Wyndy: Babysitting, simplified

Update: A lot of the bugs have been fixed. I’d love it if you could filter out the reoccurring jobs on the main board (the jobs that parents post for the same days every week, indefinitely), or if there was something on the post indicating that it’s a repeating job. I’m usually just looking for a one-time job, and these posts can make it a little hard to find. I’d also like if you could talk to parents before you book. It’s just nice to know whose house you’re agreeing to go to before you actually accept the job. Haven’t had any bad encounters, but you never know. I’ve talked to a lot of parents that feel the same way. The app still has a lot of bugs for how long it’s been out. It crashes, or shows the wrong address/parent info if you’ve clicked on too many jobs without closing the app out. It also has become very very hard to get jobs, plus the average pay rate has gone down drastically. Also, there are jobs available that are more than 30 minutes away from Samford, which just isn’t realistic. I have been able to meet great families on the app, which I love, but I’d prefer repeat jobs and you don’t get a lot of that on the app.

I wish I could give 3 1/2 stars. I love the ability to try to find babysitters when this can be a difficult task. I have used the app successfully once. However I hate the fact that we cannot communicate with a Wyndy or have any contact info until after they are booked, because there are some sitters who look like they would be great for the job but they decline perhaps because they are not available. I would like still like to be able to reach out to that person to find out about their future availability and also just to ask questions about their experience etc. to see if they are a good fit. But if they decline the job there is no way to do that unless I post another job in the hopes that they can book. And I don't want to have tons of different people to babysit my child I would like to find someone on a semi-regular basis. If there were some sort of inbox system in the app like there is with Airbnb that would be great. Also it seems like it would be a good system for parents and sitters to post a short paragraph/bio of some sort. To summarize I am very grateful for apps like this but I think it could be greatly improved.

I have been a Wyndy babysitter since soon after the app launched. I love being able to meet new families and make extra money. I have completed 50+ jobs and have never felt unsafe or uncomfortable at a families house I am giving the app 4 stars for the following reason: When the app launched, babysitters were not charged, and the parents paid a small fee. As they’ve gotten bigger, this has changed. About a year and a half ago, Wyndy babysitters got an email regarding changes and at the very bottom of the email there was a line derailing that sitters would be deducted, but not to worry “the hourly amount you see on the app will always be what you get.” While this is true, it was really shady how the company went about this. If a parent posts a job for $15, you get $13 an hour. If they post for $20, you get $17. I have had parents ask me “I listed for $16 an hour, that’s what you’re getting right?” The company should be more open about the fees they’re charging, but instead they continue to say “the hourly amount you see on the app is what you’ll be paid!” Honesty is the best way to do business, but Wyndy isn’t being 100% honest here

Having Wyndy as a babysitter resource has been awesome. The platform is easy to navigate and view the profiles for the sitters. In our time using the app we have come to love specific Wyndys and now typically reach out to them first when we need someone, however if they're unavailable it's easy to post a job to the public board and within minutes I have multiple people offering themselves for the job. I then can go through all their profiles and see a little bit of who they are, how many sitting jobs they've done through the app previously, their average rating, etc. Now that Wyndy has expanded to so many different metro areas, I'm looking forward to the future possibility of being able to book a Wyndy in another network when we're traveling in that area (wink wink nudge nudge, please do this because it would be AMAZING).

ask user to change the rating

I was a Wyndy babysitter for over a year. I started sitting when the app first came out and LOVED it. I recommended the app to soooo many people (sitters and parents). However, sitters are now payed less than the hourly rated posted by the parents. For example, I had a family I had babysat for through the app for over a year. I had always been paid $20 an hour, and then one day my rate dropped to $17. I talked to the mom about it. She showed me her Wyndy account and told me she didn’t change the rate. Then I contacted Wyndy support. It took multiple emails for me to get an answer. Their pathetic response was that “well sitters have always been guaranteed that they will receive the rate that is shown.” All of this to say parents think they are paying sitters a certain amount of money, but sitters are receiving less. I’ve found out through other parents that parents can not post a job for less than $12 an hour, but sitters are seeing jobs for $10 an hour on their side of the app. If you’re a babysitter, I recommend finding other ways to babysit such as through Facebook groups because what started as a great app has turned into such a rip off for sitters.