Would You Give A Second Chance?

[Mary Poppins]

I am not sure what to do! I have two ft spots open for summer care and I really want to fill them with SAers because right now I have a 10mo, a 1yo, an 18mo and a 6yo who really could use some "buddies" here his own age.

I got a call Friday morning from a lady with a 5yo and 8yo who need ft care for the summer. The phone interview went well and we scheduled an interview for Saturday at 4pm (I know, I know !) but then she never showed.

At 9pm she called (I didn't answer it but she left a message) and profusely apologized and asked me to call her at my earliest convenience. Grrrr!!!!

So now I am not sure if I should call her and reschedule, call her and tell her no thanks because the no-show thing is a huge red flag, just not call her at all... :confused:

What complicates this is during the phone interview I learned that one of my dcd's works with her dh so I am leery about not giving her a second chance because of how it may look to my current dcf.

Plus, what if she really isn't a flake and these kids are exactly what I am looking for??

WWYD??

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!!

[Former Teacher]

I am not sure what to do! I have two ft spots open for summer care and I really want to fill them with SAers because right now I have a 10mo, a 1yo, an 18mo and a 6yo who really could use some "buddies" here his own age.

I got a call Friday morning from a lady with a 5yo and 8yo who need ft care for the summer. The phone interview went well and we scheduled an interview for Saturday at 4pm (I know, I know !) but then she never showed.

At 9pm she called (I didn't answer it but she left a message) and profusely apologized and asked me to call her at my earliest convenience. Grrrr!!!!

So now I am not sure if I should call her and reschedule, call her and tell her no thanks because the no-show thing is a huge red flag, just not call her at all... :confused:

What complicates this is during the phone interview I learned that one of my dcd's works with her dh so I am leery about not giving her a second chance because of how it may look to my current dcf.

Plus, what if she really isn't a flake and these kids are exactly what I am looking for??

WWYD??

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!!

Hmmm I have many different ideas however this is what I would do:

Give her a second chance (only because of where she works, you dont want to look unprofessional). However tell her that she MUST call 30 mins or longer before the scheduled interview to confirm. If she does not call, she will forfeit the spot. You will not be the one calling to confirm, she must.

She snoozes this time, she loses.

[Kym2098]

I think I would give her a 2nd chance too, same reason as above. But if she cancels or doesn't show again she forfeits the spot!

Good luck!

[EchoMom]

I would give a second chance. Everyone makes legit mistakes sometimes and you don't really know what came up or distracted her or why she forgot. Especially if these are the kids you want, try again.

[Mary Poppins]

Thanks for the input everyone! I think I will give her a second chance. She seems really nice over the phone and she did sound truly sorry. Plus her kids would be the perfect ages and we could do some fun field trips and stuff with them this summer.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this works out!!!

[Willow]

I would call her back and let her know she's certainly free to reschedule the interview but that you had already interviewed someone else and were waiting to hear back from them if they're going to take the spot.

If she's serious about bringing her kids there she'll jump at the opportunity to visit with you and you'll be able to evaluate things more closely then. If they seem great and it was just a blip let her know the other hypothetical family decided to keep their kiddo with grandma and if she wants the spots they're hers.

If things are wonky with her or the kids you can simply say the other family snagged the spots.


I would not take them just by default because her husband works with dcd.

[Mary Poppins]

I would call her back and let her know she's certainly free to reschedule the interview but that you had already interviewed someone else and were waiting to hear back from them if they're going to take the spot.

If she's serious about bringing her kids there she'll jump at the opportunity to visit with you and you'll be able to evaluate things more closely then. If they seem great and it was just a blip let her know the other hypothetical family decided to keep their kiddo with grandma and if she wants the spots they're hers.

If things are wonky with her or the kids you can simply say the other family snagged the spots.


I would not take them just by default because her husband works with dcd.

Thank you for the advice but I am not keen on being lied to so I won't lie to a potential client like that.

I plan to call her tomorrow morning and tell her that I was disappointed that she didn't show up for our scheduled meeting and that in my experience this is a big red flag but that because she called later to apologize I am willing to reschedule. If she doesn't show a second time then she goes on my "no show" list (yep I have one I keep on my phone in case they call again later -- which one has -- ) which means I won't waste my time ever again with her.

[Former Teacher]

Thank you for the advice but I am not keen on being lied to so I won't lie to a potential client like that.

I plan to call her tomorrow morning and tell her that I was disappointed that she didn't show up for our scheduled meeting and that in my experience this is a big red flag but that because she called later to apologize I am willing to reschedule. If she doesn't show a second time then she goes on my "no show" list (yep I have one I keep on my phone in case they call again later -- which one has -- ) which means I won't waste my time ever again with her.

[AnneCordelia]

Just because you interview her doesn't mean you have to give her the spots. I would interview and look for other red flags but if she seems nice then she just might be.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Just because you interview her doesn't mean you have to give her the spots. I would interview and look for other red flags but if she seems nice then she just might be.

I don't typically give second chances anymore, but this is good advice.