Is it really bad to be 5 minutes late?
We read a comment on a message board recently where a sitter asked if it was really that bad to be five minutes late to a job. She worked for a stay-at-home mom and often showed up to the job five minutes late… until the mom called her out on it. The sitter was frustrated, since the mom never had to actually BE anywhere, and couldn’t understand what the big deal was. Here are the facts…
- Sitter commutes 40 minutes to the job and often faces horrendous traffic.
- Sitter describes herself as laid-back while describing Mom as more Type-A.
- Mom never has to be anywhere at a specifically scheduled time.
- Sitter states that she provides great care to the kids, which she reminds everyone is more important than five minutes here or there.
- Sitter offers to make up the extra five minutes when she is late.
Oh, where to begin?
First of all, yes, it is bad to be five minutes late. Whether or not the parents have somewhere specific to be, showing up on time is a sign of respect and professionalism. Parents don’t hire a sitter to work on her own time line; she must work on theirs. It just comes with the territory.
If you suspect terrible traffic — or if it’s the first time you’re driving to a job and you’re not sure — leave your home early, especially if you have a longer commute. If you get to the family’s house super early, take a quick break at the local coffee shop and enjoy your downtime.
If you are going to be late and there’s absolutely no way to avoid it (it happens!), get out your cell phone and call the parent. Even if you’ll only be five minutes late, let her know that you’re stuck and will be there as soon as you can.
Of course, some parents may agree with the sentiment that providing great care is more important than being late here or there — every family is different. Your responsibility as a sitter is to follow the rules of YOUR family employer. If you notice a great divide between your personality and the parent’s, this is a sign you are mismatched and that it might be time to move on.
In short, it’s all about respect. And since respect goes both ways, keep an eye out for a blog about parents being late and the protocol surrounding that…
Until then, have a nice, long weekend everyone!!
May 23rd, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Amen! I completely agree. I am almost always 15 minutes early, especially for a first time gig.
If I have an extra 5-10 minutes to spare, I stop and get a cup of coffee and sometimes call the mom to see if she wants something, too! I find that if you go the extra mile to respect their time, then they will gladly honor yours!
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:16 pm
I totally Agree! It’s so disrespectful to the parent to show up late, and gives them reason to doubt you in other areas as well. Such as if you gave only 80% effort to get here, will I get 80% with my child from you as well? It’s a big deal.
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
I agree. Even if you can’t help being 5-10 minutes late, you should STILL call regardless. Whenever I end up being stuck in a traffic jam which makes me 5-10 minutes late, I always call ahead, at least 10-15 minutes before I am scheduled to be there just in case.
May 24th, 2008 at 9:23 am
You wouldn’t be late for a office job or fast food job so you shouldn’t be late for a nanny jobs.It’s a job isn’t it?
May 24th, 2008 at 9:32 am
You should think of babysitting as a real job.. because well - it is. Think about if you were to be consistently 5 minutes late for a “real” job at a store or supermarket, they would fire you - probably after the third time. Usually if you call and let them know it’s not as big of a deal, but if you know you’re going to be 5 minutes late you definitely should give the mom a call just so she knows where you are and what’s going on. I am almost always early to everything - including parties, I just think a good quality to have is timeliness.
May 24th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
agree. Being late continually is a sign of disrespect, and I would question whether the sitter was really wanting this job. However if a sitter is continually 5 minutes early i see that as a sign of commmittment and respect and always reward her with a tip or letting her go early if able too without reducing pay. i would gladly pay more for sitter who shows us she is always on time or early.
May 24th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Yes I believe it is horrible to be 5 minutes late but at the same time I believe that the parent should show you with the same type of respect that they should be back before or at the time they said they would. If the parent is going to be late they should do the same respect and say that they are running late.
May 24th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
If a sitter comes in late, I am going to have to leave late. Maybe be late to work as well. It creates a chain reaction that it is not good. I get stressed because I am getting late to work and that creates stress that it is not needed.
Try to be on time, if not early, and things will go better for everybody.
There are problems that can occur however. Notify your employer as soon as possible.
May 24th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I always let parents know I will be at least 5 minutes early. I don’t charge for that time. There is nothing worse that worrying that your sitter is going to show up on time. Trust is very important and so is respect.
