I mean...I am doing her a big favor right?

[Orchid_28]

So I've been babysitting this lady's kids off and on. She used to be my mom's friend. My mom told me that she just takes advantage of her and is ungrateful for the things that she has done to help her friend. I will call this lady Stacy. So I've still kept in contact with Stacy because ONE: I dont have a job right now and I do need some money to get me by. SECOND: I want to keep a good relationship with her because I did work for her for a few months being her kids nanny and I have her on my resume and as one of my references. So I want to stay in good terms with her.

So after her break up with my mom I havent heard from her until now...She called and asked me to watch ONE of her kids for three full days Tues., Wed., and Thurs. (24/7) for $200. And I did not hesitate and said yes! She had to do some training for work and asked me to come on a Monday evening cause she had to commute to the area before it gets dark. So I was fine with that. Now she just called me saying that she has training on Friday as well so she wouldnt be back until Friday night and asked me if that was okay. I said, "yeah...will you pay me extra for that?" and she gave me the bitchyess tone in her voice saying..."Well...I'm going to give you $200, will that be okay?" like in a mean way Im like damn thinking to myself that Im basically watching her kid for an entire week taking him to and from school, helping him with homework, cooking, and cleaning after him, plus I will be taking him to the park and stuff so we dont get bored staying home all day!

So I told her that I do need extra money for gas at least and she said she can only give me $20 extra. So Im like fine...I do need the money so I told her it was okay. But the whole conversation was really sour. Like she didnt think I deserved a little extra money to watch him for another day or acted like I was asking her for too much.

Like I honestly dont know what the proper cost is to get paid to watch one child for basically the entire week. But I do feel that Im doing her a favor and her giving me an attitude over the phone like that was rude. Just the way she sounded over the phone her whole voice changed from nice to mean. What do you girls think? Is $220 a fair amount? or I should I be paid more than that? Im just curious.

 

[chynegal]

your are doing her a favor and she shouldnt give u any kind of attitude. what if you said no? what is she gonna do the? i think 220 is a okay price try and atleast get 250

 

[Orchid_28]

yeah...sometimes I think she doesnt realize that shes lucky to have someone that will do services like this for cheap. If she went any where else it would probably cost her twice as much.

 

[starbucksmocha]

You are doing her a HUGE favour. Like chynegal said, you could easily say no and she would be in trouble then, having to rush around to find someone and, like you said, it would no doubt cost her way more. I think you should go for more. Maybe figure out what it will work out to in terms of hourly pay?
She may be rude, but there's really not much else she can do. It's hard when people act like that, I hate it. I myself tend to feel like a push-over in those situations because I hate confrontation and usually just back down (and regret it later since I feel used!).
With all you are doing for her, it is more than fair what you are asking for.
HTH

 

[chynegal]

people just take for granted what you do for them. i took care of all 3 of my cousins kids when they were born. when she had the first child i told her she didnt need to pay be just buy me something that i wanted. the last 2 kids which are a twins her baby daddy used to pay me for it but did i ever get a damn thank you from her...never...i thought one of the twins his first word which was " thank you"... my aunt and uncle were the ones who told me thank you it was never her

 

[kaliraksha]

How old are you? What age is the kid? How many hours a day are you expected to be there? I would take all of this into account when charging. I was use to getting paid 10/hr in high school regardless of how long I was sitting...from 3 hrs to 10 hrs. I got paid 15/hr in college for months of work... from 9-5PM, M-F, but I did the dishes, child's clothes, and cooked for the child

 

[cindiaz]

wow,here in south ca,they pay you $150 or $200 for 5 days(8 hrs/day) and you have to take care of kids,clean ,laundry and make food .

 

[Brie]

24 hours a day ?? WTF thats 4 daysx 24 hours = 96 hours. Say you aren't getting paid 'sleeping' there say 8 hours a night is 32 hours sleep. 96 - 32 = 64 hours of 'work' time / 220 = 3.43 p/hour . That is not right.


Oh and you were already ther the monday night so thats even less.

 

[gildedangel]

You are doing her a huge favor; she would be paying a heck of a lot more if you said no. I usually get paid about $11/hr for babysitting, including cooking and entertaining the kids. Ask for more next time, she has no right to be rude to you when she would probably pay at least 50% more if anyone else was doing it. You can always find another reference.

 

[ShockBunnie]

Don't know if you're going to like this... but given the history she has with your mom, I'm not surprised...

This is how it'd work in my world.

You didn't stand your ground, so she's going to:
A) Think it's acceptable to use you like that in the future
-OR-
B) Think you're a greedy bitch who wants too much money and she won't hire you again

In my eyes, (since I don't let people sucker me) I would not work for her EVER again since she cannot be trusted.

