Moral question

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

'Sitters' seems about the right name for the agency - apart from the missing 'h'...

 

[The Spanish]

I'm not totally convinced I would have argued about it. It wasn't actually her fault she was late if the traffic was really bad. I'm sure she'd rather have been in the comfort of your home than in a traffic jam too. I think you are being a bit mean and the fact she had to come from miles away is more your fault than hers surely? She certainly did a three hours stint away from her home.

Not impressed with the agency either. They should be sweet talking you and bollocking the baby sitter if they agree with you. Why do you need to know how they are getting the money back? They should have paid you back with a smile and dealt with the baby sitter without boring you with the details of how they would deal with it.

Reason.

It's not as if the girl is some knocker boy either, poor cow sat on the m25 in her Kia with a Garfield stuck to the window and a powered by fairy dust sticker on the back, seat three inches from the steering wheel, worried about getting a bollocking from her agency over 15 quid.

 

[Simster]

I'm not totally convinced I would have argued about it. It wasn't actually her fault she was late if the traffic was really bad. I'm sure she'd rather have been in the comfort of your home than in a traffic jam too. I think you are being a bit mean and the fact she had to come from miles away is more your fault than hers surely? She certainly did a three hours stint away from her home.

Not impressed with the agency either. They should be sweet talking you and bollocking the baby sitter if they agree with you. Why do you need to know how they are getting the money back? They should have paid you back with a smile and dealt with the baby sitter without boring you with the details of how they would deal with it.

That is actually sort of my position. I phoned the agency not expecting them to phone the babysitter. I thought: agency/big firm/one hour disputed and assumed they'd just credit it. But no, they made a big fuss, contacted the babysitter, who collectively quibbled over the time actually lost. I FELT mean. But then I took a step back and wondered why I should have been made to feel mean when the agency - who takes £15 a quarter and a £4 booking fee - see fit to behave like this. Incredibly poor form I felt. Should I not have complained at all? That was the alternative.

 

[Simster]

Reason.

It's not as if the girl is some knocker boy either, poor cow sat on the m25 in her Kia with a Garfield stuck to the window and a powered by fairy dust sticker on the back, seat three inches from the steering wheel, worried about getting a bollocking from her agency over 15 quid.

Well quite. When I first called (out of a point of principal), the agency rang the sitter and she quibbled the timings. Then insisted she would be refunding half an hour. I thought "You're f**king joking". I never wanted her money, I wanted the agency to recognise things had gone a bit tits up through no fault of our own and no real fault of the babysitter, and that as the agency happy to cream off a massive amount for fck all when things go smoothly, they should make a compensatory payment on the rare occasions when they don't.

 

[Bozza]

So you regularly pay money to a company so that complete strangers can babysit your kids? Is that really the deal here?

 

[Simster]

Occasionally [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION], occasionally. Post #4, fella.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Surely we're missing the obvious here folks. The NSC cognoscenti, if asked in advance, would have recommended that [MENTION=232]Simster[/MENTION] and partner toss a coin. Winner gets to stay home and babysit, loser has to go and sit through the remorselessly grim 'performance'. Job done!

 

[Simster]

Surely we're missing the obvious here folks. The NSC cognoscenti, if asked in advance, would have recommended that [MENTION=232]Simster[/MENTION] and partner toss a coin. Winner gets to stay home and babysit, loser has to go and sit through the doubtless grim 'performance'. Job done!

A fair shout. Except to say that I do love watching my daughter perform on stage!

 

[Questions]

I would never have allowed a stranger babysit my kids. Seems weird to me.

 

[Bozza]

Occasionally [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION], occasionally. Post #4, fella.

Blimey - if that business idea rocked up on Dragons' Den I world have laughed it off that no one would use it.

Does the babysitter ever turn up after the kids are in bed, with the risk they wake up to find someone they've never met before?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Back in the day we had a bunch of friends who got together and organised a babysitting circle. Everybody was given a bunch of tickets, 10 I think, just pieces of paper suitably inscribed, each worth one hour. The deal was you paid in vouchers. If you took advantage you could get 10 hours free babystitting but people didn't. They paid in tokens and went out and baby sat themselves to earn tokens. Or, in my case, it was usually me who was sent out to earn the tokens!

But it worked well and everybody was friends anyway.

Does that sort of thing happen these days or does everybody have to have CRO checks?

I did the same thing. I don't know about nowadays but I do the babysitting for my daughter.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

Via the M25 to babysit, madness

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Blimey - if that business idea rocked up on Dragons' Den I world have laughed it off that no one would use it.

Does the babysitter ever turn up after the kids are in bed, with the risk they wake up to find someone they've never met before?

Have to agree with [MENTION=6886]Bozza[/MENTION] here. Not everything in life can be resolved by installing an app and clicking on a link.

 

[Garage_Doors]

How much was the the disputed hour worth?

 

[Commander]

Do you have any pics of the babysitter? I don't think it's fair for us to judge until we've seen what she looks like.

 

[8ace]

Could have got your hours worth

Less than an hour late only entitles you to fingers and tops IIRC - check the small print.

 

[Ernest]

Less than an hour late only entitles you to fingers and tops IIRC - check the small print.

First Class gets FREE refreshments too ask [MENTION=38]Beach Hut[/MENTION]

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

So you regularly pay money to a company so that complete strangers can babysit your kids? Is that really the deal here?

I agree very odd. I would never have let my children be babysat by a stranger. They're too important for that.weird concept.

 

[Beach Hut]

First Class gets FREE refreshments too ask [MENTION=38]Beach Hut[/MENTION]

Indeed but no air con on the Gatwick Express tonight

 

[desprateseagull]

Could you carry over the hour 'lost', for a longer sitting next time?