Should I have just given a discount?

[BlueRose]

I had two interviews scheduled for yesterday. The first one was a no show. The 2nd wanted a discount. Since I am on mat leave at the moment I have already discounted my fee, until my leave is over. When the parents first emailed me, they stated they were looking for care for July and August only, not a problem. My fee is $400 per month until my leave is over then its $40/day. During the interview the mother says "My husband is on vacation until July 17th, so she will not need care until the 18th. What discount can you give me." I just looked at her and sad none, you pay for the spot not for the days your kid is in care. Its already a very good discounted price, there are not late fees and my husband just gave you permission to pick your kid up late. (I could have killed my husband for that) So no I am not going to lower my fee anymore." She than stated she had other interviews and would let me know by Friday.
I plan on severing fresh fruit and veggies and to make everything else. I want to make sure the kids in my care get the same high quality care I give my own two boys.

My husband is convinced they will call and asked for the spot, I don't think they will. If they do call to ask for the spot, part of my just wants to tell them that the spot is has already been filled. I don't need the money, until my leave is over, but it would be nice to be able to get more items for my daycare.

Do you think I did the right thing by saying no to the discount or should I have just offered her one?

As for the no-show interview, should I have called them to see where they were? I didn't. I just figured that if they really wanted to come they would have shown up.

P.S. venting fells good, I should do this more often.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Nope ~ never put yourself on sale!

I do not discount my fees a lot of thought and planning went into choosing them and my entire budget and program is based around them ... this is not COSTCO where you get deal buying bulk and this is not KMART where every third week I have a flashing blue light special

Are you offering such a low rate right now because you do not want to earn more than your maternity leave will allow? Cause personally I would not 'discount' my fees and work so hard for so little ... IMO it sets a HORRIBLE precedent to clients that you were willing to work for $400 for a whole MONTH why charge $40 a day now .... I would just take in however many kid at my regular rate to not affect my mat leave?

[Crayola kiddies]

Re the no show ..... Well I had that happen to me and it turned out to be a family emergency and she just ran out the door. I phoned and she apologized profusly and asked if she could rebook. They came for the second interview time and they took the spot and paid to hold it for 4 months and they have been a great family. And the other one .... If you gave her a discount you would have been negotiating with her the whole time for every little thing .... So if she calls back great if not ... No loss

[sunnydays]

I am with Regio...no discounts for anyone for any reason!!! Why are you offering a discount while on mat leave??? If you are recieving EI mat leave benefits, please be aware that as soon as you start working full time hours, whether you are making $100 for the month or $2000 for the month, they will cut you off your benefits! I know this because it happened to me...I had only one child in care and I figured since I was making under the allowable amount, I would be okay until my mat leave ended....not so...they had forgotten to tell me that there is an allowable number of hours as well...I was cut off and ended up opening my daycare fully earlier than planned. Unless there is some good reason...please don't sell yourself short by offering a discount...you are doing the same amount of work whether you are on mat leave or not!

[Judy Trickett]

Ugh..........the fact that you are even asking this question means you feel it is not right.

NO DISCOUNT. Don't EVER discount care. You see, when you discount fees it is only a special discount to YOU. To the family it just becomes their regular fee. Do you really think that every month that the parents write that cheque they say to themselves, "Oh, I am so fortunate to be getting a discount and able to write my cheque for less ". NO! They do NOT say that. The amount is just the amount to them. It is only a discount to YOU and every time you get that discounted check YOU WILL BE RESENTFUL.

Just trust me on this one.

[BlueRose]

Thank you all.
Inspired by Reggio, I never thought of doing it that way. Its a good idea.
kangaroomama: I will look into the e.i. thing. I am not ready to have a full daycare. I want to start of slow with one or two kids first. Its been over 12 years since I worked as a nanny and want to get back into it slowly, which is why I was going to start this July with only one when slowly add to the kids, until November when my leave is over.
Judy Trickett: you are right I didn't feel right about discounting even more. My husband told me I should have and I started to 2nd guess myself.

[sunnydays]

That was exactly my plan! I wanted to start slowly, so I thought I would start with one until my mat leave was over...which is what I did, but they cut my cheques off completely. I still advocate starting slowly, but it's just that you might as well wait until your mat leave is over to start...if I had known, that is what I would have done. When I called EI to find out about how it worked, they only told me about the dollar amount I could nto exceed, not the hours...you have to ask them specifically about that!

Thank you all.
Inspired by Reggio, I never thought of doing it that way. Its a good idea.
kangaroomama: I will look into the e.i. thing. I am not ready to have a full daycare. I want to start of slow with one or two kids first. Its been over 12 years since I worked as a nanny and want to get back into it slowly, which is why I was going to start this July with only one when slowly add to the kids, until November when my leave is over.
Judy Trickett: you are right I didn't feel right about discounting even more. My husband told me I should have and I started to 2nd guess myself.