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Leah Busque had a problem. The software engineer already had dinner reservations and was out of dog food to feed her yellow lab. How to make the reservations and still feed Kobe? She thought that surely one of her neighbors would run this small errand for her if she paid them, and voilà, TaskRabbit was born.
TaskRabbit is a free iOS app that provides “senders,” a person who needs a task completed, with “rabbits,” certified people who carry out the tasks.
It works in three steps, posting a task, making a bid and issuing a payment once the task has been completed. Tasks are shown in a pinwheel and include shopping, having something delivered, hiring a handyman, making donations, cleaning services, delivering food, completing virtual tasks and doing “something else.” The rabbits then bid with the minimum amount they’d accept to complete the sender's task. Senders pick a rabbit by either choosing the lowest priced bidder, highest rated rabbit or the rabbit who is immediately available for a rush job.
Posting a task is done by choosing a category, like shopping, and entering information such as what store, where the items must be dropped off, the deadline, expenses and how much the sender is going to pay. The options of taking pictures, dictating and typing the task make posting quick and easy.
Once completed, payment is made through the sender's credit card. TaskRabbit will take up to a 30 percent cut of each transaction; the job value results in the percentage deducted, in which a lower-value job will have a higher deducted percentage.
PUBLISHED AUG. 1, 2012
