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tornadojan Asked January 2019

Home care agency lies. Any suggestions on what to do?

Tonight I caught my mom's home Care Agency in an out-and-out out lie. The helper my contact told me would fill in for the night did not show up. So I called. My contact said the helper "forgot" but that she would do the shift starting an hour later because a supervisor had to pick her up because she didn't have a ride. So the helper shows up, no apology, acting like she was doing us a favor by being there. So when I leave I call my contact to say thanks for the supervisor offering transport and that the helper made no apology and acted cocky. My contact said she would talk to her. Well I ended up calling my mom's house and talking with this helper to clear the air. Turns out she picked up on my upset and called my contact. Contact said I was upset because we are losing a daytime helper, not because helper didn't show up. Turns out contact did not finalize she would take shift. So now the helper is upset because contact portrayed to me that the helper just forgot to show up. Not the first lie I have caught them in but the most obvious. We love the helpers but hate the office staff. So...what to do. Suggestions?

tornadojan Jan 2019
Thanks, Nayners24 and Katiekate. So thankful I am not alone. This is exactly what I do. I have stayed with the agency because even though it lacks integrity, in my opinion, for some reason many of the "helpers" they send over are absolute angels. We pretty much violate every "rule" of the agency. The helpers and I text back and forth. We tell each other what's going on, so I usually know when there is a schedule change before anyone at the agency bothers to tell me. I feel like I am managing a small company, but it is worth it. The helpers don't even feel like they work for the agency; they feel like they work for me. We deal with the agency as little as possible, but sometimes of course there is no getting around it. That's when the problems usually develop. So I am really thankful that you took the time to comment and assure me that I am not the only one experiencing this. I just felt bad for the new helper who was caught in the middle. Once I educate her and bring her into the "fold" :) I am hoping all will be well.
Nayners24 Feb 2019
Yes, I too connect with the caregiver, leaving the company out of it. But there is a caregiver we have now, that refuses to call me when she's going to be late. Just this past Wednesday, she was running late because of heavy traffic. I had to go an appointment and needed to leave as soon as she arrived. Instead of calling me, she called her office, but the office did not call me to let me know she was on her way. I called the office, spoke to the person that the caregiver spoke with, and he was vague saying "I believe she's running late but let me check." I was furious.
Nayners24 Jan 2019
What I've learned when dealing with the company that supplies the caregivers is that are not always honest. I've had them tell me one story and tell the caregiver something different. I've been told various tales on why a caregiver didn't show up. I too have asked them to talk to a caregiver about a concern, and they misconstrued what I said.

So, I began keeping meticulous notes, documenting anything that I felt could be a problem. I now communicate with the company be email, so that I have something to refer back to, if needed. Also, if there is a problem with a caregiver that I can solve, I deal with the caregiver directly, leaving the company out of it.

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Katiekate Jan 2019
I never dealt with the office staff. I was on a close enough basis with the caregivers that I just called them. We talked each day and figured out the schedule for them between us...she would then tell the office staff.

Once the owner of the agency called me to say that this was not acceptable...they didn't do business this way. I told them...ok..I can take the business somewhere else. $20 per hour guaranteed by the insurance company....$800 per week billing. It could go away.

never had another issue with the office staff cause I had no contact with them.

MargaretMcKen Jan 2019
If you 'hate the office staff' it sounds as though this is not the only problem you have had with them. If there are several staff, they have a boss. This is the person to talk to about the situation.
tornadojan Jan 2019
The problems stem from the top - the owner of the franchise!

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