The scheduler says a caregiver will be replaced if the match is poor. The brochure says satisfaction is guaranteed. The agreement may say something narrower, or nothing at all.
Do not argue about the wording on the call. Collect the paperwork, compare it line by line and ask the company to resolve each gap in writing. This sheet covers that check. For the larger hiring sequence, use Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring.
1. Collect every place where a promise appears
Ask for the complete service agreement, all attachments, the proposal or quote, the current brochure and any email that describes a guarantee or service commitment. Save the web page or print it if the promise appears online.
Write down:
Promise: ______________________________
Where it appears: ______________________________
Exact words used: ______________________________
Do not reduce “we will find someone else” to “replacement guaranteed.” Copy the actual words. The conditions around a promise often decide what it means.
2. Find the matching contract language
Search the agreement for these words: guarantee, warranty, satisfaction, replacement, substitute, cancellation, refund, credit, missed shift, unavailable, limitation, remedy and entire agreement.
For each spoken or printed promise, record the section that carries it into the agreement:
Agreement section: ______________________________
Matching language: ______________________________
If there is no matching language, write “not found.” Do not fill the blank with what the caller said.
3. Ask what event activates the promise
A useful promise identifies the event that starts the company’s obligation. Ask one concrete question at a time:
“What must happen before this promise applies?”
“Does it apply when the caregiver calls off, when we reject a proposed caregiver, or only after a shift begins?”
“Who decides whether the service was unsatisfactory?”
“Must we report the problem during the shift or through a particular phone number or email address?”
Write the answer: ______________________________
Listen for a defined event and a defined reporting path. Walk away from the paperwork check if the answer changes between callers, depends on an unnamed manager or cannot be located in the agreement.
4. Identify the remedy, not the reassuring word
“Guaranteed” does not tell you what the company will actually do. Ask:
“If the promise applies, what is the remedy?”
“Will you attempt another caregiver, remove a charge, issue a credit or allow cancellation?”
“Is that the only remedy listed in the agreement?”
Remedy: ______________________________
Who approves it: ______________________________
How the family requests it: ______________________________
Do not substitute your preferred remedy for the one on paper. Your job here is to learn what the company has committed to do.
5. Check the limits around the remedy
Read the paragraphs immediately before and after the promise. Then check definitions, cancellation terms and any section called limitations, disclaimers or entire agreement.
Ask whether the promise has a reporting deadline, excludes certain shifts, applies only to recurring service or ends after the first replacement attempt. Ask whether a credit expires or can be used only against future service.
Limits found: ______________________________
Exceptions found: ______________________________
Walk away from the review and request a clean copy if an attachment is missing, a referenced policy has not been provided or a blank space could later change the obligation.
6. Test who controls the replacement
If the remedy is another caregiver, ask what “replacement” means in practice:
“May we decline the proposed replacement?”
“Does the replacement have to match the approved duties and schedule?”
“What happens if no replacement accepts the shift?”
“Does the agreement require only an attempt, or does it require actual coverage?”
Answer: ______________________________
The distinction between an attempt and completed coverage belongs on your comparison sheet. It determines what the written promise requires when no one arrives.
7. Resolve conflicts before signing
Show the company the exact conflict. Use this sentence:
“The brochure says ____________________, while section ____________________ says ____________________. Which language controls, and where will the final agreement state that?”
Accept a revised agreement or an attachment that identifies the agreement and states the added term. Do not rely on a handwritten note unless the company confirms that it is part of the agreement and the authorized parties sign or initial it.
Written resolution: ______________________________
Agreement section or attachment: ______________________________
8. Keep the version that was accepted
Before service begins, keep one complete copy containing the agreement, every incorporated attachment and every signed change. Check that the company name, family name and selected service are consistent across the documents.
File location: ______________________________
Company contact for a claim: ______________________________
Required reporting method: ______________________________
If a problem later occurs, use the reporting path written in the agreement and keep the message, response and resulting credit, replacement or cancellation together.
Public-page check
This sheet uses the desk’s rule that a family should separate what was said from what the governing paper requires. The desk’s research method is explained in How We Write the Sheets. Public consumer-contract and hiring references used by the desk are collected on Sources. For the separate decision between an agency and a direct hire, use Hire a Caregiver in St. Louis: Agency or Direct.