Home Helpers

The administrative staff were good but we did have a lot of call offs last minute and we had to find people to fill in. This happened about every other week. We had some caregivers who were really good and then ones who were not so good. We did get a notice that they were having a hard time finding caregivers which is something that I think people ought to know.

Home Helpers were great the first few times and after that I was disappointed. They were supposed to do some light housekeeping. This didn't happen and this happened with multiple caretakers.. In order for things to get done, I ended up having to stay and watch over the staff. I was looking forward to a break.

The Caregivers that came out to assist me with light housekeeping, cleaning and some personal needs were not always on time. I also found my definition of clean and theirs was vastly different. When we set up the service they tried to understand what I was looking for in a Caregiver.

The staff do a good job at Home Helper. However, if they say they are going to be punching in at a certain time and the care giver isn't there on time someone needs to call me. I have missed some appointments waiting around on them to show up, not knowing when they would. Other than that everything is going well.

They were not so helpful, when I asked about my parents well being. There was a total lack of communication.

I pretty much blew these guys off, I didn't like being pinned down to having to have them for a certain amount of time. I wasn't overly impressed, but I had only used them a couple of times, I do understand that it would be stupid to have somebody come over for an hour. The girl who took the phone calls there, I don't know what her title is, but she got a little cocky with my when I decided to stop it, that doesn't cut it. We've got loved ones that we're trying to find the right thing for them and that doesn't work.

In-home care, offices across region, self-claimed award-winning.

The director gave me 17$ hour min 6hours. Will do everything we need done. Maybe try only one day a week. Also have help line for 25.00 month. They would be the first number in an emergency and they would go check on her.

$150 evaluation. YES car service, 3 hr minimum per day no weekly minimum, no minimum per week, can do less hours diff rates diff times rates same at all times

The communication was good at first. Now I have to ask for the invoice to review before they charge my mom's credit card. I'd like to find a good person that is less expensive. The second person talked vs. listened to my mom and didn't do the chores we checked off the list provided.

Home helpers has been assisting my Aunt for a couple of months and she will be discontinuing services soon. Although the help is appreciated the caregiver doesn't do things the way she would like them to be done. The guy running things was very pleasant in the beginning and very responsive. The pricing was reasonable. But in the end my Aunt is not happy with their services.

The HH administrative staff were cordial and responsive; and the caregivers who came to our elders' home were friendly, caring, patient, honest, and usually punctual. Some were more proactive than others. As our elders' needs increased over a number of months to 24/7, HH experienced some difficulty filling the schedule consistently with qualified and motivated caregivers. Many of the caregivers had other, full-time jobs and could work only limited hours for HH. Hence, care became disjointed. Also, even though they stated that they could cook, very few of the caregivers could prepare an appealing, balanced meal (vs. heat up a TV dinner in the microwave). Although HH administrative staff were responsive when concerns or complaints were voiced, they did not ask regularly for evaluations or check re customer satisfaction. In general, consistent, quality home care is difficult to secure. A family paying $20-25 or more/hour expects and deserves $20-25 or more of value. Yet the caregivers are being paid only about half that amount and often don't have the skills or motivation to meet the family's needs or expectations. Hence, there's a disconnect. Anyone using HH or a similar home assistance provider should be prepared to be an active participant in the care process; to spend a considerable amount of time coordinating and overseeing the care (make checklists, provide onsite instruction and clarification); to be an advocate for those receiving the care; and to have a lot of patience.

If quality and professionalism is something you want, then you should consider another option.

They weren't allowed to do very much, I thought it was pretty worthless. My mom fell and when the lady showed up in the evening she wasn't even able to pick her up off the floor. They called the fire department. They had the same caregiver come out, and on time, but they didn't do anything medical at all. They would cook and clean and be there, but I had no idea they wouldn't be able to pick her up off the floor.

My mother has dementia and is wheel chair bound at this point. I've had Home Helpers for about a year and with the exception of one care giver [Removed], its been awful.. no shows, no calls, constant new faces, no consistency in staff. Staff has no knowledge of what transpires, they don't make notes in the carts for their personnel, they don't log calls, INEXPERIENCED caregivers and caregivers who bring personal drama in with them, they excuse unprofessionalism with saying "its not a good match.. As a last resort its a body but I would keep looking their are good agencies out there. You wont have any confidence in their reliability and a peace is what you need knowing they can be relied upon and are capable of caring for your Loved one. KEEP LOOKING

Home Helpers’/Lompoc services started out well but soon deteriorated. It is time-consuming to get ready for a Home Helper visit. When they don’t show up, it can ruin the flow of things in a household which includes someone who is ill. And it definitely is disruptive when home health professionals have also been scheduled. I was notified a couple of hours before the HH employee was due at our house that she would not be coming. The next day I was notified that she would be at least a half hour late. When she arrived she said she was late because Home Helpers/Lompoc did not allow her sufficient time to drive from one client’s house in Oceano to our house in Arroyo Grande. Appropriate scheduling is Home Helpers’ responsibility; not ours. Overbooking should not be the client’s problem, but obviously it is. It was clear that Home Helpers feels that clients are being overly picky by complaining about missed appointments followed by tardiness.

Poorly trained caregivers are not mentally appropriate for tasks assigned. Scheduling is terrible, one never knows if/when a provider is coming...if they come at all. The employee turn over is unbelievable! I noticed they hired anyone that walked through the door. Rude treatment on the phone from office staff when presenting issues, Employees are unhappy, and it shows, many complaining that their paycheck are constantly short/wrong. Caregivers don't get mileage, but are expected to travel sometimes 20 plus miles to/from clients. VERY unorganized! One should look around when choosing personal care services.

The caregiver brought her son the first week, the second week was good, and the third week the caregiver didn't call or show up.

Very unprofessional. Privacy not respected. Uncaring and never on time. Do not hire!

Very horrible service! The staff is very unprofessional and they are a [Removed]. Do not sign a contract with them. They will lie to you and change prices, availability of services. Aide they provided could not fulfill responsibilities and was unprofessional. If you care about your loved ones, you will seek a reputable agency.