Awkward Tuesday: Babysitting Blues

0:00 And we got a brand new episode for you today. Thank you for finding the Brooke and Jeffrey Second Date Podcast, the official one. Today's Awkward Tuesday as well. So we'll get to our listeners issue in just a second.

0:09 But first, big tease. Huge tease. Oh, big, huge, biggest. What's a bigger word? I don't know another word. You have to be here tomorrow. Yes.

0:18 Because the announcement is tomorrow. It's something big for our show. It will benefit you. It'll benefit others. I'm very excited about it.

0:25 Yes. So definitely be here tomorrow for that. But first, let's go to comments.

0:29 Tin Tin Joy said... I started listening to this podcast before I met my husband on Bumble. I was still navigating the dating scene and some of the stories were a.

0:37 Little too relatable.

0:39 Fast forward eight years, one toddler later, and we're still listening. We're so invested that we check with each other before discussing an episode to avoid accidental spoilers.

0:48 That is so cute. I absolutely love that. We've been through everything and now we're going to raise your child. Yeah, that's it. One big happy family. Really, truly. We love comments like that. Definitely leave them if you're listening on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, wherever you're at. We try to read them all. So it's Brick and Jeffrey in the morning.

1:08 College teaches you so much about life.

1:11 Yeah.

1:11 It teaches you how to live with a roommate.

1:14 Oh, for sure.

1:15 Why you should never put your red socks in with your whites.

1:19 Oh, man.

1:19 And the exact position your feet need to be in to achieve the ultimate keg stand. And today we've got a young college student on the phone who's in the middle of learning another important life lesson. and it involves an awkward situation that arose with her part-time babysitting job.

1:39 Uh-oh.

1:39 So we're here to give her our wisdom on how to handle workplace conflict, along with how to hide a hangover from your 8 a.m. professor when we do your Awkward Tuesday phone call.

1:51 Next.

1:52 It's awkward.

1:53 It's Tuesday.

1:54 It's Awkward Tuesday phone call.

1:58 Brooke was telling me the other day how happy she was that her daughter is old enough to be able to babysit now.

2:03 I know, it's so fun. And it's so fun for her, too.

2:07 And especially great for Brooke, not just because she gets to pay her in corn nuts, but.

2:11 Oh, wait, I'm supposed to pay her? I don't pay my own kid to babysit, Josh.

2:14 Oh, even better.

2:15 But it also takes a lot of the stress and pressure off of Brooke while teaching her daughter some important responsibility.

2:21 Oh, yeah, that's true.

2:22 And one of our listeners, Shelby... is going to college right now, and she's also babysitting part-time in order to supplement her income.

2:29 Okay.

2:30 But she's run into an odd situation with it and has requested our help. So, Shelby, welcome to the show.

2:36 Thank you so much.

2:39 Is this going to be one of those situations where I need to play the podcast later for my 12-year-old daughter?

2:44 Maybe.

2:46 What happened with the babysitting job that made you reach out?

2:49 Well, I've been babysitting for this one family for a few weeks now, like probably three or four times. And everything's been really good until just last time. It was kind of weird.

3:01 What was weird? The kids are weird or the mom and.

3:04 Dad are weird?

3:05 The kids are great, honestly. I was babysitting from like 4 p.m.

3:10 And then the parents got back at 11 p.m.

3:12 And I charged $ 20 an hour. They ended up paying me $ 80, which is. Way short.

3:20 Can you do the math for me?

3:21 Yeah.

3:22 This is not a mathematical group over here.

3:26 It should be $ 140.

3:27 Yeah.

3:30 Oh, wow. Okay. So you got shorted three hours.

3:33 Honestly, my guess is mom and dad had a couple of cocktails while they're out babysitting and also weren't math and write.

3:43 That's what I thought, too.

3:44 Like, they paid me that night, like 11 p.m. Like, okay, maybe it was an innocent mistake.

3:49 Yeah, totally.

3:50 Did you just let them know?

3:51 I'd be so embarrassed. Oh, you know, like as a mom, I'd be like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry.

3:55 It's like you're missing almost a hundred dollar bill.

3:57 Yeah.

3:57 And you look kind of drunk.

3:58 So, yeah, it's not put together. What'd you do?

4:01 Yeah, no, I actually texted the mom yesterday and I tried to be very polite and just let her know, like, hey, I had a great time babysitting, but the payment was off lately.

4:15 Okay.

4:16 Handled it correctly. I think that's the right thing to do.

4:19 I was just trying to be like, oh, hey, no worries. I understand. It was late at night.

4:23 Yeah, you were wasted. You couldn't see straight. You puked on the floor. Like, I get it.

