Reasonable Time-frame to hear back from parents?

What is a reasonable amount of time to wait to hear from parents after the interview?
I thought 1 week was reasonable, and that is what I plan on doing.
However... I have a lady asking for an interview for Friday. Her child would only be part-time, with very little hours. She sounded desperate in the beginning, so I wanted to help her. She originally contacted me in April. I told her that I did not have a space available for part-time children right now but that I would contact her if anything came up. Last week, I advertised space for full-time spots. She emailed me again. I decided to make a deal with her. I explained to her that I could accept her child into my dayhome if she was able to bring him for, at least 20hrs per week, or 40 in a 2 week period. That is when she mentioned that her current dc provider is very flexible and allows her to do any hours. She also said that her child would only be in my care temporarily. (a month or 2). Since I have not filled my daycare spots, I offered to help her out temporarily.
She emailed me back saying that she wants to meet on Friday, and that she has interviews with other daycare providers in the next 2 weeks. I do not want to wait 2 weeks for a response! I've had a lot of people ask me about part-time care, and offering me more hours than she is. I turned them all down initially.
Should I be nice and wait the 2 week period for her to meet with other providers, or should I say that I can only hold the spot for 1 week? I currently have a wait list for part-time care. (I am just not sure that I want the position to be part-time permanently)

Is it reasonable to say "first come, first serve"?

I think its more than reasonable. I had an interview last night and got a call this morning saying they were going with me. Now that is very very rare. I think a week, especially if its an open space that needs to be filled, is reasonable. I try a fit all my interviews in a short time frame to make the decision quick, for both parents and for myself.

Whom ever brings back the signed contract and the deposit first wins

Crayola Kiddies,

This is what I REALLY want to say. I think this will be my policy. lol

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Originally Posted by Crayola kiddies

Whom ever brings back the signed contract and the deposit first wins

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I agree! Keep interviewing until a space is filled. If you fill a space before somebody gets back to you they have missed out on a wonderful opportunity. Their loss!

If you have other people looking for part time with more hours and you already know in reality she is going to keep looking till she finds someone who will accomodate her then I probably wouldn't even waste time on an interview. Spend your time on the others and get them lined up. Then if per chance they have a later start date you could contact the woman back and say ok for the next two months I will have an opening that you can use whatever days you need and pay per day - after all you weren't goign to get anything for the days anyways. Makes everyone happy that way.

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Originally Posted by FreshPrincess

Is it reasonable to say "first come, first serve"?

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Yes, my rule is that whomever is FIRST (of the people I actually like and want to be here) to bring back the deposit and contract gets the spot. I don't wait on people.

this is a good question. i thought one week is fair deal.

the parents were shopping around, and i just filled it with the next in line "who bring in the money and signed the deal!".

I always tell prospective clients that I keep interviewing until I have a signed contract and deposit in my hand so while I respect that they have other interviews to compete before making their decision it is understandable that I will be doing the same and IF they are leaning towards me they need to let me know ASAP so I can keep that in mind as I finish up my interviewing rounds and prepare to start offering the space out to the best match ... once I OFFER you the space you have 1 business day to commit to it with a contract and deposit otherwise it goes to the next person on the list!

Honestly if I gave clients who showed interest a WEEK to decide to take a spot before interviewing the next person or what not it would take me months to fill my space :(

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Originally Posted by Crayola kiddies

Whom ever brings back the signed contract and the deposit first wins

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This EXACTLY!

Does anyone ever followup within the week (if you haven't heard back right away) and say you'd like to offer them the spot if you really liked the family? Or does that seem too desperate?

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Originally Posted by cdngirl

Does anyone ever followup within the week (if you haven't heard back right away) and say you'd like to offer them the spot if you really liked the family? Or does that seem too desperate?

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Personally I do not chase clients ~ I want people here in my program who value me and are excited to be coming here! So after an interview I tpyically send them a follow up email or or note thanking them for the interview and reminding them that I will be making a decision by X date and look forward to hearing from them again' .... if I DO NOT hear from them again before X date to let me know they are interested and hope I will consider them for the spot as well than I assume they are not interested and when I am making MY finally choice I choose from those who've kept in contact and show keen interest in being here and than when X date comes for that final round of interviewing I will send out a final 'thank you for your interest in the program at this time I am going another route' email and if need be keep advertizing if no one was suitable or fill the space from the remaining options!

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Originally Posted by cdngirl

Does anyone ever followup within the week (if you haven't heard back right away) and say you'd like to offer them the spot if you really liked the family? Or does that seem too desperate?

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I always send a thank you & nice to meet you email with my contracts and other forms attached for them to look over after an interview because I don't want to waste all my paper and ink. I ask them to feel free to write back to me with any further questions they may have but hopefully they will either let me know if they are 'going in another direction' or if they are very interested in a space. Since I always let them know during the interview that I have several interviews set up and the decision will be made in a certain amount of time if they are really interested they get back to me quickly. If you never hear from them again and they weren't even courteous enough to send you an email then you didn't want them anyway!

Time frame has a lot to do with how soon parents are looking. If care is to start 2-3 months down the road or more then you know the parents are still in the "shopping" phase and it could be a month before they have completed all of the interviews they intend to have and start narrowing down their choices. These are the same people who are appalled and angry when they do contact you 2 months later only to find out you gave the space to another family a couple weeks after they visited. I have in the past sent emails to families saying the space is now filled but don't always bother. Figure it serves them right for passing me up instead of jumping on a good thing,lol.