Last week our daycare provider called and left a message to the effect that the spot that we had booked in October to begin in April was no longer available. So commencing last Friday the Mrs and I have been calling over Nanaimo in order to get a daycare spot a month from now. We managed to find a spot, but not without some panic. At one point we were contemplating a situation where the only place that appeared to have a space was best described as a "death trap" - a dirty, run down house with strange men. Here are some lessons from the front lines:
1.
Pacific Care is not the great and wondrous service that some may claim:
When we began looking for day care everyone that we spoke to recommended that we begin with Pacific Care. I have heard nothing but unqualified recommendations for this organisation. It is a good service, but it must be used with a bit of knowledge. The lists that it provides are not in anyway comprehensive and may have geographic boundaries that you are unaware of. We received a list at first and could not find a place. We called back and found out that there were other places that fit our parameters. So we called those places and that is how we found the death trap. It was only when we were looking down the barrel of a world with either no daycare or daycare in a place that we would be afraid to leave our daughter we felt that there must be more places. We found this website. It has more general geographic restrictions and no search side filters.
2. Wait lists are not really very reliable.
Unless you are applying to a large institutional facility, wait lists are not reliable or relied upon. The smaller family child care facilities don't have the resources and time to build and maintain lists. You must call and call back these places and if your plans coincide with theirs you will find a spot. When we called around in October looking for a spot in April we met with two types of responses: "are you crazy of course we don't have a spot, I'll put you on my list but you are at the bottom - good luck" and "Are you crazy? April that is a long way away, I can't plan that far in advance call back in a few months." However, when we were calling this time people could tell us with certainty that they either had a place or didn't. Nobody but one large institutional facility said to me "I have a spot but I have to go through my wait list."
3. If you get a spot leave a deposit
We didn't put a deposit on our first spot. It never occurred to us to do so. We had a reassurance and we had filled out the registration forms so we felt as though it was ours. But, the person we were replacing never left. A deposit is good for both the consumer and the provider. It is a commitment from the consumer not to book two facilities and it forces the provider to insure the space is committed.
4. Just because its licensed doesn't mean its safe
This should really go without saying. There are many things in this world that are licensed, but may not be safe - look at automobile drivers. Check out any daycare and don't be afraid to snoop, poke and prod. Don't be on time - show up a bit early if you have to its better to see a place that has not been prepared for your arrival than one that is on display for your benefit. (Do try to get some information about the place's schedule so you aren't being a nuissance.)
5. Day care providers and consumers see the market differently
On more than one occasion I spoke with providers that were closing down because they said that they had a hard time filling spots. Or they were closing because they didn't think it was worth staying in business. I think this is because there is little price difference among suppliers. The death trap that we visited charged $600/month and the one we settled on charged $640/month. The difference between the facilities was similar to the difference between a Pinto and a Volvo, yet the price difference was negligible. I would have been happy to pay much more money in order to avoid the death trap. I'm not one to encourage providers to charge more, but think a certain stratification of the market would encourage more suppliers.
6. There are places out there
After a lot of time on the phone and searching through lists we did find place and we even had a choice. Our search resulted in three safe places and one death trap that had a spot for us in April and several other places that had spots for us at other times. So, by the end of our search we got to choose our favourite of the three spots. As a result I think we have a better place for our daughter than the day care that cancelled on us.
Its not all doom and gloom out there in the world of day care, but it is a strange market.
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