Taskrabbit - Handyman & more Ratings and Reviews

Shocked at the negative reviews

Just used TR to move shelving units from my friend’s apartment to mine. The whole experience was great and the app was easy to use (and I work at a tech company!). The notifications work properly (important!) and you can leave/read reviews for potential suggestions. I read almost every review before deciding on a TR and I had a really easy and efficient time with my task. So I’m shocked at all the negative reviews on here - take a minute to do your research and you won’t be disappointed.

That said, because this is the App Store, one feature/UX suggestion I have would be to move the search to the header rather than at the bottom on Home as I actually had no idea it existed for most of the time I’ve had this app downloaded. Also, I wish you could set your TR results to sort the same way every time (I wanted price from low to high instead of recommended - it was annoying having to toggle that each time I searched a new time or date). Lastly, it would be more convenient to enter any promo codes in settings vs. after you’ve booked a task and are ready to checkout - especially since other sharing economy apps have conditioned us to do it this way.

Other than those three things, can’t really complain and would use again!

I can no longer pick taskers of my choice

I was trying to book an assembly request in SF a few days in advance, but I was unable to select a tasker that I’ve used before. I thought they may be unavailable, but then I remembered they sent me a direct link to their profile. Once I clicked on the link it showed me that they were actually available for that timeframe I initially selected, which was contrary to what was displayed in the app. So needless to say I booked my preferred tasker for the assembly project. Once they had completed the project, I asked them why I was unable to select them in the app. They informed me that Taskrabbit change their algorithm to prioritize taskers based on the location of the cities where they reside, instead of all the taskers that service the area. They also mention that they have been getting less work as a result of this update. I noticed during the checkout process that Taskrabbit was willing to recommend less experienced taskers with lower ratings, instead of my preferred tasker of choice. This seems unfair to both customers and taskers alike. It forces mediocrity on the customers while taking work away from quality taskers. Taskrabbit should really provide customers with a better selection of taskers that provide a higher standard of service and not penalize taskers just because of their proximity to the service location. I hope that they will take my feedback seriously and not continue to peddle such mediocrity.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for the feedback! We recommend adding your preferred Tasker as a "Favorite" Tasker in your app so that you can easily rehire them in the future. Learn how to add a Tasker as a Favorite here: support.taskrabbit.com/hc/en-us/articles/360035493892

Long-term bugs. iOS app development cycle needs to be reviewed

I would be giving this app a higher review if it were brand new and still experiencing first year growing pains. However: the Taskrabbit app is 10 years old! I have been using the app for several years, and have seen bugs persist for months if not years on end, even being passed on from one head of development to the next. One of the most frustrating ones is sorting Taskers by positive reviews. What gets returned is something barely resembling any kind of sort. Taskers with both numerically lower ratings and fewer completed tasks routinely appear above Taskers with higher ratings and more completed tasks. If a user asks for a sort by positive reviews, that is what should be listed. Either the development team hasn’t been able to fix this very basic and core app function for several years, or they are using some incredibly obscure and un-asked for secret sauce to rank Taskers by parameters other than average rating + completed tasks (ie substituting what the user wants with taskrabbit’s own ranking preferences). An app that has been around this long should have 100 % of its long-term bugs ironed out. If the development team has too much on its plate to work on existing app issues, then that is a sign that Taskrabbit HQ should invest in its own product and expand the iOS/app development team so that it can properly handle all aspects of app development, including UX and quality control.

Developer Response ,

We truly appreciate you sharing this feedback and have passed this info on to our teams to take a look. We continually work to improve the community experience and your sharing lets us know how we can do exactly that. Please let us know if we can help with anything else.

App is extremely hard, and often impossible to use with a screen reader

Please, please please make your app accessible for those of us who don’t read the screen! Buttons need to be labeled as buttons. I cannot use the chat function. I cannot use the link that is given in the reply. There is one page on the website that comes up with catalog button and it gives you a description of what that is. There are mini mini, mini other things that are confusing and don’t support a screenreader. If you don’t know where the screen reader is, that you have more problems than it would be easy to fix. A screenreader is a text to speech engine that runs on operating systems. Or Apple, it is called voiceover and is available on all Apple products. I am using an iPhone 13 Pro with the latest operating system. I know you guys could do better. There are, I’m sure, lots of people who cannot read the screen, who would greatly benefit from your app. This means that you are a losing potential customers. that said, I have an able to schedule and utilize to test scores who were terrific. But the communication was difficult, because I could not participate in the chat. Often you have what seems to be buttons, but they’re not named in your coding as buttons and probably they’re not normal buttons, so in that case, you have to name them as buttons. Please get back to me with a response.

