This review is for babysitting services through Hand In Home- I have not experienced any of their other in-home services. I contacted Ms. Hunter to see if she could meet a last minute babysitting need for my two young daughters while we were on vacation in Nantucket. She found a sitter that she said she recommended highly- a woman who is a mother of two and a high school teacher. She did not allow me to speak with the sitter prior to hiring her to make sure it was a good fit, but this may be standard for babysitting services. Once assured of her experience level and that she had a criminal background check, we decided to proceed.
Unfortunately, Karen fell far short of our expectations of a babysitter. She was not friendly or engaging at all with the kids (10 months and almost 4 years) and before leaving I had to encourage her multiple times to try to play with our older daughter to build a rapport and engage her.
While this is a far lesser concern, she did not tidy up at all before leaving. We certainly don't expect any house cleaning from a babysitter but straightening up is part of the job- there were toys all over the living room and she didn't clean up spilled food in the dining area and kitchen.
This was a two day sitting job and I gave her the benefit of the doubt that perhaps she was just having a bad day the first day. I gave her some ideas of what to do with the kids and asked her specifically to take our daughters for a walk in the stroller to get them outside in the sunshine. We came home after four hours to learn that our toddler hadn't eaten lunch (which I had prepared and left out) and had just stayed inside and was allowed to play on her tablet all morning. She said specifically, without prompting, "she didn't play with me", in reference to the sitter.
We have babysitters regularly at home as well as when we travel and have had a range of experiences from mostly positive to absolutely wonderful. Needless to say, this was a disappointing experience. My overall impression was that she was not happy to be here and that she did not, in fact, seem to enjoy children very much. I shared my concerns with Ms. Hunter by email as I expected that she would want to use the feedback to ensure that she's hiring the right sitters to work with her service. Surprisingly, I have not received a response, which is a red flag from a customer service perspective. I would not recommend this service for childcare needs. read more
