Great agency, easy to work with, really felt like I would get the best caregiver possible for our child! We used the agency when we were visiting from out of town. Update: We came back through town, and wanted a night out in the ever amazing Santa Fe. Once again, we contacted the Deborah Calkin Agency and were not only remembered from our last visit, but were treated like family! I was able to go out with confidence knowing my kids would be well taken care of by the quality nanny Deborah provided us with! I can't give her enough stars!! read more

I have worked with this agency while searching for a new Nanny position. I found Deb to be extremely professional, yet totally relatable and fun. She is all about MATCHING people, not just filling a position. She works hard to find the best match for both the Nanny and the family, so that everyone is pleased and satisfied. Whether you are a domestic looking for a position, or a family looking to fill a domestic position, I would definitely recommend her and her agency. read more

This agency was a life saver for me! She found the best care giver for my mother with Alzheimer's, who has been with us for 2 1/2 years! I can't thank them enough for finding the perfect care giver. I would recommend them to anyone (and, over the years, I have)! read more

I'm the owner/operator of The Hire Firm, a headhunting and temporary staffing company based here in Santa Fe. I have known Deb Calkin as a fellow member of the business community, and even a sometimes competitor. If you're looking for a nanny, housekeeper, personal assistant, property caretaker, estate manager, or any other kind of domestic employee, Deb is sure to understand your needs and to be a good resource to help you find the right person for your role! read more

This is a candid review of a company that seems to serve many people well, but did not work for our family, so please bear that in mind as you considering using them (and sorry for length - I just want to be specific, in case this is disputed). The DCA does more or less what they promise legally, but not more in my experience, and this is despite verbal assurances to the contrary. The owner can be very sweet and accommodating but can also be quite unprofessional and pointed in her criticisms of her clients. You may find a good nanny through this agency, so I'm not advising against using them, but read the terms and conditions very carefully, make copies of them (she periodically makes small adjustments to the web-based terms and conditions) as you engage her services. Be demanding in your advertising but realistic in terms of expectations for nannies and do your research in terms of local pay rates. Things that we found difficult included: 1) an enthusiastic pitch that was not matched by actual services rendered. To be specific, the DCA promised us a free replacement (replacement, not replacement search - this continues to be included as part of relevant advertising) nanny within the first year of the contract. On the telephone, I was given repeated assurances that she would replace many times within reason. When things got difficult with our first nanny, she seemed fine with the new search (it was within the first three months of hire), but rather than advertising afresh as we had asked, she sent us three candidates who were not suitable for very basic reasons such as dislike of pets, lack of availability, or inexperience. These candidates came from a pool of available nannies, as they had resigned from their positions with previous families. In other words, there is no evidence that a replacement search was conducted even if several nannies were sent our way. The DCA indicates that it spent 8 weeks advertising and interviewing, but there is no evidence of this and, in fact, there is evidence to the contrary. To provide concrete evidence of this, in emails I asked repeatedly for the ad to be posted and got the following sequence of responses "I meant to say that I had already updated the posting. ... So I am updating at this moment." (Still not up.) "The ads aren't really what attracts the nannies or how we screen them for clients... feel free to send in exactly what you would like and I'll put that up." (Still not up.) "I've sent emails TO ALL THE NANNIES IN OUR DATABASE (my emphasis) and ..." "...I'll be interviewing a few nanny candidates who are interested in [other] ABQ nanny jobs and I'll let you know if I think there's a good fit." etc. Regardless, because the potential replacements were not suitable, we decided to keep working with the original nanny, as we were also under the impression that we could continue the search at a later date if the situation did not improve (which it did). Well, when the nanny decided to resign for personal reasons, the DCA offered a replacement, but not for free. Given the enormous expense (see below) associated with one of these searches, we simply could not afford this. It is also worth mentioning that the DCA promoted their services over an au pair agency with assurances that many nannies last for longer than one year. Of course, they cannot guarantee this, and it is silly to put faith in the possibility, but do keep that in mind if you contract with DCA. 2) The price for the hire was very expensive and not clearly communicated. I was told X% of gross salary and signed a contract that indicated $4X weeks of pay, expecting to pay X% of that. The agency charges X% of 52 weeks (X because it depends on whether you have worked with DCA and the parameters of your hire) in cash. The website has been updated to clarify this, but it was not clear to me at the time. 3) The agency has been in general somewhat difficult in terms of communication *at least for my communication style*. In trying to work through the latest issue, I have gotten emails that state bluntly that "it is clear that I did not understand/do research/etc." In fact, I have understood very well the legal terms (I happen to have some fancy lawyers, ahem Yale, in the family), but was swayed by verbal assurances. That makes me daft, I know, but I note that advertising for a "free replacement within the first year" is consistent with my interpretation. In other email and verbal exchanges, she has implied that our family was unreasonable and that we expected too much from our nanny. To provide a concrete example, in "mediating" the issue with our nanny, she claimed that our nanny told us that we asked her to wash the windows. This is simply not true and, in speaking with our nanny, it was clear that she did not make such a claim to the DCA. There were also other insinuations that we were to blame, etc. Personally, I'd look elsewhere, but many people do well with them, so maybe bottom line is to be careful. read more

I cannot say enough about this agency! As a new attorney, I needed a nanny to pick my kids up from 2 different schools, buy groceries, make dinner and do a little light house cleaning. The first lady they sent was so great, we hired her. She fit the bill to a T and made some delicious food! The process of hiring her was easy, and we could have never found our nanny without Deborah ' s help. It was such a blessing to know that my kids were safe and well-cared for while I worked the 12 hour days expected of a new associate. read more

I am a small business owner and needed a personal assistant for my business as well as my personal life. After many failed attempts at craigslist with a lot of wasted time, I thought I would try out this agency. With in three weeks, the agency sent me 5 people to interview which was the hardest part of the entire process. I actually had a difficult time choosing, but since they have a 60 day free trial period I felt that I couldn't make a bad decision. The person I chose has a college degree and has been great! He does everything from picking up my dry cleaning, grocery shopping, organizing my business office, payroll, and anything else I need in between. 5 stars! read more