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I hired a TaskRabbit to pick up a large amount of IKEA and deliver it to my house. The TaskRabbit proceeded to show up an hour late with the furniture...because she dropped the furniture on her foot, breaking multiple bones. Once I heard this, I realized "Shoot, I contracted her. Am I legally liable for her injuries?" (Fortunately for me, she shrugged it off, and seemed to be covered under some insurance of her own.) And if she had not delivered the furniture due to her broken foot, would TaskRabbit make me look like the bad guy for asking for my money back? (Fortunately again for me, she made the delivery, amazingly.) While things turned out OK in the end, suddenly the whole service felt much riskier, for both the employee and the consumer - and I felt irritated at TaskRabbit for subjecting me to that risk without some sort of a safety net in place. (Heck, I would have paid extra for one, some sort of "TaskRabbit Insurance.") I have to say, as much as I dislike the idea of tight regulations on workers, and can see directly how much cheaper my services are removing those regulations...I think next time I'll pay the premium for a more legitimate furniture move, at least, until the law catches up to services like TaskRabbit. |