Prolly gonna get an ear full, but that's alright I guess

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yes there are so many things in life I would like to pay only when I 'use' it but have the peace of mind in knowing it is there for me when I 'need it' .... however sadly that is not the way many things work these days!

• We have a land line into our home that I maybe talk 5 minutes a month on ~ but Bell don't care that I rarely use it the fee is based on the whole month and unlimited local calls!
• We pay for a basic cable line and maybe watch only 1-2 hours a day ... sure would be nice to not have to pay for the other 23 hours!
• I pay a fortune in 'insurance premiums' every month but have never used it .... sure would be nice if you only had to pay the premium the month you knew you were going to need it
• My dad spends 6 months of the year sure down in the States cause he is retired I sure bet he wishes the property tax dude did not make him pay taxes on his residence here for the 6 months he is not here you know cause he is down there paying property tax on the residence he lives in there for that 6 months and vice versa.

I could go on obviously but my point is that THESE business base their fees not on an a la cart basis but a PACKAGE deal because that is how it BEST works for that business ... and this is what your provider has now realized ~ you are COSTING her money to serve and that is not affected by matter how much she likes you or how awesome your kid is that is just the MATH of the service you want compared to what the market can bare for the spaces in her program!

Honestly I wish more newbies would just STOP offering this service in the first place if they truly cannot 'afford' to have at least one of their spaces be flex care long term because we visit this issue over and over again on provider forums

Newbies or those whose enrollment suddenly 'dips low' start out thinking that a flex care arrangement is better than 'nothing' cause they feel desperate at the time to just get some clients in the door but they are not thinking that down the road this is going to cost them even more in 'lost revenue' than if they just waited a few more weeks or a month or so for the 'better match client'!

Than inevitably they get established in their business and get full and realize they are now working the same amount of hours everyday but are making 'less' than they could be because of the 'flex care' schedule. They start thinking if they just traded you in for a full time consistent income they would be ahead of the game and be able to get some money set aside, or more debt paid down or whatever for a 'rainy day' when enrollment might dip again on them ~ suddenly the flex care option no longer seems like it is in the best interest of being a viable business!

Yet when they 'point that out' to the flex care client the client obviously never sees it as 'of that makes sense we've been getting an awesome deal for all this time asking you to take a hit in income with our pay as you go care and should be grateful it lasted this long' they only see it as 'Well this sucks cause you had agreed to this and now I am going to be expected to either pay more to continue or go find another newbie willing to take me on. I sure wish you'd made this clear as a risk when we started out cause I might have looked around for someone whose long term plan accommodated a flex care option'.

The reality is in this scenario you are both right ... the provider has every right to change her business plan to suit her needs as her business grows and changes cause if she does not keep herself viable you are out of childcare either way if she has to close but as a client you have a right to feel used cause it should have been made clear at the onset of your arrangement that 'flex care' is not an ideal arrangement for her business plan and can only be accommodated when there is no demand for a consistent full time client so that you knew heading IN that this might be a short term arrangement before you would be expected to pony up for a more consistent income OR forfeit your space!