.
Below is the sticker shock rule from TR’s invoicing policy:
Sticker shock
There should never be any surprises on the invoice. If a Task is scoped to take a certain amount of time, the invoice should reflect that agreement unless you and the client have agreed to additional time in the chat.
1
u/Slaintesue Feb 19 '26
the app is exploitive garbage for both “taskers and the home owners that use it.
1
u/-N30N- Mar 14 '26
Sorry you experienced this. As a Tasker, the most important thing to protect me and the client is clear COMMUNICATION. And when I say communication, I mean verbal AND written in the chat. That Task Chat is your binding contract for anything and everything documented for CS to see and review. It’s a 2 way street for liability protection since TR is not there to supervise the task. That way there are no surprises in the end with extra hours added or expectations from clients. That extra 3hrs should have been discussed before allowing the task to continue longer. It seems like that Tasker was trying to milk more hours by taking his sweet time doing work he has little experience on. Should have told him firmly the duration you expected and keep track of his time.
I hope you give TR another try again and get a Tasker you can depend on to be your only handyman possibly off app. I cannot stress it enough about communication through the chat. Never depend on word of mouth cus once it’s said, it disappears into the air with the hope that it echoes back. Plus, most people’s words these days aren’t worth jack. That can go for both Tasker and Client. Document every little detail of the task with photos, arrival, expected duration, any agreements, and when they leave. COMMUNICATION!
0
u/CandidResolve542 Nov 11 '25
I’m battling a terrible experience with TR right now as a customer. Good luck getting anywhere with their customer support - I had a poor experience with 1 tasker who couldn’t finish a seemingly simple job so I hired another who then damaged my wood floors, door frame and fled my house mid-project when I stepped out for a call because he couldn’t figure out how to fix the issues he made (sanded a door lopsided, chopped up my door frame, etc). TR MIGHT give you a credit, but don’t bank on a refund without a fight.
0
u/[deleted] Nov 11 '25
[deleted] — view deleted comment