MEP! What Have I Done? VERY LONG HELP NEEDEDED

[Fruitloops1]

Dear daycare family,

After some confusion I thought I should clarify the options available to you:

1. Drop-in
Drop-in care will be available at your joining rate of $60/day for an x hr day. (eg. 8 hrs then you can choose if you want to offer additional hours at an additional hourly rate if they need longer - this way too it's $180 for 24hrs of care which makes more sense than 30hrs parttime is $200 and 30hrs @ 10hr days x 3 days of dropin care is only $180) Care is available on a first come first served basis. Once booked that day is yours and as such payment is due whether or not your child attends. Days cannot be booked more than x days in advance. Payment is due xyz (weekly? In advance?)

2. Part-time care
Up to 30hrs a week over 3 days for the joining rate of $200. Days and times are contracted to be the same every week. There is no substitution should your child not attend. Payment is based upon enrollment not attendance. (then put in something about what stats/vacation pay/sick pay etc you expect them to pay). Payment is due xyz.

I really appreciate your family and hope we can work something out.

DCP

******

I'm really tired so this isn't the best letter but maybe build off something like this? Hope this works out for you!

That is prefect. I can't thank you enough.
You really made this confusing mess clear to me. I don't think I even understood what I did.
Thank you too everyone else who took their time and read this loooooooong post.

[MamaG]

I was increasing by their per day rate for the 1 day a week that alternates.
Mondays and Fridays alternate every week so I have to hold 3 days every week for them even if they use only two. Does that make better sense?

Thanks for everyone's responses.

Ok I get it. Word the letter to them like this:

Dear dcf,
Giving you a heads up. You are enrolled under my drop in program but my slots have filled up fast and very soon those days won't always be available. Just want to be sure you have backup care ready in case. Or if you prefer you can enroll under x or y program. Let me know thanks!

Then be sure to let them know when they contact you or try to drop off dck you are full today and there's no room. They will get it then. Yes drop in is cheaper for them but not garunted a spot. If they'd like to reserve a spot in your program they need to enroll under full time or part time program. Since they need you on alternating days they need to reserve each day they might need you. They'll pretend to not get it even if they do, nobody wants to pay more!

[Crystal]

I haven't read everyone's responses, but I would take a set schedule of 3 days per week at $180 and honor this family as your FIRST family, and allow time to slowly phase them out of your program.

They were your FIRST family, and they really are not asking for much. Good business practice says that you should take care of those who take care of you.....I promise you, in time, your accomodation for them will pay you back tenfold.

[Holiday Park]

Ok I get it. Word the letter to them like this:

Dear dcf,
Giving you a heads up. You are enrolled under my drop in program but my slots have filled up fast and very soon those days won't always be available. Just want to be sure you have backup care ready in case. Or if you prefer you can enroll under x or y program. Let me know thanks!

Then be sure to let them know when they contact you or try to drop off dck you are full today and there's no room. They will get it then. Yes drop in is cheaper for them but not garunted a spot. If they'd like to reserve a spot in your program they need to enroll under full time or part time program. Since they need you on alternating days they need to reserve each day they might need you. They'll pretend to not get it even if they do, nobody wants to pay more!

I haven't read everyone's responses, but I would take a set schedule of 3 days per week at $180 and honor this family as your FIRST family, and allow time to slowly phase them out of your program.

They were your FIRST family, and they really are not asking for much. Good business practice says that you should take care of those who take care of you.....I promise you, in time, your accomodation for them will pay you back tenfold.

LOVE these two ideas !

[LittleD]

Wow, just want to say I'm jealous of your rates! Here, I get $34 full day for babies under 18mths, $30 for 18mths and up for 8.5 hours a day! Before and after school is $17.

You must live in a big city!

Did you give them a copy of the new rate schedule? Are you almost full with lots of opportunity to fill the spot? Is the child a problem child? These are all things you need to consider before changing their rates.

[Fruitloops1]

Wow, just want to say I'm jealous of your rates! Here, I get $34 full day for babies under 18mths, $30 for 18mths and up for 8.5 hours a day! Before and after school is $17.

You must live in a big city!

Did you give them a copy of the new rate schedule? Are you almost full with lots of opportunity to fill the spot? Is the child a problem child? These are all things you need to consider before changing their rates.

