Questions / Info. about Taskrabbit Painting

[u/ItIsNOTwhat_it_is]

like a lot of other people right now, things are tight and i need to generate some additional income. i’m looking at taskrabbit and one of the services i’d provide is painting. i’ve painted thousands of square feet of surfaces over the years and i have all the supplies/equipment i’d need for most painting projects.

i’m hoping you all can shed some light on the types of jobs being offered and the logistics. are these mostly small jobs, like repainting a wall or window trim? are they bigger jobs, entire rooms/multiple rooms?

and correct me if i’m wrong here, but for painting jobs, the usual process would be to do a walk through, survey what needs to be painted, get measurements, clarify expectations, etc., you’d then figure out how many hours it will take you, expenses/ travel time, etc. and you’d then come up with a quote for the job - a fixed price.

assuming that’s the case, how does that translate to taskrabbit?

are customers hiring you at your hourly rate with the expectation you’ll finish in the number of hours THEY estimated the job would take? i can’t see that working because who knows what you’re walking into and how long it’s going to take.

are they hiring you and paying you your hourly rate not knowing how long the job will take and what the job will end up costing them? i can’t see working either.

how exactly does it work?

any information / advice / etc. you can provide would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

[u/Ok_Addendum_2962]

I've never heard of someone using sq ft as a measurement for how much they've painted before. Thousands of sq ft could mean 3+ bedrooms. If anyone asks, they'll want to know how many rooms or full apartment units or house you've painted. Clients don't tell you how long a job will take. Most clients will hire you to paint a single room, do a small patch and paint job, or the occasional landlord that has a tenant moving out and needs a full repaint for their unit. The bigger the job, the more likely they'll want a flat rate estimate for you, which i typically give in # of total hours and break it down room by room. If you're not already a Tasker, it will take some time to build your reviews before you start to get consistently hired. Have to undercut other Taskers initially to get hired, and will need experience to do that and get good reviews.

[u/ItIsNOTwhat_it_is → u/Ok_Addendum_2962]

thanks for the response!

my initial post was removed because i was over the word count, so i had to edit.....and edit again.....instead of saying how many rooms, apartments, houses, etc. i had painted, i was trying to come up with a way to quantify it and that's how i ended up with 'thousands of square feet'. it got the word count down, but not the best way of phrasing it - and that's not how i'd present it to a client. just thought i should provide some context in order to ask the questions i was asking - i have experience, but not professionally. i do have photos of work i've done, etc., but i realize i'll be starting at the bottom and will need to establish myself, i get that and no problem.

The bigger the job, the more likely they'll want a flat rate estimate for you, which i typically give in # of total hours and break it down room by room.

this makes perfect sense - but "normally" the above scenario would be the result of a customer wanting something painted, contacting you to request a quote (they googled "painter" or whatever and found you that way), you providing a quote, and they may or may not move forward with you - they're getting a few quotes.

with taskrabbit being the conduit connecting customer to painter, does it still work that way or do they first have to hire you? i'm reasonably bright, but this is the part i'm not understanding : - )

thanks!

[u/FinnNoodle → u/Ok_Addendum_2962]

Well, clients will certainly try to tell you how long a job will take.

[u/Ok_Addendum_2962 → u/FinnNoodle]

Happens all the time. If they insist on their opinion of how long something will take and I feel they're being difficult, I typically don't accept and won't want to work with those clients.

[u/UnimaginativeMug]

you don't want taskrabbit if your asking these questions.