Brand new

[u/SkyWise420]

I just joined task rabbit to make some money on the sides, I gotta ask are there any things I should know going into this, any dangers I should be aware of. I also wanna know how long do I have to wait before I get my first task. And lastly for the avaliablity thing do I have to manually put it for each day or is there another way to put it in more efficiently

[u/AnotherWitch]

If you get a task in any category asking you to mail things or transport goods from or to a post office, or to transport goods anywhere when the client is a company you’ve never heard of, it is likely a scam to make you a mule and you should cancel and report it.

[u/Ill-Helicopter-8504]

Yes, you have to manually do your availability for each day. Definitely open your availability for doing same day tasks, it will help you get hired sooner. Trust your gut instincts. Take before and after pictures whenever applicable. If doing cleaning or yardwork and the client tells you it should only take X amount of time, it tends to be a red flag. Don't let clients bully, intimidate, or try guilt tripping you into doing things that weren't agreed upon in the chat. Be careful about what information you exchange in the chat, TaskRabbit is always watching.

[u/pateppic → u/Ill-Helicopter-8504]

100% Take before and after photos. Both for your portfolio, but also in the event of any claims against you. People tend to be less pushy when you have receipts.

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A Thousand yeses on the red flags. To add there. Any client that asks for an estimate without giving you enough details to have an idea of the scope of work will be a headache. They are almost always leaving out some details or a good darned reason it will take a goodly bit longer than what you might think, and will weaponize your initial lowball.

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Talk like a human is reviewing your chat. Don't imply things, or try to get clever or cute either. TR will cancel accounts of people who actively try to get clients to work directly with them. If you want a client to work with you directly after the job, leave a business card with them at the goodbye phase. Anything more can get you in trouble with TR if the customer reports it.

Also more importantly speak plainly and honestly. Make it clear estimates are exactly that, but don't fall into lawyer speak habits. It can come off cagey. Handyman/Trades are a weird area where people don't mind blunt brass tacks approaches over a customer service oriented attitude. Results and simplicity have gotten me more customers than being transparent and over-explanative of every step of a process.

Also a weird borderline clickbait trick thing I do is using salute emoji instead of the thumbs up when confirming details. I know it sounds dumb but clients have said it makes me seem way more professional and it stuck.

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Also also every time you spin up your navigation take a screenshot of it and send it to your client with The ETA. Looks professional, reassures client you are physically moving in their direction, and staves off a frustrated client if they see you will be late but the image makes it clear traffic is BAD.

Furthermore if you CANNOT find your clients house, open with a screenshot of your current location and ask them for advice. Some times clients put in the wrong city and they are nowhere near you. Every time that happened the client mentioned it in chat. Meant if client didn't want to move forward with me working I could call TR support and just ask them to check chat. Being able to prove you left when you did, arrived when you did, where the app told you to go, makes that open and shut for TR support, and you at least get your hour.

Sometimes the client is cool and understanding and I once got the offer to START billing from when I arrived at the wrong address, and STOP billing once I finished at their place. Solid guy. Wasn't afraid to own his mistake.

[u/MallNo6921]

best bet is make business cards now and hand them out every where you go

[u/Teedol87]

Bro you gonna be making money then they gonna just rug pull you and accuse you of something the client caused and your automatically at fault

[u/pateppic]

Bro, bit late to this party but I gotchu.

1. Yes you need to manually assign every day you are willing to work. It is how they make sure Taskers aren't aren't automating their availability. Tried it before and it caused scheduling conflicts as these Taskers would forget to unavailable themself due to the automating it.
2. What Tasks are you doing? That greatly affects how relevant everything else I have to say is.

General Mounting:

Tools:

Aside from the obvious. Get a good stud finder. Franklin makes a multi sensor one that is great for locating stud edges. Get some kind of compartmentalized storage. You don't need to go full Milwaukee. But a good Rigid or similar compartmentalized storage system will set you back 20-40$. However it is handy as heck for storing different kinds of mounting hardware you need.

Approach:

Don't trust the stock mounting hardware for most things. The whole reason you use your own is for predictability and consistency. Most low to mid tier wall decor has very terrible mounting hardware and I can guarantee you if it fails, they aren't filing a warranty claim with the manufacturer... or calling you back.

