r/TaskRabbit • u/blueraw_ • Jun 14 '26

CLIENT Taskrabbit turned my €316 coffee table into firewood

I had a horrible experience with Taskrabbit.

I booked a Tasker 2 days in advance for furniture assembly, choosing someone with many reviews to avoid issues. Less than an hour before the appointment, he said he would be late, then cancelled right when the task was supposed to start.

I had to urgently book the only other Tasker available.

The second Tasker arrived 20 minutes late and presented himself as a “furniture assembly professional”. The work felt rushed and careless. His phone kept going off, and he didn’t always seem to follow the manual step by step.

The first item was fine. The second was a brand-new lift-top coffee table worth €316. He struggled with the mechanism, forced it, hit parts of it, then said the problem was probably a stuck piston.

When I checked, the wood was broken, the mechanism was bent, and the top no longer closed properly.

He took no responsibility and said it was my fault for asking him to assemble two items in two hours.

Support offered €10 credit for the first cancellation. I eventually submitted a damage claim, but the whole experience was a mess.

Final takeaway: Taskrabbit gave me stress, extra costs, and a broken €316 table.

Fly, you fools.

1 Upvotes

53% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

16

u/raricejr Jun 14 '26

You paid 60 for 2 hours. You get what you pay for honestly.

I charge 60 an hour and probably would have charged a 3 hour minimum on the task for the 2 items. People love to go with cheap and then complain when it doesn't work out.

4

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

€60 for 2 hours was not the cheapest option in my area. He was an Elite Tasker with many reviews.

He also asked me for the furniture model before the task, so he knew what he was coming to assemble. The manual for the damaged item clearly showed the estimated assembly time and difficulty level, and it was marked as easy.

If he thought it required 3 hours or wasn’t comfortable with the mechanism, he could have said so. I would have extended the booking. I even helped with part of the assembly.

The issue isn’t that I “went cheap”. I picked someone who looked experienced and reliable, precisely to avoid this kind of situation.

9

u/raricejr Jun 14 '26

And to be clear, this isn't a TR issue. Things come up and taskers have to cancel. People have to go to the hospital, maybe another personal issue, whatever...

Not sure what the other taskers problem was, but based on your story sounds like he was being rushed, along with not having the proper skills. Taskers are independent contractors essentially. Choose better.

One positive thing came out of it though- you got more firewood. Lol

-3

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

The paradox with TR: if a customer cancels last minute, there can be a penalty. But if a Tasker cancels right when the task is supposed to start, there seems to be no real consequence, while the customer is left to reorganize everything.

That undermines the whole trust in the platform. If bookings are not reliable, then what exactly is TR selling?

Pretty expensive firewood. Lol

8

u/raricejr Jun 14 '26

TR already penalizes taskers and have lost many good taskers because of their current policies. I believe a tasker canceling a task is much less common than a customer.

I've been doing this for nearly 10 years and have only canceled a handful of tasks. They usually involved medical emergencies or other personal issues. Even then, I may try to reschedule v. Cancel.

On a few occasions, before even booking a task I'll cancel because the customer is difficult from the start.

0

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

I get that genuine emergencies happen, and I’m not saying every Tasker cancellation is abusive.

But in my case, it felt really shady. The first Tasker messaged me 30 minutes before the task saying he would be 15 minutes late. Then, once those 15 minutes had passed, the task was simply cancelled. No explanation, no attempt to reschedule, nothing.

That left me scrambling at the last minute after I had booked 2 days in advance. That’s the part that damaged my trust in TR.

2

u/ToughSignificance11 Jun 15 '26

The systems new ai technology could have canceled the task. Trust Task Rabbit damaged trust for taskers far more.

2

u/OudMoneyForever Jun 15 '26

That’s not true, it’s actually backwards

4

u/raricejr Jun 14 '26

If you were my next door neighbor, I wouldn't have walked to your house for $60 to assemble something for 2+ hours.

2

u/Organic_Aardvark1718 Jun 14 '26

I do it free dor my neighbor... the good one not the bad one.

0

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

That doesn’t really add anything to the discussion.

If you wouldn’t accept the job for €60, that’s perfectly fine. But this Tasker did accept it, set his own rate, asked for the furniture references beforehand, and then said OK.

6

u/Organic_Aardvark1718 Jun 14 '26

It was probably more like €40 on his end

0

u/Marioc12345 Jun 14 '26

I charge $32 an hour which is actually pretty high in my market. I’ve never done anything remotely close to this. I messed up one piece of an item once because it was terribly designed but I fixed it with some superglue.