Developer Response ,

We’re committed to ensuring Taskrabbit is accessible to our entire community and truly appreciate your detailed feedback.  We have passed it on to the relevant teams and will continue this discussion internally.

Major issues with payment & crazy high fees.

Overall, it’s a good concept, but I’ve probably used this app for the last time. In the olden days, their “trust and support fee” was very fair and reasonable. But now it’s like 35% and they’re difficult to get in touch with or a response from. There is no phone number. Using the chat rarely gets you live help and sometimes they respond to emails and sometimes they don’t. I think 35% for a platform with poor service, is unreasonable - especially given their biggest job is computers processing payments and them just deducting more fees. I hired someone to help move some furniture. The labor for this last job was about $75. There was a truck rental fee for $87. With the fees it totaled $191. The fees are just on the labor (I think??) But the real kicker was when I tried to send a tip the only way to do it is to choose from 5 options: no tip, 10%, 15%, 20% or 25%, ON THE TOTAL!!! Why no custom percentage and no custom dollar amount options??? I was happy to tip 20% or even more, for the labor, but not on the Taskrabbit fees (obviously Taskrabbit thinks they deserve this tip) and a tip on the truck rental. The “help” section says “ Taskers receive 100% of their tips” which probably means that Taskrabbit must keep the tip on their service fee and probably on the expenses and taskers probably just get the tip on the labor. I find this abominable and utterly lacking in integrity. What a massive scam.

From Overjoyed to Furious

Review is for TaskRabbit itself, not the app.
Past experience with TaskRabbit was wonderful. Very nice gentleman who was way overqualified for the job. Gave him a substantial tip and hired him again and recommended him to others. He’s no longer doing tasks so I hired someone else to help with a move out cleaning. 1st person I hired for approx $26/hr. She cancelled 11 hrs later. No biggie- it was still 24 hrs before Task. Then I got a message from TaskRabbit that a guy would be able to do it for approx $37/hr. Got a message from him confirming. Sent him a message 30 mins before he was to be there, asking for an ETA, but told him no rush. 45 mins later (15 mins after he was supposed to be there), a message saying he cancelled. Get a message from TaskRabbit saying someone can start at 10am (15 mins ago) for $50/hr. Twice as much as what I was originally going to pay. I’m not completely blaming the taskers (well, maybe the guy bc he confirmed yesterday, read my message at 9:26am, then waited 45 mins to say he couldn’t do it.) I understand that life happens. Even just a “sorry, didn’t mean to accept this task,” would be nice, but it appears that the conversation is closed as soon as they cancel the task. I’m rambling. That’s what I do when I’m mad. So I’ll end it here. And no, I didn’t hire a 3rd Taskmasker and doubt I’ll use this service again.

Developer Response ,

Hi Mags—We deeply apologize for this poor experience and would love to assist with your next booking. Please know that we have a dedicated Client Team working on issues like this so if you'd like to give us another chance, visit help.tr.co and click the "Contact Us" button.

Terrible Integrity- DO NOT support this company

Task rabbit actually robbed me. I have proof of a conversation I had with a tasker who convinced me they had the experience to move and set up a Murphy bed and help me move my 1 bedroom apt down the street- they mentioned they were going to come WITHOUT DOLLIES and just bring a friend who has more experience. At this point, I said, excuse me? I’ll just find another tasker- and they said, no we will get dollies and be just fine!! They showed up and took the entire day to move my Murphy bed, broke the bed and made it not functional (a $2000 bed) and then I was left to hire another company to fix and install the bed, then I spent the rest of the day myself moving my own stuff to my new apartment. Task rabbit hurried me to pay for the task and then said they can help me investigate the case- I spent $1200 on task rabbiters for the day and task rabbit refunded me NOTHING because the taskers spent the entire day working on my Murphy bed, which in the fine print they say they don’t cover any expenses for damages to Murphy beds.. so i was out $1200 for the time if the taskers, $500 more from another company to fix my bed, and wasted my whole day moving which is what the taskers were hired to do and convinced me they were qualified to do. NOTHING from task rabbit- a disgrace for any company who treats customers like this. I will never use task rabbit again- please do not support this company!

