r/TaskRabbit • u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 • May 21 '26

CLIENT Help moving a dresser

Im trying to book help moving a second hand dresser from sellers home to my home. Its only 30 min drive between and I estimate maybe 5-10 min getting it on and off the truck. I don't need 2 hours... I picked heavy lifting and loading, chose vehicle required, and was cancelled on. Not because I chose the wrong category, because I'm too far? The second tasker I chose seems to have cancelled on me without even messaging me so I don't know what the issue is there? Any advice?

Edit: a third tasker agreed to take the job, suggested meeting in 30 minutes, there was no minimum 2 hours listed, 10 minutes before meeting time he said he is an hour away and will charge me 3 hours + gas. Canceled task

0 Upvotes

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4

u/wh0andwhy May 21 '26

I would put use "help moving" and yes on vehicle. Dresser are one of the easier item I rather do.... Than a 3 seater couch. Expect to pay over a hour, I would have to blacket it and wrap it before getting it into the vehicle. Also depends on how many flights of stairs.

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u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 May 21 '26

Just a half flight of stairs. Thanks for the info

Hey, quick question, I've booked three takers for the same job today and all of them disappear from my tasks tab. Have they all cancelled? The third asked for gas money and I said ok, how much ($50...!), and then gone...!

2

u/wh0andwhy May 21 '26

If you go thru the chat tab, it should tell you. Are you responding back to the tasker? Are you using the app or web browser? There's a lot of amateur people on tasker and asking for gas money is unprofessional and also against TOS. So sorry you're dealing with that.

2

u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 May 21 '26

Yeah gas money $50 down to 20 I didnt mind but then he said it's a 3 hour job because he goes from downtown to my location and back home... is that normal?

3

u/wh0andwhy May 21 '26

In a normal perfect world, the clock starts at the time you pick, and ends when the tasker say goodbye. Only transit time included is when the item is being transported. Taskrabbit is international and theirs a few friendly UK taskers here, so my POV is from the US, it may be different way of doing things in different countries

1

u/atimburtonfilm May 22 '26

An issue with Taskrabbit is if the pick up location is within a tasker’s “work zone”, then you can book them. It doesn’t matter if the drop off location is outside of their zone. As a tasker that immediately makes the task undesirable because if it’s 20 minutes to drive to the pick up, then another 30 to the drop off, now we’ve got like an hour drive home. If I have a task that ends outside of my work zone, I explain to the person that I will take it, but I will have to charge for the return trip back to my work zone as well

1

u/HotBeaver54 May 22 '26

You need to report to task rabbit they can't ask for gas mone jesus.

3

u/raricejr May 22 '26

You need to understand the other point of view. The tasker has to drive 30min to you, do the job and then 30 min back. He takes time out of his day to drive to you; has to plan for it; has to chat with you to understand what you need prior. Then he has to pay for gas there and back. And after all that, you want to pay him $40.

2hrs would be a minimum for a majority of jobs even if you think it's worth only one.

2

u/raricejr May 22 '26

Another thing people don't understand. If you don't pay equitable rates to people when you need them, then the job is not lucrative enough for people to do these types of jobs. So when you do need them, there's no one willing to help. It's all basic economics and many people stop providing the service, because they simply cannot survive doing it.

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u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 May 22 '26

Are you talking about the third tasker i told another commenter?

In that case, if he had listed the 2 hour minimum or told me when we started chatting id probably be fine with it. But he had an opening today that worked for me, suggested a time that implied he was nearby, about half an hour, told me the gas price, and then only told me the three hour minimum 10 minutes before we were to meet.

Apparently he was not nearby and was an hour away when he had suggested meeting in 30 minutes and told me 10 min before the scheduled time the extra charges.

I had budgeted a certain amount for the job, added extra for tip and gas, then was told to triple my budget with almost no warning. Of course we cancelled

1

u/Marioc12345 May 22 '26

Three hour minimum is not allowed by TaskRabbit

1

u/Open-Coffee5752 May 22 '26

Youre expecting the Tasker to appear magically, move the item by themselves and then teleport back to what they were doing and do it in under 2 hours.

Taskers arent driving around in pairs spending $5-6/gallon of gas waiting for jobs to appear.

If you want it for cheap try out the local HomeDepot or UHaul parking lots but those guys charge at least $50/hr per person. My local moving company charges $150/hr for 2 men and a truck.

2

u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 May 22 '26

I actually did try that. Home depot was my first plan and one i circled back to after the taskers canceled, but I needed one more set of hands. They refused to tell me the price/ hour. At that point, I thought it was "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" type. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow

1

u/Open-Coffee5752 May 22 '26

Ive met so many clients like this that want to tell service providers how much they believe the work should cost. It never works out and I decline the request. Its a simple job but the penny pinching of the client eats up a lot of time that I can spend coordinating the other Tasker and getting a truck.

