I in inadvertently sent an email intended for my husband to our sitter....who was the subject of the email....how should i handle this?
My sitter only watches them for 1 1/2 -2 hrs Monday-Thurs. If she provides a snack, she charges 5 xtra per day. I send them snacks each week. The xtr 10 was for the very first day she sat for me...a trial day, it was an extra 10.00, my husband was not aware of.
Here is the actual email :
i think she expects me to pay her 50 for the weeks she babysits as well as 5 for snacks...as the regular payment.....no way.
i emailed her that i'll bring 40 for the week, 10 for what we still owe her, and 5 for the snacks she gave them on monday and
tues.....but after that we're even....the reg amt is 40 for Mon-Thurs.
ugh...now i have to wait until later for her to reply.
Any advise on how to handle this would be greatly appreciated !!!!
I sent a follow up email apology and now I wait.
An though I realize it doesn't look as bad, I was upset when i wrote it and I guess my worry is that she'll pick up the hostility in it.
She's frustrating me...she seemed so nice and we agreed on terms right away, and this week she changed things without even talking about it. We had just settled things and then I send that email.....(sigh)
UPDATE:
I tried to contact her after I sent her the apology email. She wasn't available. She wait until 1147 lastnight to sent me a very odd email about 'talking behind her back'. I tried to explain that the email was intended for my husband...not just anyone and it was because he didn't really understand our arrangement. She felt that I shouldn't have spoken/emailed him about it.
I emailed her my response to that, letting her know that her services were no longer needed as of immediately and to please destroy the pick up slip for the girls. I will go ahead and notify the school in the morning.
So that's that....
Hi Dear, suppose it was "meant to be" and you will own up to it when she confronts you. If she does not reply, then bring it up so it airs out.
Humble Pie is an acquired taste. Get used to it in life. Makes you a stronger person.
Also, you did nothing wrong to try to make things right.
Blessings, S.
Oh YIKES!
I would suggest that you be open and honest with her now - since you basically 'threw yourself under the bus' *sigh*
Tell her that you were upset and the email was meant for your husband and that you should have just been open with her to begin with. Tell her you are sorry that you let your frustrations out like that and then make it clear what you want to have happen from this point out.
Thats really about all you can do right now..
She may or may not get upset...depends on how she see's it I guess. If she gets upset and you cant seem to work things out - then maybe find a different sitter??
Sorry this happened to ya - this is not a fun situation by any means!!! Let us know what happens.
God bless
if you sent an apology letter i think that is all you can do...sit and wait which is the hardest part! but for the record her "pricing" system is way too complicated. either you bring snacks, or she provides them. and pick a price. you say she upped the price w/o telling you, that's probably either due to the confusion of her own system, OR she's purposely making it complicated and hoping you don't notice when you end up paying more than you agreed. either way you need to talk to her and simplify the system. this is not very professional, or convenient for you. (and other than the "no way", your letter didn't really sound bad at all - and it wasn't even "NO WAY!!!!!" which would have sounded a lot angrier lol)
I'm having trouble with the math. I guess you had it all worked out before hand, so she must have agreed to it. But at $40 you're only paying her $5 an hour. Maybe she is frustrated as well, not even making minimum wage, and this is how she is compensating for it. Just a thought.
Have you tried to recall the email? Sometimes if the email hasn't been read, you can recall it and the recepient won't get it. Maybe she doesn't check her email every day!
I would immediately contact her, first. Dont wait, more time may give her time to simmer and stew. I agree with the prior response.
If she agreed to the fourty dollars ( and that is GREAT) , tell her you will provide their snack and cannot spend a penny more unless there are there longer time, no extras as agreed in the first place. also why does she charge so much for snack?? almost as much as she charges per hour? I would tell her your frustrations and you are sorry if the email hurt her, it wasn't meant for her but maybe it was meant to be. If she cannot work it out then get a new sitter asap, If you have a bad feeling from the beginning I would not leave my kids with her. Listen to your intuition.
Isn't $50 a week super cheap for 8 hours of work?
Your inadvertent email doesn't sound bad at all, except the "ugh" part and that can be explained away by that you wanted to hear from her asap.
Fifty a week is cheap. I paid $38.00 a day fourteen years ago and $58.00 a day on the weekends.
You need to tell your sitter you are sorry or find a new sitter willing to keep the kids for what you want to pay.
I don't think the email is that bad actually. I believe the best thing to do is contact her, let her know you sent her an email meant for your husband, but that luckily it was about her providing services for your children so you thought it would be best to go ahead and talk about it over the phone. Honestly, it sounds like you need to talk anyway, in this email you seem to be pumping yourself up for a confrontation. That way, you eliminate confusion and handle your business (by working out an agreeable rate) all at once.
And now - always assume your emails aren't private. Because, they really aren't. :)
Here, I'll make you feel better about email mixups. I was having a rough morning. I am a teacher and actually all my issues were with my own personal children before I ever got to school. (Iate, not listening, forgot something, etc). So, I sent an email to my team at about 8:15 (when we were about to head to the awards assembly) and said something along the lines of Wow. What a day, let's skip the assembly and go to happy hour! It was a silly sarcastic email. PROBLEM? I sent it to all my student's parents instead of the KG teachers. ! I didn't even know- I realized it later in the day when one of the parents responded laughing at me saying sure, she'd love to go and did I really mean to send it to the class? I had parents laughing at me all day, one even said she was going to give me wine for teacher's appreciation. THANK GOODNESS they were all ok and just thought it was funny. Imagine if I had whined about my job, class or something personal!
You must be so embarassed! It happens to the best of us. I say just be honest with the babysitter. Just tell her that the e-mail was intended for your husband, and you sent it to her by accident. The e-mail is actually not that bad! Its not like you said she was a bad sitter or anything. Use this as an opportunity. Just apologize to her, and say "let's use this as an opportunity to talk about what we expect from each other". Segway it into a discussion about payment, as it seems that is the issue here.
Or if you would rather nip it in the bud, e-mail her again before she gets a chance to respond and say what you need to in an e-mail, that way she will get the original e-mail followed by an apology e-mail. That way she won't have time to think and stew on the topic before she gets an apology. But honestly, your e-mail really wasn't that bad! Good luck!!
DOn't sweat it. Have missent wrong emails to wrong people all the time!!! Just speak to your babysitter as a matter of course about any outstanding issues you need to decide between you. There is nothing in the email that is insulting to her or to you...so really, don't think twice...GL
Hi J.,
So sorry that you sent the email off to your current babysitter in error. Without knowing the amount of children and their ages that are being cared for but working with what information you have provided, I would be looking around using every resource to search for a new babysitter.
I would not offer any apology for sending the email. The dollar amount for a trial day??? Was this anything both of you even talked about when you hired her??? Red flags are popping up with this person charging for snacks and beverages.Who or what is determining the dollar amount for these goodies?
Have you seen any grocery receipts for what she has provided your children?
I would not argue with this person but be firm in what her services are worth to you.
Good luck in your decision making,
Mary
