How I Found a Great Housekeeper in Los Angeles

 I lived in France most of my life, and I moved to Los Angeles a few months ago with my family, composed by husband and two school age children. In Paris, I had full time domestic help, since I had a job. Here, in Los Angeles, my husband is the only bread winner, as he was hired by a multinational company to head a whole subsidiary, with a sizable salary and benefits.

My new life didn’t require me to have a job, but I had to be in full charge of my children’s commuting, activity planning, school homework, and the various social obligations derived from my husband’s new prominent profile. Therefore, I urgently needed to find a great housekeeper-cook, that could drive to do the grocery shopping and household errands. It was important that she be fluent English speaking, to be able to handle phone calls and take proper messages, as well as dealing with local merchants and house maintenance providers, like gardeners and repairmen.

Since I didn’t know anyone in Los Angeles, I had to use my own judgment to go about searching for domestic help. And quickly! Thus, I resorted to the internet, of course, to start the process. Unfortunately, I was immediately lost in a labyrinth of dozens of choices. What to do? How to screen all those agencies, publications, public forums?

I decided, first, to weed out the bad ones. I immediately ruled out the big national companies which had hundreds of unchecked applicants who just sent in unverified resumes, then I ignored publications for wanted ads (too risky), and finally, I decided on local domestic agencies. But there still were too many, so I started screening them by looking into their websites. Good idea! I was able to narrow it down to three, now I needed to refine the parameters; I wanted an agency with longevity, licensed and bonded, with a clear explanation of its fees and guarantees, good local references, great expertise in the domestic field, hopefully one that had won awards and recognition from the industry, and with a pool of highly screened applicants with verified references.

Well, only one of the three domestic agencies had ALL of that, the name was (and is) Sandra Taylor Agency. Founded in 1967, serving Beverly Hills and all of Los Angeles county and Southern California. In its website shows plenty of awards and great client testimonials, plus a great video showing its staff in action. And its fees and guarantees are clearly listed. It goes without saying that they found me an amazing housekeeper-cook, with all my requirements.

Thank you, Sandra Taylor!

 

How to Find a Great Nanny in Los Angeles

When I moved to Los Angeles from a small town, with my two young children, the first thing was to find a nanny, since I was planning to work full time after my recent divorce. A single, working parent needs expert and reliable childcare, plus the assurance of honesty and good common sense. Nothing worried me more than to have to leave my precious toddlers with a stranger.

48906149I got various opinions from several sources, but quickly I ruled out ‘wanted’ ads on publications or internet sites, since that was too dangerous. Then I looked online for nanny agencies, and I was overwhelmed by the enormous amount of companies listed. They all looked the same, with just a couple of lines stating who they were.

I needed to find a system to find the Best Agency in Los Angeles amongst so many, thus I started clicking on their websites and carefully studied their qualifications. There were some big, national companies, but the problem with those was that I had to do my own search from hundreds of listed candidates, who hadn’t gone through any screening process whatsoever, they just had sent in their unverified resumes. Obviously, those companies were not good choices by my standards.

I started looking into local agencies, and comparing their time in business, references, size, fields of expertise, and their specialties. After a couple of days I narrowed it down to three, and started to study their fees and guarantees, any testimonials, and whether they had received any awards or industry prizes.

That was a great idea! I noticed that two out of the three chosen agencies had none of the above. But… there was one agency that listed its fees and guarantees in a dedicated page, with detailed different options of fees and the corresponding guarantee plans. Also, had a long list of great testimonials, plus several ‘Best Nanny Agency‘ awards, with the corresponding pictures. The name of that company is Sandra Taylor Agency, founded in 1967, bonded and licensed.

To make the story short, I now have an amazing nanny, that they found, and I can go to work stress free. Thank you, Sandra Taylor!

