Please explain care.com to me!

[Pen]

I’m looking for household help (cleaning, maybe some organizing) 

Is it safe to sign up?

[Chris in VA]

I found several jobs thru Care. I found it very safe. I did the premium for a month or two. 

[PeterPan]

I've gotten one creep who kept writing, but they were obviously a creep. I was looking for childcare and I was so narrow in the type of person I was obviously appealing to that it wasn't like just a random person would want it. All the applicants were degreed, etc. and it was pretty obvious what I was getting.

For household work, I'd be wanting insured, references, etc. Can you go through a firm or get personal recommendations? That would be more iffy to me, but who am I to say? I'm just saying it's legit to wonder if bad people are on there too, and I don't know how you sort that out. Someone who is in business, who has reviews on yelp, who comes with word of mouth, this seems more reliable, especially if you're not going to be there, are letting them in with your valuables, etc.

Just as a random suggestion, sometimes a homeschooled teen (girl) can be stellar for cleaning. I've done that in the past. Wouldn't cost you as much as an adult either. 

Edited July 1, 2019 by PeterPan

[J-rap]

I think a lot of honest, hardworking people use care.com.  Be sure to check references, ask lots of questions, etc. etc.   It's definitely safe to sign up though!  We've signed up for various things.  Just use common sense.

But, I've hired housekeepers before (for parents and myself on occasion), and have better (or maybe easier?) luck by checking local bulletin boards, local Facebook pages, posting ads at local churches and such, and word of mouth.

ETA:  The housekeepers I've ended up with who were NOT word-of-mouth recommendations were just people I took a chance on.  They weren't insured, I didn't talk to references, but I had good telephone conversations with them and decided to give them a try.  I stayed around the house the first time they came and trusted them.  I've only had good experiences.

I also agree with PeterPan that a homeschooled teen could be great!  Also, my dd did some housekeeping when she was in college.  Do you have a college near where you live where you could post an ad?

Also...  I've found housekeepers for my parents before on Groupon.

Edited July 1, 2019 by J-rap

[PeterPan]

23 minutes ago, J-rap said:

I think a lot of honest, hardworking people use care.com.

Ok, I'd like to eat crow on this, because I went and looked and there were some really legit listings! The childcare side I've used has been kinda mixed. I've gotten GREAT responses/hires and I've gotten pestered by creeps. The nice thing about the cleaning is this is your community. Like when I was going through the listings, I actually recognized people. 

[Night Elf]

I've got another thread about losing my housekeeper from lack of communication. I found her through care.com. I got about 10 applicants and interviewed two. I did not call for references and met her in person once when she came to my house for the interview. I was impressed with her although she was kind of hard to understand as she is Lithuanian and has a heavy accent. I thought things were going extremely well. She started on May 13th and was consistently on time and did a great job cleaning. She had a few comments from other employers who recommended her, which is why I didn't call references. Unfortunately, now she's not talked to me since June 19th and I don't know how long to wait before beginning a new search. My church does not have a bulletin board to advertise and I doubt they have a service as I've never seen any evidence off something like that. I'm dubious of Craig's List because I've heard so many bad things. The only word of mouth I got was for a cleaning company but they charge more than my budget allows. So if I try for another housekeeper, I'll go back through care.com. I got a premium membership for one month then cancelled it because I had hired someone. I suppose I'll do that again.