Originally Posted by Mommy2One:
As a parent, I wouldn't appreciate this kind of tactic. I would feel like I was being played games with and I would hate to waste my time (and the potential providers) with an interview only to learn that her rates were outside our budget. I've seen full-time rates for a 3 year old as low as $75/week for recently established home care and as high as $200/week for preschool-style centers so my "norm for the area" and the provider's could be very different.
Unless I was very impressed from our emails/calls/recommendations I probably wouldn't schedule an interview with someone who refused to give me a ballpark estimate (or answer other reasonable questions).
A compromise may be to give a rate range with a note that it depends on age, number of hours, needs of the child, etc. so parents know whether you're close to the same page.
See I can't give a "ballpark estimate" because I charge hourly. What gets me though is when parents get that first childcare bill or the first bill where there is no holidays/long month and then question me why their bill is so high. Well this is the number of hours your child was here x my rate and you get the total. Believe you me, not many take advantage of me because of this. THey drop off and pick up pretty quick after work.
My rate is under $3.00 an hour also.