How many odd little DIY jobs do you have around your home? You know, the kind of thing that would take half an hour if you could just get 30 mins without the kids.
Well, help may be at hand in the form of TaskRabbit. It’s a remarkably simple yet genius concept.
Firstly, you visit the TaskRabbit website where you outline what task you want doing and your location. It will then try and match you with an individual who can undertake your job in return for an agreed fee.
It works in a very similar way to the People Per Hour website. The big difference is that TaskRabbit specialsies in physical tasks such as DIY, garden maintenance and so on (although you can request people do office admin tasks if you wish). That said, I had a good root around its website and you can pay people to do some intriguing tasks. This includes standing in line on your behalf at popular restaurants.
Asked if I’d like to try out its service and have a DIY task undertaken, I immediately looked up to my left at the broken curtain rail in our living room. The rail had come loose from its fixings a few months beforehand. I hadn’t got around to putting it right and as a result it was impossible to draw the living room curtains.
I explained what needed doing and TaskRabbit dispatched a chap called Greg. Greg arrived early and was even wearing a branded t-shirt.
He set to work straight away and had the job done in 30 minutes. In fact he replaced some of the fittings to ensure the curtain rail wouldn’t come lose a second time.
My experience was very positive and the curtain rail has remained in place. So long as you have the disposable income, this could be a very useful service.
Fees vary, but a general handyman job like the one Greg did would cost something in the region of £30 an hour. By comparison, should you wish to pay someone to stand in line for you at a restaurant, you’ll need to pay about £20 an hour.
To be clear, TaskRabbit is presently only available in the London area. This will be changing in the near future so keep popping back to the website for updates if you are interested.
That issue aside, I can’t fault the service we received. If Greg is typical of the individuals that undertake the tasks, then I would happily use it again. For more information, see TaskRabbit’s website.
Having had the curtain rail fixed, I am now looking at the bath panel that hasn’t fixed itself over the past year. Any volunteers, or shall I just go and do it myself?
Disclosure: I was provided with access to the TaskRabbit service for review purposes. Thoughts and opinions entirely my own.
2 thoughts on “Getting things done with TaskRabbit”
Very interesting. Are they using tradespeople do you know, or is it just anyone with a toolkit who fancies having a go at some DIY in someone else’s home?
There is further information on the TaskRabbit website. It states that everyone has been “vetted” but I can’t personally safe if that means they are qualified.