4:29 Oh, my God.

4:30 Did she respond to that?

4:32 Yeah, she did.

4:33 And I kind of couldn't believe it because she was like, no, we gave you the right amount. What? Huh?

4:39 Huh?

4:40 So did you write her back and you're like, no, I babysat for, wait, how many hours was it?

4:45 Six?

4:45 Is that right?

4:46 Seven.

4:46 Seven?

4:47 Like tell her your hourly pay.

4:49 Yeah.

4:50 What did you respond with?

4:51 Yeah.

4:51 I just said, I did double check.

4:53 It should be 140 and I only got 80.

4:56 Okay.

4:56 Okay.

4:57 You were direct.

4:58 But then she comes back with, no, $ 80 is right. And we look forward to seeing you on Friday.

5:04 Excuse me. What?

5:05 What?

5:06 And then you say, can.

5:08 You explain how?

5:09 Yeah, no more Mr. Nice babysitter. It's time to lay down the hammer on this mom.

5:13 My daughter took a babysitting class at the hospital, at the children's hospital, and they actually cover what to do when you get shorted.

5:19 Money, when you get stiffed by the parents.

5:22 Apparently it's a pretty common thing.

5:23 These are called brass knuckles.

5:25 Yeah, exactly.

5:27 But it is, I mean, it's a really awkward situation to be caught in with the parents that are paying you. What do you do?

5:34 Uh, well, yeah, that's why.

5:35 I just came to y'all because like, this is really, really strange and I need to figure out a way to get some clarity on this without, you know, everything blowing up.

5:44 Cause she owes you money and you have a job lined up with her this Friday.

5:48 Is that what you're saying?

5:50 Right, so we have to get this figured out.

5:52 Oh, you already pre-agreed to babysit. I mean, this is a tough one because we don't really know what the mom is thinking. Right, because she.

5:58 Just keeps agreeing with you even though she's doing the opposite. Unless, did you eat any of her food? Because the lady I babysat for used to hate.

6:04 When I ate her food.

6:05 Oh, that's a good point. She's charging you.

6:08 Did you have the Costco rotisserie chicken?

6:11 No, I don't do anything I'm not supposed to do.

6:12 Okay.

6:13 She's responsible. Well, this is definitely weird, so I can understand why you need our help. We'll think of some advice before we come back and help you call the mom to confront her to find out why she shorted you $ 60. on your $ 140 babysitting job.

6:30 And if you're a babysitter or you've hired a babysitter, text in, give us advice.

6:33 We need your advice, right? Brooke, have your babysitter text in.

6:37 My daughter? Your daughter?

6:38 She doesn't have a phone. Oh, wow, that's a bad mom. Okay.

6:41 That's a bad babysitter.

6:42 Exactly. And Shelby, we do charge $ 40 per advice, so we'll get your credit card and then come back and give it right after this. Hold on. It's awkward.

6:51 It's Tuesday.

6:52 It's Awkward Tuesday phone call.

6:55 Man, it is tough. being a babysitter these days. Amen. All these headaches. There's snack limits sometimes on what you can eat out of the family's fridge.

7:05 That's wild to me.

7:06 Yeah.

7:07 They limit what you're allowed to watch on TV while the children are around. That makes sense.

7:12 I mean, horror films aren't a good... But Love Island is okay.

7:16 No.

7:17 No, Alexis, it's not.

7:17 Brooke's one of those moms. And they actually make you watch the kids the whole time.

7:24 Ew.

7:24 Can't I just be on my phone?

7:25 I mean, the parents don't even want to do it themselves.

7:28 Well, that's a good point.

7:29 That's why they're paying you to do it. So, I mean, what are they expecting? And then there's the situation that our listener Shelby is dealing with because she's doing part-time babysitting work while she's putting herself through college.

7:40 Yeah, good for her.

7:41 And she got shorted 60 bucks the other night. So she texted the mom to bring up the situation.

7:48 Yeah.

7:48 And it's only been more confusing. There's no resolution. And she's come to us seeking advice on how to get to the bottom of why she got underpaid for her babysitting job.

7:58 That's right, Jeff.

7:59 So she's looking for advice. Brooke, what do you think?

8:01 You out confuse her.

8:03 Oh.

8:03 You know what I'm saying?

8:04 I mean, like, basically you put it on yourself, Shelby. You say, oh, my God, I must be reading your text wrong. I am so confused.

8:11 Like, explain to me exactly the math here. You know what I'm saying?

8:16 Yeah.

8:16 And then just make her spell it out.

8:18 Because once she says seven hours at $ 20 an hour, it'll dawn on her that she's doing it wrong.

8:24 So just play a little dumb. What do you think, Shelby?

