I first heard about Task Rabbit in New York. People were hiring them to wait in line for a coveted cronut (cross between a croissant and a donut) or for hard to get theater tickets. It turns out this company helps you get a personal assistant, handyman, moving help or cleaning person whom you  pay by the hour – with only a one hour minimum. Personal assistant tasks I queried including everything from watering plants and assembling furniture to shopping.  The task rabbits are vetted – identity check, for criminal record, and given an in person interview and training. Plus there’s an insurance policy of $1 million on every task. Clients pay online, so no cash changes hands. You put in your zip code and people come up in your neighborhood whom you select based on task desired and then sort by hourly rate, most reviews, highest rating, and percentage of those recommending him/her. The most highly rated task rabbits get a label of Elite.

Sample hourly rates for a personal assistant start at $15/hour. Task Rabbit gets a 20% service charge. Change your mind once you commit? You can cancel online or call member services anytime. If you cancel within 5 hours of the task’s start time, you only pay for one hour. And if you want moving help, you can specify someone with a truck.  And by the way, for anyone interested, the website also has the option to sign up to be a task rabbit. Sounds intriguing, no? I plan to give it a try.