Firstly, can you speak to a carer before your booking?

Yes, of course! We're here to facilitate connections between parents and carers and being able to speak to a carer before booking is a critical decision factor. However, we also need to consider the safety of our carers and systems that provide open messaging between users have unfortunately been abused in the past by spammers and other unsavory characters. As such, there are a couple of different ways we've enabled this in a safe manner. 

Option 1 - If you've made a direct booking request.

Once a carer has accepted your booking request, you can message or call through the app. If you have time before your booking, carers may also be able to pop around and meet you and your family in person.

If you are unhappy with the carer after speaking to them you can cancel your booking up to 24 hours before the start and receive a full refund.

A lot of parents take this approach, and the feedback has always been positive. Remember, as we've already screened all our carers, the quality is very high compared to other online services.

Option 2 - If you've posted a job.

Once a carer applies for your job you can mesage or call through the app before you commit and as you aren't charged anything until you accept an applicant, you don't have to choose any one if you don't feel 100% comfortable.

Option 3 - Book a short "meet and greet".

If you are looking for a long term, or regular sitter or nanny it is common practice to book a 1 hour "meet and greet" with a couple of potential carers. This allows you and your family to meet the carer face to face and for you to observe first hand how they bond with your kids. As we don't have a minimum booking time, the Sittr app easily facilitates this kind of booking.

Other things to note

If you are having trouble using the in app calling feature, try this article http://help.sittr.com/en/articles/5344231-troubleshooting-sittr-phone-issues