Wonolo

What: Wonolo helps you find work in warehouse operations, delivery, administration, event staffing, merchandising and general labor.

Expected pay: minimum wage or above

Husl$core: $$$

Where: Nationwide

Commissions & fees: None to worker; 45% to employer

Requirements: Smart phone; Must be willing and able to pass a criminal background check, as well as any other background screenings required by a Wonolo employer.

Review:

Wonolo is a broad-based employment platform that primarily offers entry-level work in retail, warehouses, event staffing and administration. If you happen to be in the right market — near major cities and industrial centers — finding work is relatively simple. You sign up; get sent daily postings of available jobs and commit to the ones you can fit into your schedule and that you feel qualified to complete.

Your employer will rate your performance at the end of a shift and the better your ratings –and the more jobs you accept — the more likely you are to be offered additional work. Pay is generally sent to the worker within a few days of completing the engagement. If you cancel a shift with less than 12 hours notice the site will penalize you generally by lowering your worker rating. But if it happens more than once, you could be kicked off the platform. Companies are apparently not penalized for cancelling shifts, so you need to commit in advance, but they do not. 

The site also encourages employers to pick their “preferred Wonolers,” which means that workers and employers that like each other can build a relationship, which Wonolo encourages them to make permanent. If a Wonolo client hires a Wonolo worker, the client pays the platform a one-time $600 fee. Workers apparently get a piece of that — $100 or so — if they agree to take the position. 

The shortcomings of the site: The jobs are mostly entry level and not highly paid, but they don’t require vast quantities of experience, so most people can fill most positions. The bigger problem appears to be that the site has very little customer support for workers. Thus, if you have a problem getting paid or using the app, you could be left out to dry for a long stretch. Employer reviews also have a big impact on the work you get. After a few bad reviews, you might as well take your smart phone to another platform.

And, as already mentioned, the cancellation policy favors employers over workers. Indeed, outside of getting downgraded, even more onerous worker cancellation repercussions are mentioned in the site’s terms and conditions: “Failure to timely deliver the Services consistent with the Customer’s requirements and specifications will constitute a breach, resulting in non-payment.  Further, in the event of such a breach, you will be responsible for payment of any additional fees (e.g., rush fees) or costs incurred as a result of your failure to timely complete the Open Request in accordance with the Customer requirements.”

And there’s a strange mystery in Wonolo’s terms: By signing up, you agree “to enroll in the On-Demand Independent Contractors Association (ODICA)” and abide by its terms. However, ODICA doesn’t yet exist. Its website says “coming soon.” When ODICA forms, we’ll check back and see whether it’s terms help or harm workers. In the meantime, we think the bad (mysterious association/bad customer support/tough cancellation policy) and the good (regular work at better than minimum wage, which might lead to full-time work if you want it) balance out to earn Wonolo an average Husl$core.

Other options to consider in food service and general labor: Shiftgig and, if you have skills as a handyman or landscaper, JiffyOnDemand.

What their users say: (From Indeed)

Work isn’t guaranteed. On some jobs, you’re expected to show up and wait around for awhile – could be two hours – to see if work will become available. It might not. Overall a good experience and a good way to get a job at the companies who use Wonolo. Not the most reliable way to earn a living, but flexibility makes up for that.

Its good for getting job skills from different parts of the job market, and its a work when you want to. U will need two jobs to survive working at Wonolo

It’s not so great a place to work if you are a commuter. Also last minute cancellations can be a pain. But overall you get a wide range of skills from a variety of different employers. But again you need a vehicle, a smartphone with at least wifi connectivity or good data plan as you work primarily from your phone and email .

I recently moved to San Francisco and joining Wonolo has easily been one of the best choices I’ve made since I got here. I haven’t worked that many jobs yet but so far I’ve been really impressed by the volume of work opportunities in my area and their relatively high hourly wages.

As a student living in the city over the summer, the flexibility offered by Wonolo enables me to design a personal work schedule that fits my needs. The ease of the payment system has also been great and unlike shiftgig (another staffing platform), I’ve been been paid on time for every job so far.

Too many sweatshop-like jobs. I emailed Wonolo customer serivce about an employer who refused to offer me my scheduled break and they did nothing about it. Customer Service needs work and is slow at addressing concerns.

There are not enough assignments on daily basis. Sometimes work sites can be very unprofessional and not give u enough details for the job and conditions.

From Yelp

I WAS happy with Wonolo until 2 days ago. I had 2 scheduled back-2-back shifts, one got cancelled due to low volume. I called the company (I’ve worked with them before) and asked if they still wanted me to come in. They scheduler said no, I was cancelled. I told him I would check and call him back. I checked and called him back- I was still on for one shift. He said don’t come in. I didn’t. Then I get marked as a no-show. My 5.0 rating for 44 Jobs is now a 4.35 rating … BECAUSE OF ONE ERROR THAT WASN’T MY FAULT!!! I sent them a message, they emailed back they would forgive me THIS ONE TIME, but I should have gone in. I live 80 miles away. It wouldn’t make sense for me to drive 80 miles for one shift, $80. I spend $30 to commute. Then I spend $20 for gas delivering & $5 bridge toll. I emailed back, asked them to fix it. They didn’t. They probably won’t. In my book, that’s worth 1 Star, but only because zero stars isn’t an option. They also haven’t paid me my $100 bonus for getting hired as a regular employee by one of their companies… I’ve been hired since July 2017 and applied for the bonus 8 times since January 2018, you guessed it- no bonus. They can’t verify my employment… hmmmmm? 

You have 12 hours or more before your shift to cancel, and can only do this 2x in a month or you get your account put on probation. Companies can cancel you within 3 hours or more before your shift and apparently they can do it as many times as they want in a month and it’s ok. I’ve been cancelled 6 times this month- and friends have been cancelled too- low volume… just so you know before you get to counting on a shift and then find out you’re cancelled last-minute.

I work my own schedule and love doing it. You can make tons of money and the best part is instead of getting paid weekly or biweekly, it’s every other day so 48 hours basically. It’s all entry level work so long as you are a easy or quick learner there should be no problem. Not to mention that if you work warehouse, delivery, events, or administrative you can earn extra money on top of your job by getting bronze, silver, or gold badges in any of these categories. To me the most fun jobs are events because who wouldn’t want to be paid to go to a free concert and eat good.

I contacted Wonolos support team for assistance regarding [a payment] issue. I waited several hours with no reply. I got a generic email regarding the process. I say generic because it was the same information regarding payment on their app. After several back and forth emails regarding the information and their generic replies….I am getting nowhere. All they have to do is process the payment again to my bank and they are refusing to do it.

The problem I have begins with the inaccessible “support” team they have behind some computer screens. I can’t tell you where it ends. Wonolo had a glitch on Sunday night and being a preferred “wonoloer” I was sent a shift directly that I knew nothing about but somehow the app accepted it for me, and many others. What makes me different from the “others” was that I didn’t notice this glitch and see that I had a shift picked up for me, meaning when I missed it, my account was deleted. So not only did I miss out on an opportunity to make extra money, I am banned and their silly “support” team has taken now 2 full days to even email me back, let alone correct the issue. 

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