Once you’ve booked a few babysitting jobs through UrbanSitter, you might have more advanced questions about using the website. Here are a few helpful tips based on the questions most frequently asked by babysitters.
For beginners, check out Tips for Sitters: Getting Started. Have a specific question about UrbanSitter or your account? Visit the Support Center.
Advanced Tips & Questions About UrbanSitter
Getting Babysitting Jobs
1. Prevent job requests for times I’m not “available.” By default parents can send you job requests for any timeslot. To limit requests to only the times you have marked as “available” on your calendar, go to your Account Settings and select the option to Allow parents to “Send interview/job requests only for times when I show available.” This also works well if you’re going out of town and don’t want any requests.
2. How to fix my availability calendar. Over time, you may have added multiple availability timeslots for the same day, which ends up crowding your calendar with too many green bars. To fix this, click on an individual timeslot and hit Delete. Or, if it’s easier to start from scratch, go to the bottom right of your calendar page and click on “Remove all availability from my calendar.”
3. How to decline a job. When declining a request, you’re provided with the opportunity to send the parent a message. Take advantage of this opportunity to thank the parent and ask them to consider you for future jobs. If you have babysitter friends on UrbanSitter, you’ll also see the option to refer them for the job.
4. Adding jobs. Sometimes parents forget to book you through UrbanSitter and you’d really like to get the job on your calendar to keep organized. As long as the parent has booked you once before through UrbanSitter, you can add the job yourself using the Add Jobs tool. The parent will receive a notification when you do, so the job appears on everyone’s calendars. This is a great way to earn your “Repeat Families” badge. Add Jobs now.
5. Add a COVID-19 vaccine badge. To help make informed decisions during COVID, caregivers can add a COVID-19 vaccine badge to their profile indicating they have received the vaccine and are willing to provide proof if requested. You can add this badge under profile.
> Create a babysitter profile at UrbanSitter.com
Reviews
5. Asking parents you’ve worked with for a review. UrbanSitter automatically sends an email after any job you complete asking the parents to leave a review for you. If that doesn’t get their attention, you might consider asking for a review in-person at the end of your jobs. You also may send a message through the job booking to say thank you and ask for a review.
6. Managing my reputation. Even stellar sitters occasionally receive neutral or negative reviews from parents. It’s best to take these in stride and keep it in perspective. You should not harass the parent to take their review down. Reply to reviews, both glowing and negative, to show parents how engaged you are as a babysitter. Your reply will appear next to the review and it will be visible to all parents (including ones who might hire you), so choose words thoughtfully.
Other Common Questions
7. Is it possible to resubmit “Interest” in a job if I accidentally removed my interest? Unfortunately this is not possible, so be careful when removing your interest from a job.
8. How do I report an issue? For technical issues with the site, you should email [email protected] with as many details as possible. Describe what the issue is, which web browser you are using, and when it happened. That way, our Support Team can diagnose the problem and try to fix it. For issues relating to a job or parent, you should email [email protected], or if there is suspicious or undesirable behavior you should submit a flag by click the flag icon on our website and contact additional authorities if you feel it’s appropriate.
9. Understanding credit card payments. As a sitter, you are not charged for using the standard direct deposit feature to receive a credit card payment from a parent. UrbanSitter can only deposit money into the bank account you sync on the Payment page. Parents must pay for a membership to book caregivers. There is no “per job” fee for parents to use this feature.
10. Explaining how much UrbanSitter costs to a parent. If a parent asks you to explain how much UrbanSitter will cost them, the easiest response is to direct them to our Pricing page.
For beginner tips, view Tips for Sitters – Getting Started. You may also be interested in joining the UrbanSitter Babysitter Facebook Group to find out about local events and connect with other sitters.
> Create a babysitter profile at UrbanSitter.com
Have a specific question about UrbanSitter or your account? Visit the Support Center.