Pet/baby sitter dillemma... would you hire this person?

Question

Let's say you came across an advertisement for a pet or baby sitter. The person seems reliable, and she has several references on her web site (well, paragraphs, but not with name and phone number or email address). You contact her, and she wants to know when to come over for an initial consultation. You tell her "How about 7, or 8 tomorrow?" She replies: Okay, I'll be there between 7 and 8." (Already a bit more of a time frame than you had intended, since you asked 7 OR 8)

The next evening she does not show up. At 8.15 you check her email, and discover that she wrote to cancel because "something else came up", and "our meeting wasn't urgent" (You don't need pet/baby sitting services for another ten days). The email was not sent until 7.10pm, when she should probably have been at your house already.

You email her back, and she responds within minutes. (So whatever she's doing, she's behind the computer at 7.10, and still/again at 8.25, so it can't be that important?)

Would you still hire this person (something urgent may really have come up, and she was not to blame)?

Or would you not hire this person (she canceled after she was already supposed to be there, and she was still/again on the computer an hour later when she was supposedly doing something important)

Answer 1

They aren't very reliable. If they can't make it to a simple meeting then babysitting would probably be an issue. Maybe she was watching another animal but that wouldn't come up last minute or she would have told you. Did you ever ask what was so urgent? I would look for someone else.

Answer 2

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

Find somebody more reliable.

Answer 3

Don't hire them, you'll probably have problems with reliability.

Answer 4

i would'nt hire her.  whatever her reason was it obviously wasn't that important if she was on the computer.  if you need her to babysit and then call her and she's is susposed and doesn't show up, that would definitely be an issue.  then you would be in a rut cause you wouldn't be able to go to work or whatver and you would be scrambling to find a sitter.