Not many kids are going to "tell you" they have to go potty, when first attempting to train them.....the way I see it, you are "training" the child to go to the potty, meaning you are teaching them to go every hour..two hours..what ever. asking will get you no where. You are the one in charge and they don't grasp the feeling of having to go yet or the urge. That is why you have to take full control and say "let's try the potty now"....don't give them a choice. If I were you I would have the child try to go every 1.5 to 2 hours, each time they try they should sit for a reasonable amount of time (10 minutes maybe) and should be given a reward each time they go. As they continue to have "surprise" pees and poops, they are slowly learning how to trigger the urge or feeling on their own. so, the first step of training is getting them on a schedule of trying, the second step is getting them to control the urge or "feeling", to go on their own. Most kids will not choose on their own to go to the bathroom, and even if they have to go and you ask them, they don't completely grasp the urge yet and they generally don't care. If you make them go, not only are you developing a pattern or routine but you are rewarding them often, and it will encourage them to "want" to go next time, and next time. pull ups and diapers are a double edged sword for me.....I hate them, I don't think they are a great method of training (the child knows when one is on therefor wets and poops because they know the diaper will catch it) however...I hate the thought of cleaning up poop and pee from my floors or the childs clothes.
All kids are different, some need a little scolding for poop and pee in pants or diaper (nothing big, but they need to know it's no longer ok) and some kids do really well with a small reward for going potty in the toilet (small candy, sticker, big hug :0)
None of your work will do you any good if the parents aren't on board all the way. If I were you I would suggest the parents plan a weekend to stay home and go with nothing on the child (pants of course:0) but no diaper, no pull up.....potty every hour or two. pull up for bed and naps and report back to you...if the child does successful with Mom and Dad, i would give it a shot at my house. Up to you though, i understand the poop and pee on the floor but IMO kids train the best (when ready) if you go comando....they will have one accident or two and after that, the potty becomes their release of choice. Good luck.