New Client FAQ’s
Why book with SOS?
Since launching in May 2023, we have worked with over 400 families and continue to grow weekly. Our business has grown by word of mouth and offering a service that is truly personal and tailored to our families’ needs.
We value honesty above everything and will always be transparent with our families and team - we wanted to work with women in particular, to help create space and support them through providing a service that they could trust and call on at a moment’s notice.
As Mums ourselves, in inner city Melbourne without any family close by we’ve had to rely on sitters and nannies through various stages of our families’ lives.
Mums …. and Dad’s deserve a better service and experience - that’s why SOS exists.
How do you book a sitter?
Currently we offer two services that enable you to book a sitter: a “booking request” & our “priority booking” for any clients that need a sitter within the next 48 hours.
We also assist clients with additional service requests, like OVERNIGHTS, SCHOOL PICK/DROP OFF & LONGER TERM SITTING ARRANGEMENTS
If you’d like to enquire about our nanny services please visit here.
To request a sitter you simply select your service, choose the calendar date & complete the checkout process.
After checkout, your request will then come through to us at SOS HQ.
We then match you with a sitter, who suits your family’s needs (not just anyone … i.e if you have a new baby, we make sure you have someone experienced with babies).
You will then receive a confirmation email with your sitter’s details and profile.
You will pay your sitter directly and within 24 hours of the booking, using the payment details provided on the sitter’s profile x
What happens if my booking runs over?
If your booking runs over that is generally fine as long as you have communicated this to the sitter and have checked in. We get it that your dinner is fun, or that the meeting is running way over - we just ask that you check in and ensure our sitter is okay with staying later.
Babysitting Rates
Our rates start from $28 per hour and are based on our sitter’s level of experience.
If you are looking for a sitter VERY last minute on a Saturday for example, then please expect to pay between $35 - $40 (to have a sitter who wants to help out last minute and cancel their own plans to help you with yours).
How do you “screen” your sitters?
This was one of the ‘aha’ moments for creating SOS as we were tired of having sitters show up that were not as promised and who weren’t engaged or even worse late, as they didn’t know where they were going.
As parents, we have so much going on all the time that booking a sitter should be a simple “set & forget” process, we should feel happy and confident when the sitter arrives that we have made a great choice that enables us to feel good about leaving and focusing on what we are doing without any regrets or uneasy feelings, whether its a date night, a meeting or having a moment just for us.
So our screening process is very thorough and it enables us to get a sense of the sitter, who she is as a person, her interests, and how we can work with her to support her to then in turn support our clients.
We are also in constant communication with the team and making sure that they are able to deliver our expectations and support them in their own development.
Our sitters are incredible women doing amazing things. Think the next generation of educators, teachers, doctors, lawyer’s. They all have great energy.
Our nannies are experienced and provide a sense of calm with their years of experience and special skills. They come from a variety of backgrounds, some purely focused on newborn assistance with over 20 years experience. Or we also have beautiful younger nannies that are looking for families to join and provide household assistance/ life admin/ child-centred care focused on the individual children and providing enriching experiences. We tailor the nanny to the families needs and expectations.
Working with Children Check
All sitters as part of our onboarding process as required to submit a current WWCC.
Insurance
Our service & sitters are fully insured to provide peace of mind for our clients.
First Aid
This is a no brainer and a basic requirement for anyone looking after children. If you family has specific allergy requirements or anaphylaxis needs, please ensure you communicate those at the time of booking or email our care team here.
Privacy, privacy, privacy
This is everything to us. Our systems have been designed to ensure privacy is of the utmost importance in everything that we do. Our sitters and nannies are also aware of our privacy policy and our families needs.