Raising Rates $10 And No Vacation Pay

[jojosmommy]

I amend contracts on March 15 each yr and new policies take effect april 15 so I am working on a rate raise and a vacation policy.

Currently charge 130/week and want to raise to 140/week. Both families just told me about raises they just received (no dollar details).

I did not raise rates last year, did a $5 raise in '10.

Also want to change current vacation policy to a pay no matter what if I am open thing. Currently have two weeks paid and they have the same however I never use mine up so I end up getting burned.

One dcf LOVES me and is very generous with their compliments/thank yous and referrals etc. Other daycare family is my hubs family, has terrible kids, plenty of money and will complain no matter what. LOL. Basically, I doubt if either will leave because of it and complaints are no new thing (from the one family).

Do you think my rate raise is fair (8%) and should I expect backlash from the changes?

[Blackcat31]

Do you think my rate raise is fair (8%) and should I expect backlash from the changes?

Is your raise fair? Yes, your rates are totally fair.

Will the raise cause backlash? Who cares!!!

Do what YOU need to do and the rest will fall into place.

I charge what you do and then some, so you are not asking for anything too outlandish as far as prices go.

My sister lives in Coon Rapids and pays her provider $200 per week 52 weeks a year and her kid is 4. NO unpaid days for her.

[jojosmommy]

Thanks, I am in Rochester so I know we are a little cheaper than the cities but really food, utilities, supplies etc are going up like crazy so I have to make up some of that loss.

[mema]

I am in your area and my rate is $140 regardless of age or days attended. My parents get 5 days of vacation unpaid, but they have to use it all at once and give me 2 week notice. I have 10 days paid. I haven't found anyone that has problems with it.
You absolutely deserve the raise! Go for it!! They'll stick around. My former dcp charged $160 and had more paid vacation and holidays then the government workers and this was 4 or 5 years ago.

[MNMum]

Thanks, I am in Rochester so I know we are a little cheaper than the cities but really food, utilities, supplies etc are going up like crazy so I have to make up some of that loss.

I'm surprised Rochester rates are that much lower. Even though its a bit out from the cities, I thought it was generally a pretty affluent area.

I would do it. I'm planning to raise my rates by $10/week as well.

[MrsB]

$10 increase is totally fair in my book! I used to do $10 increases for FT and $5 for part time. Never had issues or balks at it. Now I just have in my contract it will go up $2.5% each year starting on February 1st. This is easiest for me because I used to have big backbone issues and felt guilty sending out rate increases every so many years.

Question about your vacation? Did you say, you have it in your contract that they pay for your vacations currently, but you dont always use all the days up? Or currently they dont pay for your vacations?

[jojosmommy]

I do currently provide two weeks of time where parents do not have to pay if their kids do not attend and I get two weeks paid time off but what I found was parents always used up their two weeks (kids sick, vacations etc) to not pay me and we didn't always use two weeks of vacation days. PLUS when I did take time off they used their time off at the same time so it ended up where they didn't pay anything anyway.

And although Rochester is pretty affluent people are not really willing to pay much for care because they always want cheaper rates because they work 3 days a week 12 hr shifts and lots work evening/weekend shifts so they feel like they should get to pay less because of that. :confused:

I am raising rates $10 today and they better understand that everything has gone up so does daycare.

[cheeseheadmama]

I just amended my contracts as well and had to make sure that I defined "week". My PT families decided that "week" meant 5 days of care so when they only come for 2 or 3 days a week they thought it meant that they actually we able to get 2 weeks without care equal to 5 days. Didn't see that one coming! Now "week" means their number of days of care in a "week" that they are contracted for.

I have only raised rates once since I opened but when I did I got MAJOR heartburn from my original family. They love to brag about all the trips and new cars and extras that they have but were stinky about paying the increased rate. It was hardbut I stuck with it and when they saw I wasn't budging or willing to do any more "special" for them then they eventually apologized for their behavior. For some reason they didn't realize that I am running a business and not a charity!

[mema]

I do currently provide two weeks of time where parents do not have to pay if their kids do not attend and I get two weeks paid time off but what I found was parents always used up their two weeks (kids sick, vacations etc) to not pay me and we didn't always use two weeks of vacation days. PLUS when I did take time off they used their time off at the same time so it ended up where they didn't pay anything anyway.

And although Rochester is pretty affluent people are not really willing to pay much for care because they always want cheaper rates because they work 3 days a week 12 hr shifts and lots work evening/weekend shifts so they feel like they should get to pay less because of that. :confused:

I am raising rates $10 today and they better understand that everything has gone up so does daycare.

My 1st year I had parents that used their time at the same time as mine. The next contract was changed to say they couldn't do that it had to stay separate and they couldn't give notice during my time either.
I have lucked out that only one of my families works at the hospital and it's only one of the parents, but when he has days off he never keeps the kids home.
I found that the ones doing the 12hr shifts didn't want to pay either since they were only here a few days, but I have a weekly rate regardless, so that kind of weeded them out-I guess that means they want to spend the days off with their children which is great! But I don't fill up to capacity (only take 4-5 out of my 12) so I need to have a stable rate.
Good luck today! You deserve it. It'll be fine. If not, there is someone else out there.

[BusyBee]

I need to raise my rates as well, I was thinking of doing it at the end of the school year. I was going to do $5 a week more, I should do more but don't want to tick anyone off!

When you all raise rates I'm guessing you give a letter. Would anyone be willing to give me an idea of what to say?

[jojosmommy]

I give out a new policy with everything (old and new) and simply list the rates in there. No explanation of why etc, the less the better.

Neither said anything really. The one family said oh yea, food has gotten expensive. The other said "really. Oh OK." I guess we will see tomorrow or Monday what people really think. Unless they give notice its really too bad.

[MrsB]

I do currently provide two weeks of time where parents do not have to pay if their kids do not attend and I get two weeks paid time off but what I found was parents always used up their two weeks (kids sick, vacations etc) to not pay me and we didn't always use two weeks of vacation days. PLUS when I did take time off they used their time off at the same time so it ended up where they didn't pay anything anyway.

And although Rochester is pretty affluent people are not really willing to pay much for care because they always want cheaper rates because they work 3 days a week 12 hr shifts and lots work evening/weekend shifts so they feel like they should get to pay less because of that. :confused:

I am raising rates $10 today and they better understand that everything has gone up so does daycare.

Sounds like you already sent out an updated contract.

but if you still want ideas for maybe next time

My parents get 2 weeks vacation and it requires 2 weeks notice and it is half the weekly rate. I have a few families that use there vacation but the majority do not. Plus if they do use it I have 2 weeks to plan for this decrease cash flow AND I have 2 weeks to fill it with a temporary child or drop ins. So esentially I end up making more than if they didnt use their vacation.

[momma2girls]

I have 2 weeks paid vacation, and paid Holidays. This next yr. I will be adding a couple paid sick days. Everyone deserves a paid vacation!!

[renodeb]

If you think about your getting a 2 dollar a day raise. Hard to believe anyone would complain about that. Every year I put myself through the emotional ringer b/c Im afraid Im gonna hear complaints; but so far I havent. I usually raise everyone 5 dollars a week so as not to stir the pot to much. (boils down to a dollar a day raise. I think thats a totally fair raise.
I have it in my contract that raise are subject to change once a year with one months written notice. Good luck!
Debbie