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smurfette
05-01-2014, 01:00 AM
Had an enquiry this week for someone who wants full time care .. I don't have a full space available At the moment .. I have mon and thurs with a poss of tues / wed June time.. I have told them also I could do fri until may but plan on not working fris after that

They rang me back today to arrange a visit tomorrow , which I was surprised at as I don't have the hours they want it's a bit haphazard . Anyways just seen now they put up an ad looking for child care this evening (talked to me this afternoon) ., I am not really sure what to do now , presumably they have family help if they thought what I offered could work but I am not keen on interrupting our last family day before kids back at school and us back at work (taking decorations down too bleugh so got a lot on) if they are gonna up and run or are just 'checking me out ' and I can't offer what they are wanting. Not desperate to fill my space Til April when another one leaves and it will be more straight forward, though obv extra money good but it's a lot of work settling a little one in to be just a stop gap

Am I being silly or what would you do?!

Kiddleywinks
05-01-2014, 08:02 AM
If you've thought better of it, and the hours don't suit, then I'd let them know you've slept on it, explain you aren't able to offer the hours they want and it would unsettle their LO to have to swap and change, and walk away

If you've agreed to them coming round, they could well be just checking things out - we do tell parents to do this so they can make informed decisions ;) I would probably let them come, but on an 'WYSIWYG chaotic day before normality resumes' but again explain unsettled children make unhappy children and they wouldn't offend you by going elsewhere more suited to their needs.

Mummits
05-01-2014, 08:57 AM
I'm in a similar position in that I had somebody contact me a few days ago looking for full time, I said I only had one full day, one morning and a couple of afternoons and they said that might be okay, can we come round. Now I've said yes (some would say I should learn to say no!) and made a date for tomorrow.

But I've had other children in the past whose parents just liked it here and were willing to pull out all the stops to make it work, even though I couldn't offer the times they wanted. I only do term time now and I still have families who cover the holidays using friends and family, or who wanted three days but accepted two plus one at nursery.

So I would say see them and be open to discussing their options in a broad sense - talk about whether they have any family who might do a day or if they might consider two minders or a childminder and a nursery for example. I think sometimes we hesitate to mention other providers in case we lose the business, but if you don't have what people want, I think you lose business by not considering other options. I've also in the past offered ad hoc care to bridge a gap and give parents time to look for something more permanent, and then sometimes it ends up being permanent (and even if it doesn't, it's still a little extra).

At the moment, I am also not especially bothered if I fill my space, and I think for me that makes me more relaxed, and perversely parents more likely to want the space, or maybe it's being really full up and struggling to fit them in makes them think it must be really worth having!

Enough of my rambling on. Good luck if you go for it!

smurfette
05-01-2014, 05:54 PM
Thanks for replies all .. They didn't turn up! Should have known .. In hindsight I should have called them this am once I saw the ad and talked to them about their plans .. Apparently he was sick and she was meant to cancel but forgot ., sounds more like they were just hedging their bets .. Both apologetic but I am cross I spent the afternoon cleaning and sorting in preparation and missed making fairy cakes with my girls and going for a swim before the pool shut... Grrr. I asked her why she wanted to cancel and I had seen her ad she said they were in a panic as she is due back to work in four weeks and hasn't sorted anything! She said they had had some replies re full time care so I said she was better off doing that than settling the baby with me and moving her when she got full time .. Some
People!!!!