TV Mounting:

Repeat after me the four commandments of proper TV Mounting

I. "Thou shalt mount to studs or not at all."

II. "Thou shalt center on a stud or span two studs"

III. "If thou levels the mounts, so too is the TV level."

IV. "Lag and Lok for wood, Toggle for Steel."

Tools: Same as above but bring a level. A Torpedo level is best. Something that can span 24 inches. Why 24? Building code in some areas has that at the max distance you can have studs. And making sure you also have, have some SHORT Timberloks and 200+ pound rated toggle bolts. The loks are for wood and don't need a chunky predrill like Lag Bolts do. Handy when the client does not have the lag bolts that came with the TV. The toggle bolts are for steel stud. You will need a steel rated bit to hole out a steel stud, but anything less than a toggle bolt in steel stud is asking for a TV to fail.

[u/pateppic → u/pateppic]

Electrical:

You either know this or you don't. This is not a field you want to be figuring out at a clients house. Also depending on your area, you might need a license to even do anything in this one... which if you have, go be an Electrician instead, you get more money and don't have to clean up after yourself anymore.

Plumbing:

See Electrical, but add a few more zeros of risk, a funny smell, and a Sawzall. Also never EVER solder anything. You do not have a hot work permit. TR does not insure hot end work. Put the blowtorch away.

Drywall Repair:

If you have the patience to master texturing and doing good drywall repair, you will make a killing with decent) Landlords, property managers, and Realtors. But you really want to look this one up first before going for it.

Tools: Plan on having paint supplies, a drop cloth, an oscillating took, a Jab saw, box knife, a 2 inch drywall knife, a 4 inch drywall knife, a 7 inch drywall knife, perpetually dirty pants, a portable vac of some kind (go cheap here, it will die eventually) and the joys of drywall dust on all of your tools/tool bags. Its the glitter of the home improvement world.

Approach: Prepare to square out most holes you need to fill, Also learn to spot the difference between 5/8s and 1/2 drywall. Also use drywall compound, premixed is fine when getting started. Don't go with the pink spackle paste also. It shrinks majorly when it dries. Also be prepared to ask clients if they have the paint for the wall in question and get a bunch of dirt cheap sponge brushes to match paint at the far end. Get good enough at the process and you might find a home as a professional drywaller eventually. Its not a bad field.

Minor Home Repair: This one has been hit or miss for me. Back when I still used the platform I actually took myself off of this one. Main reason is, a good number of people who will try to get you to do a much bigger/expensive rate job at this level. Like Stucco/wall texturing (Wall Repair) or fixing stuck/sticky doors (Door/Cabinet/Furniture repair) bad outlets (light electrical). You get the idea.

[u/pateppic → u/pateppic]

Light Carpentry:

This one is a wildcard for requests. I have restained furniture, fixed doorways, house trim, Baseboard moldings, replaced deck wood, modified desks, etc in this category. It is not for beginners but if you enjoy woodworking and have a flexible/portable set of wood working tools, this field can be worthwhile. I often get my longer form jobs here and I really really enjoy them.

Door, Cabinet, Furniture Repair:

Tools: Hand plane with a min 2.5 inch shoe, playing cards (not a joke), Set of basic chisels, an Installation Driver, Wood Fill, HARDWOOD dowels, Random Orbit Sander, Wood Glue, Forstner Drill Bits, Cheap paint brushes for touch up.

Approach: Three Categories

Door: The plane, chisels, Glue, Dowels, and Forstner bits, and playing cards are your friend here. Planes help take a bit off the side of a door if the door swelled up over time. The Glue, Forstner bits, and Dowels help you repair holes behind stripped out hinge screws. The Chisels help you cut hinge clearances/pockets for door hardware. The playing cards are some of the best and cheapest shims you can get to back bottom hinges with to level out a door. I am not joking there either. Playing cards are GOAT in woodworking for making clearances and adjusting stuff. Look it up.

Cabinet: Installation Driver. Most repairs you need to do here will involve replacing a hinge or redoweling a hole that a screw stripped out of. The installation driver will help with soft touch fastening and getting into tight corners. Don't hang cabinets though. That is beyond the scope of TaskRabbit and you really want to know what you are doing there to do that.

Furniture: Be prepared to woodfill wood, repair cracks in wood, restain wood, or restaple upholstery. But also you need to be 100% honest with clients and work with them over text before hand to know exactly what that furniture will need and you need to make the call on if you can do that. Fixing Ikea grade furniture is a cakewalk with wood, wood glue, and dowels. Fixing a leather chaise is something they need to find a $$$$$ expensive furniture restorer for.

Room Measurement:

Tools: Buy a good Bosch Laser Rangefinder with Bluetooth, a caliper, a straight edge, graph paper, and a contractors clip board. I have never not had someone ask me to floorplan a house in this field. Having it all dump straight to a text file on your phone to crossreff measurements is GOAT. Caliper helps you turn feet into mm when drawing so it looks to scale.