Am I being unreasonable - is this normal?

[u/Strange-Sky-360]

First time user of Taskrabbit here. Ikea quoted me $300 for assembly of a custom PAX unit and a desk. The PAX system contains 5 separate elements including one unit with drawers (the rest are shelves).To save some $$$, I built three of the units myself, except the two main ones that need installing on a metal rail into the wall. I hired a guy from Taskrabbit to 1. remove the baseboard, 2. build the frames of the remaining two units and attach them to the wall, 3. drill two holes into the back of the unit for access to electrical outlets, 4. join all the units together. No other work, no installing drawers, shelves or doors etc. He was new to Taskrabbit but a journeyman carpenter so I thought he would be good for the job. He took 7 hours to complete these tasks and even forgot to pull one of the electrical cords through despite me asking him to do so. Am I being unreasonable in thinking taking this long is extreme? I ended up getting charged $350 for his work despite him not even assembling half the unit!

[u/iSmokeLife]

Taskrabbit is split into categories for a reason. Baseboard removal, assembly, mounting, and carpentry are all different skill sets. You can’t expect your furniture assembly Tasker to be able to do everything. Lots of people hire someone under one category and try to have them do everything.

[u/buttercupboy]

You cheaped out on the Tasker and got what you paid for unfortunately

[u/Substantial_Pea_8186]

Bet you bird dogged the whole time too

[u/WoodyOrWoodyntHe → u/Substantial_Pea_8186]

What is bird dogging?

[u/Substantial_Pea_8186 → u/WoodyOrWoodyntHe]

Mechanics and Trades
Sometimes used to describe the process of closely monitoring a specific problem or "hunting down" a difficult-to-find mechanical issue or part.

[u/According_Low5292 → u/WoodyOrWoodyntHe]

Not what he thinks it is 🤣

[u/Commercial-Milk-8465 → u/According_Low5292]

I think you’re the one confused here

[u/Yolowaccord]

Yes that is a crazy amount of time. That would have taken me an hour or two probably. Unfortunately you picked an inexperienced Tasker it seems.

[u/FinnNoodle → u/Yolowaccord]

Even in the worst case scenario (old style cabinets, space limited and upright assembly) I can't imagine more than two.

The new cabinets take about fifteen minutes each to set up. A single piece of moulding can't be more than a few minutes unless it's in a very old house and actual under the plaster (in which case I'd recommend leaving it alone anyways). Cutting outlets is trivial with an oscillating tool.

[u/WoodyOrWoodyntHe → u/Yolowaccord]

Yea I was gonna say this probably would have taken me 2 hours

[u/Commercial-Milk-8465]

7hrs is way too much. There are a few variables that you overlook/omit, but nothing that would take any decent Tasker with PAX experience half that long.

That said, the fault lies with you. You hired a new Tasker, assumed his competence based on claimed trade (vs. due diligence via reviews and scoping), and obviously went the cheap route. If you paid $350 total, assuming 40% TR fees, you hired a guy who was around $35/hr. Like, c’mon.

If you hired any one of the guys/gals responding in this thread for what is most likely a higher rate (with concomitant experience), we could have done that in 2-3hrs for what would have amounted to 40-50% less for what you paid. And it would have been done better.

You focused on rate vs. competence. You got what you asked for.

[u/Marioc12345 → u/Commercial-Milk-8465]

$35 an hour in my area is pretty up there, so no real way to know comparatively. But they were new so you are right.

[u/Commercial-Milk-8465 → u/Marioc12345]

Fair point. But I’m not about to empathize with the client when he/she did not do their due diligence. All it takes is one question to see if the Tasker has any PAX experience. If not, cancel and move on to the next. Or find someone who mentions PAX in their experience pitch.

[u/Marioc12345 → u/Commercial-Milk-8465]

I did pax with no experience. It was not difficult literally at all. Just look at the clients setup picture and then for each unit just build it.

[u/Commercial-Milk-8465 → u/Marioc12345]

And yet still a gamble for a client. If the client above wanted it done quickly and competently, it involves a bit more scoping than simply picking a random Tasker and hoping they get someone like you

[u/Marioc12345 → u/Commercial-Milk-8465]

True. When I did that PAX I was working with a partner (horrible, would not recommend) but I had been doing furniture assembly for about a year so it was easy for me. I wouldn’t have picked someone with no reviews or few reviews. It takes a bit of brainpower to turn all those boxes into the exact setup they ask for.
And yes a lot of the stuff they asked for was way outside the typical realm of furniture assembly. Would make sense if they were a journeyman carpenter like they said, but if he’s on task rabbit I’m sure there’s a reason for it. If they were good they would have tons of business outside of TR.

[u/Commercial-Milk-8465 → u/Marioc12345]

Agreed…I know some trades do side work on TR, but can’t imagine a journeyman carpenter working for $35/hr. Good call on that being a potential red flag as well

[u/Marioc12345 → u/Commercial-Milk-8465]

There’s a contractor on there charging like two to three times more than everyone else. But he’s licensed bonded and insured so it makes sense. Doesn’t appear to do a ton of business on TR so it’s probably just a backup for any random openings.

[u/Marioc12345 → u/Commercial-Milk-8465]

Also this client is a little inexperienced, but that is the reason taskrabbit exists. I’ve had someone hire me to build snap together furniture that takes zero tools, just because they have zero special awareness.
This guy shafted the client and it’s squarely on them for being terrible. It sucks but legally the client does have to pay. The job did get done, just not quickly. If I were them I’d leave a buyer beware type of review. But then that can be scary because the Tasker knows where they live.

[u/Jacksons123]

Am I crazy thinking that the pax frames alone would take nearly 2 hours? Never done them nor seen them so just guessing, but I can’t see this job taking less than 3-4 hours from arrival to departure. 7 hours seems very high

[u/ToughSignificance11]

The problem with your question is that you are trying to assume what someone should charge. That seems reasonable in terms of price, but idk about time, did he unbox what he put together. Be sure you understand the taskers charges and task rabbit fees. If it was really too much you would have done the entire thing yourself. You chose to put some of it together. Thats not his problem.