What An Interview!

[Live and Learn]

....tell them you can accommodate them if
1) they want to supply the spiffy snacks for all your daycare kids and
2) they want to pay your full time rate plus four additional full timers to meet their request for 4 only in your care!::::::::

[WImom]

I'd probably tell them they aren't a good fit.

[Live and Learn]

Yes...Tell the truth.

Gotta love it.

Would you consider just telling her the truth? I know it won't make you any money so I wouldn't spend too much time on it but I don't think it hurts to say "I don't provide that service".

Cloth diapers: I don't provide that service.
Special snacks: I don't provide that service.
Parents in home during first few days: I don't provide that service.
Four child child care: I don't provide that service.
No cry: I don't provide that service.

Tell her the truth:

You use paper diapers only. You feed everyone the same snack and YOU pick the snack. You do all the transitioning of the child into care. Your goal is to have eight kids every day. You believe children should be allowed to express their feelings so you don't have a problem with them crying to express themselves.

That's really the whole of it and it doesn't hurt to tell her the truth. It's not personal. It doesn't mean that using cloth diapers, having special for snacks, parents caring for their child in your home during the transition, "no cry" isn't valuable to the parents etc.

It's OKAY for them to want it... you just don't offer it.

Tell her the truth. As boldly as she sat and said these things to you is as boldly as you can tell her what you do and don't provide.

I think providers think they are stepping on parents toes when they tell them what they do and don't provide. Believe me... Walmart doesn't have a problem telling customers they don't have Rubbermaid in stock. They decide what they offer and they don't apologize for what they choose not to do.

What she wants you don't have "in stock" and that's cool.

Ten years ago you would have NEVER had a parent tell you that they don't want their child to cry. You had parents who didn't want their kid to cry but they wouldn't have been bold enough to tell YOU that. It would have been an embarrasment. Now it's the norm.

It would be funny if it weren't so sad......

The worlds a changin ladies and it's going to come and sit on your couch. If you want to stay alive in this business you need a plan to deal with it. Saying you don't have an opening is a plan and it's the cheapest plan I know but there's a part of me that thinks it might be worth the time/money to start proudly telling them the truth.

[daysofelijah]

Maybe she was talking about gdiapers http://www.gdiapers.com/. They are a disposable/cloth hybrid. I wouldn't be able to use those either. My toilets wouldn't stand up to flushing the pad.

I do provide service for cloth diapers, but I have certain specifications as to how and what I will use/do. Totally your decision to not provide the service though.

I can't believe they didn't get the point. I guess when they call back say that you thought it over and really do not think you are a good fit for their family. :confused: I don't know where they think they are going to find a daycare where their kiddo is never going to cry, funny.

[SandeeAR]

I would never lie about the spot availabilty. Simply tell them,

I'm sorry, but my program is geared to group care, not individual care. I cannot meet your requests for special accomodations. I think what you are looking for, would be better found in a one to one, nanny situation. Thanks for considering me. Best of luck.

[QualiTcare]

i agree you should tell them the truth - chances are you'll never see them again anyway - AND you'll be doing them a favor. they need to know that their requests are unrealistic for most daycare environments. if you don't tell them then the next provider probably will and they will think YOU didn't have a space and that provider #2 is crazy. hearing the same thing from more than one provider will help them join reality sooner and the sooner the better.

there's nothing wrong with not wanting to deal with cloth diapers either. i know it's the eco-friendly way and i'm eco-friendly in several ways - but that's not one of them and i make no apologies for it. poop/pee, and everything that it has touched gets disposed of - period.

[nannyde]

Maybe best to just quote an additional fee for each request:

Cloth diapers: $3.00 per day.
Special snacks: $3.00 per day.
Parents in home during first few days: $100 per day.
Four child child care: $120 per day (to pay for other 4 kid slot income)
No cry: Full time staff assistant for little Mr No Cry costing $100 per day

Total:
$30.00 per day for regular day care and an additional $326.00 per day for special.

= $356 per day.

For that... I do provide that service.

[momatheart]

Yep not a good fit at all.

Maybe you should let them know that the requests that they want for their child is somthing that you saw as a red flag in a future business relationship with them.

Part of a good fit for both parties is not only the child fitting in but the parents fitting in as well.

[DaycareMomma]

The one that really gets me is that they don't want you to have more than 4 in your care? Haha ya right. Because I'm sure you are in this just for the heck of it, you don't have bills to pay or anything huh.

There was a daycare provider around here that got asked to only take one infant and the parents would pay for the other infant spot so theirs was the only infant in her care...

Tell them, if they want you to only have 4 kids, they are going to pay for those other 4 spots plus their childs weekly rate...

I do like the one tally of $365 a day! Heck for that, I'd do just about anything