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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here:

wow.

i am shocked at the venom on this site.

this was my first time posting and the response is pretty unbelievable. i hope i don't know any of you nannies in real life.

as i noted, i needed someone to give me this date. it was emphasized that this was very important to my work. the first 3 sitters i contacted had conflicts - two have grad school classes on the evening i need (and both said they wished they could get out of them), the third has a recurring babysitting job for the same night. (so i think i have a good number of babysitters). i offer $25/hr for 2 potty trained kids who are pleasant. i do not ask for any additional work. i leave food for the sitter.

this is the third time this sitter has canceled - first two times were much earlier this year - weather and illness, so I didn't think she didn't want to sit.

I asked how one would go about emphasizing to a sitter for a very important date and i got slammed for imagined  offenses - i don't pay enough! i treat people poorly! i cancel on sitters all the time!

ridiculous.[/quote]

OP - I am a little surprised by the venomous responses you received too.  I agree that it's hard to find a babysitter you trust on two weeks notice, particularly if you were already at the bottom of your list of regular sitters.  And I agree that she shouldn't have taken the job and then cancelled - if the issue was that six weeks out was just too far out to know, she should have said she'd have to look at her scheduled and get back to you.  At least that would have enabled you to respond to your work commitment appropriately.

That said, things come up in everyone's lives, and since she has offered no explanation, it's hard to know how reasonable her cancelation is (to be fair to her, it could be a real emergency or unavoidable conflict).  There is not much you can do short of not using the sitter again.  If it was the first time, and/or she provided a reasonable excuse, I'd let it go.  Given that it's the third time, and she has provided no explanation, I think you already know everything you need to about her reliability and her priorities when it comes to your babysitting jobs.  It happens, and I don' t think it's the end of the world from anyone's perspective.

If you have no one else to ask, I'd use the following methods to find a sitter.  1) If any of your kids are in preschool, ask around at the preschool for sitters.  Some of the teachers might babysit or at least be able to suggest some names of nannies of the other kids who might babysit.  2) Call your friends with nannies and see if they can ask if any of their nannies might be interested in a one time, emergency babysitting job.  3) Call your friends and see if anyone can do you a favor and watch your kids that night.  I'd honestly be happy to watch a friend's kids in a pinch like this provided she dropped them off at my house (since I have kids too).  4) Call an agency.  I know you don't prefer a stranger (who does?) but agencies do have some accountability over just finding a stranger on care.com or something like that.[/quote]

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