May 25th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I disagree. I am both a caregiver to two families and a mom who has employed a number of sitters. Both families know that I need to drop my son off to kindergarten before arriving at their homes. One family is 40 minutes away and the other is 25 minutes away. We say 9:15 for the first family and 9 for the second family. Depending on traffic, most of the time I’m early for family number 1 (9:15) but sometimes I’m a few minutes late. I’m often 4-5 minutes late for the second family, but had explained to both that this might happen since I was rushing with my 5 year old ( a known late-making factor) just before arriving at work.
Now, both families are fine with the few minutes here or there but I’d just like to know why family number 1 feels that it’s alright to be 15 minutes to a half hour late getting home every single time I work even if I get there early and NEVER paying me for the extra time even though they know they make me late to pick up my son?
I always offer family number two to take the late time off my paycheck or even when she comes home early and they rarely do, but what’s the deal?
What about showing some RESPECT to the CAREGIVER for a change and being a little understanding?
But that’s just my opinion.
May 25th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Last night I became concerned when a sitter was a single minute late. My concerns were justified; it’s been more than 24 hours and I have yet to hear from this sitter. Would it also be all right if my child is missing for 24 hours? In most situations like this, the sitter would be held on felony charges by this time today.
May 26th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
I can understand some unforeseen circumstances, but, bottom line is that there should just be enough time allowed for such things. It is bad to be even 5 minutes late because sometimes 5 mintues can be all the difference in me making it to my appointment or job on time.
May 26th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
As a babysitter, I am always early. But the point is that this mom has no place to go. So it is not as critical as a parent who is on a tight schedule to get to a job or an appointment. None the less, you should get to the house early, just in case you do hit traffic.
May 27th, 2008 at 7:30 am
well what i think is you should not be late at all,if the job is a far away then you need to leave home early enough to get to the job on time or if you have an emergency thats different because we cant control how things in life happen but at least show the family respect and call and let them know what happen,dont just not show up thats not good at all.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Yes I agree I always show up on time. Usually 10 minutes early. It shows them how responsible you are.
May 27th, 2008 at 10:08 am
A big chunk of the story that is missing is the fact that the mother has NO WHERE TO BE… she simply wants someone else to watch her kids in the morning. If you have never worked for a Stay AT HOME mom, you have no idea what it is like. I worked for a stay at home mom for almost a year and just couldn’t take it anymore. I would get there FIRST thing in the morning when the kids would wake up, and both mom and dad would be getting ready to work-out. I understand being healthy is important, but who wants to wake up to a babysitter EVERY morning. No child that I know - they want mom and dad. When you feel like you are frequently getting taken advantage of, it is difficult to want to show up on time, if at all. Almost every visit, when mom got home from working out, the two children would cling to mom like static. She would end up taking them into the bedroom with her closing the door and showering. While I am doing — NOTHING…. cleaning their messy house, which was messy before I ever got there.
My point? - Make your babysitter/nanny/caregiver - feel like they are important - dont take advantage of your help - because they won’t want to work for you anymore!
May 27th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
It is never okay to be late to a job period. Things however do occur. I think what bothers me is the sitter’s attitude. I don’t understand the whole having a sitter while being a stay at home mom thing, then again going to the grocery store with all four of my kids is not fun but a job is a job. As to Tessamc , wasn’t the mother a stay at home mom when you took the position ? How is that taking advantage , that was your job.
May 27th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
I am a stickler for time, both ways. As a nanny I always arrive 10-15 min early. I allow myself time for anything to happen. If I even think I am going to be late, I call the parent and let them know exactly where I am. It is my decision to arrive early so I don’t expect to be paid for that time. On the other hand, If a parent is consistantly late getting home I do expect to be paid. The exception to that is bad weather which the parent has no control over. I can leave home early if the weather is bad but parents in most cases can’t leave their job early. On a regular basis I think both the nanny and the parent should arrive on time.
May 27th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
disagree of course you should always call if your going to be late but sometimes you cant help it if your late. I always leave 20 minutes earlier then i have to but sometimes there is a accident that you have no power over and you just have to sit there and wait.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
As a care giver I personally don’t think it is okay to be late. If the parents scheduled me to be there at a certain time there is a reason - they need to show me something, get the kids ready for them to leave or they simply have to be somewhere at a certain time. My ability to run on schedule allows the parents to run on schedule - which usually makes for a happier environment for the kids. Some kids rely on routine and some really freak out when their parents get ready to take off and being able to run on schedule helps the situation run smoothly.
