So Tired Of Wishy-Washy Potential Clients

[momofboys]

Within the past week I have had two parents contact me about childcare. All I really want is one more client to make me happy. Easier said than done. I have one family in my care that comes PT but pays me more than normal b/c they are very happy to be with me but one more would really help us out. Client one had e-mailed with me several times & her DS would have been perfect I think, same age as my son & another boy in my care. Mom had set up one interview then cancelled the morning of b/c her son was sick (at least she cancelled I figured that was good). Then we set up itnerview #2 & guess who never showed up?! I e-mailed her to verify she was okay:: & she replied that she & her son were sleeping in that day with colds & she totally forgot:confused:. Said she would contact me in a few days when they were better. Obviously she never contacted me again.

Client 2 needs care B & A school for her DD. Seems like a mom with her head on right & we e-mail back & forth a lot. She finally says she wants to come meet us. I e-mail back & there is no response for 2 days so I am guessing she has decided against us. Why can;t people be polite? Why can't they just say - sorry we picked someone else or I don't think your situation is best for us? Obviously I am better off without clients like this but it's so frustrating especially in this economy when it is rare to get too many calls (small town) & I have had 2 in the last week.

[cheerfuldom]

it could be anything....it could even be new providers fishing for info....

[momofboys]

it could be anything....it could even be new providers fishing for info....

I guess it's possible although the ad they contacted me through would have provided all the necessary info, including rates.

[countrymom]

you will always get people like this. Drives me crazy. But look at it in the long run, if they are pulling these stunts now, then what would happen when you took them on as a client. PITA parents avoided.

[momofboys]

I get on here to vent & then BAM - one of them e-mails me. The thing is I am more than borderline upset w/both of them that I no longer know how to reply. A little background - the one mom & I e-mailed mostly on Th/Fri of this past weekend (the 12th- 13th). We had e-mailed back & forth 2-3x & then I mentioned some times they could come to meet us (one of them being this afternoon since I am officially closed for MLK - home w/my kids). Well since she never responded for over 2 days I figured she didn't want to come over. Then this morning she e-mails me at 11:00 am asking if she can still come this afternoon. REALLY? Is it just me, am I hormonal (close to that time of the month) or is it a little rude to wait 2 1/2 days & then e-mail back & ask if it is okay to come over within 2-3 hrs of the e-mail? My house is not interview-ready. And TBH I don't want to now muck up my day with my kids to get my home "ready". IS it best to just e-mail her back & say, sorry I thought you didn't want to interview & my plans have changed for the day. I want to be nice but if she can't communicate well now before the interview what will it be like if I take her one as a client? Thoughts!

[Mary Poppins]

I get on here to vent & then BAM - one of them e-mails me. The thing is I am more than borderline upset w/both of them that I no longer know how to reply. A little background - the one mom & I e-mailed mostly on Th/Fri of this past weekend (the 12th- 13th). We had e-mailed back & forth 2-3x & then I mentioned some times they could come to meet us (one of them being this afternoon since I am officially closed for MLK - home w/my kids). Well since she never responded for over 2 days I figured she didn't want to come over. Then this morning she e-mails me at 11:00 am asking if she can still come this afternoon. REALLY? Is it just me, am I hormonal (close to that time of the month) or is it a little rude to wait 2 1/2 days & then e-mail back & ask if it is okay to come over within 2-3 hrs of the e-mail? My house is not interview-ready. And TBH I don't want to now muck up my day with my kids to get my home "ready". IS it best to just e-mail her back & say, sorry I thought you didn't want to interview & my plans have changed for the day. I want to be nice but if she can't communicate well now before the interview what will it be like if I take her one as a client? Thoughts!

Urghhhh. WTH is wrong with people??

I would just tell her "sorry, I already made plans for today. I will check my schedule and get back to you with another day that works for me."

Then I would decide if I was going to do to her what she did to you (not email back or email and request a 2 hour window to see how she likes it).

[momofboys]

Urghhhh. WTH is wrong with people??

I would just tell her "sorry, I already made plans for today. I will check my schedule and get back to you with another day that works for me."

Then I would decide if I was going to do to her what she did to you (not email back or email and request a 2 hour window to see how she likes it).

Thanks for giving me some confidence. I will e-mail her back & politely decline the interview on such short notice.

[Blackcat31]

I would e-mail her back and say;

"Since I did not hear back from you confirming your wish to schedule and interview, I assumed you were no longer interested in my services. However, I would be more than willing to schedule on on ______ if that time/date works for you.

Please be aware that good communication is a foundation for good business practice and if I do not hear back from you confirming this time and day, I will fill the spaces with other interviewing clients."

[beachgrl]

Wow, i agree with the others and wish I had done that with a similar situation, which indidnt have yo in the end bc the parent was flakey anyway and didnt follow through but I have dealt with this tyoe of thing more times than I car eto count.

Had a parent call seemed very eager and wanted to come by shortly, to which i asked them to clarify when because i would soon be putting the kids down for nap. They csme a few min later, didnt stay long just enough to look at the setup, ask? And seemed very nice...even told me she would let me know what they decided either way as they were lookng around at different options. Figured i had a good shot w them since their schedule is outside of the regular care hrs for the larger center and they were wanting something smaller and more one on one..had two kids so that family would have put me at full enrollment and that was a week ago butmhavent heard a thing either way, idk why people even bother saying that if they dont intend to actually do it!

Then I got a call from another dcm with two kids who sounded like she would go with me if she could, takes the bus to work, gettingnready to start school and needs to get a car befire she can put them in care..her family is helping out now and she hopes mid feb to be situated so i guess thats a possibility..then another called and asked ? And said she would let me know, was for an infant but nothing. I know people shopnaround as they should and i would, but id let the people know i wasnt goingnw them..especially if i went to a visit with them or told them specifically i would.

Peoples common respecr and decency is virtually non existant these days

[Ariana]

you will always get people like this. Drives me crazy. But look at it in the long run, if they are pulling these stunts now, then what would happen when you took them on as a client. PITA parents avoided.

Totally agree with this! I had a wishy washy woman contact me before Christmas and was just taking her sweet time getting back to me etc. Finally one day when I hadn't heard from her in a while she contacts me and I told her I gave the space to another family since I hadn't heard from her (it was a lie). Well she apologized and made a million excuses and all I could think was "I have a busy life too you moron!!". Anyway a few weeks later she's complaining on an online FB group for moms in my community about how she can't find good quality childcare etc etc. I was SOOOOO glad I trusted my instincts with this one

Just last week I had a woman call looking for care for September. She left a message and told me "my childcare provider informed me she's closing in September" and this statement was dripping with sarcasm, I could picture her rolling her eyes as she said it. Anyway she didn't even leave me her name. I called her cellphone, left a message and told her the best way to contact me is through e-mail and left my email addy. She calls me back but I was gone. I called her cell again, no answer so I didn't leave a message. I'm not going to play phone tag!! If she wants a space she better e-mail me because i'm done contacting her. Who doesn't pick up their cell phone?!!

[countrymom]

phone tag, is another sign of disrespect. Seriously, some people think that we have nothing else to do but sit and wait for their phone calls.

[Unregistered]

I think I would have responded with: I'm sorry but as I did not hear back from you, I went ahead and scheduled other interviews for the day. Today is pretty booked with interviews, so this afternoon will not be an option. If there is still as space open by then end of the day, then I will contact you to see about setting up an alternate interview time.