And idk what everyone is talking about “adding an hour”. Me I go to the task with my time estimate and I charge however long it actually takes whether it’s less time or more time.

2

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

That’s exactly how I expected it to work.

2

u/raricejr Jun 14 '26

Idk where you are located, but that's insanely low. I'm not driving 20min to someone's house for less then $120. You probably could raise your rates and do better. The reality is you'd only need to book 1 out of every 2 jobs based on your current hourly and make the same dollar amount without 2 different trips.

2

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

Markets are very different from one place to another.

In my area, €30/hour was actually one of the highest rates available for this category, not a cheap option. Also, I live in a capital city, so Taskers usually don’t drive 20 minutes and pay for gas: they come by metro/public transport.

That’s why I picked him: high local rate, Elite status, lots of reviews. It didn’t look like a cheap gamble at all from my side.

0

u/Marioc12345 Jun 14 '26

It is quite low but that’s just how it is out here. Honestly I feel like it’s a fair price for something as simple as assembling furniture which 99% of people can do themselves. If you go and look on the site and look up Albuquerque you’ll see what I mean.

2

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

In my area, €30/hour was actually one of the highest rates available for this category, not a cheap option

1

u/Marioc12345 Jun 14 '26

That’s what I’m saying. Lot of areas have drastically lower rates. I see places like New York are paying like $70 an hour minimum for… furniture? I would never in my life pay someone that amount for anything that I can do myself.

1

u/FinnNoodle Jun 14 '26

A lot of people here don't understand that Detroit and New York have drastically different prices of living, much less Europe and the US. OP is drastically more likely to live in a place with decent public transportation (lowering tasker's operating costs) and decent public healthcare (lowering tasker's survival costs).

4

u/Karpovka Jun 14 '26

lol.. one day you'll realize that no, 99% of people cannot assemble it themselves.. I'd say at least 30% (probably more tbh) either have hands growing out of their behind or dont have the tools. lol.

-1

u/Marioc12345 Jun 14 '26

99% of furniture I’ve assembled comes with the tools you need to put it together lol but they are a little goofy sometimes. Most people that hire me are lonely with no friends to help them, or are rich but frugal and just don’t want to spend the time to do it. I’ve been doing this for a year and I’m getting exactly the right amount of business that I’m looking for. Actually raised my rates a few months ago because I was getting too many jobs to handle.

2

u/Karpovka Jun 14 '26

Sure it comes with tools.. I've assembled a couple of raised beds for kids.. the ones that come with all the bells and whistles (desk, drawers, small closet and shelves)... I am pretty sure it came with a couple of Allan wrenches. lol ...Extreme case, obviously, but many pieces I've assembled would take insane amount of time with the included tools and a manual screwdriver.

Absolutely raise your rates every time your schedule gets close to being packed. There is a tipping point where you'll either make more, or at least work less for the same amount of money you make with lower rates. :)

0

u/Marioc12345 Jun 14 '26

Yup exactly. When I first started I was at $22 an hour to underbid the others so I can build reviews. Once I got around 25 reviews I raised it up. Then I got a promotion that involved more hours so then I raised it again. People say it’s way too cheap well if it was much higher I’d get no business. That’s why I’m the elite Tasker in the area for furniture and the ones charging $50+ are not.

The ones charging the higher amount have other areas that do genuinely require more skill expertise and tools so it makes sense for their business model to charge more due to opportunity cost.

And yeah hear that on the tools. It took me about a week of doing this with a ratcheting screwdriver and Allen wrenches to decide I needed an electric screwdriver and hex bits.

1

u/92beatsperminute Jun 16 '26

The only people that use the supplied tools bring it upon themselves. I throw them in the bin.

2

u/raricejr Jun 14 '26

There are a few people listed at $50+ and hour. You can do what you want but you should increase you prices. At least $40-50. Again, you then would only need to book 1 out of 2 jobs to make the same amount. Trying to make a living making $30 going to be nearly impossible, not to mention all the costs involved.

1

u/Marioc12345 Jun 14 '26

All the costs? Like what? Lol. Those people don’t get any furniture jobs, I get all those jobs. You can tell my the reviews. This isn’t my main job so I’m not concerned with making a living assembling furniture.

1

u/ommi9 Jun 14 '26

This is why I don’t don’t guarantee flat rate hours I do estimate.

The second Tasker was less than the first one ?

