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This is the truth.Sorry if I sound unfair...:
We all know this job keeps everyone very busy, it can also be emotional sometimes... so of course, if someone comes here and posts a problem, they can not give a very detailed explanation of what's going on in their first post of the thread!
We all in this forum already realized that only after many back and forward posts of questions posted and answers given we start then to get a clearer idea of how things developed to the point of the conflict explained on the OP initial post. Therefor, for those that have a blunt not so positive comment to make, it would be more appropriate to ask some questions first and than give your not supportive opinion only when all your questions were answered.
I've notice that some members tend to jump immediately to the provider's defence... and a few tend to jump to the parent's defence with “no questions asked”...
But there is always 3 sides to every story: The provider's... the parent... and the truth. Therefor I think there should be some moderation when providing a blunt negative feedback.
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It would tick me off to no end if a parent did this to me. Especially if it happened repeatedly. It is rude and disrespectful. It also says to me that they don't value me, my time, or my feelings. It would definitely have me steaming and thinking, "I should just leave and go about my day. That'll show her!!!"
That being said, I would take the high road, not stoop to her passive-aggressive level, and send a very short text : "Gotta run. Assume you're not coming." It would NOT be as a courtesy to the woman; she doesn't deserve courtesy at this point. It would be to maintain my integrity, and to CYA (cover your a*s*s!!) so that when she gets miffed, you can point out that you DID let her know you had to leave.
Just my opinion. I don't like to fight inconsideration with more of the same. Don't get me wrong.... it wouldn't be out of concern that I would text her. It wouldn't be because I wanted to be nice and do her a favor! It would just be a case of being the bigger person. I kinda think that would teach her a lesson even moreso than just leaving would. It says "not letting you walk all over me", without saying "I can be just as thoughtless as you".
Totally not taking anyone's "side" here. There shouldn't even BE "sides" IMO. Just opinions.Comment
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Call His/Her Bluff
If this "lawyer" contacts you again, tell him that he can represent client in small claims court. The judge will decide that you contract is in order.
Hang in there!Comment
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You can come late but you must let me know it advance before your scheduled drop off time. Most parents would know based on how the morning was going if they were going to be late or not. All I ask of my parents is to let me know or I will assume they are going to be absent for the day. My 9am drop off time is in regards to those who do let me know they are dropping of late, it must be before 9am. In this case, I never heard from mom so I marked her child as absent.Comment
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The only thing I will say is that this will serve as a learning experience. It doesn't matter what we on this forum think or say but how the law in any state works, what the contract says and what the judge thinks and rules. Can you post what your contract specifically says as pertaining to this topic? For example my contract says this:
"It is the client’s responsibility to abide by all of the policies stipulated in the [Daycare Name] Policy Handbook, Parent’s Guide in conjunction to this contract."
My handbook reads:
"Unless prior arrangements have been made with the child care provider’s approval all clients are required to adhere to their contracted schedules."
"If the client is running late or wishes to drop-off later than their contracted drop-off time the client must notify the childcare provider no later than 15 minutes before their scheduled drop-off time. If the client decides to pick up their child earlier than their contracted pick-up time the client must notify the childcare provider no later than their scheduled drop-off time. The childcare provider routinely takes the daycare children on walks and outings with little or no notice based around each client’s scheduled drop-off and pick-up times. Clients arriving late risk arriving at a time when the childcare provider is away from the daycare home and it will then be the responsibility of the client to either wait for the childcare provider’s return or to go to the childcare provider’s location to drop-off and pick-up their child."
For me it's clear and in my policies and in my state this will hold up in court (I had a similar issue with a previous client once, she said she would go to her lawyer and I never heard from her again).
I personally would contact a lawyer for a free consultation or pay for an hour of a lawyer's time if I could not find one that will do a free consult. I think that it will be a good idea to get a professional to look over everything to determine whether going to small claims is a good idea or not.
