Please help!

[littlefish]

Hi everyone, can you please advise me with an issue I have encounter, I recently had an interview with a lady who wanted part time daycare for her 2 years old daughter only two days a week and she mentioned her mom was doing the dropping and picking up so I took her deposit, and a cheque for October when she came to the interview she didn't bring the girl and I asked her where was she? she said grandma is taking care of her so she agreed to stay in my daycare beginning October 1st, she phoned me last week that she wanted to visit with the daughter to see my place and to meet me I agreed she came by on Monday and surprisingly with her mom as well I didn't mind because I needed to meet her as well because she was doing the droppings anyway then both came into my daycare and my other kids were misbehaving because they knew somebody stranger was in daycare, they seem not to like it because the other children were out of control I was so stress out so today was the first day of daycare the girl never showed up not even a phone called and I went to my computer and found a email saying that my daycare is not a good fit for her now she said just rip my cheque and does it. What do I do? I lost another family just because of her should charge for the full Month she signed contract and everything please help I need to know soon. thank you so much for reading. I'll wait for your helpfull response.

[Crayola kiddies]

first ....I never do interviews during daycare hours for two reasons ....the kids will misbehave and I don't know these people and I do not being strangers around my daycare children
second ...I never accept a child into care with out meeting the child first
third ...my contract says deposits are non refundable .....what does yours say?

[littlefish]

Thanks for your input, my contract says non refundable as well, I'll be more careful next time how I manage the interviews this one went down the drain. The mom and Grandma were not a good fit for me, so I'll not
charge for October and I'll be glad not to have nothing to do with them.

[Dreamalittledream]

So sorry that happened to you.
2 things I do, My enrollment is in 3 steps...
I schedule a phone interview, I email a copy of my contract/handbook for them to look over before hand and then a visit to my home. After that, then contract is signed/deposit left.
Secondly, I never schedule a visit during daycare hours. My focus cannot possibly be on the interview, where it needs to be.

[mickyc]

agree with the others. I only interview after hours and the child must be present. My deposit is non refundable and cashed immediately.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I'm odd one out. I only interview during dc hours. I want to see how their child acts around my current group. I guess I'm lucky because I have had only one child misbehave during a meeting and it actually worked out okay because it also enabled the mom to see me in action. As far as strangers, it's no different to me than play groups, playgrounds, library story times etc. do what works for you! I personally only interview out of work hours if the parent can't come during the day. I do enough dc stuff outside of hours that for me, I choose to interview during dc hours and it works beautifully for me.

My deposit is also non-refundable and they sign a paper agreeing to this. Hope you fill your spot soon!

[Secondtimearound]

I do both , I have some days of the week when I will set up an interview and other days when I wouldn't lol !
I have a couple of kids who like to control an interview !!
That's too bad though !! I had a potential client swing by early and check out my backyard ( it's small ) drive away and text later saying they found someone closer . We utilize the park and use my backyard for pick up play . My inside is my seller and my programs , I felt frustrated at first but then was ok about it !

[littlefish]

Thank you all for your amazing advice, long time ago when I was starting my business a daycare provider told me to set my interviews when the children are around so I kept with that advice but that was then, now I noticed a lot of changes in clients behaviours so I'll have to go with interviews after my working hours, we do so much to be so flexible with their needs that at the end in this case it didn't work out but I want to be positive I know I lost my Oct income but I think it was for the best the grandma was very sarcastic and I watched that in just 15 min she was in my daycare, I kept on thinking how was she going to be on those two days when she dropped her grandaughter off I didn't like that she kept being bossy to my daycare children and telling them what to do so I'm glad that it didn't go far, I hope the cheque won't bounce :unsure: because I had the right to deposit the cheque today, I can't believe their are dishonest people! she couldn't call me to cancel daycare she had to send me an email haha what a joke!

[Secondtimearound]

You meet all kinds of people !! I had a grandma who was sarcastic every time she came ! Once in the summer she came to pick up and her grandchild had gone down the slide and gotten his bottom wet . She says , " well he's soaked , did you let him sit in a puddle ?" There was no puddles anywhere , it was summer , the kids had emptied a cup of water down the slide ! Ugh or he was screaming his head off because he wanted all of the dinosaurs the kids were playing with and she said , "oh he's not allowed to play with the kids or dinosaurs ?
Every time she came , I was so mature sometimes I just wanted to say , nope not him ! He's not allowed to play with the kids or dinosaurs !!! Ugh
I think you may have dodged a bullet !!!

[Rachael]

I do interviews when it suits me. Sometimes thats at 9am, after all my children are here but early enough that no one is grumpy and they've just had morning snack so they aren't hungry either. Other times, it's immediately after closing in the evenings.