Stuff does happen - if you are going to be a few minutes late call, let the family know so they can plan as much as possible. However you should always leave a few extra minutes for travel and traffic issues.
May 28th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Once again, I have to but in. To the woman who was talking about her sitter being one minute late and that she should be on felony charges after 24 hours…
What if all the sitters you ever had reported to DCF every time you were late to say, pick your children up from school or were late getting them breakfast lunch or dinner?
Get my point?
HMMMM….
Or maybe it’s a moot point because the sitter does all that.
HMMMM….again.
Does that make you think at all? Have you ever tried to put yourself in someone elses shoes? Well you should, abstractly, as an experiment because someday, out of the blue, someone is going to hold YOU accountable for the care (or lack of care) of your children and what will you have to say then?
But that’s just a thought, one person’s opinion.
E.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
I was late by five minutes today, and now I feel awful!
If one is late…what’s a good way to make up for it?
May 29th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I was reading through the replies and was really amazed to see all the negative comments about stay at home moms. I am a stay at home mom, and I do typically use a sitter for a few hours once, or sometimes even twice, a week to just get away from my kids.
I freely admit that caring for my kids 24 hours a day 7 days a week without break is hard enough I really do like some time off if only just to do something other than take care of my kids. Having a sitter for me isn’t so much about going to the grocery store without my kids (I shop often with both in tow) or even going to a doctor’s visit solo (for my first OB visit when I was pregnant with my son, my daughter screamed so loud that I had to call back the doctor when I got home to ask just what my due date really was) but about doing something, anything, other than being a mom for a few hours. This isn’t to say that other jobs are not hard or that being a mom who works out of the home isn’t hard. I just want to say that really being a stay at home mom is hard too.
As for sitters arriving a few minutes late, I am not much of a type A personality so don’t have an issue with this as long as folks call when they will be really late. That said, I don’t see why my being a stay at home mom would make it any less important for a sitter to attempt to be timely. If a sitter seemed to not value my family enough to attempt to show up on time — or to let me know in advance that she would perhaps arrive a few minutes late often due to her commute, family commitment, etc, —I would have to question if the sitter really cared for my family.
Also, while I often do not have something ‘to do’ in particular, it doesn’t mean I haven’t scheduled my day around the expected time a sitter will arrive. I often plan my kids’ activities around when the sitter is expected to arrive to help smooth the transition from mommy time to sitter time.
I guess what I’m saying overall is as a stay at home mom, I really value being able to have a sitter watch my children on occasion. I try to be a good employer and to be mindful of my sitter’s time, and I would hope that any sitters would reciprocate.
I’ve never had a sitter express concerns about working for me, and I was just wondering what the problem was about working for stay at home moms.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
i agree and disagree at the same time. i am one that is almost always 5-10 minutes early to everything. however, i have recently started to sit for someone who doesn’t leave the house until at least a half hour after i get there. so, i sit around for a half hour doing nothing and not getting paid. then, they are consistantly late in coming home…by about at least an hour sometimes three. because they don’t leave until a half hour later and don’t come home ontime…i don’t see the harm in being a couple minutes late ever so often. also, i have to let myself in and wait until they come downstairs with the child.
to annaarmida:
if it’s a one-time deal, don’t worry about it too much…just make sure that for the next few weeks you are either early by 5-10 minutes or exactly ontime. and doing a few extra things around the house you usually don’t do doesn’t really hurt.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I find this to be a really interesting topic. I noticed that many people are arriving 5-10 minutes early. I prefer not to stand around and wait for the parents to get ready, if you asked me to be there at 5 I will be there at 5 or maybe 2-3 minutes early. On the other hand if I am going to be more than 2 minutes late I do call. Also, I agree with shiltunen because it is really awkward to let yourself in and then stand around and wait so I try not to arrive early for those jobs.
To StephanieLarkin: I sit for many stay at home mothers and they are actually my favorite families to sit for. I understand completley that moms need time to themselves and I actually have some my best “adult” conversations with these mothers. While you may not have a “real” job taking care of children fulltime is really hard and I actually get most of my jobs by saying that I can come over when you have an appointment or lunch date with a girlfriend or something. Enjoy your time off you earned it!!
May 31st, 2008 at 1:14 pm
to goodandappropriate: what are you talking about? felony charges against the sitter, was she with your child for an overnight job or was she just late to coming to your house?
