When parents contact you MONTHS in advance

[Spixie33]

I just hope to pick some brains from the more experienced providers since you have probably come across this situation a time or two....

I operate my daycare under capacity by choice so technically I always have an opening but I choose not to fill it.

However....in September one of my dck starts full day /every day JK and won't be coming to me anymore so I was going to advertise her spot for the fall.

Then this week a parent contacts me that they have read my ad and details and would like to go on the waiting list but they do not need their dear child to start daycare until they turn 1 in December. These parents are asking to go on the waiting list for December and would like to proceed with me.

What would you do? Should I set up a meeting / interview within the next few weeks to see if we are compatible and make a formal agreement all the way to December or should I tell them to contact me again when December comes closer?

I am not in dire financial need to fill the spot in September so I really do not mind waiting until December if it is a good fit for my daycare. I just never had anyone contact me more than a few months in advance before and am not sure how to proceed. Mind blank. lol

[Sarah]

I would not garantee spot but would put them in waiting list with the promiss that IF spot not filled in december they're the ones you would call

Sarah

[sunnydays]

I just had someone contact me about September 2012...the second child isn't even born yet! I just told her to contact me again in the 6 months before she needs care and I'll see if I have spaces and we'll go from there.

[greenborodaycare]

I just had someone contact me about September 2012...the second child isn't even born yet! I just told her to contact me again in the 6 months before she needs care and I'll see if I have spaces and we'll go from there.

I had the same person contact me. I told her to wait at least till the baby was born! Sheesh...anxious much? lol

[fruitloop]

I charge a holding fee if a parents wants a spot that is further away than 1 month. For example...if I have a spot open now but they don't need care until say Sept. then they would pay me a $200/month holding fee to keep that spot open for them. If I didn't have a spot open until Sept. and they needed care in Dec. I would charge a holding fee from Sept. - their Dec. start date and they woukld also have to pay my Registration fee.

[mlc1982]

As of right now I charge a $150.00 per month holding fee that will be used towards first months fee. I may change it though so it is a non-refundable fee as that seems to be more of the norm.

[Sarah]

I have a question:

If for exemple you have a spot for june the 1st, but I would like you to hold it until august the first, so for 2 months. You would charge me 200$/month. But would that be refundable if I changed my mind? And would that money be only to hold the spot of would you apply it to my child care fees starting in august????

Please let me know how you proceed exactly

Thanks!

[fruitloop]

I have a question:

If for exemple you have a spot for june the 1st, but I would like you to hold it until august the first, so for 2 months. You would charge me 200$/month. But would that be refundable if I changed my mind? And would that money be only to hold the spot of would you apply it to my child care fees starting in august????

Please let me know how you proceed exactly

Thanks!

Yes, I would charge you $200/month to hold that spot for you and it is non-refundable and this money goes towards nothing but to hold the spot. It is to make up for lost wages...even though it is only about 1/4 of the wage. It is also protection for if you do change your mind...then I'm not totally out all the money I could of made with full fees from someone else. I don't hold spots for free...you want the spot...you have to pay for it.

[sunnydays]

I agree with what fruitloop does. It is also to avoid someone changing their mind at the last minute as Sarah suggested...then we are stuck with no income for months as well as no child to fill the space. If someone is willing to pay to hold the spot, it means they are probably pretty committed to the daycare.

[mom-in-alberta]

Seriously, December? Or Sept '12??? WOW. Unless wait lists are insanely long where you are, that seems..... excessive. Lol
Anyway, honestly I think it depends on what you are comfortable with, and can afford. I also run under capacity, for a couple reasons. It allows me to take in part timers, when and how often I want. It also means that in the summer, when my kids are home from school, I am not running an illegal operation!
However, if I knew that I needed to fill x-number of spots to maintain my income at a certain level, and we were dealing with one of those spots I would absolutely charge someone to "hold" a spot. It would be non-refundable, if they chose not to take the spot, tough. I would not apply it to fees in the future, because I could have filled that spot immediately and had my full income.
In this case, I would probably go ahead and interview. But let them know that I was NOT guaranteeing a space. I would call them if that spot had not filled by a specific date.
Then again, you said that you don't really NEED that income, so perhaps you can be a little more flexible if you get a good feeling from this family. Sometimes, we gotta bend the rules a little!