Parent Behavior at Daycare

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bad business and a sign the director may be a poor manager, IMO. If you daycare has several frustrated parents that led to the director writing this note, there are possibly bigger problems at the daycare. If this is the way the director handles it I would wonder about how well the place is run.

I have several customer support groups in my organization and dealing with frustrated clients is an important part of any business, including daycare. First, if someone is very frustrated about something 9 times out of 10 there is some substance to it. Even if it was a well meaning mistake, it is amazing how far acknowledging the problem and apologizing can go. Often this is not the first reaction from employees or poor managers. If they get defensive or convey they don't care then an upset client becomes an very upset client pretty fast. A good manager can handle a situation like this and realize that for every client or parent complaint there are possibly 5 other parents not coming forward but encountering the same thing and considering leaving.

Its crazy not to engage parents and protect enrollments in this economy. An admin staff that punts parents that complain about them and writes newsletters like this could be very irresponsible. They probably feel they are protecting themselves and can afford a few open spots. When they start cutting back on teacher hours/pay and start blaming the economy for their enrollment problems then it could affect everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I have several customer support groups in my organization and dealing with frustrated clients is an important part of any business, including daycare. First, if someone is very frustrated about something 9 times out of 10 there is some substance to it. Even if it was a well meaning mistake, it is amazing how far acknowledging the problem and apologizing can go. Often this is not the first reaction from employees or poor managers. If they get defensive or convey they don't care then an upset client becomes an very upset client pretty fast. A good manager can handle a situation like this and realize that for every client or parent complaint there are possibly 5 other parents not coming forward but encountering the same thing and considering leaving.

I'm not the OP but I agree with this. Two things, my DH said in their management class one of the things they mentioned "don't send out a group email to solve an issue with a particular employee". For example, if someone is coming back late from lunch, don't send out a mass email to all the EEs noting the lunch policy and that several EEs are late from lunch. The other thing, there could be a communication difference if the message is coming from a woman versus a man or the personality of the person. I tend to pretty it up a bit. My husband would likely be more blunt and to the point - don't do it - "we are okay right?". End of story. So anyway, my point is IF everything else is good, and the OP is happy with the care, this may be one of those things that may be annoying, may not have been the best way to convey the message, but you have the desire to move forward - either forgetting about it or talking to the administrators to come up with a more positive way to resolve the problem.

As a parent I do understand it is a tight rope. To some extent you don't want to be a troublemaker - childcare is hard to find in this area, on the other hand you don't want to stay silent if you think there is an issue. Best advice I can say is take a positive approach. How are you going to be part of the solution or your input making the center a better place. I've had a minor issue with my daughter's school that I had to take a step away before responding BUT despite any differences of opinion I am quick to tell the administrator how great my daughter is doing there (because she is), and that I am prepared to take on more work myself to get the outcome I want and hope for their support. Even though I hope they would do more to work with my daughter, I am prepared and can understand that they are balancing the work and needs of another X students. How much more motivated are you when someone that wants you to do more work is also willing to help you get there and put in more work themselves instead of dumping it on you.