Now All We Need is a Mattress
When it comes to moving furniture, I hate asking my friends for help. I can think of so many other ways to spend quality time with my crew that doesn’t involve hauling around heavy items. For this reason, I recently tested out TaskRabbit, a Boston-based start-up, to move a wooden futon frame within the Back Bay.
Dedicated to all errands large and small, TaskRabbit connects people willing to do odd jobs (runners) with Bostonians like myself looking for a little help. Tasks can be virtually anything as long as its legal – buying groceries, delivering flowers to your girlfriend, or moving furniture. All we Bostonians have to do is clearly describe the errand and decide how much we’re willing to pay for it.
What differentiates TaskRabbit from a website like Craigslist is that each runner has undergone a background check. Runners are paid through the website, which will charge your credit card and is not paid until you mark your task as completed. Runners also earn ratings for each successfully completed task, making them professional and eager to have you post extra errands with TaskRabbit in the future. The guys that helped me had other jobs but also worked for TaskRabbit as an extra source of income.
Overall, I found the service to be very helpful. For $50 + an $11 service fee which is calculated based on the price of the task, I didn’t have to lift a finger while my wooden futon frame was moved by two nice guys proudly wearing their bright green TaskRabbit t-shirts. They even gave me a ride in the truck with them so that I didn’t need to hop a taxi.
If you’re only moving one piece of furniture, I think this is worth the price. The average errand is around $10-$15, but furniture will run you $40-$50. I was particularly impressed that pickups from Ikea are also $50, cheaper than the store’s $100 delivery fee.
For more information and to see the types of errands that people are posting, please visit www.taskrabbit.com.
