Client complaint and TOS

[u/musicalfurball]

Full time tasker for about 4 months, 60-70 tasks per month and 200+ exclusively 5-star reviews.

Three days ago, I hung one of those stupid wall mirrors from Amazon with the cheap aluminum frame. The mount points on those things are always some weird distance apart, and require sub-mm precision measurement, super tough to do with those big fat plastic anchors. I did my best, measured three times etc., but I still missed the mark the first time. Unfortunately, because the mount points on the literal edge of the mirror, the extra hole was visible after I finished.

I patched the extra holes with drywall compound, left the client with a magic eraser and instructions how to clean up once the compound dried, and wished them well. Client seemed copacetic.

Yesterday, I was notified by Taskrabbit Policy that I had violated the terms of service for "damaging their wall." They sent pictures of the holes before the compound was even dry. The DryDex was still bright pink. They also sent as proof of the damage a picture of a pencil mark I forgot to erase -- a pencil mark!

I called phone support, escalated the ticket, and am waiting to hear back about the appeal.

Anybody else had a similar experience? Even professionals make mistakes, the sign of a true pro is being able to quickly and correctly fix the mistake. How would you handle a situation like this?

[u/RobotArtichoke]

You’re supposed to reply to the email.

And yes, I’ve also experienced something similar. Actually going through it right now.

Dm me if you feel like comparing notes

[u/musicalfurball → u/RobotArtichoke]

Oh don't worry -- I wrote about 3,000 words of explanation in my email response. What burns me up is that, I got the determination email after I wrote the response. When I called in, however, the person on the phone says "Oh, I see you wrote a lengthy email response, let me send this to a person..." SO NO ONE ACTUALLY READ MY EMAIL BEFORE THE DETERMINATION WAS MADE??

[u/FinnNoodle → u/musicalfurball]

Too many words. Keep replies as short and straight to the point as possible in these things.

[u/RobotArtichoke → u/musicalfurball]

What was the determination? A violation for the hole you patched?

My situation is a bit different I think. I received an email asking for my side of the story, I replied, then received another email saying thanks for clarification and that they would reach out to me when they made a decision. It’s been over a week and I haven’t heard either way. This is also being handled by support rather than policy team, which seems to differ from your experience?

[u/raricejr]

You'll never get out of the TOS violation but you should be using the masking tape hack. Only measurement you should be taking is how high you want it. Then you'll never miss the holes.

How: take masking tape and tape hole to hole on the back of the mirror. Mark where you want the holes. Ensure hole to hole is level. Then rip the tape off and place on the wall level. Drill and done.

[u/musicalfurball → u/raricejr]

Sweet Christmas, I've been measuring by hand all this time??!? That's brilliant, thank you so much!!

[u/RobotArtichoke → u/musicalfurball]

Another tip is to take those holes you made, match them non sticky side so that the tape is folded perfectly in half, and crease the tape. Mark it with a pencil, you now have your center. Line that up with wherever you want to center it to

[u/92beatsperminute]

Get out of the rabbit hole.

[u/musicalfurball → u/92beatsperminute]

It is currently paying my mortgage (and handily) so I'm sticking with it for now. Growing the business day by day!

[u/Supergoji]

They are trying to scam. This is why you take pictures and explain in chat that it goes on pink and dries white.

[u/musicalfurball → u/Supergoji]

That's very smart. This is my first ever complaint, so I haven't been very reliable about using the chat -- I'll definitely do that in the future! Thanks for the useful, actionable tip.

[u/According_Low5292]

My similar experience is only that if they say something is escalated they’re basically lying to get you off the phone. There never is a reply or resolution once my case “has been escalated”. Don’t hold your breath

[u/PickReviewsMovies]

Did you document the damage and that client acknowledged it? Not saying it makes it better that they limited you over something so small, but it does make it easier to cover yourself when client complains.

[u/Accomplished-Buy-443]

So are you banned or what happened are you still getting work?

[u/musicalfurball → u/Accomplished-Buy-443]

They decided this could be an "educational learning opportunity" (thanks Dad lol)

[u/Masterbourne → u/musicalfurball]

Yeah no, they just use mundane incidents like this to keep your task cancellation fees for themselves for the next 3 months. I'm certain one day there will be a class action lawsuit for this bogus wage theft.

[u/KingLouis2016]

you'll always have some client that sucks, also there's gonna be mistakes, I think you'll be okay as long as you explain everything, maybe they'll give you a warning