How Photos of Work Performed Build Trust in an On-Demand Economy

Even though TaskEasy is a software and internet company, we do have a large call center to provide support to our customers and contractors. One of the things we require of our contractors is that they take photographs of every job they complete, which are in turn provided to the customer at the moment in time the job was completed. Recently, my call center had a brand new TaskEasy contractor call in and say "I'm offended that I have to take photos to prove that I completed work for a customer. I don't want to do business for any customer that doesn't just automatically trust me."

"I'm offended that I have to take photos to prove that I completed work for a customer. I don't want to do business for any customer that doesn't just automatically trust me."

I have a number of things to say about this, and I'm writing about it because I'd like to hear what other contractors think and I'd like to provide a little bit of insight and education.

When TaskEasy first starts doing business with a new contractor or a new customer, we don't know each other. Trust is something that develops over time, and unfortunately, many of us start out services relationships with a degree of skepticism, rather than even a neutral or undecided position. This is because we've all had failures with services relationships. Every contractor has had a customer who never paid them, even though they feel they performed flawlessly, and every customer has paid for services work that ultimately was sub par. One of the things I've noticed about services relationships is that we often want to take a "pound of flesh" out of the next contractor we hire (if we're a customer) or next customer we service (if we're a contractor) because of the last miserable experience we just had. This generally translates to inequity in quality, scope of service, or timeliness of work. If we're a contractor we're going to try to charge a little more and do a little less for the next customer we work for, and if we're a customer we're going to try to pay a little less and ask for a little more. This further exacerbates trust problems and furthers the divide in services relationships. Like in so many areas of trust, what is needed is a mechanism for the contractor to say what they are going to do, and then demonstrate they did what they said. For us to cross the divide of skepticism that exists, this has to happen consistently, every time a service is performed. Yes, photos take a few minutes, but they are proof positive, in near real time, that the work a contractor was hired for has been performed well.

Contractors need to be able to "say what they are going to do, and then demonstrate they did what they said."

Another challenge we're seeing is that customers and contractors have less time to form in-person, long term relationships of trust. Most customers work long hours, out of the home being serviced. With the exception of a very small group of retirees, or stay at home moms or dads, customers don't have the luxury of being home when services are performed, they are at work, earning the very money that might be used to pay for services they've hired the contractor to perform. Trust is formed, not just through good work being performed reliably and on time, but also through regular and predictable contact and communication. Sometimes, we're even seeing customers hire contractors to perform work at properties that are not their primary residences, or that aren't even geographically proximate to where they reside (we have overseas veterans who have hired TaskEasy contractors to perform work while they're abroad, we have grown children hiring TaskEasy to perform work for their elderly parents, and we have lots of customers who use TaskEasy to care for work at a vacation or remote property that they might only see or visit once or twice a year). There is literally no opportunity whatsoever for a customer to evaluate the quality of the contractor's work in person. This lack of opportunity for personal contact further slows down the opportunity for trust. Photos give contractors an opportunity to have a little moment of contact with the customer for whom they are performing work. "Look what a good job I did for you this week!" is essentially what the photos allow a contractor to say, and "wow, this looks terrific" is what customers notice in return. A photo is worth a thousand words towards developing trust, to say the least.

Customers and contractors have less time to form in-person, long term relationships of trust

Next, we've found that many honest misunderstandings are possible in the services industry when things are not well documented. Maybe the snow was cleared properly (see above), but then it snowed again leaving the customer with the impression that snow clearing never occurred at all. Maybe the lawn was 18 inches overgrown when the contractor mowed it for the first time (see below), and it's going to take the contractor 3 or 4 weeks of proper mowing, mulching, and care before the lawn grows in fully. Photos aren't a perfect solution toward documenting all possible misunderstandings, but they are a huge leap forward. If it wasn't for the advent of smartphones, the logistics of photos would be nearly impossible, but smartphones allow contractors to share these photos with customers with only a few minutes of extra time and attention.

Many honest misunderstandings are possible in the services industry when things are not well documented

Finally, TaskEasy has some customers, usually large banks or real estate investors, who simply require photos from us before they will release payment. We try to keep the photo requirements minimal and push back on large customers who might be asking for too many photos. As we've talked to many of these customers, we've discovered that the reasons for the photos sometimes go well beyond just documenting the work being performed. In some cases, customers use the photos to perform a visual inspection of the property. In other cases, customers use the photos to verify appraised value of the property. Photos are even sometimes required by city or county ordinance or HOA regulation. With these customers, contractors are signing up for providing these photos as part of the work to be performed. Not supplying the photos is the same legal contractual failure as not mowing the lawn or clearing the snow.

In conclusion, TaskEasy needs contractors who realize that trust takes time to develop, in all directions. This is one reason why TaskEasy works so hard to pay contractors quickly, usually within 3-5 days of work being performed. It's the little things we do, consistently, and predictably, over time, that create long term relationships of trust. It's those first moments in a relationship that often set the tone for the whole relationship. We love your feedback and hope you will tell us how else we can earn your trust. And, we hope that you will work hard to earn our trust and that of our mutual customers. Photos aren't the only way to do that, but they are a pretty good place to start.

Ken Davis, CEO, TaskEasy