As a freelancer, I’m always looking for new ways to increase my income. I prefer to do this by doing more of the things I’m really good at like audio production or writing. But when those gigs aren’t coming thru as often as I’d like, I start to look around for other opportunities. I’d heard of Taskrabbit awhile back. It’s a service that aims to connect those with available “odd jobs” to potential laborers looking for work. Like everything in this post-app world, it looks like a great idea and could be truly beneficial to those who use it. I wish I could say that was my experience with Taskrabbit.
I decided to sign up for the service as a “Tasker,” the term Taskrabbit uses for those who are looking for work. I gave Taskrabbit the usual details about myself (name, e-mail address, phone number, mailing address, etc.) and that’s fine. One of the things Taskrabbit strives to provide is a sense of trust among its users and that’s really important as the service is essentially connecting strangers. Taskrabbit needs to know that its users aren’t hiding behind fake credentials, especially since some Taskers will be sent to peoples’ homes.
From there, I was asked to take a 10-question quiz based on topics in the Taskrabbit user guide. I’ll admit, I didn’t read the guide. But the questions were pretty easy to work out, as the answers were all based on real-world common sense. However, I did miss one question and apparently, the Taskrabbit quiz is only passable on a perfect score. I had to retake the quiz and this time, I aced it.
That led to the next part of the signup process where Taskrabbit asked for my Social Security and bank account numbers. I’m always apprehensive about giving over this kind of sensitive information. I double checked my browser to make sure I was on a secure connection and that I hadn’t fumbled entering the address and accidentally went to “tsakrabitt.com” or something like that. Everything looked good so I entered the information and moved on. Then, I had to tell Taskrabbit the geographical area in which I’m available to work. Using the site’s handy mapping tool, I drew a box around my hometown and then clicked the Next button.
And finally, this is the point where Taskrabbit decided to tell me that the service isn’t available in my area. I was pretty discouraged by this. Why didn’t Taskrabbit check my ZIP code against its database when I first entered my information? I understand that some people may live in one area not covered by Taskrabbit but may be open to work in an area that is covered by the service. But why not give me a warning first? Not only did I waste my time in signing up, taking (and retaking) the quiz, but Taskrabbit now has my Social Security and bank account numbers. And while I’m sure Taskrabbit’s security is top notch, information breeches happen all of the time.
I just wish Taskrabbit would’ve told me the service isn’t available where I live before I had given them all of that information. There’s no ETA as to when Taskrabbit will be available here. All I can do now is wait and see when they get here. Or deactivate my account, which is probably what I’ll do.