Testimonial for Abbie Rickard
Response and rebuttal to previous testimonial: I was dismayed to read this feedback, as it was the first time I was hearing these grievances. When I was supporting this client, I worked in rotation with two other doulas and a backup for all day coverage, seven days a week. I had let the client know when she hired me that I was also on call for birth clients, and I would work with my partners to make sure the shifts would be covered if I needed to be at a birth. Two of the other doulas were also on call for births during this contract. A few weeks into this job, I was growing concerned with our ability as a team to cover all the shifts with the upcoming births and travel plans the four of us had on our respective schedules. When I raised this concern with the client, she told me she didn’t want to have any other people in the rotation, and I respected her wishes. As I suspected might happen, we reached a day where I needed to support a client in labor and my partners were not fully available to back me up for my shift with the postpartum client. My partner told me that she would figure it out, and the next thing I knew, I received an email alerting me that I had been fired. A week and a half after that, I saw this review. It saddens me to think that any client would feel that I neglected their needs or miscommunicated my obligations, and it’s unfortunate that they didn’t want to talk to me about how to move forward in a way that better suited their needs.
I also want to add that the handful of times I left a shift early (maybe 5-10 minutes) were after checking in with the client and confirming everything was set and handled for the night. When she asked me to stop doing this, I did at once with no further issue.
My best,
Abbie
-Abbie Rickard
October 08, 2024
Abbie Rickard
Abbie Rickard Doula Services
Birth Fee: $3000 to $3500
Postpartum Rate: $50 to $65
