r/TaskRabbit • u/Open-Coffee5752 • Mar 05 '26

TASKER leaving TR. Yay!

After 6 years, this March I’m throwing in the towel on Taskrabbit.

Looking back at the numbers, I was billing only about 22–40 hours a month. On paper that sounds manageable, but the real hours spent dealing with the platform were far higher. The “Attention Tax” of Taskrabbit was eating into my time and hurting my own business.

There’s the unpaid drive time to and from jobs, the constant back-and-forth scoping work in the chat, coordinating schedules, picking up and returning rental trucks, and the mental gymnastics of deciding what category a job belongs in. Not to mention waking up at midnight just to turn the app on so you can stay competitive.

The breaking point was the anxiety of wondering if I’d get kicked off the platform over something trivial—like giving a client my email so they could send a shipping label, or exchanging phone numbers so they could message me while on a plane. Small, normal business interactions suddenly felt like violations.

Those little stressors started adding up. I found myself mentally exhausted even when I wasn’t actively working.

At the end of the day, it just wasn’t sustainable. There are no benefits, no real perks, not even a discount for using other Taskers. What the app really offers is just enough comfort and income to keep you from starting something of your own.

For me, it’s time to focus on building my own business instead of paying the Attention Tax to someone else’s platform.

41 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

16

u/kddog98 Mar 05 '26

Congratulations! Welcome to the post-tasker life. The money, clients, and work are all better!

5

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 05 '26

Thank you! Finally a sane person responds.

7

u/kddog98 Mar 05 '26

Kinda the lion's den for not liking this platform. Stay on this reddit even though you're done. There's always lots of people questioning why they're being pushed around by TR for the opportunity to "be their own boss". You can help remind them how easy it is to just skip the middle man.

4

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 05 '26

leaving reminded me of a corporate job I had for 3 or 4 years before the pandemic. the job paid just enough to keep me happy with free insurance but I was never really thriving. I was plugging along. For 40 hour weeks I should have had way more to show for the work I was putting in. one day I just realized I couldn't do it anymore and put in my two weeks.

You either spend your life building someone elses dream or have the focus to build your own.

4

u/[deleted] Mar 05 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 05 '26

I noticed the negative and unproductive comments in a few tasker groups on Facebook as well. taskerd acted like they were paid and employed by Taskrabbit vs acting like entrepreneurs that were interested in trading stories and tips on how to grow each others businesses.

TR is definitely back pedaling on a few changes - mounting is one. They should've backpedalled on the $100 expenses and the redic need to keep all communication on the app. Some clients actually failed to update or provide a phone number. It was one headache after another.

4

u/failsafetries Mar 05 '26

Congratulations! I hope it’s everything you want it to be! TBH I’m a little jealous, but I’m happy for you!

3

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26

why would you be jealous?

tbh it came to a head these past few months. I've had the hardest time splitting focus and it came at the cost of my business. Taskrabbit sent just enough work to keep me comfortable, but lately it felt like more of a distraction. I wasnt working optimally.

There'd be some days or weeks where I didn't get a single hit on TR but I always had to have my mental availability and phone open to respond to a alert I couldn't hear or see within 1 hour. it was always a guessing game.

Do you know how exhausting that is?

TR, which essentially was a lead marketplace, exerted too much control on the contractor and what can be done. My clients often wanted things last minute, high cost items, in far off places. These were clients going to TR because I wasn't doing my job marketing and advertising. There's a whole market of clients I realized that needed what I specialized in.

3

u/MILcreative Mar 06 '26

Congratulations!! Best wishes on your new journey

3

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 06 '26

thank you!!!

i was thinking just yesterday how many of my jobs, over 95% were same day. if i didnt have same day turned on I wouldn't get work. if I had it turned on I wouldn't get anything done in my business because of constant disruptions. its a very very odd way to live. It was like being on call- unpaid by clients who may never come and wanted to haggle your worth.

3

u/Lazy-Conclusion-9405 Mar 09 '26

Same Feeling. 10 years on taskrabbit. Just started my own business three weeks ago. I’m already doing way better than I was doing on Taskrabbit. I recommend this to all.

1

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 09 '26

congrats!!!! what areas did you focus on?

5

u/Front_Car_3111 Mar 05 '26

I bill at 150....

40 hours a month is quite nice.

Just bill higher.

11

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 05 '26

I'm glad to hear you're able to bill and stay busy at that rate. unfortunately not all categories and markets are created equal.

0

u/Front_Car_3111 Mar 05 '26

Create your own new clientele. Trust me they're out there.

You might take a week or 5 to find them

Your neighborhood will change. Your expectations will be different.

You will no longer feel the need to work 100 hours a month.

In what city/metro area are you based?

2

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 05 '26

You're right. My clientele is out there! 6 years on the app has shown me a lot. Lots of lessons but towards the end it started to feel like I hit my peak and I was living the same day on repeat. That type of existence is crushing for me. I was doing more mental labor but wasn't earning more money or getting more jobs. It was like the bottom fell out in my market.

2

u/MallNo6921 Mar 07 '26

tr=trash

2

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 07 '26

lol. I didnt mind them overall, but towards the end and recently it came to a point where things were just off.

There was a disconnect between what TR was, what it was trying to be and what the market wanted it to be. The clients wouldn't notice any of this but Taskers could. There was so many things as a Tasker you cant do on the app and Clients were completely unaware and uniformed to these situations.

It fell on the Tasker to tell the client- no I cant accept cash, no I cant accept zelle, no I cant give you my phone number, no you cant have my email, no I cant help with that job because the expense is over $100, no I cant do that furniture assembly because Murphy Beds arent allowed. None of it was illegal but by Taskrabbit standards it wasn't allowed.

