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  1. #1

    Provider backing out on agreement and changing her hours

    I am bit annoyed by the current situation with my daycare provider deciding to switch her hours. I found her on this website 6months ago and her posted hours of service were 7:30-5:30 pm which is pretty standard I think. One concern I had about this provider when we met her was that this was her first time running a daycare. She has 2 little kids of her own so she wanted to stay home. She has her ECE and has worked as a teacher but IMO running a daycare is something different. Anyways, turned out that my husband knew her from before through some friends, her Ad description sounded very appealing and the place was nice so we went with her. We explained very clearly that we have long commutes so our pick up times would be 5:30-6pm. She agreed. We started in January and I have to say I was pretty good at picking my son up, I was usually there no later than 5:15 and sometimes even earlier if I could. A month ago or so she asked me if I could manage my work hours to pick up my son by 4:45 pm during the summer as she wanted to take her older son to soccer. Of course I could not accommodate. I can get off earlier sometimes but it is not something that I can do on a regular basis. She was obviously upset but really I could not do it. At that time I was already pregnant with my second one, early stages but showing a big belly. My pregnancy was quite obvious but I did not officially told her because really I don't have to, I was still in my first 15 weeks and nothing was changing for her. Well, I guess she saw her big chance of getting out of the agreement assuming that a) I would pull out my son from daycare when baby 2 arrived or b) my hours would change or c) maybe will switch to part-time, which none of these options were in my plans. When she finally asked about what my plans were and I said that nothing would be changing in September when baby is due, she was visibly surprised and noticeably disappointed, which caught me off-guard as I thought this would be the ideal situation for any other provider. Then truth came out as she said she was sure that I would pull him out and if not she would have to think about it because she had been advertising already a spot (not my kid's but another one) and has received a lot of responses and these people are teachers, so it means shorter hours for her, and everyday she has to stay at least half an hour extra because of my son, and her boy cannot go to baseball this summer, and bla bla bla. Well, it was pretty obvious that she was unhappy so I just simply replied to her to let me know and I would find another place for my kid. This was a Friday so on the Monday she apologized for the way she approached the conversation (completely lack of tact for sure) and said she hoped we could work something out. We did not, she wants the shorter hours and I cannot do it for several reasons that I explained to her. So basically she is backing out on her agreement, and we are now looking for another provider. Nothing we can do except move on but I wanted to share my experience, for those parents looking at home day cares. Really insist and outline the kind of hours you will have and if there is a likelihood of changing, particularly with inexperienced providers. They figure that because they like children,have an ECE and want to stay home, opening a daycare is a great idea but underestimate the amount of work and responsibility it is. I realize that not everybody is like that thankfully.

  2. #2
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    I understand that this situation is frustrating to you considering you now have to look for a new provider and that's not easy. It doesn't sound like your provider was very professional about how she approached this situation, however I don't understand why you didn't just announce your pregnancy and share your plans for your mat leave in the first place. Sounds to me like this is just miscommunication or bad communication and both parties are at fault. If your provider wants new hours she is completely within her rights to give you the opportunity to adjust your hours accordingly or otherwise terminate her agreement. I know it sucks for you in the end, but she is doing what is best for her and her family.

  3. #3
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    Yes I agree. Why not just be open and honest with her and tell her your plans when you go on mat leave. We can't read minds. Parents expect us to be open and honest with our plans but don't want to give that courtesy back it seems. I agree your provider didn't act in the most professional manner but why not give her a heads up with your plans so she isn't left hanging? This is her livelihood and if she thinks she will have to fill a spot of course she will start advertising, just be open and up front with your intensions.

    Also our families come first before our jobs (most people anyways and we are no different). If she decides that her current work hours don't work for her family she has every right to change them.

  4. #4
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    While I appreciate your frustration, I can't really blame her for her feelings or thoughts regarding your pregnancy, that said I do not agree with the way she did things or her assumption.

    What I would do is simply say that my child had soccer, and we needed to leave by such and such a time, then offering for you to meet us at the soccer field; or offering an increased rate (with plenty of notice) to compensate for someone coming to take care of my little ones until close.

    I agree with mickyc why not tell her that you were not planning on leaving her care? (Maybe she would have come up with a plan B had she known this)

    I too, put my family first in this business, and while it totally sucks looking for someone new, she may just be doing what's best for her with no prejudice at all.
    Last edited by dodge__driver11; 05-22-2014 at 01:40 PM.

  5. #5
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    I agree with the others. I TOTALLY understand that it would be frustrating for you because not very often can we (everyone, not just dcp's) just up and change our hours. However, this is her business and she has every right to make changes to it that will benefit her and her family. It is no different than any other business deciding to change their hours to better suit them and their business.

    I agree with you that it doesn't sound like she handled the initial conversation very well but she has apologized and there is nothing more that can be done about that. I can understand your dcp thinking you would be leaving (as most parents do tend to leave for mat leave) but you and her should have discussed this. Either way, it sounds like she would have been switching her hours so you would have been looking for another dc anyways.

