Please.Do is a mobile app that acts as an on-demand personal assistant service. Behind the scenes, a team of real “Doers” tackles your tasks quickly wherever you need them.
Since everyone already has a smartphone in their pocket, it’s a compelling service model for busy entrepreneurs and business owners. With no contracts or fixed fees, Please.Do is a convenient way to get tasks done on the move.
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About Please.Do
The company have been operating since 2016 and their headquarters is based in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Please Do have a team of real people waiting to receive tasks sent via their app. They call their staff “Please Doers,” and at a touch of a button you can have them doing research and answering your questions.
Their target customers are busy individuals who have the need for a personal assistant, but don’t quite need a monthly service or a dedicated VA.
By using Please Do you have a personal assistant available 24/7, but only pay for the minutes you use and can choose when you use them.
Services
Please.Do can fulfill just about any task that can be completed remotely and returned to you via your mobile. All they ask from you is a picture or video and some instructions.
For example, you can send an image of a document to be transcribed, ask for some research on a topic, a list of restaurants, car dealers, or pricing up some travel.
To get started you need to download their app, set up an account, and load up some funds.
When you’re ready to outsource some tasks this is how it works:
- Take a picture or a video on your mobile if applicable.
- Send the picture with some instructions on what you want via the app (either type or use voice memo).
- Agree to the estimated time if applicable or wait for your completed task.
To give you an idea of the kind of tasks Please Do handle, here are some examples from their instructions page when you download the app include sending a photo of:
- an item you want to buy and asking a Please Doer to find the item for you.
- your dog and asking for a list of local dog walking services near you.
- a broken air-conditioning unit and asking a Please Doer to find you a local AC repairman.
Plans and Pricing
Please Do costs $0.25 per minute for what they call “Simple tasks.” Simple tasks are any tasks that can be completed in 30 minutes or less. (Maximum charge of $7.50.)
For longer tasks, a Please Doer will contact you with a time estimate and custom quote. However, if they still manage to complete the task within the 30 minutes you’ll pay the lower rate.
A nice feature is the ability to set a minute threshold for pre-confirming. For example, you can set the app to always ask you for confirmation if a task is going to take 10 minutes or longer.
Also, it’s worth noting that all first-time users receive their first 10 minutes free.
One medium red flag for me was this note on the Please.do website:
“For tasks that require extra security, mark them as ‘Confidential.’ Confidential tasks will be confined within our pool of in-house Doers.”
So what random people are doing the non-confidential tasks?
Please.Do Alternatives
There have been a few companies emerging in this market over the last couple of years, but they seem to be disappearing too. In fact, the Please.do app ratings and even the website itself seem like they haven’t been updated since 2016. (Although a new version of the iOS app was released in early 2018.)
Magic operates on a similar model. They are a bit more pricey but they’ve also been in business longer so might be worth checking out if this type of service appeals to you.
Please.Do has the advantage over the more expensive Fin service, which carries a $120 monthly fee AND costs $1 a minute after your first 2 hours of assistance.
It might be worth looking at virtual assistant companies if you’re going to have ongoing tasks. If you don’t want to go down the dedicated virtual assistant route I recommend checking out FancyHands or OkayRelax for affordable task-based support.
Your Turn
Have you used Please.Do? If so, please leave a brief review below to help others with their decision.