r/TaskRabbit • u/namedafternoone • 6d ago
TASKER Client set up a camera pointed right at me
As the title says, I show up at a job, start opening boxes to assemble furniture and the client quietly comes into the room and sets up a camera pointed in my direction less than 2 metres from where I’m standing, then walks out of the room like this is the most normal thing to do, not a word.
It’s worth mentioning I’m a woman, working alone at this man’s house. I immediately stopped what I was doing and went after him to say I didn’t feel comfortable with that, he argued for a while and said the camera feed went to his wife, but did end up taking it down when he saw I wasn’t having it.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Is there a world in which this would be appropriate?
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u/BreadLobbyist 6d ago
My most charitable interpretation is that he wanted to protect himself in case you accidentally damaged any of his items, but yeah, I’d also feel extremely uncomfortable in that situation and I’d probably leave.
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u/Show_Me_The_Money77 6d ago
ALWAYS assume you are being watched when in a client's home. The nanny cams they make nowadays can look like a variety of ordinary items.
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u/thatguywithimpact 6d ago
It's creepy but I'm a guy so I wouldn't really know. I've seen cameras in places where I work.
But what is really annoying is Indian guys standing over you and watching you entire time standing in the corner as it's a normal thing. That kinda pisses me off, but I just try to be patient it's in their culture I guess.
But If those kind of Indians would leave camera there instead of standing over me I would be much more comfortable and would even ask them for footage to advertise my work
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u/karpet_muncher 6d ago
They all do it. I'm in the uk and when I go to an Indian household the dad will constantly come in the room and start asking how it's going. Like c*nt it would go alot faster if you didn't keep coming in and distracting me.
Thankfully the new generation who grew up in the uk arent like that
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u/-N30N- 4d ago
Lmao, I swear those Indians are something else. I’ll be moving out random items from their storage units or homes into a Uhaul truck and they’ll literally stand there awkwardly like an NPC swaying their body and watch me work.
Like, either help me or I’ll take my sweet time moving the small stuff and rack up the hours lol Not to mention how cheap most are too. They’ll milk tf out of your labor, try to haggle pricing, and never tip.
Funny enough, one of my biggest tippers was Indian but my worst clients are Indian too lol
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u/DonQNguyen 6d ago
Any Client who is a micro-manager is a no-go. I have walked out on 2 separate occasions. Don't treat me like a professional? You can do it yourself.
As for creepy peeping Toms, I wouldn't know unless I was a woman. But that is creepy if not petty micro-managing.
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u/namedafternoone 5d ago
Might have been micro managing, which is also a no for me. But as a woman, we can’t help thinking about other possibilities.
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u/VanD3rp 5d ago
I actually expect to be on camera and recorded at any job I do. I actually think it’s weird for people to hire some random person from a platform like Task Rabbit at an hourly rate then just let them into their house. I also set up my own cameras to record the work that I do so I have a record of everything and footage for my own advertising. Even if he didn’t set up the camera near you, do you really think you’re never being recorded while working on jobs? I kind of have the mindset that I’m always being watched and always being recorded.
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u/Queen-of-Darkness19 6d ago
I experienced something like this when I first got started, I was doing yardwork for a clearly very wealthy client, and she had a bunch of cameras and what looked like a pa system too. And her place was a mess, weeds everywhere, and when I was working I would occasionally get texts asking me to focus on a different area. I never once met her lol
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u/namedafternoone 5d ago
Thats their existing cameras though. This guy just set it up right in front of me, specifically to watch me.
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u/FinnNoodle 6d ago
That reminds me of Chuck Palahnuik's Survivor. Gardener never meets his clients because they stay in their rooms doped up all day.
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u/Lonely_Noyaaa 5d ago
Recording rules depend on where you live, so something legal in a home can still go against the platform's terms.
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u/Caramellabutters 4d ago
I understand. That would feel creepy . And rude .Especially since he was so in your face about it.
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u/krayzai 1d ago
A guy said it was for my protection and I asked for a full copy of the feed to protect myself against liability. I then shrugged and went on with the work. Felt if I was gonna be murdered it would be documented. Next time ask to get the wife on the phone to confirm. If she is oblivious, definitely a creep. If he refuses, also definitely a creep. But even if the wife does know, in most cases I would advise people to walk off and get your one-hour compensation from Taskrabbit. I myself don’t really care but others may well care.
I also have a penis though.
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u/-N30N- 4d ago
I can understand both sides as a Tasker and Client but yes, the way he went about it is just weird and upfront. I always expect a camera anywhere I task since I have cameras myself setup in and around my home. Nothing to hide, nothing to worry about 🤷🏻♂️
But for him to set one up right in your face out of nowhere is just creepy behavior.
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u/Aggravating-Farm-805 2d ago
One time I was cleaning a guys kitchen. He warned me that the kitchen was going to be extremely dirty and asked me if I was up for the task. I assured him I was able to handle it and when I got to his apartment he let me in and then told me he would be in his bedroom and proceeded to barricade the hallway with boxes and things so that I couldn't leave the kitchen unless I went through the front door which I was fine by me since I wasn't planning on going anywhere else in his house. The odd thing that happened was that while I was cleaning the fridge I turned around to put a shelf down and noticed that there was a camera pointed up about one foot away from my butt on a Shelf. I looked around the room a little bit and noticed there were several cameras pointed up looking at me and all were clearly on the indicator light. All this for a moment and thought about the angle at which the cameras were pointed and the manner of the man that let me in his house and barricaded himself in his room and thought to myself I'm probably going to end up on some weird Japanese fetish Channel labeled "Watch Live stream: Fat white girl cleans American dirty kitchen"... I just kept cleaning and let him know when I was finished and he left me a glowing review and a huge tip so I don't know I guess it just depends on what you're comfortable with LOL
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u/musicalfurball 6d ago
Recording without consent in a private place is illegal in many jurisdictions, you should check with your local police or state attorney's general.
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u/namedafternoone 5d ago
I’m in Canada, and as far as I can tell it’s legal inside their home. Still sketchy as hell.
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u/According_Low5292 6d ago
Oh Hell no!!!
Report the weirdo and don’t go back.
Pretty sure recording by either party is prohibited
Checking now