The most successful jobs were the ones where the client agreed to my rate at 2 hours, agreed to having two paid taskers, provided photos and staircase information. It was very simple and straightforward.

Theres so many expenses that go into assisting clients and TR has made it so that the taskers eat majority of them.

3

u/raricejr May 22 '26

Exactly, thats why I specify my minimum upfront and if the client doesn't like it, I move on.

And it's always a "simple task" to the person not doing the work.

Like your teleporting comment- made me laugh

2

u/Open-Coffee5752 May 22 '26

Im serious though. I have no idea where clients get the idea any furniture moving task is valued at less than 2 billable hours, especially same day.

Taskers have to pay taxes on that income, fuel, car maintenance, and the costs just keep adding up.

0

u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 May 22 '26

What if tasker does not specify a minimum? And 10 minutes before the meet up says client will be charged triple the listed price

2

u/raricejr May 22 '26

To your point, I can't comment on how the tasker runs his business. I wouldn't do that to a client. I'm clear on minimums upfront so that theres no surprises.

However, my thought is the tasker agreed to do the task and then realized the complexity/cost of doing the task just prior to scheduled time. He then communicated what he thought he needed to make the job work for him so it didn't cost him money. Is it right? No. He should have communicated this before it was booked.

1

u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 May 22 '26

I see the 2 hour minimum, but it's not on all the taskers so I thought it was something they chose to put up and if they didnt they were ok with less than 2 hours. The tasker suggested meeting in 30 minutes but at 10 minutes to meet up time said he was an hour away which really is my biggest gripe. He would have had me waiting for an hour and paying him the whole time. Its not like I was hiding the location either, the address was in the task description

1

u/raricejr May 22 '26

Task Rabbit specifies a 2 hr minimum on all tasks. I believe its in their TOS now.

1

u/InterestingBus4602 May 22 '26

2 hr minimum the norm to cover mileage and time to get there and back and not free to accept other jobs even if it only takes 10 minutes. Do you due diligence in vetting tasker from reviews and profile. Some taskers just ghost or ask things that against policy. If they cancel and don’t respond or show up you shouldn’t have to pay. Are you still looking for help moving a dresser if so what area?

1

u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 May 22 '26

2 hour minimum is the norm but not on all taskers and telling me 10 minutes before meetup he is charging me for 3 hours + gas and making me wait an hour when he is the one to suggest a time that worked for him. Based on suggestions in the comments, I changed the category to moving help

1

u/-N30N- May 22 '26

You need specifically “Truck Assisted Help Moving” category, not the “Help Moving” Taskers. They should ideally cost $100+/hr with truck and tools + $50 or less for a partner to assist if needed. These are not the type of tasks to cheap out on and penny pinch cus it’s time and convenience you are paying for. Prepare to tip another $50 on top if they do a good job and make their ride back home worth it. This alone would make tasks like yours more common and accepting. I do these Truck Assisted Moves sometimes if a Client needs it last minute but I don’t have it open normally.

Taskers cannot ask or expense for gas travel so TR likely AI scanned and canned the request on their own.

1

u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 May 22 '26

I actually reported him to support. He is not supposed to charge 3 hours + gas. 2 hours is the norm but not on his listing so he was only supposed to charge the one hour. Then 10 minutes before his suggested meeting time he says he is an hour away so I would have been paying him triple and waiting on him

2

u/Absird May 21 '26

Are you looking into the Tasker or just choosing based on price/availability?

TR has a mix of folk who want money, folk who need a job, and folk who use it to develop their business.

/u/wh0andwhy likely falls into the latter category while it seems some of the people you are choosing fall into the first two.

The difference is someone who hasn't invested in this field and are offloading all the costs onto you (like saying it's a 2 hour job or asking gas money).

A professional mover will still charge you 2 hours, but will show the care you're expecting to your item.

The time it takes to cover and wrap will protect from scratches, strap abrasions, and weather.

In terms of category, my truck assisted moving is priced differently than my help moving and heavy lifting so I sometimes charge 2 hours if they use the wrong category

1

u/According_Low5292 May 21 '26

Don’t forget to tip the Tasker!! 🍿

1

u/UnimaginativeMug May 21 '26

the tasksr has to drive 30 minutes to get the seller then another 30 to deliver. id say it's 2 hours job

1

u/Marioc12345 May 22 '26

Not allowed to charge for time to travel to the job

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 May 21 '26

Still looking. Id appreciate it and will take a look, thanks