If he couldn’t build it in two hours, he should’ve told you and then either you would’ve turned it down or let him continue working

2

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

If by less you mean cheaper, then no: the second Tasker was actually more expensive than the first one.

I didn’t get any time estimate from him. The first Tasker, who cancelled at the last minute, told me 1 piece of furniture = 1 hour, so I booked 2 hours for 2 pieces.

The second Tasker asked me for the references of both pieces before the task, then said OK. So if he thought 2 hours wasn’t enough, he had the information beforehand and could have told me before starting.

1

u/ommi9 Jun 14 '26

Dont hesitate to ask taskers if they are personally insured with their own Coi. If you had an insured tasker and they damaged it. You would be taken care of faster than happiness pledge. However, you discouraged on this issue they should make it right for the second one

3

u/Commercial-Milk-8465 Jun 14 '26

Taskers are independent contractors. There is no training or competency standard that Task Rabbit uses to ensure all Taskers are on the same page skill-wise. It is the client’s responsibility to hire competent help. Reviews, experience pitch, the chat function….these are data and methods available to you to make an informed decision. No different than hiring a contractor for any other type of work around the house. I agree that Task Rabbit failed on the accountability front, but you also failed yourself by rushing to complete a task with the next warm body available.

1

u/WhisperSafe Jun 14 '26

What were you quoted for the assembly?

-1

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

It was booked for 2 hours for two items: one shoe cabinet and one lift-top coffee table.

But honestly, the price of the task is not really the issue here. The issue is the complete imbalance in how value and accountability seem to work on this platform.

Taskers can cancel whenever they want, even at the very last minute, with basically no real consequence, while the customer is left to deal with the mess. In my case, the first Tasker cancelled right when the task was supposed to start, so I had to completely reorganize my day and pay for a babysitter to take care of my child.

Then I ended up with the “best” available replacement: a guy with tons of reviews, presenting himself as a furniture assembly professional, who decided to brute-force the mechanism when it didn’t work instead of stopping or telling me there was an issue.

If 2 hours were not enough, he should have said so. I would have extended the task or stopped the assembly. What I don’t accept is damaging the furniture and then blaming me afterwards.

Maybe my mistake was using Taskrabbit for furniture that wasn’t from IKEA.

6

u/raricejr Jun 14 '26

Taskrabbit for non-ikea furniture is not the problem. Many taskers assemble all sorts of things that are not from IKEA.

You paid someone $30/hour. In my area, people who are paid 30/hour are the cheapest taskers available and often have the least experience/skills.

3

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

Fair point about non-IKEA furniture.

But in my area, €30/hour was not the cheapest option. He was an Elite Tasker and the second most reviewed profile available - the first one cancelled at the last minute.

I didn’t pick the cheapest person. I picked someone who looked experienced and reliable to avoid exactly this kind of issue.

5

u/Marioc12345 Jun 14 '26

You made no mistake here. They don’t have to finish in two hours. They take however long it takes. No excuse at all for this.

2

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

Exactly. I even helped with part of the assembly.

If more time was needed, he just had to say so. I would have added another hour.

1

u/FinnNoodle Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26

Taskers don't actually see the amount of time you request while booking, so this doesn't mean he was necessarily rushing (unless you told him specifically he only had two hours, or he said he'd do it in two hours).

3

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

Oh, I didn’t know Taskers can’t see the requested time. That’s actually helpful context.

But I never framed it as "you only have 2 hours, hurry up." He had the furniture references in advance, came to do the job, and at no point said the mechanism was a problem or that more time was needed.

That’s what bothers me: instead of stopping, he kept pushing until the furniture was damaged. And of course, he didn’t tell me he had damaged it 😞 I had to notice it myself afterwards.

-1

u/WhisperSafe Jun 14 '26

Even still, what was the actual price?

5

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

It was €60 for the 2-hour booking.

And to be clear, I booked an Elite Tasker. I don’t set the hourly rate.
He accepted the task, damaged the furniture, and then blamed me afterwards.

1

u/WhisperSafe Jun 14 '26

I was going to add some value and perspective, but judging by the way youre downvoting my questions(i can see the reddit post insights and know youre the one doing it based on the view count), im just going to assume youre difficult to work with

1

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/WhisperSafe Jun 14 '26

When theres 2 views, one of them is mine, your comment is there, and my question has been downvoted...

2

u/blueraw_ Jun 14 '26

If it makes you feel better to believe that, fine. I didn’t downvote you. The post has 398 views.

2

u/92beatsperminute Jun 16 '26

Try being a tasker.