JiffyOnDemand

What: JiffyonDemand allows you to list your repair and maintenance services, ranging from plumbing and electrical work to cleaning and landscaping

Expected pay: $40 – $85 per hour

Husl$core: $$$$

Commissions & Fees: 12% – 18% of contractor pay; fines for cancelations

Where: Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Ottawa

Requirements: Appropriate experience, licenses and insurance; any necessary tools of the trade; smart phone

Review:

Like Takl and Task Rabbit, JiffyOnDemand connects consumers needing repair or maintenance work with the contractors who are willing and able to do it. The site offers a payment schedule for 17 different tasks, including lawn care, electrical and plumbing work, furniture assembly, appliance repair, moving and delivery, snow removal, window, duct, carpet and upholstery cleaning, as well as locksmith and general handyman services. 

Consumers use a smart phone to order the service they need and tell contractors when it should be done. Contractors are then able to accept jobs that fit into their area of expertise and schedule. The cost of each service is noted on Jiffy’s website.

Lawn care, for instance, is charged at $50 per hour; appliance repair at $75 per hour; electrical work at $150 for 1.5 hours.

The contractor gets between 82% and 88% of this rate, depending on the city and the size of the job. The bigger the job, the more of the money the contractor gets to keep. Payment for completed work is generally made on the Friday following the week the job was completed.

While skilled contractors can obviously earn more on their own, marketing your services can take a lot of time. Paying less than 20% for the connection seems like a reasonable trade-off. Certainly, the pay and terms for contractors at Jiffy are considerably better than they are at other marketing platforms for contractors, such as Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor, Takl and Handy. 

Concerns in the terms

That said, there are a few things in Jiffy’s terms and conditions that give us pause. First, the site’s commission is not contractually set. In fact, the site reserves the right to change its commission, at its sole discretion, at any time.

Then, too, if you show up late or cancel a job, you could be subject to an undisclosed penalty. And, the site has a satisfaction guarantee that’s shouldered 100% by its contractors. I’ll spare you the legalese, but if a customer complains and is able to trigger Jiffy’s “User Protection Plan,” the contractor must either redo the service or be held responsible for the cost of having it redone. Assuming that clients are honest — and that the site filters out those who aren’t — this shouldn’t be a major worry. But know that you are guaranteeing every job you do through this site.

Other than that, the only shortcoming of JiffyOnDemand is that it’s only available in a few cities. If you don’t happen to work in Boston, Chicago, Toronto or Ottawa, we suggest looking at the contractor network at Managed by Q or, signing up with GreenPal. You could also solicit neighbor referrals through a local social networking site, such as Nextdoor.

What their users say:

We found many customers, but no contractors, discussing the service. Customers appeared largely pleased. If you’ve worked as a contractor for this site, please add your comments below to let us know how it worked for you.