Daycare is a Cut Throat Business...

[gramma]

I went through the same thing once. I also had a woman on craigslist who continually copied the wording of my ads for her own. I take a great deal of time and thought to the wording of my ads and it frustrated me that she copied them exactly so it appeared like it was the same ad and i potentially lost out on responses. I sent her numerous emails nicely telling her how much i appreciated the compliment but she could take the time to write her own ads as it wasnt doing either of us any good. she didnt stop, so i changed my ad regularly and she finally gave up LOL. I did have someone who constantly took my mailbox signs down and its frustrating for sure. she must have alot of time on her hands to be doing it. just perservere and repost signs. as for the ones that cost you money, i'd probably sit and watch to see who comes to take it down. You can check out Vistaprint, you can order magnetic signs for your car and they are really inexpensive. good luck and hopefully the karma gods are watching.

Thanks for all the good vibes everyone

The signs were on city property, not on the private property of the mall. My flyers get ripped off as well in the past. Same vicinity as my lawn sign. The rest of the neighbourhood, my flyers go untouched. This is why I know it was the same competitor provider.

I "understand" why they did it, I just don't understand how they can sleep soundly at night. That kinda misdeed would lose me a months worth of sleep. I guess I just don't have that killthroat competition. If I saw another providers advertising, I would have gladly placed my sign far enough away as to not encroach on "her" space. KWIM?

I'm going to post my second vinyl sign on our front lawn. People would have to be pretty brazen to steal that sign off my property.

[playfelt]

It is getting very competitive and I am seeing things in the ads about all the perks people are offering to be more attractive. And of course the pricing which averages $40 a day in my area and today I saw an ad for $30 and I know she has been advertising to fill a space for a long time so yes it is just about desperation. Ripping ads off the mail box is common - atually what is most common is just taking the tear offs because it is easy to do. There is still the chance someone might have a pen and copy the info if the provider put it in the ad part and not just on the tearoff. Which explains why you post an add with tearoffs that are all gone but have gotten no calls.

The reality is in the grand scheme of things we all offer what parents need - a place to leave their child while they are at work. And yes programs do vary but to some parents not enough to matter and it comes down to price, incentives, etc.

[kidlove]

Is there anything you can do? If you are posting with permission or on public grounds can't you wait for her one day and catch her in the act? isn't that some sort of vandalism or disruction of property. If you think it's her, I would wait for her to take it then confront her as nicely as possible of course that's not fair for her to do to you, how would she feel if the tables were turned? or how about if you called her out of the blue and attempted to make friendly, letting her know you have a spot open and was wondering if she is full and gets inquiries if she wouldn't mind sending them your way and vice versa when you fill up, try and make a team effort out of it rather than harbor hard feelings, this is too kind hearted of a position we are in to think we could have enemies out there. good luck!

[sunnydays]

As Reggio said...I do believe that you need permission to post something on city property...I mean we are not even allowed to put things on the strip of lawn that belongs to the city that is on the edge of our property. While it could be a rival daycare provider and I wouldn't put it past her...it is also still very likely that it was a city worker who removed it as it is forbidden without some sort of permit or fee. Make sure you place the second one well within your property line....not too close to the street as there is a strip of ten feet or so that belongs to the city and they have the right to remove it.