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:26 am
I agree that you should be on time. A stay-at-home mom IS a job. And on the other side of the coin, parents should respect your time as much as you do theirs. I have worked for many types of folks, and some respect your time and others don’t. If you want to be respected for your time, show respect. And if they don’t, then move on, there are always respectful folks out there looking for a good sitter or nanny they can rely on and trust. This doesn’t seem like a difficult topic for most people, I think.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:04 am
The point of this article being that the mother has nowhere to go, so it shouldn’t matter… BUT… because of the nanny’s inconsistency, the mother couldn’t reliably schedule something if she wanted to. Even if she doesn’t have somewhere to be, what if she does schedule things. She certainly wouldn’t be able to count on you being on time.
I work for many different families doing fill-in and on-call type work, some of which is through a nanny agency. When I show up early, most families don’t pay extra for this. It may be different if you had a long-term regular gig, but since most families don’t compensate, it’s not important to me. Some of these same families are also “surprised” to see me early and aren’t ready. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not a big fan of the working while parents are home (or getting ready to leave). Or at least for “new families” where I don’t yet know their parenting style or rules. So to minimize the overlap time, I try to be ontime or 5 minutes early.
In general, the families that go out of their way to respect my time see the favor returned 10-fold. One family has me pick up the kids that get out of school at 2:25. Yet they always start the clock for me at 2, and round in my favor. Small gestures that speak volumes of their respect for me.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:22 am
I am very comfortable with the family I have been working with… It has only been a few months but nonetheless, we have great communication. I call her if I’m going to be late, I even call if she doesn’t answer the door when I knock. Anyway, to my point. She had a change of schedule and I had written it in my calander. She ended up calling ME! I felt horrible. I Apologized probably 5 times and when she called to tell me something she had forgotten I said I know you were in a rush to leave because I was late, and it really was an accident. She was very accepting. She is aware that I am 25 and own my own business and I have been 5 minutes late from time to time, but I always call and apologize. And owning my own business I understand the importance of being on time or calling if something is going on. Just be polite, and don’t make it a habit. Even if they are going to be there five minutes could be five minutes late for a confrence call from home, an important appointment. And if your late all the time, what does this say about your responsiblilty in the rest of your life?
June 11th, 2008 at 9:39 am
I babysit for 6 families and am always on time. I leave 30 minutes early to each or sometimes earlier depending on the time and day. And when i know i’m gonna be late i will call.. Like the other day i was driving to babysit 5 girls and all the sudden my tire burst. I had left about an hour before i had to be there. i was pretty pissed because i couldn’t afford new tires so i called my dad who was 30 minutes away and asked him to get the 4 tires from my other car (same type and everything…) so he did and so i started working on my car and getting the tires off. He got there i put two tires on and then called (it was still 10 minutes before i was suppose to be there) and my dad put the other two on. I was 2 minutes late but i had good reasoning.
That was the first time i had ever been late.
Yes being late is very disrespectful but if something happens, like what happened to me, then as long as you call or atleast warn them it should be okay.
As for me… I’m usually always 10 to 15 minutes early.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:30 am
A lot can happen in five minutes. I am chronically late and have tried a zillion things to overcome this frustrating issue. I always call if stuck in traffic or have an unforseen problem. Open communication is the biggest issue. I find clients that have similar priorities and are flexible with thier own start times are more likely to be Ok with a five minute window of arrival. If it is a huge issue (and they are really time conscious about EVERYTHING), I shy away from these kinds of people. Truly I do believe honesty, kindness and excellent childcare far outweigh this issue. As another person stated, someday she could be wearing those shoes.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:45 am
“goodandappropriate” It sounds like you aren’t living up to your “name” What on earth are you talking about? See your therapist. Don’t take your stuff out on the baby sitter = its not rocket science.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:51 am
OH MY GOSH! As a nanny and as a Mommy who has hired sitters I am almost in shock that it is even asked weather it is ok or not. If your the type of person, like myself, who always seems to be running a few moments short on time then the family NEEDS to be ok with this and respect that is just a part of you. There is NO REASON why the Nanny and emplyer can not have a clear understanding of this prior to emplyeement. The last family I worked for we would laugh guessing how late I would be knowing it would ALWAYS be between 3-7 min. don’t know why but that was the time…. I asked her from the get go to equate this into the time she wanted me to start and she would always ask me to show up 15 min to 30 min. before she needed me weather leaving the house or not. It gave us time to catch up and kind of check in w/ each other on what happened the day prior…..or what she wanted for the day to happen. It is totally disrepectful not to have this kind of conversation if you know your a late bug. If I was ever going to be more than 5 min late I called. I would have called every time except we had that understanding that 5 min. was expected. She also called me oh 80% of the time she would be late….but then again she and I had an understanding. Her cell phone would be out of service from 30 min. up to about 5 min. away from the house. Her perfession was also one she would be on the phone often and sometimes I could not get a hold of her on the phone. So we had a great relationship and had fun w/ it but it was prediscussed and the parents and I had a lot of respect for the employee relationship as much as the personal side. I have always looked at Nanny positions like dating. A lot goes into the relationship and needs to be handled as delicately as if you were dating the family because emotinally a lot gets tied into these kinds of jobs. You don’t have to love the parents as much as the kids but their needs to be the respect and genuine mutual feeling of liking each other or else the job just won’t work because soon you will loose respect for each other. That is just my 18 years of experience in the work world as a child care person and now for the last 3 years as a mother of two.
