Personal Assistant vs. Gig Worker: Which Is Right for Your Needs?

Austin professionals, are you thinking about hiring a personal assistant through Care.com or a similar gig worker company? While this may be cheaper up-front there are many benefits to hiring a distinct personal assistant company, such as Queen of To Do. 

What’s included if you hire a gig worker? There are no guarantees on the worker’s background or experience, and getting mistakes fixed takes a lot of paperwork and your time. But with Queen of To Do you’re getting a trained, insured (with a $1 million insurance policy) personal assistant/lifestyle concierge who loves what they do, and are ready to help.

Gig worker companies like Taskrabbit say they run background checks, but it’s unclear how much attention the company actually gives them. It is recommended in blogs and articles about “getting the most out of Taskrabbit” that you run your own background check, especially if you are a woman who will be home alone. Care.com even recommends on their own website that you pay out of pocket for a background check if you are uneasy with having a stranger in your home.

Queen of To Do is woman-owned and we get it, you have to feel comfortable in your home because it’s your sanctuary. All of our employees are background checked (the results are reviewed by a real person, not a computer program). We also don’t ask prospective new hires to pay for their own background check, unlike gig companies. It’s important to us that we take care of our employees, and paying for their background check only seems fair. All employees first work in management’s own homes for training, before spending time in a client’s residence.

Gig workers often pick up gigs or odd jobs for extra money or to supplement their primary income. This may mean they only work for a limited time, or that they have extremely limited availability. On the flip side there’s Queen of To Do, which has at least 8 full time personal assistants/house managers. This is our bread and butter, and we work as a team. That means if you ask your personal assistant for a task they cannot do (either don’t have the expertise or don’t feel comfortable doing) they have the team to help. And if your dedicated personal assistant is sick or needs time off they can lean on the rest of the team so you don’t experience a lapse in coverage.

When you hire a gig worker you are often hiring someone for a very specific task like organizing, hanging art, or handyman services. If your gig worker has experience in your requested task like they claim they do, great! But if they don’t, and something gets broken or damaged, it can be nearly impossible to get the mistake fixed.

Large companies like Taskrabbit or Care.com say they have a happiness guarantee and will fix any mistakes (if something was incorrectly assembled and later breaks, if your assistant accidentally knocks an expensive vase over, etc.),ut what they don’t say is that they will only fix some mistakes/problems (for instance if your Tasker cancels the day before the task, the additional cost of rebooking a new Tasker on short notice is not covered) and if you’ve filed a claim within 14 days. We’ve run into this policy time and again with clients who hire us to fix another companies' errors.

Queen of To Do, however, makes this process as easy as it can be. We take great pride in our work and want things to be done right, so we take responsibility for our (rare!) mistakes. We also carry business insurance and are happy to involve them if needed. Hiring a gig worker for your household may seem to save you money upfront,but if the job is done incorrectly or there’s any issues getting a resolution feels like a Sisyphean task. 

We know choosing a personal assistant can feel daunting. The low hourly cost that gig companies offer looks attractive, but it’s such a gamble. On the other hand there’s Queen of To Do, your local, woman-owned personal assistant/lifestyle concierge business. We are ready and excited to help tackle your to-do list!