Starting a Waiting List.... question

[Indianadaycare]

Hi all,
I currently have no openings and I am just now starting a waiting list because I have a family that wants to place their child in my daycare due to a recommendation. We've never met (she visited my website/facebook page) and she got my name from a mutual friend, who is a preK teacher. Their child is one year old, and never been in daycare. Cared for by grandparents.
My question is, should I have a face to face interview with DCP/tour of my daycare if they are only going on the waiting list? Or does the interview happen after I have a spot open up and I call them to see if they still want the spot?

Curious how you all approach this.

[Blackcat31]

I interview BEFORE the waitlist.

I want to know if a family is a good fit before adding their name to the wait list.

Then once a spot opens up, the "formalities" have already been done and enrollment is a breeze.

I wouldn't put my name on a wait list for anywhere unless it was somewhere I KNEW I wanted to be...kwim?

[Thriftylady]

I would wait until you have a spot. Otherwise, they may have found a place and not want to move the child and you wasted your time.

[daycarediva]

I interview BEFORE the waitlist.

I want to know if a family is a good fit before adding their name to the wait list.

Then once a spot opens up, the "formalities" have already been done and enrollment is a breeze.

I wouldn't put my name on a wait list for anywhere unless it was somewhere I KNEW I wanted to be...kwim?

This is what I do as well. I am ALWAYS interviewing. If I get a call I let them know that I don't have the space NOW, but we can still interview and they can be placed on a wait list. I have filled my openings for the last two years primarily from my wait list.

I would wait until you have a spot. Otherwise, they may have found a place and not want to move the child and you wasted your time.

I disagree. I email my wait list families monthly to touch base. I keep them in a group in my email contacts. The ones still interested email back to let me know and the ones who don't are removed. When I have an opening, I go through my wait list by what I'm looking for (FT/PT/age of child, hours, etc) and then email that family to offer them the space. Works great and I never have openings. Most of the time as one family leaves on a Friday, another one is starting on Monday.

[grandmom]

Interview now! Even if you never see them again, they could tell someone else about this great place they visited.


And if you don't want them, now is the time to say so, instead of when you have an opening and need the money.

[Cat Herder]

I do it both ways, depending on the family. I am a rural provider so often I already "know" them. If I don't I interview.

[Indianadaycare]

Great I put - thank you all! I decided to interview before the spot opens. Your comments are ways so helpful. 😊

[daycare]

I dont interview before the wait list. Why... because most of my families never leave.

What I have experienced is that usually by the time I call everyone on my wait list, it was mostly a waste of time because most people that are looking for care are looking for care in the very near future.

By the time that I call them, 9 times out of 10 they have already found a place and don't want to move their child, their child aged out of my program or they moved out of the area.

I do a pretty extensive phone interview and if I really like them I will offer my wait list.

When it comes time to contact the wait list, I now just send out one generic email and whoever responds back first is the order I take to hold interviews.

If my spots turned over faster, I would probably interview first.

Interviews at my place normally take up to an hour or more, so I don't want to do them if the person is just going to move on because they need care now and I don't have the space.