Holding spots but someone wants immediate care...

[mommyof2princesses]

Hi Everyone,

I have one dcg that comes 2x week, then I am holding 3 spots (with deposits), one for January and two for March. The problem is that I have someone who wants an interview for a spot for end of November and we could really use the income now. I know the legal limit is 5 daycare kids plus my own but I can only handle 4 plus my own. If this family for November wants the spot what would you do? Would you let a family go that hasn't started yet? Of course returning the deposit to them or would you cancel the interview and just leave it like it is?? Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ouch ~ this is why I do not like to 'hold spots' because if I have made a commitment to someone I feel obligated to keep it!

However if your one client is only 2 days a week you would only technically have 5 day care kids two days a week ... so while having a full house ALL the time might not be ideal would 2 days a week work?

[bright sparks]

I agree with Reggio. This way everyone gets what they want.

[Crayola kiddies]

Yup I agree with Reggio .... And murphys law says if you turn away this family one of the others starting in the new year will cancel..... Go for it !

[mommyof2princesses]

That all makes sense and yes I could do that. I just got another email for care for mid-december. I am so regretting holding spots :( Has anyone ever gave a deposit back and told a family that they can't hold their spot anymore? I don't want to ruin my reputation though!

[Inspired by Reggio]

Personally no - I have never done that ... however I learned with my very first client on why you do NOT hold a space no matter how 'nice' someone seems at the beginning cause she paid her deposit and two weeks up front for two kids which was awesome ... and proceeded to than delay starting the two kids for 6 weeks pleading family emergency and so forth and me being a SUCKER giving the benefit of the doubt and being KIND let her. Than she called on the Friday before they were to start tried to TERMINATE cause she got into a centre based childcare program that would better meet their long term needs and it was going to be ready in two weeks and no point in starting the boys yada yada please give me back my money since I wont need your service ... and when I reminder her that based on her contract her 'security deposit' was non refundable and could only be applied to last two weeks of care and I would not be making an exception since I was already out the 6 weeks of income for having held the spot for her .... she SENT the kids to help them get 'use to being away from her' to get her monies worth ... so basically I lost out on 6 weeks of income for being 'kind' and I got to 'break in' her boys to the world of group care AND not even a thank you cause she was PISSY at me for standing my ground about the deposit which made me a bitch :rolleyes:

If I was going to change my mind I would for SURE return the deposit since I would have no right to keep it since it was ME breaking the contract!

[Cocoon]

You can ask if the other family could start early if not then I would offer the spot to the family who wants to start immidiately. If you can go without income for couple of months sure go ahead but I think I wouldn't do that even If I can go without the income. You will be loosing 2.5 to 3 months of income and I think it is too much to loose. As I always say look after yourself first! Read bright sparks's post you will know what I mean :) Good luck.

[mommyof2princesses]

Cocoon, so in your opinion if I am giving a family 4 months to find another caregiver and giving back their deposit to take on a family wanting care sooner is that ok or do you think it would ruin my reputation??

[Cocoon]

How are you going to ruin your reputation? By giving them 4 months to find another day home or by returning their deposit and advance payment in full? It could be the other way. Like it happened to me just 2 days ago. They could have commit to you and after a while come back to you and say that they changed their mind or something else came up( mostly free or cheaper care option :) ) I don't think you will ruin anything. And your reason is perfectly understandable. Give them the option to start early if not then take on the other family. This is your business and you should look after yourself and your family first. And don't feel guilty. Hope it helps.

[Inspired by Reggio]

....Give them the option to start early if not then take on the other family. This is your business and you should look after yourself and your family first. And don't feel guilty. Hope it helps.

This is a good alternative IMO ... I do not hold spots where I am forgoing income for the reason I have stated but I have had clients wanting to return to space from maternity leave at X date and well a spot comes open earlier I give them the option to either take that spot by committing and paying for it OR I will advertize to fill it externally and they risk there not being another one come X date ... to me that is fair cause well I cannot be expected to forgo 2 or 3 months income just cause I like them ... now if there was some other benefit in it for me I would and have done it ... aka I once wanted low ratios for summer so left a spot open for July and had a client wanting a September start meet me in the middle for August with starting the last two weeks full time early to 'wean in' while mom was still home to come if child was not coping ~ fair compromise.

I have also 'prebooked' spots that were to be coming available with outside clients .... aka current client gives me a years notice that they will be done next September for school so I prebook a new client for September start date but the contract says right on it .... "tentative start date of X based on projected enrollment at this time ~ if for some reason the opening comes available SOONER than a Y date the client must commit to the earlier start date of forfeit the spot. In case where client chooses to forfeit the opening this contract relates to they will be placed at the top of the waiting list but there will be no guarantee if that next opening may be.' If they were to turn DOWN a spot I would make them sign a form saying they did so to cover my ass ;)

So for example I am willing to give a 'buffer' of a couple weeks so if the current client told me tentative September 5th was going to be their last date months prior and they end up leaving early cause they choose to take holidays the last two weeks of August when the formal termination letter came I would suck up that lost income .... however if they end up leaving in JUNE well than the incoming client who wanted the space for September and had left a pre booking deposit for it would either have to commit to a BEGINNING JULY start date of forgo the prebooked space due to the unforeseen changes in enrollment ... if that makes sense?