How a Good Nanny Can Enrich Your Child’s Life, and Yours

When I had my first child, my knowledge of baby and toddler care was zero, therefore, my anxiety level was quite high. My mom’s health was not good, thus she could not help me with the new arrival. Of course, I read every child-rearing book that I could find, but my confidence did not improve a whole lot. I had always been a typical career woman, with children being somewhat low in my priorities, until the biological clock started ticking.

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When my maternity leave was getting close to ending, I started interviewing nanny candidates through a very reputable local agency, and after a short while I decided to try a lovely woman who had an impressive nanny background and impeccable references from other parents. We hit it off immediately, and seemed to have a great rapport, as well as a coincidence in parenthood philosophy

I would like to use this space to infinitely praise the expertise and sweetness of my nanny, who, through her wisdom, her early childhood development education, and extensive on-the-field training, has enriched my dear child’s life in amazing ways that I could never have achieved on my own.

Every afternoon that I would come back from work, I would find something new that my baby had learned, from arts and crafts to children book stories, to useful fun games, to educational activities that excited him and pushed him to want more. I cannot stress enough how crucial this nanny’s presence was in our lives, let alone how much she lowered my motherhood anxiety for years to come.

Thank you, lovely Esther, and thank you, Sandra Taylor Agency, you both have made my life a complete delight.

 

How I Found a Trustworthy Nanny in Los Angeles

When I had my first child, one of my main concerns was how to find a trustworthy nanny for my baby, in the big city of Los Angeles.

I went online and used the usual searching tools, which showed me a variety of sources; some were national companies which listed hundreds of applicants in their databases, but the problem I had with those was that I am a busy mom, and do not have enough spare time to go over lengthy rosters of candidates to match my prerequisites.

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Another problem was that those applicants have not been checked by any employee of those companies, but they were just merely accepted, as easily as everyone who would apply, no questions asked;  therefore, there was absolutely no company responsibility that would vouch for anyone in their lists. Of course, I ruled out that searching method, since it made no sense to me.

Checking further, I found the names of some local agencies, which specialized in my type of needed help. Unfortunately, this method was not easy either, since there were quite a few of those, and, on paper, they all looked the same. What to do?

I decided to go over the websites of some of those agencies, and I noticed that, on closer look, they were NOT all the same. For instance, some had not much time in business, others were insanely expensive, and had very short replacement guarantees. But, I found one particular agency that had been 47 years in business, had several guarantee plans with different fee choices, designed for most types of financial echelons.  Also, this company showed important awards achieved throughout its business years, and had a beautiful video showing its staff at work, plus the many pictures of previous clients, who were well known celebrities and famous personalities.

Well, it goes without saying that I felt really good about the seriousness and good reputation of this agency, thus I called them and gave them a description of my nanny needs. To make the story short, they found me an amazing nanny who met all my requirements and had a wonderful disposition; she already started, and my baby is happy and relaxed. I feel so relieved! Thank you, Sandra Taylor Agency.

 

Finding compassionate companions for seniors

When my elderly mother broke her knee, her life of independence came to an end. She had always been self sufficient and proud of it, but this injury would prevent her from shopping, grooming, and even walking down her building’s stairs, which had two floors.

69227826Our dilemma was whether to place her in a home for the elderly, which she would hate, or keeping her at her home with someone else’s help.

Luckily, someone told me about an agency placing professional senior companions in the Los Angeles area (the Sandra Taylor Agency), where she lives, and they found me a lovely, experienced and compassionate mature lady, who lives in with mom and helps her with personal grooming, housecleaning, laundry, cooking, shopping, errands, and trips to the doctor.

Mother is recovering slowly buy happily, and it seems she would like her new “roommate” to stay indefinitely. They play cards, discuss the news, go out to lunch, in short became great friends. This amazing senior companion has given her and ME invaluable peace of mind.

Thank you, Sandra Taylor Agency!

