This was a while back but I wanted to share
I visited some friends, and when we got there there were 4 other couples, all of us with kids. One of our good friends said she had a baby sitter lined up for the kids. There were, in all, 5 children. Three were 10-12, and the other two were ages 5-7.
That's a hell of a job for anyone, let alone a teen.
Our friend said this teen has been over numerous times with her mom and has always done well with the kids. This was her first time watching them alone, as a job.
After being reassured, I said “OK, my wife and I are in and will pitch in whatever”
We all went out to dinner and hit the casino for an hour. I said we were going to head home to turn in.
Since we were first, I said I'd pay the baby sitter. and collect later. When I asked what the rate was I got “oh I don't know. We didn't discuss that”.
I immediately got annoyed at 1) myself for not asking this sooner, and 2) my friend for not discussing with this poor teen the details of watching 5 -mostly- good kids.
She said “what's fair? I don't even know”.
Now my wife and I have never used a baby sitter. We have friends who we take turns watching kids. But as I am a huge proponent of fair pay I asked what she thought. Our friend said “I dunno.. what's good? 20 bucks? I mean it's her first time watching kids”.
I was shocked. I said “no way! I've never used a baby sitter but $20 bucks for 5 kids over 3-4 hours is pretty terrible. We'll come up with something.”.
On our uber ride home my wife came up with $15/hr per kid, per hour. We were thinking 10 for a first time but that would be for an easier gig. Not 5 fucking kids. Granted most were self sufficient but we're not monsters and our kids are not saints.
We figured, 5 kids, 4 hours, 15/kid = $300. So we gave her $350 to include a “thanks for not killing our kids” bonus. It's in gest, but common… we all thought it…
My wife and I did ok at the casino but we've spent more on any random night out at a restaurant and bar. We felt good about that.
The look on this kids face was the most genuine happiness we've both had ever seen., on any human. Her jaw literally dropped. She turned bright red and said “holy shit… I'm sorry for swearing.. but holy shit…”
I asked her what she was expecting. She said “my mom and I didn't know what to think. We figured maybe $20 bucks”.
I looked at her dead in the eye and said “listen. watching kids matters to adults – so never think it doesn't. These kids were fed, ready for bed, and happy when we got home. That's more than can be expected. We figured 10-15/hr per kid. So we probably got a deal. Don't ever sell yourself short. You don't need to be stressed out all night for the price of one movie ticket. We appreciate you. So thank you for being worth it.”
She said “thank you” and started to tear up. Before she called her mom to come pick her up, and got the kids all off to bed.
I told our friends and they all said “wow… more than I'd thought… but ya.. sounds right.”
That kid was awesome. I hope she goes on through life knowing her worth and never takes chump change or anything less than her worth.
TL;DR: Paid a baby sitter $350 when she only expected $20, for watching 5 kids for 3-4 hours. No regrets.
Edit: added TLDR and also I'm probably sure I still got the deal of a lifetime. We don't use babysitters regularly but I hope we paid enough for a first timer