I normally do not write reviews, but I have had several experiences with this agency, and my most recent has prompted me to do this.
I needed a sitter for an event in Horseshoe bay which is about 60 miles outside of Austin. The hotel was unable to assist me, so I called MBF and they stated they would probably be able to find me a sitter if I was willing to pay a travel fee, to which I gladly agreed. Within a day, a sitter by the name of Busola was booked. I had used this sitter before, and was glad to have someone who knew my kids. We spoke almost 2 weeks before the event, and I stated I would call her with the hotel info once I got it.
On the day of the event, I tried to call her a couple times with no answer. I called the after hour line at MBF, and they I should not worry, unless it is "4 o clock" and she does not show. This was 2 hours before the event. About 1 hour before the event, Busola called and told me her car was having problems and that it was fixed and she would be on her way. I realized she would be late, but we had a buffer. Than at 3:16 she texted saying she would be late. At 4:03, she called saying she was 2 miles out and her car was stalled. We offered to pick up her, but she insisted she had 2 guys to help her that she just met, and that she would be there. At that point the agency called, and stated it was ok for me to pick her up. Busola called and when we offered to pick her up, she kept saying it would be another 5 minutes. She kept doing this until it was too late to pick her up, and at that point she called (35 minutes before the shuttle left for the wedding), and said nothing could be done for her car. There was no road noise in the background. I talked to a couple locals, and stay said 45 minutes from Austin to Horseshoe Bay, was "logistically impossible" and that it takes at least 1 hour and 20 minutes. I think this sitter fabricated this story, leaving me no time for back up care, to keep her reputation with the agency. The agency was unable to provide a back up sitter, so we had no sitter for an event we spent a good sum of money to attend. They tried to comp me a date night, but we do not live in the local area.
Prior to this, I hired a nanny from them to care for my premature twins. She had no infant experience, and required weeks of training which I had to spend my entire maternity leave doing. When we called with our concerns, they were not taken seriously. This nanny also had serious reliability issues calling out once every 2 weeks. I have discussed this situation with a very well regarded agency who stated MBF should have never even let me see a candidate with no infant experience.
Overall, I think this agency need to vet and be more selective of its candidates. For the nanny services, its prices are higher than many well regarded agencies in large cities, yet the service is no better than a large internet nanny service. read more