Is This Lady Serious?

I had a woman (who could barely speak English) ring my doorbell at 9:30 tonight & ask when I could start watching her 2 kids. Ummm, yeahhh...normally there's an interview process involved. Seriously?!? How completely strange. I gave her my business card & asked her to call me tomorrow. She said, "Are you thinking?" Thinking about what, lady?? Why you're on my porch at 9:30 p.m. asking me to watch 2 kids I've never met?? You bet!! I swear I felt like I was in The Twilight Zone...

[cheerfuldom]

Originally Posted by Daycarelady1979

I had a woman (who could barely speak English) ring my doorbell at 9:30 tonight & ask when I could start watching her 2 kids. Ummm, yeahhh...normally there's an interview process involved. Seriously?!? How completely strange. I gave her my business card & asked her to call me tomorrow. She said, "Are you thinking?" Thinking about what, lady?? Why you're on my porch at 9:30 p.m. asking me to watch 2 kids I've never met?? You bet!! I swear I felt like I was in The Twilight Zone...

oh my goodness! that is not cool at all. Let us know if she calls. how weird.

[littlemissmuffet]

I have had people come to my house with the same requests - it's usually folks from other countries who are not familiar with the daycare process.

Six years ago one of my regular moms came in and another woman came in right behind her...the dcm and I were chatting for a minute and the other lady didn't say anything so I assumed she was with the dcm...after a couple of minutes the dcm said "I think this lady wants to talk to you?"

I didn't realize that the woman wasn't with her! She then asked me if I could look after her little one the next day! Luckily, before I refused, she said she was neighbors to another family I had had at one time...LOL! I agreed to watch him and he has been one of THE best little guys I've ever had (after that first day when he did so well and she ended up with a full-time job, he came back full-time!) ...she's been one of the best moms I've had as well because she always pays on time, is on time to pick up, very considerate, etc.

Although I wouldn't be too quick to accept anyone who came to the door at that time of night and couldn't communicate too well with me...I'd definitely need to have an interview process and at least one visit to determine if we were a good match...

[DBug]

I had the same thing happen, although it was in the morning and not that late at night! They showed up, expecting me to take their 2.5yo daughter right away. Of course I didn't, but they did end up signing on. Their daughter was awesome, and once she learned english, she would translate b/n me and her parents. Dcg was with me until she started kindergarten 2 years ago.

They showed up a couple of months ago with their new little one, looking like they wanted to drop him off . We were on our way out for a walk, and I let them know I didn't have a spot for him at the moment. I do have a spot now, but as much as I loved their daughter, I'm not anxious to hit the language barrier again -- especially without dcg there to translate!

I don't even call my friends that late, let alone show up on someone's front porch! The porch light was off so I don't know what she was thinking... Anyway, she said something about government vouchers so I guess that means she's through the county. I don't have any county kids yet & I'm not 100% sure what to do if she does call. I got a letter in the mail saying they couldn't install the POS machine until I had a county child registered in my care. Looks like I'll have to call the ODJFS lady today & double check the procedure...just in case!

[CrayolaKids]

I've had someone from up street (whom I'd never met) show up at my house unannounced, but it was in the morning. She also wanted me to watch her kid that day because she had class and nobody to watch her. When I told her no, that I'd need them to come for an interview and fill out the paperwork and such she actually tried arguing with me thinking that would get me to accept her child that day. I was like, seriously?! Who DOES that?? This is also the parent that I had posted about before who showed up over 2 hours late to drop dcg off without any notification and I told her I was expecting her by 8:30 and next time she needs to at least notify me if they are going to be late. When she was late picking her up I told her there was a late fee and she blew up, telling me I was disrespectful towards her that morning and on and on. I think some people just don't really understand how these things are supposed to work, and no amount of guidance/handbook policies can change them.

[DaisyMamma]

That's really strange.
I wouldn't necessarily write her off, as rude as it was.
If she calls just schedule an interview. During the interview be sure to explain nicely that this is your home and she needs to respect your business hours. Seeing as she didn't speak English well, she may just not understand the normal procedure.