When parents contact you MONTHS in advance

[Spixie33]

I just hope to pick some brains from the more experienced providers since you have probably come across this situation a time or two....

I operate my daycare under capacity by choice so technically I always have an opening but I choose not to fill it.

However....in September one of my dck starts full day /every day JK and won't be coming to me anymore so I was going to advertise her spot for the fall.

Then this week a parent contacts me that they have read my ad and details and would like to go on the waiting list but they do not need their dear child to start daycare until they turn 1 in December. These parents are asking to go on the waiting list for December and would like to proceed with me.

What would you do? Should I set up a meeting / interview within the next few weeks to see if we are compatible and make a formal agreement all the way to December or should I tell them to contact me again when December comes closer?

I am not in dire financial need to fill the spot in September so I really do not mind waiting until December if it is a good fit for my daycare. I just never had anyone contact me more than a few months in advance before and am not sure how to proceed. Mind blank. lol :blink:

[Sarah]

I would not garantee spot but would put them in waiting list with the promiss that IF spot not filled in december they're the ones you would call

Sarah

[sunnydays]

I just had someone contact me about September 2012...the second child isn't even born yet! I just told her to contact me again in the 6 months before she needs care and I'll see if I have spaces and we'll go from there.

[fruitloop]

I charge a holding fee if a parents wants a spot that is further away than 1 month. For example...if I have a spot open now but they don't need care until say Sept. then they would pay me a $200/month holding fee to keep that spot open for them. If I didn't have a spot open until Sept. and they needed care in Dec. I would charge a holding fee from Sept. - their Dec. start date and they woukld also have to pay my Registration fee.

[mlc1982]

As of right now I charge a $150.00 per month holding fee that will be used towards first months fee. I may change it though so it is a non-refundable fee as that seems to be more of the norm.

[Sarah]

I have a question:

If for exemple you have a spot for june the 1st, but I would like you to hold it until august the first, so for 2 months. You would charge me 200$/month. But would that be refundable if I changed my mind? And would that money be only to hold the spot of would you apply it to my child care fees starting in august????

Please let me know how you proceed exactly

Thanks!

[fruitloop]

I have a question:

If for exemple you have a spot for june the 1st, but I would like you to hold it until august the first, so for 2 months. You would charge me 200$/month. But would that be refundable if I changed my mind? And would that money be only to hold the spot of would you apply it to my child care fees starting in august????

Please let me know how you proceed exactly

Thanks!

Yes, I would charge you $200/month to hold that spot for you and it is non-refundable and this money goes towards nothing but to hold the spot. It is to make up for lost wages...even though it is only about 1/4 of the wage. It is also protection for if you do change your mind...then I'm not totally out all the money I could of made with full fees from someone else. I don't hold spots for free...you want the spot...you have to pay for it.

[sunnydays]

I agree with what fruitloop does. It is also to avoid someone changing their mind at the last minute as Sarah suggested...then we are stuck with no income for months as well as no child to fill the space. If someone is willing to pay to hold the spot, it means they are probably pretty committed to the daycare.

[mom-in-alberta]

Seriously, December? Or Sept '12??? WOW. Unless wait lists are insanely long where you are, that seems..... excessive. Lol
Anyway, honestly I think it depends on what you are comfortable with, and can afford. I also run under capacity, for a couple reasons. It allows me to take in part timers, when and how often I want. It also means that in the summer, when my kids are home from school, I am not running an illegal operation!
However, if I knew that I needed to fill x-number of spots to maintain my income at a certain level, and we were dealing with one of those spots I would absolutely charge someone to "hold" a spot. It would be non-refundable, if they chose not to take the spot, tough. I would not apply it to fees in the future, because I could have filled that spot immediately and had my full income.
In this case, I would probably go ahead and interview. But let them know that I was NOT guaranteeing a space. I would call them if that spot had not filled by a specific date.
Then again, you said that you don't really NEED that income, so perhaps you can be a little more flexible if you get a good feeling from this family. Sometimes, we gotta bend the rules a little! :)

[Spixie33]

Seriously, December? Or Sept '12??? WOW. Unless wait lists are insanely long where you are, that seems..... excessive. Lol
Anyway, honestly I think it depends on what you are comfortable with, and can afford. I also run under capacity, for a couple reasons. It allows me to take in part timers, when and how often I want. It also means that in the summer, when my kids are home from school, I am not running an illegal operation!
However, if I knew that I needed to fill x-number of spots to maintain my income at a certain level, and we were dealing with one of those spots I would absolutely charge someone to "hold" a spot. It would be non-refundable, if they chose not to take the spot, tough. I would not apply it to fees in the future, because I could have filled that spot immediately and had my full income.
In this case, I would probably go ahead and interview. But let them know that I was NOT guaranteeing a space. I would call them if that spot had not filled by a specific date.
Then again, you said that you don't really NEED that income, so perhaps you can be a little more flexible if you get a good feeling from this family. Sometimes, we gotta bend the rules a little! :)

Thanks Mom in AB....I have had people contact me 3 months in advance but never 6. I think there are quite a lot of daycares in our area but I guess they liked the ad and the pics I have up on daycarebear. Plus...she is a first time mom so I think she is getting nervous and not sure how soon to start looking etc since she isn't experienced with it.

I don't NEED the income so you're right that in my case I would probably bend the dates and let it ride out until she returns to work IF we were a good match. Good families are really important to me. I would rather lose income a few months and get a good family who is like-minded and reliable. I really don't want anyone to not stress me out or take someone who isn't a good fit just for desperation to get the $$ flow in.

I have contacted the lady back and asked her to set up an interview for next month. Why rush - right? lol we have plenty of time and seeing the child a month older is probably better

[playfelt]

If I was interested in the family I would interview and then set up a time for the contract to take effect that was about 2-3 months before the start date. I would charge the two weeks nonrefundable deposit at the time of the interview so at least I had something more commital. Then there would be a holding fee from the 2-3 month point and the child would be allowed to start part time since the space would be available. That way if the parent has changed their mind I have the deposit as well as time to advertise to refill the space and at the same time the family is not penalized for starting too look early.

[Emilys4Guppies]

I had a family contact me in March about care in October. They really liked my daycare and signed on that week. I don't mind waiting that long because we seemed like a really good fit as far as personalities, hours and temperment. They paid $100/month until Oct...NONrefundable. Then the also paid a 2 week deposit that will be used towards their last two weeks of care.

[lilac]

I had a family interview me for their son, and their 2nd was due in a few months and me to guarentee them a spot for their 2nd child when they needed it 14 or 15months later... I just say that I cant guarentee a spot, but if one opens up at that time, then they could have it. I am in need of the income and a fairly full daycare so I just cant hold spots open for that long. They didnt go with me, which is fine. I've also had lots of calls in the winter time for the following Sept, I usually tell them to contact me closer to when they need a space.

[Junelouise]

I have made the mistake a couple of times. Parents come 3 months in advance and say they will come to my daycare. I phone them 2 weeks before start date to get orientation started and they tell me they went with someone else...or "forgot" about me. Next time anyone wants to book in advance I will ask for at least a $ 200 deposit...if they don't want to do that..then so long!

[greenborodaycare]

I just had someone contact me about September 2012...the second child isn't even born yet! I just told her to contact me again in the 6 months before she needs care and I'll see if I have spaces and we'll go from there.

I had the same person contact me. I told her to wait at least till the baby was born! Sheesh...anxious much? lol