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Hire a Personal Chef in Los Angeles for Elite Meal Service 

We always have an urge for tastier food items that can suit our palate and satisfy our appetite. In our busy, fast moving lives we do not get much time to cook healthy and tasty food for our family. That’s the reason we go to restaurants for enjoying food prepared by renowned chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Andrea Froncillo and Josiah Citrin, in the city of Los Angeles. But, have you ever thought that you can experience restaurant quality food prepared at home? Yes, you can now hire personal chefs in Los Angeles who can cook delicious dishes, keeping your own taste and health in mind. These chefs prepare custom meals for busy executives and families. The latter opt for such services to be able to spend more quality time with their families.

What personal chefs do? Private Chefs

First of all, a personal chef is a chef who prepares employer preferred meals in employer’s kitchen,but sometimes may bring the meals ready to eat from an outside kitchen. They prepare customized dishes and pack them with foils, so that the foods remain fresh for long times. They consult theemployer for their menu requirements, and are responsible for grocery shopping too. Personal chefs ensurea neat and tidy kitchen by cleaning up before leaving, and removing trash.These type of chefs work on both full-timeorpart-time basis,or ontemporary assignments,like catering, food preparation for parties,etc. Their primary role is to preparemealsfor families, businesses and organizations.

Basic Process for hiring personal chefs

The hiring procedure of personal chefs starts from an interview and then follows up through some basic steps. These following steps can help you to choose the best among a group of companies/agencies offering personal chef services.

1. Look for a company that has a wide range of personal chefs.
2. Search for some profiles from their menu book and discuss about your choices and preferences related to your diet.
3. Find out chef’s culinary background and experience.
4. Get clear understanding about personal chef and private chef.
5. Ask for available sample menus that the chef can share.
6. Have a trial dinner cooked at your home.

There are numerous advantages by hiring a personal chef,like access to home-made healthy dishes, grocery shopping, buying supplies, cleaning your kitchen before leaving, and the most important is time saving. They work independently and plan client’s meals according to their suggestions and guidelines. You must be wonderinghow you can find the right one.But, its quite simple and easy! You can browse for them on the Internet or choose from the chef agencies which will take responsibility for candidate’s backgrounds and qualifications.

Finding a Baby Nurse in Los Angeles

48906149When I got pregnant for the first time, I immediately started educating myself of everything related to newborns.

I really needed to start with the abc of baby care, feeding, sleeping, etc., and suddenly the thought of being alone with a new baby gave me a panic attack. My mom was not with us anymore, and I didn’t have anyone nearby that I could count on. What to do?

Luckily, a friend of mine who had been through it all gave me the number of an agency in Los Angeles, which specializes in nannies and baby nurses, and has been in business for 46 years.

I called and spoke with an attentive counselor who walked me through the process of selecting, interviewing, checking, and finally hiring a wonderful, experienced, sweet baby nurse, to help me the weeks of pre and post partum, and also with night care and the setting of feeding and sleeping routines for the baby and me. I can’t praise enough the way my baby nurse started me on my mommy’s career, I was a babe in the woods prior to meeting her.

For more details about Baby Nurse in Los Angeles, please visit our website.

Thank you, Sandra Taylor Agency!

Finding a trustworthy nanny in Los Angeles

43691795When my wife decided to go back to work full time, she was starting to panic, thinking of leaving the children with someone unknown.

We started looking for alternatives in the Los Angeles area, where we reside, when a friend told me that there are good agencies in L.A. that could help us locate a trustworthy nanny. After doing some research, we found an agency that has been in business 46 years, is bonded, and has received awards as ‘Best Agency’ in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. We also read many wonderful testimonials from some of their clients, so decided to call them.

To make this long story short, my wife is now working happily, and not worrying about the children care anymore. The agency lived up to its reputation, and found us a wonderful experienced nanny, with outstanding local references, knowledge of CPR and early childhood education, drives the children to school and other activities, does light cleaning, laundry and cooking for them, runs errands, and helps them with homework.

Case closed, we can’t ask for anything more. For more details about nanny in Los Angeles please visit our website.

Thank you Sandra Taylor Agency!