If "A" were the case, I'd be "conveniently unavailable" the next time she calls. And the time after that... and the time after that. Do you think she'd still give me a good reference based on my availability? Eh, I think not.

So now... What do I have to lose? A reference. Meh... Get another.

AFTER she hands me the $220, I'd POLITELY give her the breakdown of how much she paid me an hour (as previously stated by another poster). I'd ask her if she thinks my service is worth that. If she says yes, (which would most likely not be a literal yes... more like bitching me out), I'd go for the Kill Em With Kindness method - Smile huge and tell her "Ok! Just making sure you're not calling me back. Good luck finding another babysitter!" (one could also... idk, tell her off... or spraypaint/break something in the middle of the night if they were feeling vengeful lol). If she says no, I'd ask when her next payday is and tell her that I can meet her during lunch that day. No? Dinner. No? Breakfast. People come to their senses because I play hard ball.

But that's just how I roll! When I mean business, I mean business. But I also do so from the start.

Hope no one thinks I'm a bitch, but I don't let people walk on me.

 

[Orchid_28]

The only thing I didnt appreciate was her attitude. Like now Im really seeing her ugly side. She can at least say that $220 is the best that she can do because she's trying to look for a job and that she is thankful for me doing this for her. But it was total opposite. Oh well this will be the last time I do anything for her...

 

[Orchid_28]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShockBunnie Don't know if you're going to like this... but given the history she has with your mom, I'm not surprised... This is how it'd work in my world. You didn't stand your ground, so she's going to: A) Think it's acceptable to use you like that in the future -OR- B) Think you're a greedy bitch who wants too much money and she won't hire you again In my eyes, (since I don't let people sucker me) I would not work for her EVER again since she cannot be trusted. If "A" were the case, I'd be "conveniently unavailable" the next time she calls. And the time after that... and the time after that. Do you think she'd still give me a good reference based on my availability? Eh, I think not. So now... What do I have to lose? A reference. Meh... Get another. AFTER she hands me the $220, I'd POLITELY give her the breakdown of how much she paid me an hour (as previously stated by another poster). I'd ask her if she thinks my service is worth that. If she says yes, (which would most likely not be a literal yes... more like bitching me out), I'd go for the Kill Em With Kindness method - Smile huge and tell her "Ok! Just making sure you're not calling me back. Good luck finding another babysitter!" (one could also... idk, tell her off... or spraypaint/break something in the middle of the night if they were feeling vengeful lol). If she says no, I'd ask when her next payday is and tell her that I can meet her during lunch that day. No? Dinner. No? Breakfast. People come to their senses because I play hard ball. But that's just how I roll! When I mean business, I mean business. But I also do so from the start. Hope no one thinks I'm a bitch, but I don't let people walk on me.

I dont think your a bitch...you just dont let people run you over and thats what I need to start doing...I need to start taking charge like be more agressive. And your right I dont need her on my resume or as a reference I can always find a friend to do that and tell future employers I did side jobs and was focusing on school etc etc.

But whatever I'll just wipe my ass on her pillow cases...lol jk

 

[RedRibbon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchid_28 I dont think your a bitch...you just dont let people run you over and thats what I need to start doing...I need to start taking charge like be more agressive. And your right I dont need her on my resume or as a reference I can always find a friend to do that and tell future employers I did side jobs and was focusing on school etc etc. But whatever I'll just wipe my ass on her pillow cases...lol jk

 

[kaliraksha]

You've already agreed to do a job for a set price, go ahead and do it. Let her know you won't be sitting for her any longer because you need to find a job that helps to support the bills. I would take my time baby sitting and try to take some back for myself in this situation if I was underpaid... I'd eat there, do my laundry and read for school if necessary to make up for lost time/money.

 

[Orchid_28]

^yeah I will try to stay positive about it and use most of the time for my studies. Im just glad that I will get extra money because I need it to pay for my parking ticket and for this expensive book for my class! then Im okay after that. I just hate getting a bitchy attitude from someone when Im doing them a last minute favor.

 

[ShockBunnie]

Hahaha butt on pillow

 

[Girl about town]

I would just say i am busy on the friday therefore can only do the pre -agreed tues weds thurs for £200, Why should you give up another 24 hours of your time for nothing!!!!

 

[Boasorte]

oh u should ask for more money, and if not, tell her to find someone else for Friday, but she IS a refernece, do so in a civilized manner...
although honestly if it were me, I wouldn't mind because I have nice moments, but ur mom DID say she takes advantage so tell here that shit stops here and now...