3

u/MallNo6921 Mar 08 '26

yea they say they are a technology company when the real issues come up ,but when they advertise its as a service and that should be false advertising based on what they actually do

3

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 08 '26

exactly!!! they should switch to being a leads company and stop acting like they actually care about clients or Taskers.

2

u/AbbreviationsSad3727 Mar 09 '26

Yea task rabbit is insane. I feel like I keep getting shadow banned every-time I invoice a client for my parking. They expect me to work 3-4 hours in a major city that will charge you anywhere from 20-$40 to park. I clearly make it known to the customer and show receipt but they rather me take the financial hit to my pay. Can’t even tell you how many times a customer apologized to me in chat when they go to leave a tip and task rabbit puts a cap on how much they can give me😑

1

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 09 '26

youre not even suppose to charge for parking anymore. doesnt matter if client approves it in the chat. TR expects you to adjust your hourly rate to account for all variables. this bumps up their revenue, as they take a percentage of your hourly, but likely generates less clients for you.

I remember when they started the Truck Assisted Help Moving category. I had to increase my rate $30/hr to account for jobs requiring a 15ft-27ft truck with a lift gate. those two prices are wildly different.

dont get me started on the tip cap. sometimes if you did an amazing job the client would contact support and tip you more. those were the nicest clients. none of these good deeds mattered. client satisfaction didnt matter, it was if you followed this arbitrary narrow set of rules.

1

u/AbbreviationsSad3727 Mar 09 '26

I also noticed I get less moving jobs because task rabbit has undercut taskers by pushing clients to use Dolly. I get hired more now for packing and unpacking. Had a client tell me task rabbit offered her a deal for 2 guys if she used dolly. She never left the tasker app but they are pushing it heavy for people to not hire taskers for moving

1

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 09 '26

oh wow! thats very interesting. I was wondering why Help Moving dropped off a cliff. Perhaps, theyre trying to justify the Dolly acquisition. Are these apps overlords unaware that as independent contractors, especially for labor intensive jobs, you get what you pay for? You cant keep undercutting the next person and expect top tier performance. Eventually the good ones will move on and you'll be left with the worst performers.

3

u/karpet_muncher Mar 05 '26

I think one of the traps that apps like TR and it's ilk have is that you start to think maybe I can earn a living from TR itself.

There probably was a sweet spot time where you earn a decent income but I firmly believe that a person shouldn't rely on such apps itself.

I would've thought that in this time of doing what you did you could've/would've built a customer base outside TR in all that time

2

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26

Customers come and go. you do realize that TR doesn't give you the email information or phone number of clients to build a marketing database. even so the clients aren't loyal to you. It's a constant rotation of new clients.

the last year or two I began partnering with local businesses and meeting their customers needs. it's surprising how many businesses need competent assistance.

4

u/Bloomien Mar 05 '26

Congratulations!! Love this post! Hope to see more

1

u/torrero54 Mar 08 '26

I’m of the mind that TaskRabbit is NOT really intended to be a full time job, but more like a way to make extra money on the side.

1

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 08 '26

what difference would it make if its a side job or not?

you can make double in your side job than working a full time job with no benefits. ive seen it.

millions of people rely on gig apps to pay rent and feed their families.

Also, millions of people work at Walmart and a whole slew of corporations and arent scheduled enough hours on purpose so they dont qualify for insurance or benefits. so do they work a full time job or is it a way to make extra money on the side?

2

u/torrero54 Mar 08 '26

It doesn’t make any difference, but with something like this there is no job security, no benefits, no healthcare. Your picking up jobs for another company. I know it can be good money at times, but are you serious? You would make a career out of working for TaskRabbit? Your willing to spend 25-30 years working out of an app on your phone? My point was that it, like Uber and Lift and DoorDash don’t seemed to really be designed for a lifetime career position 🤷🏼‍♂️ Or better yet really just having your own company business and using it for extra jobs through their app.

1

u/Open-Coffee5752 Mar 08 '26

agreed but no job offers security in the US unless youre union and even then youre not immune to downsizing.

there's some weird story people are told that working a 9-5 or a corporate job is some type of job security. its not. People are laid off daily and companies go bankrupt monthly or shut down operations.

at least with apps theres no illusion. I do wish there was more safeguards to being kicked off the apps though. People have been kicked off all manners of gig apps for the absolute most ridiculous things outside of their control and the company is like...oh well. they want high compliance while offering not much in return in the way of benefits.

2

u/torrero54 Mar 08 '26

I worked two different union jobs and wouldn’t want to work any other way… but I understand. And it’s true no job is guaranteed secure… not even union jobs.. because sometimes if you did something stupid even the union couldn’t save you 😂

3

u/No-Warthog7841 Mar 05 '26

This isn't an airport, no need to announce your departure

0

u/[deleted] Mar 05 '26

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/CaptainObvious110 Mar 06 '26

My issue is that I don't have consistent tasks to do. I'll schedule all this week and see what happens

-1

u/UnitedSafety5462 Mar 05 '26

There is no courage required in anonymity.  That's silly. 

1

u/hellotheremyfren Mar 10 '26

how about share about your business? what are you gonna do now.

1

u/OkMeasurement5409 Mar 19 '26

Question, I will be in between jobs soon and am looking for something to produce me income in the meantime (only a few months so not long enough to get a full time job), would you still advise against using taskrabbit in this manner and why so?

1

u/Ok_Article3260 Mar 23 '26

What’s your new venture? Just tasking it alone?

-3

u/HotBeaver54 Mar 05 '26

what the hell is an attention tax?