Comments on Rent-A-Mum please

jellybaby

jellybaby

Registered User
Have anyone used them? what are they like? I have been on their site, do you have to pay for travel fees? I am a full time mum just need someone to help look after the LO while i have the odd night out. Please help!

:thanks
 
I have used them in the dim and distant past but can't remember paying travel fees. Shirley who runs rent-a-mum is great and the ladies we used were very professional and I felt comfortable leaving my daughters with them.
 
Thanks! anyone else used them before? just want to hear from more people before i make the call, i think cause i am a full time mum and i am the only person who has looked after the LO so it's hard for me to just find someone to look after him..... overprotective maybe!
 
I use them occasionally as I don't have a helper and I think they are excellent.
I am biased though as I worked for the agency for 6 years before having my own baby.

There is a $50 taxi fee after 9pm.
If you live miles from Cental eg. Sai Kung, you will negotiate a travel fee after 9pm.
 
We have used them about once per month and they are excellent. Although our favorite sitter just recently ran off to Aussie, so we will be starting anew. But we aren't worried about the new nanny.
 
so does that mean you can request for a certian one everytime you book so that it could be different people coming everytime?
 
We always requested the same person and she always showed up. I guess, if you have specific dates you are tied to, you could get a different person every time.
 
We used them when we first arrived and i can't say that the sitters seemed any more experienced than most babysitters are. They all seem to be young girls on holiday trying to earn a bit of money. Nothing wrong with that but the charges are quite hefty especially when you know you could get a part time helper for less per hour. I also wasn't impressed that at the time they didn't have many sitters available and it was clear that if we wanted them to do some hours we had to arrange our schedules around them and not the other way!
I guess that's what happens when there isn't much competition. Someone should start up their own service.. Hope this doesn't put you off. They're fine for now and then but if i was looking for something regular i'd go the part-time helper line.
 
Very strange. Ours was a 30 something trained British nanny who was employed normally by a Cathay pilot. She did the Rent-a-Mum thing when not needed by the pilot. She said there were a few others in the same position.
I also seem to remember being told that they were all trained British nannies, but wouldn't swear to it after hearing Aussielegal's story.
 
We have had the same problem with Rent-A-Mum. They never seem to have people available, the girls tend to be quite young and while sweet, don't appear to be highly trained nannies.
The organisation is terrible, waiting for a nanny to arrive at 10am one morning I received a phone call from Shirley at 10.10am to say that she had slept in and hadn't given the nanny the address yet!
On two occassions, I have booked through them only to have them cancel at the last minute and one nanny we had told us pleasantly when we got home that our 2yr old toddler had "put himself to bed while she was watching TV".
Yes, some competition is definately needed. I am trying Annerly Nannies annerley.com.hk - hopefully this is better!
 
From what I know they have different types of carers on their books. Some very experienced qualified nannies (& maternity nurses), and some less so. It all comes down to what you ask for & what type of care is required (ie, very different looking after a newborn all weekend, than a 3 year old in the evening when already asleep).

Most of them are working as Nannies in HK already, and they do a bit of babysitting on the side for extra cash.

Everyone I've ever had has been good.

Shirley is known to be 'sloppy' with her bookings &
admin.....she definately needs some competition, but it's a hard business to crack in HK because of the girls visas (& therefore loyalty)
 
BTW I used both Shirley & Annerley when I was employing a Nanny/Maternity Nurse....both sent me the same CV's, and we did end up employing. Neither terribly helpful with Visa info though!!
 
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