Not impressed with my first day with Postmates.

[SurrealisticSlumbers]

So far, this company feels like "meet the new boss, same as the old boss." I drove for Lyft and Uber for about a year, but quit a little over a year ago. You need to be careful with this kind of work. Driving significantly out of your way to give rather short (and therefore low-$$) rides, and then of course having to eventually call it a day and go back home, equates to very little profit when you factor in oil changes and gas expenses.

I had a "ping" when I went online this evening... I guess in the process of navigating to the store for the delivery pickup (I pulled up Google Maps on my phone), I didn't see that the delivery had in fact been cancelled while I was en route. So I hung around the area (which was a good 10 miles away), got a bite to eat, and then basically drove around in a big circle, hoping to get another "ping"... Eventually threw the towel in when it was clear that the demand just wasn't there and the phone's battery was getting pretty low. Thinking of the gas that I used driving over 20 miles in total tonight makes me physically ill.

I am not amused...lol

 

[SurrealisticSlumbers]

Another "gig economy" company I'd recommend avoiding is TaskRabbit. You are supposed to draw a work area that can't exceed a certain number of miles. This might have worked against me. I suspect that the clientele for this app might largely be urban or suburban. I'm not near a major metro area, which could be causing problems in regard to me getting any work from that app... been since about June or July that I downloaded it (and had to pony up $15 for a background check), and it's just another app on my phone that I see from time to time and say to myself, "oh yeah, that app." Again, no work since the summer, even though I advertise multiple services on my profile and my rates are reasonable.

Another one to avoid...

Care.com - this isn't an actual employer for gig workers, but rather an online platform meant to connect nannies and babysitters with parents. (They also have senior care jobs posted there, as well as pet sitting jobs and jobs that are just running errands and chores for people.) This company's name has been mentioned in articles I've read about homicidal nannies. They run background checks (again, I had to pay for mine) but those aren't always foolproof. Not that I have kids myself, but thinking as a parent, I wouldn't look for a stranger online to watch my kid. I'd go with someone I knew. Anyway, I haven't had luck in getting any jobs through that site, either.

 

[Jaq]

Thanks for posting about this.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

these are predatory companies.