8:27 Fairly dumb. Yeah, I mean, I can try something like that. I definitely don't want to come off aggressive.

8:32 Yeah.

8:32 Well, it's definitely great radio to listen to people do math over the phone. So I'm super hopeful that they break it down.

8:39 We're trying to fix life problems here and not make entertaining content.

8:43 Zero entertainment on this segment.

8:44 Good.

8:45 Jose, what do you think?

8:46 Well, to get on her good side immediately, I think you compliment something specific.

8:50 About her house.

8:52 Oh.

8:53 Busy moms with.

8:54 Kids, right, have such a hard time keeping up with the home. So if you say something super nice about it, I think it'll open her up. It could go a long way.

9:01 Like, I didn't notice all those piles of crap you have in the corner at all.

9:05 No, not backhanded.

9:07 You have the nicest lingerie inside of your lingerie. No, I meant like I like your foyer. Oh, the physical home. You weren't looking through her stuff.

9:16 Sorry.

9:16 Got it.

9:17 I'm so glad you're not a babysitter, Jim.

9:18 Does that make sense, Shelby?

9:20 Yeah, I think that's worth trying.

9:22 Two pieces of advice. Choose to use as much or as little as you want, but we're on your side no matter what. I'm going to dial this mom for you and let you talk to her and make your awkward Tuesday phone call.

9:31 Here we go. Hello?

9:40 Hi, Loretta.

9:41 This is Shelby.

9:44 Oh, Shelby, dear. Did you change your number?

9:49 No, I borrowed somebody's phone. I did just want to talk to you really quick about babysitting. You know, it's been really great. And um i mean you have.

9:59 A beautiful home canceling on me on friday are you no.

10:05 No that was not that's not why i'm calling.

10:08 No short notice i can't change it at this point you know you're committed to working for me that day.

10:14 Yeah no i understand um I was actually, I was calling because we've been texting about something and I think there might be a, like a bit of a misunderstanding somewhere. So I thought maybe we could talk on the phone and get it figured out.

10:29 Oh, I don't think there's anything misunderstanding between us.

10:34 Not that I'm aware of, of course.

10:38 Well, this is just the conversation we had about my rate as a babysitter and, um, the number that I have in my head for what I would have gotten paid is not what you actually gave me.

10:52 Well, I think it's the same thing. I've been paying you right along. I don't know what the problem would be.

10:59 We established the price from your last two times and I paid you the same thing.

11:03 Yeah, well, it's just this was a longer time than what I've done in the past.

11:11 So, you know, maybe you had a.

11:14 Different number than what reflected actually what i did well.

11:19 I don't understand i paid you exactly what i was supposed to pay you i don't see where the problem is.

11:25 Um okay well um i mean would you be able to kind of explain how you got to that number.

11:31 Because i you're in college by now this is your business i would hope you'd be able to do your own math you don't need to hold your hand.

11:39 On this um yeah well let's let's just figure this out together because I, my rate is $ 20 an hour and I worked for seven hours.

11:52 So that would come to 140. And, um, your math is.

11:57 Way off. I, I, now I understand why you had such a problem.

12:02 You came, you came at four, you put the baby down at eight and that was your working time. Anything after that, you're not working for me.

12:11 Hold on.

12:13 Oh, well, I was actually there until 11. I stayed until you got back. Yeah, but what were you doing?

12:20 Watching TV on your phone? Calling people? I mean, I don't pay for that.

12:25 What? I mean, I was at your house to watch your child. If any issue came up, then I would have handled it.

12:33 You know, once they go down, they're done for the night. You don't even have to worry.

12:37 I mean, basically, you probably could have even walked out, but that would certainly not be a good idea, dear, would it?

12:43 Oh, my God.

12:44 Well, no, I would never do that. I don't see what the problem is here.

12:52 I should be paid for my time. I mean, that's just how I feel about it.

12:56 Those were the hours you were working. Once the child is done, you're not working. You're just there.

13:04 At this point, I think you should just take the $ 80 and say, thank you.

13:11 Oh my God.

13:13 Dude, the audacity. Yeah.

13:16 I am.

13:17 Wow.

13:17 Shelby, do you want to say thank you at this point?

13:19 Oh God. Hang on. Why are there all these other people on the line? I don't understand.

13:25 Yeah, no, there's a lot of misunderstanding that's been happening between everyone here. Loretta, you're on the radio show right now called Brooke and Jeffrey in the morning.

13:33 Why am I on a radio show? I have no business being on a radio show. I don't want to be on a radio show.

13:38 Look, I understand you don't need to get defensive, but Shelby is the one that reached out to us because she told us. What happened regarding the payment for when she worked for you?