In a different direction now, I think that it's important to remember that people have different temperaments and personalities and when you get so many of those differences together in one place you are bound to find that someone rubs you the wrong way. This is a public forum where we are all allowed our own opinions and if someone disagrees with us it does not mean that they are being negative or attacking anyone, it just means they have a difference in opinion. It's not personal. Supporting someone simply to support them is not doing them any favors. If you agree with that person, great! Support them. If you don't, then don't. In this thread I did not see anything from Crystal which was "negative" in the sense that she was being deliberately demeaning or insulting. She simply stated that
"After going back and re-reading the original thread, I can say that I am not at all surprised and I would be surprised if you won if this goes to court. Good luck "
I do not see anything there in that response that was in any way rude. And to be quite frank I am not surprised either. The way I see it is this DCP is a drama queen, it really isn't surprising that she would make a big deal about it. She was allowed special, then suddenly not so she threw a fit. It was to be expected. I would have done things different in this situation starting from when this parent first started to break my policies. If you allow special then special becomes normal to a client regardless of whether or not it is against your policies.
I personally am tired of going into a thread and seeing that a perfectly good topic is derailed and hijacked (not just talking about thus thread but generally speaking) and I personally feel that sometimes people are overly sensitive and take comments personal and then take those feelings into other threads. I have been a member of this forum for years and I have taken my share of "beatings", "rude awakenings", "down-talks" and "criticism" but I chose to take it as creative criticism, not a personal attack. From those criticisms I made changes in the way that I did things and I improved my business because to me it's obvious that if I am having a problem then I need to change the way I do things therefore i welcome the feedback. I don't always agree with everyone here but I think everyone has an unbelievable amount of insight and knowledge to share and I have seen members "go at it" with each other and yes sometimes people come off strong but it's because we are passionate about what we do.Comment
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Looks like Tom Copeland answered your question in the post you had to him. Seems to me you have nothing to worry about now! Yes, You would have WON not the parent. We all knew that, well some of us, but its nice having a childcare lawyer confirm it.
Enjoy your day with out the worry now.Comment
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"Legally Binding Document Clause"
I consulted my lawyer to review my daycare contract to make sure it would stand up in court before I opened my daycare. I do not know contract law either, however, what I was told was, what makes a contract legally binding is if you add a clause stating that said person agrees this document is legally binding. I have parents initial after each clause in my 12 page contract and the very last two clauses state:
"I/We agree this document titled _____________ is a legally binding contract between _____________, _____________ and _____________. (initial here ______)
"I/We _____________ the parent(s) of ___________ have read, understand, and agree to be leagally bound to adhere to each policy stated herein, Furthermore, I/We understand and agree to be financially liable for any and all penalty fees associated with accidental or mindful breach of any policy stated within this contract including all legal fees for both parties.
Mother/Guardian Signature ______________________ Date ___________________
Father/Guardian Signature ______________________ Date ___________________
Daycare Provider Signature ______________________ Date ___________________
Nobody has ever to my knowledge been scared off by my contract and if they were I guess that could be a good thing but I get compliments on how well written it is all the time. I also have a seperate medical release form that is very good and I was told to have them get it noterized just to make sure if I ever did end up taking a child to the ER the hospital would have zero problem adhereing to it because they are not legally liable to prove the parent signature was actually written by the parent...the notary is.Comment
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Legally Binding Contract (cont'd)
....Also, in some states you may need to add a clause stating:
"Policy enforcement is at the sole discression of the child care provider who may or may not take into account each individual situation. Not enforcing a policy in no way makes the policy null and void in the future." (initial here _______)Comment
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I know I've told this story before, but it seems to bear repeating.
A year or so ago a provider on another forum I frequent terminated care (with a two week notice) for a client who was repeatedly violating her policies. Contract stated that payment was due during the notice period *even* if the provider was unavailable to continue care (I gather she had this clause in case she felt physical unsafe having the family come). Parent signed off on it.
Parent and provider had words, provider ended care immediately. Provider tried to take parent to court for fees for the termination week and was laughed out of court by the judge. The judge said that because there was nothing by the actual clause, there was no way of knowing if it had been there when the parent received the contract or it was added after the fact. Also he said that you can't make someone pay for services you refuse to provide, regardless of what the contract states.
I don't say this to be argumentative, but simply point out that just because you have the contract doesn't always mean you will win.Comment
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I am going to pursue this in court, only because I would love to see what the judge has to say. If there's something I need to change ion my contract I will. As soon as my mac is up and running I will post my contract and handbook.Comment
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