But before then, I have had a telephone interview and determined they are a good fit, plus sent them my contracts to review. This means when they come to the house, there is minimal time needed. All that has to happen, is they need to see the facility and ask any questions which have arisen from the contact/handbook paperwork.

I will not hold a place for anyone until the deposit is in my hand and a contract signed. Deposits are in cash, a receipt given and they are non-refundable.

If you have banked your deposit, great. It's non-refundable. She is right in asking you to tear up the cheque for October fees though, as October fees will never be due unless you've provided care - which you haven't. Crappy that they didn't let you know but some people are crappy.

In future, don't permit drop ins, and schedule interviews for when it suits you based on the type of children you have in your care. Nothing you can do now but learn from it and move on. It sounds like it wouldn't have been a good fit so try and see the silver lining.

[Van]

I meet parents after daycare hours but when is it best to let them drop off the deposit and Reg. forms?

[Rachael]

I meet parents after daycare hours but when is it best to let them drop off the deposit and Reg. forms?
For dropping of deposits and forms, I prefer nap time. Most parents who come here are either on mat leave or just new to the area and so aren't yet working during the day.
If someone needs to come at another time during the day, then they have to be quick. I have the receipt ready and written, and all I need to do is sign the contract (I get them to sign a blank one first in case they change any details - wouldn't want my signature on that if they tried to do so), photocopy it, and hand it back. And I have no issue in being clear, I am working, my focus needs to be on the children, this will be a prompt drop in only.

[littlefish]

Hi, I don't know what to do? I deposited the cheque, I phoned the bank and she said it will take until the 9th but this lady want to come tomorrow to get my personal cheque her cheque hasn't cleared yet what do I do??

[torontokids]

Don't give her any money if her money hasn't cleared. What if her cheque bounces and then you give her your money. Tell her she has to wait.

[littlefish]

Thank you I'll email her saying she needs to wait until Oct 09 I need to see that the cheque has being cleared before handling my own cheque, I have it ready for her it's the bank process, I hope she doesn't make any fuss about it we need to wait!

[Rachael]

I agree. Don't refund anything or any part of the fees, until the cheque has cleared for certain. This is how scammer work - they send a cheque which will never clear and pressurize for a refund before the cheque bounces. Not saying this person is anything more than someone whose had a change of heart but she will have to wait until her money is cleared whether or not she likes it.

In terms of interview times and/or times to drop off paper work/deposits, there are no rules. Do what suits you.

For me, I have teenagers and so at the end of my work day, I am no longer tied to my house and have social events/clubs. After working a 12 hour day, I don't want to spend my evenings and weekends interviewing people. For that reason, I arrange interviews either at 9am (with notification to day care parents that another adult will be in the house) because my crew are settled and not tired or hungry at that time of day plus it doesn't interfere with our schedule. Or I will interview at nap time but the potential clients are told that they will not be able to see the nap rooms. At a push, I will interview immediately after closing so it doesn't interfere with family time. Likewise, paperwork and deposits can be dropped at these times too.

But that doesn't work for everyone.

Other carer's I know, prefer around 7pm time when they've had time to feed their own family supper and their small children are in bed. Yet others prefer weekend interviews when their spouse can take their own children out to the park for a couple of hours and they aren't being pulled in different directions.

It's your business. You determine the boundaries for yourself. But you aren't obligated to interview at times which aren't convenient to you.

I have learned that you can't be everything to everyone. You can't interview people and be available every time they would wish you were. If these potential clients were going to a centre, they wouldn't have the option of going outside opening hours. They would have to schedule a time which suited the facility.

Once you have determined your own boundaries, they are easier to enforce because you actually know them. Fumbling and being unsure when someone wants to come at 1pm on a Sunday essentially meaning you have to remain local for the entire day. goes away when you are clear in your own mind that you won't do interviews over the weekend or will only do them at either end of the day.

As a side issue, I have learned that those who buck your boundaries with "Oh but my husband works 14 hours a day and I want him to come to" especially when they are on maternity leave and have all day, won't be respectful of your personal time throughout the relationship. Sure, I can understand the desire for both parents to come out and see the day care but to expect a really late appointment or a weekend appointment due to his schedule and to have zero consideration for yours, is often telling of their view point where their commitments are more important that yours.

[littlefish]

Thank you all for your support, the cheque didn't bounce so I am glad all this is over now, she asked me to come over and pick it up on Monday on thanksgiving geez! I was direct and said it will be available on Sat morning even though I don't schedule anything on weekends those two days are so important to spend it with my family, I am glad that it didn't work out because, this client was very difficult to come to an agreement it was only her way. �� Happy Thanksgiving to all of you hardworking providers! Enjoy the long weekend!