Rejection after interviews

[jazmic]

I think I have a story that takes the cake! I interviewed them and they sent me an e-mail the following day saying they'd like to go with me. I said, great! And e-mailed them the paperwork to sign. I didn't hear back. I sent a follow up e-mail saying just wanted to make sure I had the right address, etc. Got a reply back from the hubby saying, oh it's my fault, I forgot to forward it to my wife. She'll get back to you really soon. I didn't hear back. And that was fine because I had signed another family by then. So I e-mailed them saying I'm no longer able to provide care for your daughter cos that spot is gone.

A couple months pass and I get an e-mail from them saying something along the lines of: so sorry we didn't get back to you. Your e-mails had gone to the junk mail folder and by the time we saw them, you had already filled up your spot. If you ever have a part time spot open for 3 days a week, we would be glad to have our daughter with you."

Hmmm. Ok, I thought I'd give them the benefit of the doubt although I wasn't really buying it. But I did have a part time spot open and I had already interviewed with them so I said, why not? I replied back saying actually, I do have a part time spot open. This is the e-mail I got back:

Hi there,
unfprtunately, We have someone now but we preferred you. I think at this point, we will keep her with the current daycare person since we just started this week so don't let us hold you up. We will give this lady a try and hopefully things go well.
I guess we didn't time this properly. We will try this lady for a month and hourly you still have spots open then"

Seriously. I don't know why I bothered replying in the first place.

[Momof4]

Oh I agree, I learned pretty fast to stop handing out my contract and save myself the cost of ink and paper until people are ready to sign with me. I now show people my contract all pretty in my book with page protectors, then at the end of the interview when they ask if they can take it I say no, I'll email you a copy so you can read it over.

[Spixie33]

I think I have a story that takes the cake! I interviewed them and they sent me an e-mail the following day saying they'd like to go with me. I said, great! And e-mailed them the paperwork to sign. I didn't hear back. I sent a follow up e-mail saying just wanted to make sure I had the right address, etc. Got a reply back from the hubby saying, oh it's my fault, I forgot to forward it to my wife. She'll get back to you really soon. I didn't hear back. And that was fine because I had signed another family by then. So I e-mailed them saying I'm no longer able to provide care for your daughter cos that spot is gone.

A couple months pass and I get an e-mail from them saying something along the lines of: so sorry we didn't get back to you. Your e-mails had gone to the junk mail folder and by the time we saw them, you had already filled up your spot. If you ever have a part time spot open for 3 days a week, we would be glad to have our daughter with you."

Hmmm. Ok, I thought I'd give them the benefit of the doubt although I wasn't really buying it. But I did have a part time spot open and I had already interviewed with them so I said, why not? I replied back saying actually, I do have a part time spot open. This is the e-mail I got back:

Hi there,
unfprtunately, We have someone now but we preferred you. I think at this point, we will keep her with the current daycare person since we just started this week so don't let us hold you up. We will give this lady a try and hopefully things go well.
I guess we didn't time this properly. We will try this lady for a month and hourly you still have spots open then"

Seriously. I don't know why I bothered replying in the first place.

WOW !!!! those people really led you on for a long time. That is crazy !

I have had people tell me they will make their decision after the weekend or at the start of the new week....so then I find myself refreshing email 20 times a day seeing if they replied. It is crazy. They probably don't realize how it sort of just leaves us wondering.

I wish I could just interview and forget it instead of analyzing what went wrong or why they didn't pick my daycare.

Like others have said - it is personal to invite people into your home, introduce them to your family/kids and then have them not respond. It feels very personal but I don't think parents realize that because they are only thinking of their needs etc

I wish I could do this job without ever interviewing again. It is my least favorite part. The prep work, cleaning, etc at the end of a long day and then to get the angst and waiting out of it = ugh

I am not sure how you can interview without handing out a contract though. My contract states my policies about EVERYTHING and I want parents to know all about vacays, policies, etc and make sure they can follow the guidelines of the daycare. No use them liking me if they can't adhere to the policies I operate under - right?

[mom-in-alberta]

I am not sure how you can interview without handing out a contract though. My contract states my policies about EVERYTHING and I want parents to know all about vacays, policies, etc and make sure they can follow the guidelines of the daycare. No use them liking me if they can't adhere to the policies I operate under - right?

During the interview, I essentially go through the points of my handbook/contract. Since it covers just about anything I can think of, I find it gets all areas covered. But I don't let them take it home. I just have a copy that I use for interviews, with notes and additional questions in the margins.

[playfelt]

I send my information home with the parents and we touch on only the major points at the interview as most of the interview is spent on me deciding if they are the child/family I am interested in. I tell them to read it over at home and email me with any questions and remind them that no question is too silly with the idea I understand what the contract says because I wrote it. (that encourages them to email questions and then that tells me what sections are sticking points for them and also sometimes a different way of explaining something puts everyone on the same page). I charge a $50 registration fee and that money is used for printing of the handout, things specific to the child such as their own changemat, and goes towards equipment replacement like bibs, highchairs as needed.