[Inspired by Reggio]

How are you going to ruin your reputation? ....

I agree that from our perspective it should not affect reputation cause you've given notice and returned the deposit ... however like any 'termination' of an arrangement it does have the potential of getting poor word of mouth going depending on how the client takes it .... that does not mean a provider should never terminate just that should weigh that risk when doing so!

On so many parenting boards you read the 'beware of X provider' posts about angry parents who thought they had childcare all arranged and the provider changed their mind on them ... telling only their side of the story and often leaving out little details like she gave them 4 months notice and refunded the deposit cause well the whole truth does not garner as much sympathy for them and when people are angry they only tend to focus on the 'negative' aspect of things ;)

[sunnydays]

I feel your pain. I just went through something similar although my reason for returning the deposit and choosing the new family was because teh age of their child better matched my group and I felt I had made a mistake taking on another baby. They had a lot of notice as well, but I felt terrible and still do when I think about it. The new child is working out wonderfully and I know I made the right decision...but if there were a way to take the other child too I would have! They were pretty understanding and even still wanted a spot if one should come available, so it all worked out, but I am going to be careful not to have this happen again because once is one thing, but repeating it would certainly get me a reputation:(

[Mom of 3]

See I think if the parent wants to hold the space they should be paying the monthly fee up to the start date. If they choose to bring them in that it is up to them. Otherwise they need to call closer to the date to see if there is an opening. I will only hold a space for a month. So Nov.01 for Dec.01. In which they need to pay half months non refundable daycare fees.

[Momof4]

Oh no! Mof2P's this is also why I don't hold spaces any more, unless I know there is one coming open in the future of course. I agree that you should have monthly payments to hold a space.

Can you accept the family who wants care in Nov. so you can fill a current space and refund the deposit to the family who wanted care coming up in several months with an explanation that you made a mistake? They will still have lots of time to find another caregiver. You can tell them that you just learned a valuable lesson that you won't repeat again. Either that or you could come to an understanding where they start care maybe 3 days a week now?

You have some options open to you, so talk to the families and figure out what is best for you and your business. That's not being a bitch, that's being a smart business woman. Always remember that, ok?

[mommyof2princesses]

Thanks everyone, I feel better now. I think I am going to interview the November one and take her on. Then I am going to talk to the March ones and let them know that I just can't hold a spot for that long anymore and if they want to take the spots earlier then they can , if not then I have to advertise for ones that want to start sooner and refund their deposits. I know I have learned a lesson and I will not be holding a spot anymore for more than a month.

[Spixie33]

That is a tough predicament. Personally ...this is just me...I would stick with the original families you signed no matter what since they gave a deposit and signed registration forms.
You have to keep your word on that and honour that just as you would want them to honour your agreement/start date and not back out on you.
I would be worried if they bad mouth you. Even with plenty of notice - they might tell people you left them high and dry and didn't honour your agreement.

I would do all of them. Considering one is part time - I think you can do it.

Otherwise I would stop advertising if I was you and tell people you can add them to your wait list if anything changes or anything falls through.

[Crayola kiddies]

I too would interview the one that olwants to start in nov ... If they are a good fit and you accept them into care then as it was stated before you would have 2 days of 5 children and 3 days of 4 children .....once you get a routine going it will be easy peasy.... I too would NOT cancel on either one of the ones you have already taken a deposit for .... That's just bad karma .... And plus as you will soon find out daycare can change in a hurry .... You may just get them all started and someone will announce a pregnancy / a job loss/ a grand parent retiring / a relocation and then you will lose a child ... Then you will be kicking yourself and back to interviewing and transitioning ...... If this November kid is a good fit enroll her to get some income coming in and then you have several weeks before the next one starts to get settled and so on

[gramma]

If I make a committment to someone to hold a spot, i would honour that commitment but having said that I probably wouldnt hold 3 spots for this very reason. I would interview the people that have contacted you for sure, they may not even be a good fit you never know. I agree that we all have to look after ourselves but you made the commitment to these families knowing their start dates and that you wouldnt have the income until then. In my experience if families provide a deposit, they are serious about wanting the spot. We have all be screwed by families at on time or another and I totally get that any one of these families could change their mind but so could the family who wants to start in November. We just never know how things will go, we have to do what our hearts tell us is the right thing. You may want to consider what has already been suggested which is to take on the extra family and with your part timer, you would only have 5 kids twice a week. best of luck.

[Crayola kiddies]

Exactly ..... That happened to me in my first year .... I held two spots for two different families at the same time one for 3.5 months and the other for 5.5 months .... One was to start in the mid of may and the other was to start at the end of June ..... I only took a two week deposit and never did a monthly fee .....both of them cancelled out and I was out thousands of dollars not too mention I turned away three other famies looking for spots cause "I was full" ..... I learned the hard way ..... Now I take a four week deposit and a monthly fee if I want to hold a spot for any length of time ..... Those are all the little lessons you learn in the beginning plus I didn't know about this site at the time ..... I would have saved myself a lot of aggrevation if I had of.

[mamabear]

I would interview the families that want to start earlier and give back the deposits. Personally the only way I would hold spots is if they paid the full monthly rate, with option of bringing their kids. Why should we be out the income?