    Again, I completely understand your frustrations but please remember that this is her business and just like you will do anything that benefits your family, so will she. I don't think this has anything to do with her being a new hdcp and inexperienced though. I do think that she shouldn't have taken you on in the first place though because your pick up times were already passed her closing time. That was a poor decision on her part and also yours. Live and learn though, mistakes will be made but as business owners, we have every right to change our hours as needed. I have always given plenty of notice when I have needed to do this and I suspect most others would as well. Good luck on your search for another dcp Everything happens for a reason and there will be a dc out there that better suits your needs!

  6. #6
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    I agree ....if the OP was visibly pregnant then she should have said "I am expecting in xxxx but my intention is to leave johnny in care full time for the duration of my maternity leave" then the provider is not left wondering what is going to happen, especially if getting a replacement is going to be hard. sometimes the phone never stops ringing and sometimes it takes forever to get a call....it seems to go in waves and perhaps the provider was being proactive and if she already had a spot coming available then of course she would be advertising. I disagree with 5 LM and I do believe this was because she is new quite often when a provider just starts up the first year is a learning curve....perhaps she never thought of the implications of closing at 530 and has now realized that it really impedes on her family time...how ever I do agree with 5LM and she shouldn't have taken you in the first place because your pick up time exceeded her operating hours again part of the learning curve ..I know when I started I was open from 645 to 530 ....never really thought of how long a day this would be till I was running after several toddlers all day.....so when a family left that was my latest pick up I would move my closing time to the next latest pick up and I kept doing so till I got to my desired closing time of 430....any new families that I accepted into my daycare had to fall within the new hours .....so I can understand the provider asking if you can adjust your pick up time ....and for some it is doable ...I have several families where one parent drops off and the other parent picks up and that way both parents can still get their hours in and the children aren't in care so long. once you are on mat leave why wouldn't you be able to pick up earlier? I truly understand your frustration because now you will have to source out and transition your son into new care again however I get her point of view too and if she is new to the daycare world im guessing she never realized how much daycare impacts family life......
    Last edited by Crayola kiddies; 05-22-2014 at 01:25 PM.

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  8. #7
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    Yeah, we kinda like to know about the pregnancies as early as possible so we can figure out a plan of action. If the space is coming up for grabs, it's nice to know several months in advance, so we can advertise and take our time filling it.

    However, changing the hours....not cool! This is a business! If one wishes to be treated and viewed as a professional, then one probably should behave as such. I had my kids in soccer and piano and tutors and.....you get the idea. Single parent running a daycare 6am-6pm and I managed to do it because, in my own situation, there was no choice in the matter. We had to eat. If that league or sport didn't offer reasonable hours, then look into something else. There would be the odd occasion that I had parents pick up early (graduations and prom being the only ones I recall). I took those kids to doctors appointments, track and field meets, the accountant, teacher meetings (with parent blessings of course) for years because, being in business, it's just what I had to do. I've never changed my hours and never, ever backed out on an agreement with a client. It's a business and as with any business, it often has to take a front seat. Although, after 14 years in the biz, I'm now toying with the idea of shaving my hours back a little (6:30-5:30)....once my last early drop family's contract is up in a couple years. Until just a couple weeks ago when my last late pick up left my care, I've always worked right till 6pm. I've been off by 5:15 since....it's GLORIOUS!!!!!

  9. #8
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    I understand your point crayola kiddies. The reason I said I didn't think it was due to an inexperienced provider is because I think changing hours is something that many providers do regardless of how long they have been open. This is something that any business encounters IMO not just hdc's. Hours open will change due to the hdcp's family needs as well as the dcparents need. When we have no parents needing late pickup's, it would naturally make sense to shorten our day for example.

    I think the provider likely thought this family was leaving and was going to take the opportunity to shorten her workday while she could. When it turned out that the family wasn't leaving, she decided to shorten her day anyways. The grass looked greener with the teachers and who wouldn't take the chance to be done earlier if they could. It may not have been professional on her part by the way she handled the situation but we're not perfect and mistakes happen.
    Last edited by 5 Little Monkeys; 05-22-2014 at 03:00 PM.

  10. #9
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    Sometimes when a new caregiver starts her business she takes clients just to get going and finds out she is in over her head and must make changes. Personally, I would not interview anyone who needed a pickup time after about 4:45 but that's because my entire group is gone usually by that time. There is a learning curve to this job and this new caregiver is just at the beginning of it. When she finds out things won't work for her she is going to have to make changes.

    Sorry that this happened to you, but not every family is a match for every caregiver and that's why families must due their best to find their best fit. We must find our best fit for our daycares.
    Frederick Douglass
    It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.

  11. #10
    Hello Cassita

    I hope that the stress from your unfortunate situation will be eased especially with the pregnancy.
    It is of utmost importance in finding the right connection between a family and caregiver that will surpass the basics of scheduling. There is no reason why accommodations could not have been made to help with your agreed upon operating hours. I myself am a relatively new IPC
    working with two families providing semi-private care, personally, my feeling is that honoring the contract is crucial in the success of her business. Maybe your provider could have asked her husband to come home early on soccer nights to help with the scheduling.

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