San Francisco’s flourishing technology industry has a new class of well-paid professionals. These men and women work long hours with no time for lunch—let alone managing mundane daily chores like taking out the trash. Hence, the birth of TrashDay. For a fee—$32-$52 for 4 weeks—this service will wrangle your barrels to the street and return them after pickup.
Some locals think this service sounds too simple to be true. Their phone number is a Google Voice recording and provides no company information. Could TrashDay be poking fun at on-demand service apps and the increase in workers who still want Mommy to do their chores? Or is it an honest response to a growing need where technology has progressed enough to provide seamless solutions to daily chores?
This growing industry generates speculation and dreams of high returns. “Venture capitalists have bet $38 million on home chore service TaskRabbit and millions more on similar startups,” observes Bloomberg reporter Brad Stone. Improvements in technology and a distributed workforce model increase the viability of these startups. These companies benefit employees with the flexibility to choose assignments that match their skills and a chance to earn money on their own schedule and sometimes find personal fulfillment.
Laura Horn in San Francisco used TaskRabbit for some personal chores. Eventually she started to accept assignments and work for others. In a Bloomberg interview with reporter Brad Stone she said, “In some ways TaskRabbit fills my need to help people and satisfy a fast-pace life I like to keep. I want to keep moving, and I like the variety.”
A little online searching delivers a plethora of practical and luxury services ready to fulfill your every need from morning coffee to a healthy homemade dinner. This impulse economy isn’t limited to a 9 to 5 schedule. You can get nearly anything you want by texting 834489 to Magic. Their staff will locate that plunger you need at 2am and text you a quote including delivery fees. If you agree to the price, you’ll be sent to a secure credit card service, and your pick ax is on its way.
“As long as it’s legal and possible, we can do that. It may be expensive, you may want a helicopter to Vegas, but if it’s possible, we will do it,” said Mike Chen, cofounder of Magic. What’s your Magic going to be?