Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the cost of membership for parents?
A: Parents can join Bsitter.com for FREE. Bsitter will give each registered parent 10 credits to try out the service. Once the free credits are used parents can purchase credits to post a job. The cost of a credit ranges from 50 cents to $1, depending on how many credits are purchased. Credits never expire.
Q: How does the service work?
A: Once parents join and establish their babysitter network, they log into the site each time they want to post a job. To post a job, parents enter the date and time of the job, and select the babysitters to whom they want to send the information. Babysitters will immediately receive an email and text message from Bsitter.com notifying them of a newly posted job opportunity (text messaging applies to parents and babysitters who elect it on the registration page). Babysitters then log in, and click a single button and pick up the job. Parents are then notified with an email and text message that the job has been picked up. Babysitters will receive email reminders 24 hours prior to a job. For more information see our "how it works video" demonstration.
Q: How much does it cost to post a job?
A: Alll Job postings cost 1 credit.
Q: When I post a job do I have to send it to all my babysitters?
A: No. You can choose the babysitters who receive notification by selecting the checkboxes next to the babysitters.
Q: How am I notified when a babysitter accepts a job?
A: You are notified by email and, if you elect, text messaging. In addition, you can always check your job status in the account panel to see which jobs are still open and which jobs have been accepted.
Q: What is the advantage of adding parents to my network?
A: As a parent, adding other parents to your network allows you to request to borrow babysitters when none of your babysitters accept your job. As a babysitter, the more parents in your network, the more job offers you will get.
Q: Is there a free membership level?
A: Yes. We offer parents the opportunity to try out our service with 10 free credits, just for signing up!
Q: Does Bsitter.com provide babysitters’ names?
A: No. Bsitter.com does not provide any information about the babysitters in the service. Only other parents can provide information about their babysitters.
Q: What do I do if all my babysitters decline a job?
A: You can request that a parent in your network lend you a babysitter. Just click the “Loan Request” button next to the job and then select the parents in your parent network from whom you want to request a babysitter. Those parents can then forward your request to any babysitters in their network to whom they would like to offer your job. You will receive notification of the babysitters who have received the job information, as well as the age and address of those babysitters. You have the option of removing any babysitter from an offering. Once a babysitter accepts your job, both you and the babysitter are notified of each others’ contact information to coordinated the details of the job.
Q: If I lend a parent a babysitter, does that babysitter automatically become part of the borrowers network?
A: No. The parents or the babysitters must invite the other party to join their network.
Q: Can I remove a babysitter or parent from my network?
A: Yes. You can remove anyone from your network at anytime. Select the parent or babysitter you want to remove, and then click “remove.” You will be asked to confirm that you want to permanently remove this person from your network.
Q: Does Bsitter.com guarantee that the sitters I contact will respond to me?
A: Bsitter.com makes every effort to ensure that babysitters keep their profiles up-to-date and respond to parent inquiries in a timely fashion. However, we cannot guarantee that a babysitter will respond to you or be available when needed. Since you already know your babysitters you can use the messaging center to contact them from within the site if needed.
Q: How do you keep babysitters' information current ?
A:
- We require each babysitter to read and accept our user agreement, respond to all inquiries from parents in a timely manner and keep all appointments.
- Our system automatically sends out a notification to each babysitter on a regular basis. This notification requires the babysitters to verify the information in their profile. The profile is suspended if babysitters do not verify the information in a timely manner.
- Parents have the ability to remove a babysitter from their network if they have issues with a babysitter not responding to an inquiry or keeping an appointment.
- Our system automatically reminds babysitters prior to each babysitting job they have signed up to work.
Q: What happens if a babysitter cancels a job they have already picked it up?
A: Bsitter.com has a tab under the “View Your Jobs” link in the Account Manager that allows you to reopen a job. This will resend the request to any babysitter you have notified about the job who has not already declined. This does not count as an additional job posting.
Q: Does Bsitter.com do background checks on the babysitters?
A: No. Bsitter.com does not provide or search for any information about babysitters, as these are babysitters you know and that you have added to your network yourself.
Q: Can I search for babysitters in any zip code?
A: No. Remember Bsitter.com is not a referral service. We provide a robust, easy to use solution to managing the babysitters you already know and trust, and we help you network with other parents you know and trust to expand your babysitting network.
Q: What can I do to make my network more effective?
A: The best way for parents to make their network more effective is to keep adding more parents and babysitters. The more babysitters in the network to receive job offers, the more likely parents will fill jobs. As a babysitter the more parents you add to your network the more job notifications you will receive.
Q: Can I use the service for pet sitters?
A: While we designed the service for parents and babysitters, the system works just as well for pet sitting and house sitting jobs. For that matter it works great for any job you have on a recurring basis that you use more than one person for.
Q: Where do you list the hourly rate?
A: We do not list the hourly rate for a job on the site. You can add this to the comments section if you would like, but as rates sometimes vary based on date and time as well as experience we elected to allow this to be a discussion between the parents and the babysitters. We do request this information upon registration as we hope to be able to offer parents information on what an average wage is in your zip code.
Q: What is a Job Posting?
A: Once you have joined Bsitter.com you can post your jobs to your network of babysitters. To post a job, select the “Add a New Job” tab and enter the date and time of your job, as well as any comments. Then select the babysitters in your network to whom you would like to offer the job. Once you hit “submit,” notification is sent via email and text messaging to the selected babysitters. Babysitters then log into Bsitter.com and either accept or decline the job. Once they accept a job, it is removed from the database and you are notified by email and text message that the job has been picked up. The job is then removed from the available job list for the other babysitters in your network.
Q: How long does it take for my job posting to appear on the website?
A: Your jobs are posted immediately after you enter them on the website. In addition, your babysitters are notified immediately by email and text messaging.
Q: Can I have more than one job posting?
A: Yes. If you have the credits, you can post the shifts.
Q: Can I modify my job listing?
A: No, you would need to delete the job and reload a new job.
Q: How do I verify my email address?
A: When registering at Bsitter.com, you will be required to verify your email address (to ensure that babysitters are able to contact you). The Bsitter.com system will send you an email with a link to verify your email address. Simply open the email and click on the link provided. You will be returned to Bsitter.com with a confirmation message stating that your email address has been verified.
Q: How old do I have to be to register as a babysitter?
A: Children (persons under the age of 18) are not eligible to use Bsitter.com unsupervised and we ask that children do not submit any personal information to us. If you are under the age of 18, you may only use Bsitter.com in conjunction with and under the supervision of your parents or guardians. In no case can a child under the age of 13 create a profile on Bsitter.com. This ensures that we stay in compliance with The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA).
