How to respond???

[Wonderwiper]

Hi! Just wondering how everyone responds to people who email one line saying " rates please"? Obviously I'm not interested in these people but my personality makes me feel rude not to reply! What ever happened to putting a greeting in an email??? Even if I only wanted to know the price I would still say hello!! My ads have a link to my website where rates are listed!

[kidlove]

Type the last line of your post: My ad has a link to my website where rates are listed!
and add:
Thanks for your inquiry, have a great day! :)
kill them with kindness!!!!!

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yup I hate these as well cause they scream LAZY to me :(

I use to want to delete them rather than respond because it was a waste of my time and well it speaks to our 'match' criteria that they are so 'minimalistic' in their research criteria so I always feel the need to be professional but to save myself time I respond with a form letter I have on my computer that I copy and paste and hit send so only a few more keystrokes than actually deleting it and hopefully I help to educate the client as to why what they are doing is lazy in a polite manner ;)


Thank you so much for your interest in my program - I created a comprehensive website for prospective clients to help ensure that I can spend as much time as possible focused on the children and enhancing the program verses administrative endeavors - so almost everything you need to know about the program to help you in deciding if it might be a match for you ie ideal location, hours of operation, budget and philosophy wise is available on my website for prospective clients to read over. (insert website)

If after reading over the website you have any questions that are not answered on there please feel free to drop me a line or if you think the program might be a match for your childcare needs and would like to discuss booking an interview give me a call (insert phone number) :)

To help you answer the fee question information for fees can be found here ... (direct link to the fee page on my website)

Take Care,
Reggio

This response opens the door to 'redeem' themselves by doing the research and also allows me to see if they can follow simple directions ~ cause if they email again instead of calling that tells me that we are not going to be a match because they are not respecting my request that further contact be done by phone and if you cannot meet that simple request how are we going to work together raising a child for the next 5 years ;)

[Wonderwiper]

Exactly what I thought.....pure laziness! Love the idea of your form letter Reggio....that way I can feel that I have made the effort to be polite while not wasting time with people I am not interested in dealing with!

[Inspired by Reggio]

....Love the idea of your form letter Reggio....

LOL ~ yes I am lazy myself and have many form letters and responses saved on my computer so I can just copy and paste info people commonly ask for :o

[apples and bananas]

To these clients I say, I'm sorry, I'm currently full... if you'd like me to keep your information handy I will contact you if a space opens up. :)

If they are interested in my rates first, there's an issue!

[DCP_But_Momma_1st]

I use to reply to all emails and now thinking about it, it may be bad business, but I don't reply at all to emails like that. If they can't email me with a bit of respect and at least say Hi and reply with their name, then I don't waste my time.

[giraffe]

I usually say "Please feel free to fully peruse my website at _______________." then just sign my name. I figure that all of the needed info is on there and if they're to lazy to check then I dont want them.

[Momof4]

I usually say "Please feel free to fully peruse my website at _______________." then just sign my name. I figure that all of the needed info is on there and if they're to lazy to check then I dont want them.

DITTO! Everything is on my website that a parent needs to know before they contact me.

[Littledragon]

LOL i would just say, have a nice day! LOL

[playfelt]

One thing to realize now is that often emails are sent uisng a phone or device other than a computer where brief is the norm.

It is the parents trying to whittle down their list. If you don't reply your name comes completely off their list so worth a quick reply back such as "Hi, rates are $40 day."

At the same time adding more info or being friendly might at least put you to the top of the list of people charging what you are charging.

[MonkeyPrincess]

I think it's a bit rude to be so short with someone. You can still be tactful when you are being brief. At least you can say :

Hi, my name is so-and-so and i am interested in knowing your rates. Could you please provide me your information? Thank you for your time.

Took me 30 seconds to type :)

[apples and bananas]

Maybe the issue is the smart phone. We are so used to BBM's and txts that when we write an email (from the same devise) we talk the same way.

[gramma]

I find lately that nobody wants to use the phone. I get emails asking only about rates which gives me cause for concern right off the bat because surely there must be other factors that are important to this person but they have neglected to mention them. Sometimes I think that other providers may be feeling out the competition to determine what their fees should be. Personally I would have no problem answering the question if the person identified themselves as a provider looking for information.



Yup I hate these as well cause they scream LAZY to me :(

I use to want to delete them rather than respond because it was a waste of my time and well it speaks to our 'match' criteria that they are so 'minimalistic' in their research criteria so I always feel the need to be professional but to save myself time I respond with a form letter I have on my computer that I copy and paste and hit send so only a few more keystrokes than actually deleting it and hopefully I help to educate the client as to why what they are doing is lazy in a polite manner ;)



This response opens the door to 'redeem' themselves by doing the research and also allows me to see if they can follow simple directions ~ cause if they email again instead of calling that tells me that we are not going to be a match because they are not respecting my request that further contact be done by phone and if you cannot meet that simple request how are we going to work together raising a child for the next 5 years ;)

[Momof4]

Well, it seems to me that no matter what media or technology you use to contact someone, especially someone you want to work with to help raise the most precious thing in your life, your CHILD, you should be polite and friendly and use spelling and grammar and read their website in detail so you are not being redundant and rude and annoying!

[daycaremum]

I simply reply and welcome them to contact me by phone for any more questions as it is easier to answer all their inquiries in person. I don't have a website (small town, wouldn't do me any good). I'm not going to turn down possible clients, nor am I going to judge someone by a brief e-mail.