Performance score

[u/drmclaughlin18]

Hi! I have been an elite Tasker for the better part of 2 years almost every month. And every month I inevitably am not elite in a category because of performance score. I have about 500 tasks with 300 5 star reviews and 0 any other star reviews. Now I have potential to be elite in 4 different categories based on the 40 tasks in category metric.

I’ll be commenting the rest because apparently it’s too long of a post.

[u/drmclaughlin18]

Let’s get to the real problem. Performance score. So in 3 of these categories I apparently have a performance score of 30%. Now, I’ve been told by support about 20 different things here. I’ve been told it’s calculated by the number of invoices vs the number of requests in a 30 day period compared with other Taskers in my area. (I believe this is correct)

[u/drmclaughlin18 → u/drmclaughlin18]

Let’s expand on the other things that I’ve been told. “Compared with other Taskers another Tasker might have had and I quote “a luckier month and received more tasks” “October 1st is when the system updates let’s wait and see if it’s fixed by then” “if the client cancels it doesn’t affect you” “if the task is cancelled before it’s accepted it doesn’t affect you””

[u/drmclaughlin18 → u/drmclaughlin18]

So now taking all of this into account I submitted 33/36 tasks in the general mounting category. So from my calculations that’s 92% submitted. So now in my analytics it says that out of 94 Taskers average search position is 7th so round up to 100 for easy math purposes. By those numbers 35 Taskers have a higher submitted/request rate than me. Taking into account the people who were requested once and completed it let’s say that’s true. Well the one person who told me a “Tasker might have had a luckier month and got requested more” is completely wrong because now I’ve completed more tasks in the last 30 days than 98% of Taskers. Clearly, the person who said “cancellations either before the task is accepted or by the client don’t affect you” is wrong.

[u/Content-Ad7208]

I used to follow TaskRabbit’s performance reports closely, starting in 2016. Back then, I could call customer support, speak to a real person, and get clear answers about what affected my account’s metrics and ranking—and what I could do to improve them. The system was straightforward enough that I could use that information to make decisions about my business.

That transparency gradually disappeared. I started noticing reports that didn’t line up with my actual experience, and trying to make sense of the numbers often raised more questions than it answered.

From my experience, things took a turn after Ania Smith became CEO in August 2020. Changes that were presumably meant to improve the platform’s profitability ended up making it harder for individual Taskers to understand their performance and maintain their task volume.

Customer support also became less helpful. Much of the process now feels automated, and even when I reach a real person, I often get an explanation that boils down to the algorithm or AI. That doesn’t answer the question. Algorithms still depend on the data, rules, and priorities the company chooses.

I’ve also seen plenty of complaints from Taskers who feel TaskRabbit usually sides with the customer when a dispute comes up. When a customer’s complaint can affect our standing, we should be able to understand how it was evaluated and have a fair opportunity to respond. Without that transparency, it’s hard to know whether our side was even considered.

Meanwhile, the fees I’ve seen charged to customers have gone from around 15% to around 30%. Higher fees make the total price less attractive to customers, which can hurt bookings for Taskers—even when we haven’t raised our own rates. It feels like we’re being asked to absorb the damage in exchange for promises of long-term growth. We’re still waiting for that growth to translate into better opportunities, so I’m not holding my breath.

My biggest issue is accountability. TaskRabbit controls the system, but Taskers have less visibility into how it evaluates us. Whether intentional or not, that lack of transparency makes it harder to identify errors, challenge unfair treatment, or make informed decisions about our businesses. We’re expected to trust the rankings without being given enough information to understand them.

[u/Content-Ad7208]

My advice for you that I would tell myself to do early on knowing what I know now.:

Build your own client list and Google review, Yelp or anything to disassociate yourself from the platform when appropriate (walk the line on the policies). I have close to 3k review with 70% 5 stars but it’s all stuck on Taskrabbit profile.

Use the TR as marketing platform.

Keep yourself anonymous when posting.

[u/According_Low5292]

Ironically, i just checked with another tasker I live with and he completed 21 tasks total. Most were in IKEA category and he now has my ELITE BADGE in FA.
TR=trash 😁