Daycare.com Forum - View Single Post - What Would Your Response Be?

Originally Posted by MarinaVanessa:
Based on how I run my daycare and how I charge (4 or 5 days per week is a flat full-time rate no matter how many hours a client needs each day) my response would be:

"Dear Family,

Thank you for following up and for your interest in my daycare. At this time it is apparent that your needs and the way that I run my program are not a good fit. My contract and policies are created to reflect the way that is best for me to run my business and unfortunately are non-negotiable. It is important to me that all clients that sign a contract agree and abide by all of the policies and stipulations in order to ensure a goodness of fit and a positive partnership. If you have reservations about any of the policies then I encourage you to find alternate child care arrangements that are better suited for your family's needs.

I wish you the best of luck in your child care search and decision and hope that if in the future your child care needs change that you may keep my daycare in mind.

Thank You
Child Care Provider"

Here are a few red flags that popped up for me:
She mentions that there is another provider that she is interviewing with. One main reason that people do this (not always) is so that you know you have competition. In other words, she may be thinking that if you don't change what she doesn't like then she won't be choosing you. SO you either change the way you do things or pass this one up. I'd pass.

She asks you for the names of everyone living in your household. If you are required to get background checks on the adults I would offer to show them the clearances. If you are not required to do this then I'd only be willing to give out the names of adults living in my household but not of any minors even if they were 17. The fact that she is asking you so that she can do background checks does not seem fishy to me at all however and actually I highly recommend it to anyone looking for childcare.

She is already telling you that there are financial concerns.

She is TELLING you that YOUR pay will reflect HER needs. She didn't even have the common courtesy to request, suggest or politely ask if this is a possibility. She did not try to negotiate, SHE TOLD YOU how it was going to be.

She says this "So aside from those points I agree with the majority of your contract. I hope we can come to some reasonable agreements regarding these details." So she just changed the entire way you charge, told you that she won't be paying for sick time, vacations or holidays, that she doesn't want to pay your rate for her SA son because she will be paying someone else to pick him up and she finishes up with how she hopes you can come to a reasonable agreement ... in other words everything in your contract that she just mentioned is unreasonable and she hopes that you will change it for her to suit her needs ... also other than ALL OF THAT she agrees to the MAJORITY of your contract, meaning there are still other issues and concerns that she has with other parts of your contract ...

Exactly what I was thinking as I read through! I think you've dodged a bullet. I hope another family comes along that will work well with your program. Good luck!