13:48 Shelby, if you can't handle things on your own like an adult, I really don't see how we can have any further relationship.

13:55 Okay. Loretta!

13:56 Loretta, come on.

13:58 What world are you living in that you think that you can have someone babysit for you and if your child goes to sleep, you don't pay them? Certainly.

14:06 If you don't work, you don't get paid.

14:08 What? Did you never babysit in your life? Like, is this your first kid? Like, that's not how it works.

14:15 I never needed to babysit, you see. We had a nanny.

14:20 One of those rich, cheap people. I get it now.

14:23 I had a nanny, too, and she was lovely. See, I knew that was coming. I knew he was going to defend a nanny. Lucy, I love you. You're amazing.

14:31 Are you joking me?

14:33 No, I'm not joking.

14:33 She is amazing.

14:34 No, I'm talking about Loretta.

14:36 No, but imagine like a security guard. They're just walking around, and if nothing happens, they still get paid for being there.

14:42 So your stance is if they're not in the room actually watching your kid, you.

14:47 Refuse to pay them for being around. Well, hopefully they're doing more than just watching.

15:04 I would hope that she's actively engaging the child, making sure the child is okay, make sure they've been fed their own activities they should be doing.

15:12 What do you want her to do, just like pet your child the whole time and sleeping?

15:15 This is ridiculous.

15:17 Shelby. And there's got to be a compromise. No, there's no compromise. You owe Shelby money, Loretta. I mean, Shelby, tell her.

15:24 I mean, $ 60 for that time, that is very valuable to me.

15:28 Sounds stronger, Shelby.

15:29 Well, yeah, you gotta have my freaking money.

15:32 Like, this is.

15:33 There it is.

15:34 There's Rihanna.

15:36 You better have my money.

15:39 Shelby, I think you've done this just to try and make me look bad because you couldn't handle your own business.

15:47 And I really have no interest in it.

15:49 I don't think you're going to have any opportunity to come back into our house. And I'd be surprised based on this type of behavior if you even actually didn't graduate from college.

16:00 Oh, wow.

16:01 To be clear, does that mean Shelby is not coming over this Friday to.

16:04 Watch a game?

16:06 I wouldn't have her in my house again.

16:08 She would just poison the air there.

16:10 Are you serious?

16:12 Okay, that's not even like an insult. That's just stupid. That's a stupid thing to say.

16:17 Oh, my gosh.

16:18 I don't think there's any reason why I should have to listen to this kind of nonsense and insult from people.

16:24 I don't know and have no interest in.

16:25 So I'm quite done with this call.

16:28 Our listeners also struggle.

16:29 Yeah, we get a lot of those texts in to 785. Thank you for your time, Loretta. No, don't thank her.

16:33 Oh, wait. Wow.

16:39 I'm seeing, okay, Loretta hung.

16:41 Up on us.

16:41 Oh, that's so rude.

16:43 Dude, that sucks, Shelby.

16:44 Did we say, Brooke, I think it's what you said.

16:47 I don't care. I'll pay Shelby the extra $ 60.

16:50 Aw.

16:52 Brooke, really? Dude, seriously, that sucks. That woman sucks.

16:55 Hey, that's nice. Brooke will pay you $ 60, and then remember, it's $ 40 per piece of advice that you got on this show, so it's negative $ 20. We'll send you our Venmo, okay?

17:05 Oh, my gosh.

17:06 It's Brooke and Jeffrey in the morning. Brooke and Jeffrey in the morning. A lot of texts coming in at 78592. Super angry with the mom.

17:15 Dude, she was crazy. I'm sorry.

17:17 Don't say it, but we know. They're all arguing, saying, of course she deserves to get paid if she's staying at the house during that time.

17:25 Dude, that woman only tips 10% everywhere she goes. You guys know it.

17:28 Seriously.

17:29 And she justifies it.

17:31 One text said, she should have said yes to babysitting on Friday. then canceled at the last second and ruined that mom's date night.

17:38 I was thinking the same thing.

17:40 It canceled. Oh, God, that's the worst.

17:42 That really does ruin your night. While normally I love a, hey, let's ruin a mom's night text, let's just say in this case it wasn't a good match professionally between those two.

17:53 Is anyone a good match for her?

17:55 No.

17:55 Babysitter's going to be like, ma'am, ma'am, you overpaid me. I wasn't doing any work the last 30 minutes.

17:59 Yeah, yeah.

18:01 But if you ever need help in your personal life, you can always email the show. We'll give you our advice and let you make an Awkward Tuesday phone call. You can check out all of them up online wherever you get your podcasts. Just look up Brooke and Jeffrey.