Does anybody use or work for "sitters"?

[JennyPenny23]

I have just registered as a babysitter for sitters and just waiting for everything to go though. Not really sure what to expect from them, their rules seemed very strict when I went for my interview!

Anybody have any experience with them?

Hi, JennyPenny23

Yes, I used to work for them. It was great for a while because you do not have to put any effort into advertising for work, and the work can at times come in thick and fast. The pay is not great but every little helps!

However, over a period of a couple of years I had to cancel a few times. Some of them were my fault (ie my car was out of order!) and two were when my mother was ill: once when we were waiting for the news that she had died and once when she had done so.

A short while after that I received a text to say that I had been removed from their list of sitters because I cancelled too many times. When I called them to ask them about the times and when they were, the person who answered the phone was not interested in talking to me, saying that she was too busy to go through the times and dates I had cancelled. She sounded flustered and was rude.

I know that cancelling is BAD!!!! and yes, there were times that I was wholly responsible.

Pity about my mother being so inconsiderate as to be on her death bed and then dying on days I had arranged to babysit, though

BUT: other people have had better experiences of it than me!

I registered with them and did a bit of babysitting as I was interested in buying a Sitters franchise and wanted to see how they operated, whether they were truly professional and vetted their sitters AND families properly.

I had no intention of sitting for them for a long term as my DD then was getting £7 an hour, picked up, dropped aoff and fed, to the £5.25 I was getting from sitters where I had to provide my own transport, and always took a sandwich or something if sitting early!

They still text me for babysitting and I haven't sat or renewed any details for 6 years!

alibubbles - out of interest, did they check you out properly / take up references etc?

am thinking of registering (as a parent) so would be good to know if they do all that they say!

I use them and have never had any problems. I especially find them handy for when I am away from home and want to get a sitter in an area where I don't know anyone.

They have checked me properly. More so than what Ofsted did for my childminding registration!

I do think its a good idea to go through sitters to start with if you don't know anybody personally. As they did follow up references etc. I have done a LOT of babysitting privatly and although I have always bought my folder along with my qualfications etc in - not one person actually checked a reference or looked in detail at the certificates.

Sitters even took down the numbers on my NVQ certificates etc so they could check if they were guenuine.

Goingpostal, yes they were good at vetting, but they don't check up to see if your credentials are up to date, such as first aid. Once you are registered with them, they just keep you on their books.

I was pleased with what they asked for and checked up on, fairly thorough, so you can be reassured, but it may vary obviously from franchise to franchsise, as I have heard of lesser checking, taking place so just ask what checks they do make first to be sure.

I liked that the same families asked for me again and again, but had to let them down gently when deciding not to sit anymore.

Numberfour - I agree, they are very very rude.
I am a sitter and I've cancelled once with 3 days notice (I was only told about the job the day before)

The woman was extremely rude to me and treated me like a child.
I was gobsmacked.
I think they need to train their staff to be more polite to both their sitters and their clients.

The pay is, quite frankly, crap. But it's handy if I ever need extra cash.

Plus I've worked for some lovely families which makes it worthwhile

We have only used sitters for evening babysitting and have always been happy with the service. Everyone we have had has been excellent and well qualified. We always provide tea, coffee, soft drinks and biscuits for our sitters. I love the fact that once we get to know people we can ask for them so we get to build up a rapport with them.

numberfour, actually, you are right - the booking staff are very curt on the phone , but the vetting staff were very nice!

im registered with them

but as the pay is just so rubbish i very rarely accept any bookings

have had no problems with them though and on the odd occasion i have babysat it has been for lovely families who live in massive houses

I only charge £5 an hour for babysitting anyway when I do it privatly so the sitters is still a bit more, with the added bonus of not having to advertise.

Will see how it goes! Still waiting for everything to go through now anyway!

I didn't realise they were indervidual francises though. I thought that it was just one big company who had area co-ordinators.