Developer Response ,

We're deeply sorry that damage occurred during your task and appreciate your feedback on your experience. While our Happiness Pledge can assist with some tasks, please remember that your personal insurance may be able to assist you so we encourage you to contact them at your earliest convenience.

TaskRabbit: Where Reliability Takes a Vacation and Never Returns

TaskRabbit, the epitome of unprofessionalism and unreliability. If you're looking for a service that will consistently disappoint and leave you high and dry, look no further.
My experience with TaskRabbit has been an exercise in frustration and wasted time. Three times, I've scheduled cleaning services through their platform, and three times, I've been left scrambling at the last minute because the maid decided she had better things to do.
It's bad enough to have your plans thrown into disarray by a cancellation, but what's truly maddening is the complete lack of consequences for these flaky maids. They can bail on appointments with impunity, leaving customers like me in the lurch, and TaskRabbit doesn't bat an eyelash.
And don't even get me started on TaskRabbit's customer service – or lack thereof. When I reached out for assistance after yet another cancellation, I was met with nothing but indifference and excuses. It's clear they have no interest in actually helping their customers or holding their so-called "taskers" accountable.
TaskRabbit's motto should be "We'll be there for you... until we're not." Save yourself the headache and steer clear of this sham of a service. There are plenty of other platforms out there that actually value their customers' time and deserve their hard-earned money. TaskRabbit isn't one of them.

Task rabbits a scam

They charge a protection/service fee every hour alongside the tasked fee increasing the bill tremendously as they set it at a % they determine I believe is between 15-10% my last service with task rabbit will be my last as I’m uninstalling the app. The fee was like an additional $10+ on top of the service man’s fee of $40+ the man wasn’t experienced in the work he was doing. He didn’t even bother reading the task description or message I clearly detailed I wanted tinted window film added to my single split window. The film was applied with many bubbles and my boyfriend helped him apply it and the service man didn’t even bother cleaning the window before applying the film ! Not as bad as the service man who took 3 days to put up blinds and milked us for over 8 hours of work daily! I’ll find a more reliable app that has replicable services available at better or fairer prices. Also Taskrabbit never returned my email for help asking for the service fee and why it was applied every hour instead of a flat fee them getting a cut of over $50 for a service fee, for every service is bull if you ask me. I thank god nothing went terrible on the tasks because the horror stories of taskers ruining peoples home and Taskrabbit saying they cannot help is bull also so what’s with that dumb fee?!??? Crumby service

Frustrating

My experience with TaskRabbit has been terrible. I’ve been trying to hire someone to pick up and deliver an exercise bike (less than a mile away). You can’t start chatting with a Tasker or confirm their price and availability until you actually book the job (at which point a hold is placed on your credit card). The Tasker wrote back to say he would read the job description and get back to me but he took two days to reply (even though I sent him polite reminders). When he does get back he quotes 5x his hourly rate. I cancel the task and go through the same steps with 3 other taskers until I find someone whose quote is more reasonable (only 2.5x his hourly rate). The job is booked and confirmed and I’ve got the guy at the pick up address all ready to go and then hours before the job the Tasker cancels with no explanation. So I’m back on the app trying to find someone else and it’s the same problem with having to make the booking before price and availability can be confirmed only to find that they’re quoting 4-5x their hourly rates. I wasted hours and hours on this app for nothing. I ended up picking the bike up myself and grabbing an Uber which cost $15. Very disappointed experience with TaskRabbit and no option to leave reviews for taskers who cancelled last minute.

Developer Response ,

Hi There – We deeply apologize for this poor experience.  Please know that we have dedicated Support working around the clock to help the community so if you'd like to give us another chance, visit help.tr.co and click the "Contact Us" button to send our team an email at your earliest convenience.