Sittercity offers a safe way to find experienced babysitters and nannies, pet care, senior care, housekeepers, or tutors. Or if you offer one of these services, Sittercity provides a place to register and connect with someone who needs you. Launched in 2001, Sittercity now has over two million caregiver profiles nationwide.
The part of Sittercity that is primarily for parents is for someone who is looking for either a full or part-time nanny or for a regular babysitter, an occasional and weekend sitter, or even for last minute care. To be available to parents, sitters must fill out a detailed profile with a photo, references and reviews from other parents, and a listing of their experience, skills and certifications.
Sittercity partners with LexisNexis so that you can instantly run a background check on caregivers. Also, Sittercity has partnered with Family Watchdog to ensure that all caregivers are checked against the most current national databases and registries before they join. If you have ever tried to find a sitter at the last minute, you will appreciate the effort Sittercity makes to provide you with a safe experience.
In addition to child care sitters, which are their primary service, Sittercity also provides sitters for pet care, senior care sitters, housekeepers and tutors. Commuters or those who travel a lot and who need their pet walked, fed, or groomed can find local pet sitters with appropriate training and experience. A family that is looking for help with an Alzheimer’s family member can find a large number of possible caregivers. Or someone who wants to find a reliable house sitter, or to help with housekeeping can find them here. I live in a relatively rural area and there were 626 Sittercity registered housekeepers found within 50 miles of here.
Sittercity’s primary offering is its two million member database.
Is Sittercity Worth it? – Key Features And Benefits
Here are a few reasons I think using Sittercity is worth it:
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Their four step process of interviewing, checking references, checking reviews, and making background checks, ensures the best candidate for your job.
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They have over two million profiles in their database, and they are still growing. They are the largest online service of this kind.
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They partner with the Department of Defense to provide service members (active, reserve or guard) with membership at no cost.
- They provide a corporate program of sitter services that can be offered as an employee benefit for companies with more than 500 employees. Companies like United Health Group and Avon already belong to this program.
My favorite feature is that for each care giver Sittercity provides a detailed profile that includes references, previous experience, photos, and rating, like the following:
Video Profiles and Interviews
Some care givers provide a lot of information about themselves by posting their profile in the form of a video, like Deanna Williams below:
Sittercity Cons—Disadvantages
The only case I found that has left a stain on Sittercity’s reputation is one reported by the Pasadena Star-News recently, titled: “Alhambra man accused of molesting boys he babysat”. It has to do with the accusation of a young man hired by a family in Glendale, CA, with the purpose of baby sitting two boys. The family accused him for molesting their boys. On Nov 28th 2011, the 19-year old Alhambra man appeared in Glendale Superior Court. While the man pleaded innocent, he was held on $2.7 million bail and faces the possibility of life in prison, if convicted. Sittercity terminated immediately this man’s account and notified all families that had contacted him. This of course could have happened in any online babysitting company, which shows that one should be wary of hiring a babysitter on line, especially if the sitter is a 19-year old male
What Stores Might Be Better Than Sittercity?
How Does Sittercity Compare To Similar Merchants
I selected two other providers to compare to Sittercity.
The first provider I chose was 4sitters.com. They are an independent family owned company in Woodbury, MN that helps match sitters with parents. Their membership fee is $6.99 a month with no long term commitment to continue should you want to terminate your membership. The annual membership is $41.99. There are no refunds for unused portions of subscription periods. Founded in 2003, they had, at the time of this review, over 44,000 members. Using all of my relative’s zip codes, I was unable to find anything in the zip code search until I put in a Woodbury MN zip which returned one piece of spam and only five actual records. The site was very slow to load. While they seem to be a nice family trying to get a business off the ground, their site is no match for Sittercity.
The second provider I chose was Care4hire. The first thing on their media page is a statement that the Dr. Phil Show uses care4hire companies as a resource for guests on the show. Since 2008, care4hire has been a new service of nannies4hire.com, a database service that has served over half a million families and care providers since 1987. Care4hire is $19.99/month plus a $10 first month registration fee, or $89.99 annually. They offer a free preview for 7 days. When I put in a zip code search for babysitters, I was presented with well over 500 possibilities, 10 at a time. As far as the biography information is concerned, it is much the same as Sittercity but the references are not available unless you sign up.
What Is The Cost?
Sittercity is $35/month if you go for the monthly plan (the most expensive) or $70 for a 3 month plan or $140 for an annual plan. The three month and annual plan are billed in advance. There are frequently Promo Codes and Coupons available on the internet.
What Are Others Saying? Testimonials—Feedback—Comments
A big part of what is found about Sittercity is negative feedback about the price. While many parents felt the price was worth it to obtain a safe sitter, others felt that the price was high. And while 4sitters.com was incredibly less, they had less to offer. If you don’t live near a large metropolitan area, Sittercity is probably the best bet for finding a safe hire.
Any Promotional Coupons for Sittercity? How to Buy at a Discount
As affiliates of Sittercity, we regularly check for coupon codes and promotional deals that work so that you will get the best prices. If there are any Sittercity coupon codes or discounts available today you will find them at the top of this page.
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