I have ads out for the summer right now. I've done a brief chit chat with 3 sets of parents regarding summer care for their school aged children. All 3 sets of parents want a flexible schedule. Because this is extremely common in this area (lots of parents who work in retail/shift work/etc.) I have a sheet explaining how flexible schedules work in my day care. There's basically 2 options:
1. Pay for all 5 days of the week and you are guaranteed a spot when you need it. Payment is required regardless of how many days the child attends. I have yet to find anybody who wants this option.
2. Call/text me to see if I have any spots open on the days you need. I cannot guarantee the spot as they are filled on a first come, first serve basis. Whomever contacts me first gets first dibs on open spots for the week. Once you have 'reserved' the spot, you are obligated to pay for it-even if your child doesn't attend.
Parents are all gung ho about the 2nd option, until there isn't a spot for their kid on a particular day. Then I'm unreliable.
Before anybody says 'just take full-timers' or 'I only do 5 days a week, regardless of attendance' well, I'm trying but in 1.5 years I haven't had much luck in that area. I have 1 full timer. I'd love to have 6 full timers but there just aren't calls for it. Everybody either needs a flex schedule (but can't afford to pay for 5 full days.) or part time.
Just my evening vent-getting tired of people thinking I'm trying to pull one over on them. This is a business. I have 6 spots total. Each spot needs to bring in XXX amount in order to remain profitable. I seriously think the first sentence of my PHB to read 'This is a FOR PROFIT business, not a charity.'
Thanks for letting me vent
1. Pay for all 5 days of the week and you are guaranteed a spot when you need it. Payment is required regardless of how many days the child attends. I have yet to find anybody who wants this option.
2. Call/text me to see if I have any spots open on the days you need. I cannot guarantee the spot as they are filled on a first come, first serve basis. Whomever contacts me first gets first dibs on open spots for the week. Once you have 'reserved' the spot, you are obligated to pay for it-even if your child doesn't attend.
Parents are all gung ho about the 2nd option, until there isn't a spot for their kid on a particular day. Then I'm unreliable.
Before anybody says 'just take full-timers' or 'I only do 5 days a week, regardless of attendance' well, I'm trying but in 1.5 years I haven't had much luck in that area. I have 1 full timer. I'd love to have 6 full timers but there just aren't calls for it. Everybody either needs a flex schedule (but can't afford to pay for 5 full days.) or part time.
Just my evening vent-getting tired of people thinking I'm trying to pull one over on them. This is a business. I have 6 spots total. Each spot needs to bring in XXX amount in order to remain profitable. I seriously think the first sentence of my PHB to read 'This is a FOR PROFIT business, not a charity.'
Thanks for letting me vent
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