June 12th, 2008 at 3:29 am
This is a good post. Yes, we should all take our position as a babysitter as we would any other job - however, being a babysitter means you work when you are available to the family.
There are too many jobs out there for a babysitter that if a family isn’t willing to work with you even if you give the GREATEST care to their child - I find it to be the family’s loss.
I had a family who really wanted me to work with them. I stayed later then asked MANY nights - extra hour over what was originally talked about during the interview. Yes, I was paid for this time but usually I wasn’t given notice - my family would just put me on the spot day by day and ask.
I felt I worked with this Mom [a stay at home Mom who just needed time to shower or take a nap] and yet I was let go because I didn’t come in a few times due to a family member who had a heart attack one week and then as luck would have it, I over slept one day - woke up and got in contact with her - only to be told that my services weren’t needed anymore.
I feel this was best for all - because if a family wants to “be worked with” and asks that of me - then I expect the same in return when I have a loved one almost dying and an honest mistake of over sleeping due to the shear fact of running around like my head is cut off.
Anyway, I look at things as all for the best. Obviously we weren’t a good match - even though I received so much praise from the Mom about how well I was doing with her child.
Being a babysitter is a lot different then being a Nanny - and I from the start explained that I was a babysitter - NOT A NANNY! Looking for a full-time job.
So, in my opinion - babysitting is based on MY availability. Parents should always have a back-up plan.
Especially some of these stay at home Mom’s who just need a break from their kids.
June 12th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Ah yes, finally the real mcoy’s check in. The people in the trenches. Some stay at home mom’s receive little respect from their own families and friends and think its OK to pass this malnurishment onto thier babysitters/nannys. I was given an incredulous “list” of what was expected of me as a to do list with my minor charges. In addition to potty training, cook, nurse, and creative nursery school teacher stand-in, my concerns were never addressed. I was conscerned when the toddler could easily escape out the front door or off the back deck. Did I mention the unpotty trained 3 month old puppy? I was also concerned about an overturned baby pool under the deck that had collected over a foot and a half of rain water. All clear saftey issues. But I realized when I wasn’t heard about these and other concerns, I had little interest in getting chewed out over a 3-5 MINUTE
window of my arrival time. Trust goes hand in hand, when one side doesn’t work, neither does the other. I also stayed late when asked to with no notice, and even left an hour earlier (without pay) when HER plans changed. But, as the other author mentioned, if its not meant to be, its time to cut bait and run. There are plenty of others out there requesting my services. The beat goes on …
June 14th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I’ve read over a great deal of these post. I am a stickler for being on time myself. 15 min early is on time for me. Reguardless of whether or not i’m being paid for this time. It is a curtosy to the parents. More often then not this little bit of extra time is usefull for me to get the children out of mom’s hair long enough for her to get ready, or to see if there is anything that I need to be awair of for the day. It helps me and it helps mommy. It’s a peaceful arrangement. I often find that when I do this Mom seems to be more apt to making it home when she says she’ll be home.
In refferance to the stay at home mothers. You are entirely right. Being a mom is a full time job and even if you just need a little YOU time it helps you be a better parent to your kids and just unwind. Kids take it out of the sitters/nannys and reguarless of whether or not she is full time we don’t have to deal with nearly what you do on an everyday basis.
