Wonolo

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

Expected pay: minimum wage or above

Husl$core: $$$$

Where: Most major markets outside of California

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

Requirements: Smart phone; 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 outside of California — finding work is relatively simple. You sign up, get daily postings of available jobs, and take the ones that suit you. 

Employers rate your performance at the end of a shift. The better your ratings and the more jobs you accept, the more likely you are to get additional work. Pay is generally sent to the worker within five days of completing an engagement.

The site also encourages employers to pick their “preferred Wonolers.” That allows workers and employers to build long-term relationships. If a Wonolo client hires a Wonolo worker, the client pays the platform a one-time fee. Workers apparently get a piece of that fee, which is another plus.

New mission

Better yet, the site recently pledged to guarantee its workers a “living wage.” Living wages differ from minimum wage in that they’re calculated based on the cost of living in different cities. For instance, minimum wage in New York City is $15. But the “living wage,” according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, is $21.

Wonolo says that 75% of its freelance staff are paid a living wage today and it expects that 100% of the site’s workers will hit the (generally) higher living wage by the end of 2021. This is a positive development, but Wonolo’s Husl$core remains average.  The reason? Worker reviews that indicate Wonolo’s customer support remains rotten, which means workers are unable to resolve even basic pay issues. A living wage is only helpful if you’re able to collect it.

Other concerns

Wonolo’s 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.

If you cancel a shift with less than 12 hours notice the site will penalize you by lowering your worker rating. And you could be kicked off the platform, if it happens more than once. Companies are not penalized for cancelling shifts with relatively little notice.

Recommendations

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

What their users say: (from the Apple App Store)

Wonolo is honestly a saving grace for people like myself who need to get work immediately and make some money instantly. Using Wonolo cuts out the whole long-term interviewing process that is involved with getting a job and allows people to individually make their schedule around their life by choosing what days and times they are available. For my life and situation Wonolo has been extremely helpful and just what I need to be able to get by. Wonolo has your back 100% as well. If you had a problem at work and you write them they will listen to your side.

The requesters really have no respect for their employees. You’re promised a total payout. But if the requester is done with you, they cut your hours and you don’t get paid the whole day you reserved for the job and lost other opportunities doing so. If you have a family emergency and don’t withdraw in 12 hours you get cut from work for a month. Pay out is 3-5 business days.

Even if you sign in with the app, Wonolo can claim that you didn’t work — even if the company you worked for on Wonolo’s behalf also agrees that you worked. I drove two hours to a job site and worked 12 hours, and even though I have screen shots and the word of my supervisor to prove that I worked, Wonolo is claiming that I was a no-show.

(From Indeed)

Work isn’t guaranteed. On some jobs, you’re expected to show up and wait around 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 work when you want to. But you will need two jobs to survive.

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.

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. 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!!! 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. They can’t verify my employment….hmmmmm? 

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 48 hours. It’s all entry level work so long as you are a quick learner there should be no problem. 

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. 

*Updated 5/7/2021