What I ended up doing was saying HEY you're a drop in and daycare isnt secured. If you would like to secure your spot with me this is that rate(which I kept to my old rate before I raised them the final time)They said they were thinking about it and we'll go from there. I am trying to work with them as much as possible but I was really bothered by there letter that they wrote to me. Pretty much telling me what to do and trying to control the situation. The child is 5 months and is a bit of a crier. Has strong lungs and screams VERY LOUD. Most times if I have a full house and DCB I have to have my fiance or assistant present because it takes the lil guy an hour to settle down. I am filling up, I have been keeping this spot for them even as a drop in for a while. But I feel like we are working together on the rate and spot issue.
Yeah the rates are nice but cost of living is expensive. I live in Chicago just a few miles from downtown. My rates are on the high end of middle. There are plenty places more expensive then me.


Thanks for everyone's input!

[MarinaVanessa]

I think in this situation you quoted them a price that you now feel isn't fair ... it's a rookie mistake and totally understandable. We have ALL been there done that. I don't think that it's the family's fault at all so I do not feel that raising their rates immediately is a fair thing to do, after all you quoted them.

So now to fix the problem I think that if I were in your shoes and I had someone interested in that spot which was a guaranteed full or part-time client then I would first offer that spot to your drop-in client and if they refused then I would hand them a 2 week termination notice and replace them with either a full or part time client or a drop-in client that can pay your higher (correct) rate. I would give them a 2 week notice out of courtesy because they were not out to "get" you, you simply realized that you weren't charging them enough.

In the mean time it's time to change your policies a little bit. In my handbook I specify how my priority works for clients. I make it clear that it's my intention to fill my spots with regular clients needing the most number of hours and therefore those clients have priority. Here's an example of what I have in my handbook:

Priority
Priority for available spots is given first to families already enrolled however having priority does not guarantee that space will be available when needed. If space is still available and none of our currently enrolled families or those families on our waiting list show interest in the available spot we will then openly advertise in an attempt to fill the space.

It is our goal to have the highest amount of regular full-time clients as possible therefore we strive to fill all of our openings with full-time and part-time clients needing the most number of hours per week first then followed by drop-in clients.

Drop-in clients are limited to availability however we are loyal to our drop-in clients and in situations where an un-enrolled family is interested in a full-time or part-time position that a current drop-in client has, every effort will first be made to offer our drop-in client the opportunity to secure their space by upgrading to the full or part-time position.

[Fruitloops1]

I think in this situation you quoted them a price that you now feel isn't fair ... it's a rookie mistake and totally understandable. We have ALL been there done that. I don't think that it's the family's fault at all so I do not feel that raising their rates immediately is a fair thing to do, after all you quoted them.

So now to fix the problem I think that if I were in your shoes and I had someone interested in that spot which was a guaranteed full or part-time client then I would first offer that spot to your drop-in client and if they refused then I would hand them a 2 week termination notice and replace them with either a full or part time client or a drop-in client that can pay your higher (correct) rate. I would give them a 2 week notice out of courtesy because they were not out to "get" you, you simply realized that you weren't charging them enough.

In the mean time it's time to change your policies a little bit. In my handbook I specify how my priority works for clients. I make it clear that it's my intention to fill my spots with regular clients needing the most number of hours and therefore those clients have priority. Here's an example of what I have in my handbook:

Priority
Priority for available spots is given first to families already enrolled however having priority does not guarantee that space will be available when needed. If space is still available and none of our currently enrolled families or those families on our waiting list show interest in the available spot we will then openly advertise in an attempt to fill the space.

It is our goal to have the highest amount of regular full-time clients as possible therefore we strive to fill all of our openings with full-time and part-time clients needing the most number of hours per week first then followed by drop-in clients.

Drop-in clients are limited to availability however we are loyal to our drop-in clients and in situations where an un-enrolled family is interested in a full-time or part-time position that a current drop-in client has, every effort will first be made to offer our drop-in client the opportunity to secure their space by upgrading to the full or part-time position.

Rookie mistake for sure! Yes i just realized that is exactly what I am missing from my handbook. I have a lot of updates to make for the new year.

[Unregistered]

I'm coming to this late, but I had a comment.

Your drop-in families are getting a bargain! I charge a premium for anyone using less than full-time to make it worth my while and to encourage families to go full-time. That way, if I don't fill the rest of the days I'm not out as much money. Also, part time kids can be a pain in the butt, :0) so to compensate I charge them a premium (they don't always fit into our schedules, etc.).

My current full-time rate is $200 per week. I charge $75 for one day, $125 for two days, $150 for three days, and $175 for four days.


One other thing I've learned over the years is not to give an immediate answer when a parent asks me a question about things like rates. I always say I'll check in to it and get back to them the next day or in a few days or whenever. That way I can take my time to figure it out and I'm not pressured to give an answer immediately. I've never had anyone get upset that I couldn't give them an immediate answer.


I hope things work out well for you with this family! :0)