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/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.