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Frequently Asked Questions
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How do I book 2 babysitters?We make that very easy! First choose 1/2 the number of kids. Then choose how many hours you need. That will take you to the booking calendar where you select your date and time. You can then book your first sitter. List all kids and all parents on the booking form. Submit. You will be prompted to add another booking. Repeat same process. Your form will stayed filled out for your second booking for the next sitter. Both sitters need to know how many kids will be there in total, and all of their names. That is why we ask for you to fill out the form that way.
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How do I book multiple days and times?We make that easy. Book your first date and time. Fill out the booking form. Submit, then you will be prompted to add more bookings. Continue with the rest of your schedule, your form will stay filled out while you are setting up your bookings.
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How do I get the same sitter for all my dates and times?First, choose the number of kids and the number of hours per booking. That will take you to our availability calendar. Look at all the days you want, to see who is available. If you don't see the same sitter available, choose "Next Available Sitter" for all of your bookings. Then let us know that you want the same sitter for all your days by emailing us at bookingteam@coastalbabysitters.com We will try our best to assign the same person.
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How do I pay the babysitter?We use Square Point of Sale to securely process credit and debit card. We do not accept cash or person to person payments like Venmo. Using Square is the safest most secure way to pay. You can tip your sitter on the card or in cash.
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Should I tip the babysitter?Yes. Babysitters are customarily tipped. Because or service charges and the babysitting fees are combined, the sitter doesn't keep everything you pay her. She is paid well. However tipping her for her amazing service is the custom. Usually families tip the same as any other service industry 18-25%. There are times that we will add an automatic gratuity; More than 6 kids More than 1 babysitter Split payments Holidays
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Can I use Venmo?No. we do not accept any person to person payments. We offer a more secure way for you to pay. If you pay the sitter person to person we have no control over those transactions and if mistakes in charging were made we would have no way to fix them.
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Do I need to pay upfront, do you need my credit card on file, is there a deposit?No to all of those questions. We trust that you have read and understand our cancelation policy before you book with us. To make things easy for our clients, and ourselves, we do not ask for any upfront payments or deposits. Storing credit cards on file is highly regulated by the FCC, and for good reason. We prefer to keep our business in the clear by not having such sensitive information on hand.
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How do I know which sitter to choose?You can choose any of the babysitters. They are all great! All of the babysitters are interviewed, reference checked, pediatric CPR certified and background checked. We keep resumes of file for everyone along with all of their documents. In order to qualify for our team they must have professional childcare experience, meaning they have worked in or work for; daycares schools hospitals kids church programs summer camps or other professional experience We look for candidates that have a range of ages they are comfortable with, from infants to teens. Personality is key. In addition to experience we are looking for babysitters that are personable and energetic.
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How old are the babysitters?We do not discriminate based on age. All sitters are 18 or older. Many families think different things about different ages. Keep in mind that age isn't the best indicator of a person's personality or experience in professional childcare. Some people are naturally more energetic and outgoing than others, and they tend to stay that way their whole lives. Some people started working in childcare at a very young age, many church programs regularly rely on teen volunteers. Schools also have after school programs that hire high schoolers. Summer camps recruit high schoolers and college kids. Then there are youth sports coaches too. We are recruiting for personality, energy, and experience.
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Will the babysitters let the kids swim?We love to participate in fun activities while we are watching children! Hiking, biking, swimming*, as well as, indoor games, arts and crafts are things we are prepared for when we arrive. ​ * Swimming activities must be appropriate for the age and skill level of each individual child along with their temperament. Based on these factors we may decide at any time to withhold or cease swimming activities. ​ **During the hottest months of the year (typically but not limited to June, July, August) we may limit beach activities according to local heat advisories or based on the heat index. Our staff are working while on the beach and often don't have time to cool off by enjoying a break in the water or shade, eat, or drink which all can lead to dangerous health consequences for people who work outdoors. This does not apply to pools except on a very limited case by case basis
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Do you charge more on Holidays?Yes, we work on most major holidays. But we have very limited staff on those days as most of the sitters have families and events to attend to. If your booking falls on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas Eve, or New Years Eve it will be charged at time-and-a-half plus a 20% gratuity. We offer this as a customary compensation for people who work on Holidays. We appreciate our team for taking time away from their festivities to be there for our clients.
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What is your cancelation policy?We understand that cancelations happen. You can cancel anytime prior to 24 hours before your booking start time. Cancelations that occur within 24 hours will be charged at 50%. This is because it is difficult to recover lost wages for your sitter(s) and our team with such short notice. Choosing not to pay the 50% cancelation fee will result in the scheduled sitter(s) arriving ready to babysit. Once sitter(s) have arrived the full amount of the booking must be paid to the sitter prior her to leaving the property. How to get an illness exception - We will waive the cancelation fee if client presents a doctor's note verifying illness of one of the children listed on the booking, or illness of one of the parents/guardians listed on the booking. We will honor the illness exception for an additional 24 hours after the cancelation and process a refund once the doctors note has been verified. Failure to pay for agreed services- We will contact local authorities to assist the sitter(s) in recovering her/their booking fee(s) from clients. Failure to pay agreed service fees as per terms and conditions is theft according to Florida Statute 812.012. Theft of services will be reported to the local police or sheriff department immediately upon refusal to pay agreed amount or within the same day as the canceled booking. Disputing credit card transactions for agreed fees is fraud and will be reported. We take credit card fraud and theft from our team seriously.
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