Use more than one nanny agency?

[Anonymous]

Have decided to use an agency to find a nanny.

Do you work with more than one agency at a time, or is that considered rude? I know they make money from making a placement.

One of the reasons we are looking to work with two is that one agency quoted us a lower competitive hourly rate for their placed nannies ($20-25/hr) while the other told us $30-35. We are willing to pay more for a better qualified candidate, but the “sample” candidates from the lower cost one seem good. If we worked with both we could directly compare.

[Anonymous]

I think it's common for parents to go through multiple, but keep in mind to ensure that they have your family's best interest (i.e. not looking for a quick placement to get paid).

[Anonymous]

Look at the COL and decide. Someone making $20 an hour will take home about $16. How far do they live from you? Can they reasonably afford to commute to work everyday when one hour of work = 3-4 gallons of gas? Can they reasonably afford rent, private health insurance (unless you are paying), utilities, cell phone, etc on that pay? If no they they will probably jump at the next higher paying job that comes along.