Do you want to straight-up lose several thousand dollars? If not, read this post before working with Sarah Davis at Olive You Nanny.
I hired a nanny through Olive You Nanny, paid 4k for the placement. Sarah Davis in Austin, Tx was my point of contact the entire time. Sarah didn't ever find a proper placement for me and has kept my money. I've made multiple attempts to reach her to resolve and have been met with silence.
Essentially, after giving me only four nannies to interview initially, and rushing me through the interview process saying nannies are "going fast", I selected a nanny that could travel with our family. It was a disaster.
- Nanny C had back problems, was repeatedly crying while on the job about her back and at times I did not know what.
- Nanny C was late every day but two days for several weeks straight before I had to address it with her (creating a conflict since the nanny was not happy to be asked to be on time, although I was very kind about it.)
- When I called Sarah to discuss my concerns, she was dismissive "it takes time to adjust" and comments of the like, to "encourage" me to continue on with Nanny C.
- (Meanwhile one of the nannies I had interviewed but not hired initially touched base, asking me what was wrong - why didn't we hire her? I explained that her asking rate was too high ($35-40/hr), and she told me Sarah told her that's what we WANTED to pay a nanny, so that's what she asked us for. Essentially she was being told we were wanting to pay something we didn't want - so that we would pony up to a rate we weren't ever budgeting for. We were looking to hire in the 25-30 range, but also open to determining what's appropriate depending on experience and what the market dictates as well. (I had felt all along that Sarah was trying to up the hourly rate, and after asking around no one I knew was paying above 30.)
- Nanny C was not engaging with our daughter fully, reluctant to take her outdoors in the mornings, and generally sluggish, using many hours in the day to make meals for herself and eat our food. (We don't mind a nanny eating our food, but when she comes late morning, hungry, and uses that as an excuse to not take our daughter on outings, that's a little much.
- Nanny C gave our daughter cold sores after refusing to wear a mask, saying it would cause her cold sores to not heal properly.
- Almost every work day there was a problem in her life and a reason she had to be late, needed some last-minute delayed start. I was spending several hours a week dealing with her problems trying to help her problem solve, while dealing with the stress her general apathetic behavior was causing our household - rather than being a help, she was a burden to us.
- Nanny C wasn't looking at her hours, and accused me of not paying her. I cleared it up and she retracted her accusation, but the sentiment was hostile and I asked that she leave the following day, paying for her travel expenses back.
I let Sarah know it didn't work out and that it was a really awful experience, and she promised to help me find a new placement, but after over a month of no progress, I began to look for other options.
I got over 60 applicants through other sources! Keep looking - Olive You Nanny is NOT your only option and should NOT even be considered as a last resort.
Fast forward, and I have hired an EXCELLENT nanny, a former Montessori teacher that can travel, is early to work, has excellent work ethic and not entitled. She comes with such high qualifications, we are so happy to be in a mutually beneficial exchange with her! It's such a pleasure to work with this young lady! She is well worth the 30/hr pay plus benefits (2 weeks paid vacation, 6 paid sick days, monthly health stipend, paid holidays, etc).
In the end, Sarah Davis has completely ignored me and any requests of a refund. She's not only been unprofessional throughout, she's deceptive, will tell you anything to get you to sign up with a nanny, pay up quickly, while creating a false belief that nannies are SCARCE but if you go elsewhere you will find they are abundant and many options that can work for your family.
Find a nanny placement agency with IMPECCABLE reviews! (Or pay no one and try Facebook groups, care.com, or other online ad placement services. They all work!) read more