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~Chelle~
02-10-2009, 01:16 PM
Just been to my local soft play area. Havent been there for about a month or so. Anyway, I always show my ncma card to prove that I am a childminder, as you get half price discount per child. The girl behind the counter said that she didnt know what one was and that she had to check with the manager.

The manager came out as said that the half price discount for childminders has been withdrawn because of around 3 childminders who regularly abuse the half price discount by saying that their friends children were their mindees:eek:

She said that the final straw was that one childminder in particular would come in with up to 8 children at a time and two other adults and claim that all of these children were her mindees :angry:

I am so annoyed that because of a few selfish childminders I now have to pay full price, which by the way has just gone up to £4.00 per child:mad: Now if I were to take all 6 kids there it will cost me £24.00 instead of £12.00:angry:

She also said that complaints were being made from other people as the children were left to run riot and the adults would just sit and chat whilst having a coffee.:angry:

The other local soft play area is skanky, smells of wet dog and I refuse to let mindees and my kids play there.

I feel that they should have personally banned these childminders from attending, they have to take their names anyway, why should the rest of us suffer :mad:

Trouble
02-10-2009, 01:20 PM
why dont they just stop her discount:angry:

what a bag:angry:

i use the word skanky:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Pudding Girl
02-10-2009, 01:31 PM
Could you suggest that to them? It does seem very unfair. They will lose a lot of custom doing this as if it is fairly well used by CMs they will stop going.

emler
02-10-2009, 01:48 PM
Why do some people have to take advantage? :angry: I agree they should have banned these people instead of making everyone else suffer.

Mouse
02-10-2009, 01:50 PM
That is a shame.

Is it worth writing to the manager saying that you understand how annoying it must be for them when certain childminders are abusing their generosity, but would it not be possible to exclude those minders (though that might actually be difficult to do), or to give a limited discount, eg. limiting it to 3 children under school age and 3 over as this is the maximum most people are registered to mind?

pinklady
02-10-2009, 02:26 PM
Can you contact your local authority childminding team? They may fight for it on your behalf.

I would be gutted if they took the childminders discount away in our softplay. We get in for £2.50 per childminder on tuesdays and thursdays.

I really hope you manage to get something sorted, I hate it when people who follow the rules have to miss out because others are a law unto themselves :angry:

~Chelle~
02-10-2009, 02:49 PM
Thinks I might send them an email suggesting this.

It was like a ghost town in there today, there was about 8 kids in the whole place:eek:

I love the word skanky lol:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

huggableshelly
02-10-2009, 02:54 PM
wow ... I've never had a discount at my soft play but would be annoyed just as you are if I had it then it was taken away.

Definatly seeking more information to get it back again, good luck to you with it.

youarewhatyoueat
02-10-2009, 04:31 PM
That would have made me mad, they obviously went quite often, its cm's like that that gives us a bad name, people see them drinking coffee and not playing with the children and presume were all like that, I would ask your dw to say something at the next meeting.

~Chelle~
02-10-2009, 04:36 PM
wow ... I've never had a discount at my soft play but would be annoyed just as you are if I had it then it was taken away.

Definatly seeking more information to get it back again, good luck to you with it.

Ask your local soft play area, cos I didnt know that some offered it until I saw it in my local network newsletter x

ChocolateChip
02-10-2009, 10:56 PM
What a shame to lose that lovely discount. Our local soft play does discount but it's only £1 off per child, making it 3.50 not 4.50.
It's too bad they are making everyone pay for someone else's stupidity :angry:

helenlc
03-10-2009, 07:09 AM
I was also going to suggest asking the manager to re-instate it and put a limit on. Explain to him about the numbers you can have as a maximum and that the limit should be that ie 3 under 5 and 3 5-8.

Our local soft play does a reduced fee on a Wednesday - I helped negotiate that as they wanted to start up a toddler group so I said TGs wouldnt be more than £2 so its £2.10 a child. The TG idea of it hasnt taken off and people do just attend for the cheaper entrance, but soft play are quite happy with this as Wednesdays were their quietest day. Now there's at least 12 of us go. (I sat in there one Wednesday before it started and there was only me and 2 other parents!!)

mandy moo
03-10-2009, 08:43 AM
That is a shame.

Is it worth writing to the manager saying that you understand how annoying it must be for them when certain childminders are abusing their generosity, but would it not be possible to exclude those minders (though that might actually be difficult to do), or to give a limited discount, eg. limiting it to 3 children under school age and 3 over as this is the maximum most people are registered to mind?

Good idea, i thought that too, good idea by pink lady too.

I use the word Skanky too:laughing:

Helen Dempster
03-10-2009, 01:06 PM
Just been to my local soft play area. Havent been there for about a month or so. Anyway, I always show my ncma card to prove that I am a childminder, as you get half price discount per child. The girl behind the counter said that she didnt know what one was and that she had to check with the manager.

The manager came out as said that the half price discount for childminders has been withdrawn because of around 3 childminders who regularly abuse the half price discount by saying that their friends children were their mindees:eek:

She said that the final straw was that one childminder in particular would come in with up to 8 children at a time and two other adults and claim that all of these children were her mindees :angry:

I am so annoyed that because of a few selfish childminders I now have to pay full price, which by the way has just gone up to £4.00 per child:mad: Now if I were to take all 6 kids there it will cost me £24.00 instead of £12.00:angry:

She also said that complaints were being made from other people as the children were left to run riot and the adults would just sit and chat whilst having a coffee.:angry:

The other local soft play area is skanky, smells of wet dog and I refuse to let mindees and my kids play there.

I feel that they should have personally banned these childminders from attending, they have to take their names anyway, why should the rest of us suffer :mad:

whereabouts in Kent are you....??

CherryBlossom
03-10-2009, 06:07 PM
That is really not fair, so typical of other people to abuse the discount and then you suffer!

x

miffy
03-10-2009, 09:27 PM
Definitely worth a letter to the manager asking him to reconsider.

Very unfair that these childminders should spoil it for everyone else - they probably won't be going back there again anyway

Miffy xx