Contract Hand-outs..........

[daycaremom76]

Ok because of a comment I made on another thread and a reply got me thinking...........
When you have a new parent interview and they ask for a copy of your contract do you just give it to them???

The reason I ask is because I had someone interview a few weeks ago but she made me feel more like she was scoping me out. She was a 'new mom' but had way to detailed questions for a new Mom. She was in and out in 30 minutes and asked for a copy of my contract and my references. I gave her 3 parents that I knew would report back to me and all three said she never called!

[Blackcat31]

I go through ALL paperwork during the interview. I cover things pretty well. Once I decide I want to enroll them if they are interested, then I give them all the paperwork to fill out and return.

I never give out my contract BEFORE enrolling a family. I am thinking of putting my contract/handbook on my web site but we'll see.

[MarinaVanessa]

I have all of my stuff on my website for new and current clients to download. I have a section on the enrollment portion of my site that has all of the forms that I put in my Parent Packet for them to read and/or print otherwise I just email it all to them. I don't hand out printed versions of my Parent Packets to prospective clients only because that's a lot of paper and printing when you include my 18 page (front and back) handbook especially when you never know whether or not they are really serious about signing up.

PS: I ALWAYS give out my references and I think only 1 maybe 2 of the family's have ever actually called them. They also get my license number so that they can call licensing to check my file but I doubt they do that either .

[daycaremom76]

I have that mindset when I go into the interview but then sometimes the family seems distracted and will ask to take it home to look at it. Before it was just annoying cause that's wasted print and paper but I didn't start thinking about it until the other day when that lady was here. I've heard about other providers scoping providers out for compitition but never felt it's happened to me until the other day. I think I might rethink handing paperwork out unless they have given a deposit first.

[MarinaVanessa]

I have that mindset when I go into the interview but then sometimes the family seems distracted and will ask to take it home to look at it. Before it was just annoying cause that's wasted print and paper but I didn't start thinking about it until the other day when that lady was here. I've heard about other providers scoping providers out for compitition but never felt it's happened to me until the other day. I think I might rethink handing paperwork out unless they have given a deposit first.

As a parent the only issue I would have with this is that I wouldn't want to leave a deposit (especially if it's non-refundable) if I didn't read the contract and policies first. I'd want to know what I was getting into first before I made my decision KWIM?

What you can do is add a copyright to all of your paperwork as a reminder that it's YOUR stuff. If another provider calls or visits to scope you out and you give her your paperwork at least she can think twice about using it for her own purposes (as in stealing your words). I had this happen with my website once when a new provider thought it would be ok to copy and paste my content practically word for word and paste it onto her website . I printed my website and her website and highlighted all of the parts that she copied (she only changed the parts like her name, address, training and used her own pictures) and was about to send her a cease to desist letter. My provider friend that gave me the heads up about it asked me to hold off on it and called the provider to warn her and within a few hours her website was down. A few days later it was back up again but you could tell she wrote it herself this time.

So ... plagerism does happen but I personally wouldn't care if someone used parts of my contract or handbook as long as they didn't copy the entire thing word for word. My website is another story ... a lot of hours goes into that thing weekly and I'll mama bear all over you if you copy that ::.

[Abigail]

I do TWO interviews now. I've only done about 15 interviews over the last year since I opened, but the first 10 were all like 7/10 not interested because I was horrible with interviews and just opened. Then once I got more experience with 3-4 kids in my daycare and a few more tours then I learned what works best and what I am comfortable working with.

This is what I do........
1. I typically get phone calls or emails asking, but 90% of the time when I'm looking to fill a spot I post online and then they contact via email. I ask a few simple questions and based off their answers I know if I want them to come over for a tour. (ages of child, days and hours needed, if they have attended daycare before, and the rate I charge for all that). If we agree to those terms then we'll exchange phone numbers and I will call to schedule a tour later in the week. If I end up getting a call it's usually when I'm not filling a spot and they're moms who found me over licensing or a friend, but once again I don't advertise with a phone number just because I like the email to be our first conversation.

2. They come for a first tour. I mention on the phone call that I look forward to meeting their family.....this is a hint to bring child and dad or mom so both parents if possible can meet me. I tell them a tour takes about 30 minutes. I start out greeting them. Then they get a tour. Then we go back to the first main play room and I sit and interact some with their child and continue to talk to the parents. I make sure to ask them at least twice if they have any questions and just try to keep the conversation open so it's not awkward.

I SHOW THEM the handbook for additional details and SHOW THEM the contract if they're still interested. I tell them I don't typically send home paperwork unless they're really interested and let them know if they have other places to tour or wanted time to talk about it that I would love to have them come back for a second tour that it's not a problem at all. This makes them feel welcomed and I let them know many people do come back a second time so they might come with more questions and want to have their child play with me again.

90% of the time I don't send anything home with them except make sure they have my number. I always send out an email the next day thanking them for their time and asking if they had any questions for me or would like to setup a time to visit again in the near future. The one time I did give my paperwork to take home was when a family told me right on the spot they want to sign up because they were impressed or whatever reason, but they didn't stay long, only a few months. Another family I have called me within 20 minutes of leaving asking when they can pickup enrollment papers and they're still here and one of my best famillies. They came back the next day I said I would have it ready for them. Another one of my families came back a week later after a follow up email they sent before I even got to thank them for their visit and came back with the spouse and had about 10 more detailed questions and signed up while they were here for their second time and they also have been here all year! After awhile you just know whether it's okay to send papers home. Feel free to tell people on the phone you will do a tour and if they're interested they can come back for a second tour and to get a copy of papers.

Sorry long explanation, but it works great for me! It was just hard the first 3 times I think telling people no for taking paperwork home. After that I learned that doing emails instead of phone calls first works best for me. Then I always make sure to CALL instead of email my address and directions so I can hear their voice and see how "nice" they are on the phone. If they email saying they have my address and will see me on such and such date, that is fine, but I still ask for a phone number and let them know I typically call the day before the tour to make sure we're still scheduled. GOOD LUCK

BTW: I've Spent Endless Hours over the last 2-3 years preparing my handbook and contract so I will NEVER email it to someone or put it online. I'm not taking chances and I get families who are here to stay. I don't want to provide care for 100 kids throughout the year, just 12.