Business
Services FAQ's
Select one of the topics below to jump to that question.
Q: Once I have sent in my registration information, what is the process?
A: Once we have received your registration form and membership fee, we will call you with your client number. When you need a sitter, call SalemSitters at 659-7806. If you reach our voicemail, please leave your name, client number, date of sit and the beginning and ending times for your sit. You may also e-mail your sitting request to us at SalemSitters@hotmail.com. Please include all the information listed above. Most sitters like to know how long the sits are and some sitters do more than one sit a day.
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Q: How much notice do you require to find a sitter? When do you confirm the sitter?
A: Giving us advanced
notice increases your chances of getting a sitter. We do experience
high activity periods where all sitters are on assignment.
We will let you know if that is the case when we receive your
request. We do fill many same day and day before sit requests.
We will generally confirm that you have a sitter 1-2 days prior
to your sit request even if you give 1-3 weeks notice. If you
need to know sooner, please let us know, but no news is good
news. If we think we are going to have a problem with your
time, we will call and ask if your sit is flexible. back
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Q: What
is an Inquiry Fee?
A: The inquiry fee is a fee that is charged to clients who request one or two specific sitters and will not allow any other Salem sitter to come to their home and care for their children causing the company to lose revenue although time was spent tracking down one or two sitters to see if they are available to do the assignment. This fee is only charged if the requested sitter(s) are not available and the client refuses to accept another Salem sitter and cancels the request after work is done on their behalf. back
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Q: What
is on-call Sitting?
A: SalemSitters has instituted this on-call policy to fill sitting requests received from clients on a last minute basis. The on-call sitting policy is in effect when a client calls SalemSitters after business hours (after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays) during the week or on the weekends to request a sitter to come to their home on the same day or sometime during that same weekend. Some examples include, calling to request a sitter on a weekday at 5:05 p.m. to come and sit at 7:30 p.m. that same evening or calling after 5:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon to request a sitter any time that same weekend. On-call hours start at 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday during the week and begin at 5:00 p.m. on Friday and continue the entire weekend, ending on Sunday at 12:00 a.m. On-Call sitting rates are $20.00 for the placement fee and $15.00 per hour to the sitter. You will be invoiced for the $20.00 placement fee. Please be prepared to pay the sitter their hourly rate at the end of the sitting assignment. back
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Q: What is your Cancellation Policy?
A. Beginning January 1, 2006 the
policy will be as follows:
* The client will be charged $3.00 in addition
to the full placement fee for cancelling a sitting appointment
WITHOUT sitter Confirmation.
* The client will be charged $5.00 in addition to the full
placement fee WITH sitter confirmation
* The client will be charged $5.00 in addition to the full
placement fee and one hour of the babysitters rate if the
cancellation occurs within 3 hours of a scheduled sitting
assignment.
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Q: What
is your policy on sharing sitters?
A. For legal and insurance reasons, we cannot allow any of our sitters to sit for families that have not signed up with the service in some form. Anyone who is not a client who wants to use the service for sharing purposes has two options. They can pay the $45.00 sign up fee and join the service. The second option is to pay the $15.00 one time usage fee. This fee will
not be credited towards the $45.00 registration fee if the family should decide to join the service anytime in the future. We will only accept credit card payment from any family choosing the one time usage fee option. The one time usage fee is great when you have out of town guests who don't live in the area. Please note that both client families are required to pay the placement fee. Both families are required to pay the placement fees as the SalemSitters should not lose revenue because families decide to share a sitter. We reserve the right to prohibit sharing of sitters if doing so would result in one sitter watching a large/unmanageable number of children that would not allow for adequate supervision or would compromise the safety of any child/children. back
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Q: If I am on the waiting list what are my chances of getting a sitter?
A. When we put you on a waiting
list, it is so that you are aware that we are busier than normal.
We are usually able to fill some or all of the sits on the waiting
list and we will let you know as soon as we fill your sit. You
can avoid the waiting list by contacting us 2 to 4 days before
you need a sitter. back
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Q: Why is our client # so important?
A. We
work with several families, businesses & organizations, that
have similar names. It is very important that you give
us your client number when requesting a sitter. We also
have families where the parents have different last names. Your
client number is best way to identify you. If you don’t
know your client number, call us and will tell you. Your
client number is listed on your monthly invoice. It is
the first three digits listed in the Invoice Number box on your
billing statement. back
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Q: Can you provide us
with the same sitter every week?
A. We have
many families and organizations who same sitter(s) on a weekly
basis. If you would like to find 1 sitter please let us know
your days and times. We highly suggest trying a few different
sitters first before you settle on one sitter. Remember 90%
of our sitters are college, grad, PA and medical students and
their school schedules change quarterly. The only service we
cannot provide is Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
nanny positions. back
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Q: How do you find your
sitters and what is your hiring process?
A. Almost
95% of our new sitters are referrals from our current sitters.
We interview each potential sitter personally and perform extensive
background checks, contact references and review previous employment
records. Our sitters also go through a detailed
orientation and training process. All sitters have been CPR and First aid Certified and have current TB test results. Many of our sitters have been taken the SIDS training course and have been trained in sexual abuse detection.
Many sitters accept assignments based on the length of the job and they need to be compensated for the full time booked.
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Q: Can I request a specific
sitter?
A. Yes!
If you find a sitter you really like, please let us know when
you are scheduling your sitting appointment that you would
like us to check with a certain sitter. We can’t
guarantee she’ll be available but we will always start
with your request. back
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Q: If we end before
our before our requested time do we have to pay for the whole
sit.
A. Yes!
You are required to pay the sitter for the full time you booked
the sitting appointment. If you schedule a sitting
request for 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and are complete with you
meeting at 8:00 p.m., the sitter must be paid for the full 3
hours. Many sitter take sits based on the length of the
job and they need to be compensated for the full time booked. back
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Q: Can I contact the sitters directly?
A. No, all sitting appointments must be scheduled through the SalemSitters office. Additionally, you are required to call our office if you need to cancel a sitting appointment or change any details such as day, date or time of a specific appointment. If you attempt to schedule a sit directly with the sitter you will be charged a $50 fee per incident. We are open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and we check e-mail periodically on Saturday and Sunday. All scheduling issues and questions must come through our business office. back
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