I've used them as sitters for us. I've found them to be v professional and reliable. Shame to hear they treat their sitters so badly! But I suppose from a parent's point of view, they want someone who is going to turn up and not cancel (whatever the reason).

but maybe, Dancergirl, just maybe it is understandable that if your mother dies you don't really actually feel much like sitting that night??? maybe??????

anyway, whatever anyone thinks, I won't (can't ha ha ha) for for them again and I won't use their sitters either (even though they are LOVELY, except when their mother dies)

er... won't SIT for them again, of course.

Its £6.50 an hour here too??

I have been offered work Sunday night but I cant do it as DH is out

Dancergirl - I gave them three days notice. They had only given me the job the day before I cancelled. There are a lot of other sitters. You would just get someone else. They just can't be arsed to find someone else

I use them every so often and find the sitters range from good to outstanding.

The office staff are ok, but I nearly always book online now.

Fwiw, I think their rates are actually horrendously low and always give the sitter more.

[saint]

Numberfour- I wasn't in any way belittling your reason for cancelling. Of course you're not going to babysit when your mother is so sick. What I meant was, from the parent's point of view, they're just going to be told about the cancellation, not the reason why. If they knew the reason why they would be hugely understanding and sympathetic.

So sorry to hear about your mum

thanks, Dancergirl. i had not actually thought about the fact that the families would not be told the reason. thanks for replying....

It annoyed me that, if I had to cancel for any reason and no matter how far in advance, I got the 3rd degree on how I was letting down their clients, but if the CLIENT cancelled, well tough!

One Saturday, 4 different clients booked me and then cancelled within hours of making the booking.

Another thing that worried me was that they don't seem to vet their clients. Driving to a house in the middle of nowhere, often with no mobile range, you want some reassurance that the agency gives a damn about what you'll be letting yourself in for at the other end. I have heard of one Sitter who felt so uneasy at a booking - man on his own with no evidence there was a child on the premises - that she left immediately. I don't think she should have been put in that position in the first place.

I've heard similar things myself about the way they treat people and tbh, no way would I work for someone that treated me like that, especially when I can get my own work and be paid £10ph!!! Sure it's great for parents but if they continue to treat sitters in that way, they'll end up one day with no sitters for the parents.

Tanith - thats true about the clients being anybody. Although surely that is just as likely with a private add?

I work for sitters and I totally agree that the booking staff can be very abrupt and rude. It really irritates me when I get offered a booking by text message that I cannot accept. You are only supposed to respond if you would like the job but most of the time I get a phone call or answer phone message, often in a stroppy tone, asking me if I can do it and to ring them back on a premium rate number!

I also agree thay could try to vet the clients a little better, or at least have better guidelines for parents on what is considered reasonable to ask of a sitter. I have just spent four hours last night sitting on a dining room chair in the dining room of a bed and breakfast whilst sitting for some people down on holiday. There was no living room or anything, no tv, nothing.

Oh, and the only toilet was the on-suite in the parents room, where, of course, the baby was sleeping! It was such a joy. Had I known this before hand, I would never have accepted the booking.

I must say that judging by the gratefulness of most of the sitters that I've used when I've pointed out tea/coffee/soft drinks/biscuits, I get the impression that most people don't do that which is a shame.

I have liked pretty much every sitter I've had from there and yes, £5/hour isn't a huge amount but I wouldn't want to pay someone £10 an hour to sit around and watch TV (I appreciate that not all jobs are like that but my DC never wake up).

The only sitter I didn't like took the piss out of my DC and screamed when she saw my cat so I had to lock her outside all evening. I wrote a note in the feedback section saying that I didn't want her again unless there was no one else available and the next time they suggested her again! So I had to remove her from my list altogether as it's clear they don't actually read the feedback.

JennyPenny23 - with a private ad, I'd be able to check for myself before I take the booking. In my experience, Sitters do no checks at all.

pinkandsparkly - not had one that bad before, but I did loathe the clients who had their central heating set to go off mid-evening, leaving me to sit and freeze until they returned.

The late arrivals (up to 3 hours!) were another pain, especially if they then quibbled the higher fee, and more than once I ended up supervising a sleepover - the parents had invited over all the child's friends and then gone off for the evening, leaving me to cope with them all . I bet the other parents didn't know!