I’ve had a good routine going with how I screen clients prior to having a home visit.
I found years ago, that I was wasting so much time bringing them in for a visit and then finding out they were trying to bargain with me on policy or contract issues, or hours or fees etc, so I stopped allowing everyone through my door without prescreening.
I refer to my website and ask them to contact me after that for a phone interview. I ask about 15 questions about their child’s development/health etc and clarify hours needed etc. This has really helped me weed out clients that just wouldn’t be suitable for the group( it gives me a sense of the parents and the kids)
I’ve always found this to be a successful method instead of interviewing the whole world.
Lately I’ve found people are refusing to do the phone interviews, and pushing for a tour immediately. I’m not bending on these rules, but it makes me wonder why you wouldn’t agree to speak to a provider before the in house interviews?
My husband guessed that they could be people with something to hide, or people assuming they could just bargain my policies once through the door. I have had people lie in the past about true intentions, and just come to scope out my setup and contract and then go open their own daycare.
Any ideas as to why they wouldn’t want to speak on the phone( assuming language barrier is not the issue)?