I was a nanny (full time) for about a year for one family, two older girls with busy lives and Mom’s was even busier. She was often gone for days or weeks on end for business, and it was understood that this was going to be part of the job when I was hired. What I didn’t account for was being overrun and used by this family. House breaking dogs, maintaining pools, yard work, and cleaning out garages, in addition to taking care of the two girls and maintaining the house. More often then not, I was a fill in Mom. This wasn’t my job discription. But I did it without question. I always showed up early every day and stayed late almost every day. On the one instance where I had car trouble and was going to be late, I called and notified the Mom as soon as I realised that I was having car issues. When I arrived, I found another Nanny at the house, with a note from the mother saying that being late was unacceptable and I was no longer needed.
To parents, if your nanny/sitter goes above and beyond for you, do the same respect for her. It doesn’t matter if you are a stay at home mom, a working parent or just need a night out. We work with you and your schedules more often then not in little disreguards to our own. Remember to work with us when we ask.
Thanks.
June 25th, 2008 at 5:53 am
EVERY SINGLE care giver should follow… “you’re on time if you’re 5 minutes early…and you’re late if you’re on time!” no matter what the EXCUSE is… there NEVER is an excuse to be late or even right on the dot for that matter. You need to be there ready to go 5 minutes before hand. The sitters that say they have to drop off or pick up their own children, or whatever excuse they have, should not be taking the jobs that they can not fully commit to. Watching someone’s children and being employed by a family is not something to take lightly and it is a “real” job.
And as far as complaining that the parents don’t give the same respect, and get home late…. they only get away with what you let them get away with. Have a talk with them letting them know your rules and regulations. They do this to us about their children, we have the right to do so with the time issue. If the respect is not there… no one is forcing you to have that job. I find in funny that so many sitters complain about the parents. So many requests and complaints about how unhappy they are with the way they are treated. These parents that everyone is talking about, are the parents that help you pay your bills. If everyone is so unhappy then why are you still with these “horrible” parents? Sitters just want to complain about anything sometimes. If anyone worked for Donald Trump, I would love to see how many times there would be a complaint coming out of those peoples mouths before getting fired. Again I state… if you have enough respect for your self and your career, then the parents will as well. Make sure EVERYTHING is out on the table before starting a job that way there is no gray area. If you start a job by saying “if you’re late, it’s ok” then that is what you’re going to get out of that relationship. Parents have zero obligation to work with us since they are the ones employing us. We work for them and need to act more like it.
June 26th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Yes, it is always a great point to be early, and a bad thing to be late. This is especially true if you seek to be viewed professionally by those you work with to build respect.
There were many great responses to this article, but I have a question: When is early too early?
I dread being late to anything. It doesn’t help when your parents are sticklers for being early all the time as well. I have never gotten ready for any outing (work or personal) without my mom lecturing me to never make anyone wait on you. As a result I have been as much as two hours early for a public event, and 45 minutes early for a job interview. I’m always dressed and waiting for friends or family to pick me up as much as an hour earlier than planned. Even though I feel great that I don’t ever let anyone wait on me, I’ve begun to get the feeling that it’s also as bad or worse to be too early and that it gives the impression of working too hard. So I’ve begun to take steps to moderate my schedule out a bit so I’m ready on time rather than early or late. Does anyone else have or have had this issue?
July 8th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Salahare,
Yes, I have the same problem. It seems to be that 20 minutes early is too much, while 15 is acceptable. I don’t know why. I have learned to make “scouting expeditions” to new places days before I actually have to be there, so I can find out where I can unobtrusively kill time. If I know I’ll be an hour early, for instance, I know I’ll have 45 minutes to kill before I can show up at the appointment. You don’t want to turn up that early in someone’s driveway! It is, however, just the right amount of time to take a brief break in a hectic schedule, which of course we all need:)
July 14th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I try to arrive to all jobs AT LEAST 10 minutes early. There’s always the good-bye transition between parent and child and arriving late can throw that whole deal off. For my morning nannying, usually I’ve 30 minutes early to allow the parents to leave for work early if they need to. NEVER show up!
July 17th, 2008 at 3:56 am
I mostly always arrive 2-3 minutes early. It’s the right amount of time to get my purse and myself out my car then to walk to the front door. The parents leave about 10 minutes after that. If I am ever running late, then I would understand the parents keeping me for the time I was late. If I am ever 10 minutes late, I call and let them know where I’m at. I have ran into this problem when I use to babysit. The parents asked me to be there 10 minutes early before they left so they could go over everything. Which I believe whatever time you ask me to be there, that’s when my pay hour should start. The parents disagreed.