I Really Need To Vent!

[CedarCreek]

Ugh.

So, dcm and her dh are teachers. They were supposed to be full time throughout June but at the last minute changed to part time with half pay for the summer.

So, I hadn't heard from dcm so yesterday I was supposed to be "off" because no one was coming in. Yeah right. Dcm text me at 9 pm telling me that dcb will be here yesterday and today.

1. I'm not a fan of "telling" me things. They need to ask.

2. This is late notice (annoying) but dcb isn't really a problem and plays well with ds so I say fine.

So, she comes in with dcb at 730 am. With a huge pixie stik no less. I gave her the side eye and threw it away immediately. She says her dh is picking up today but she doesn't know what time. She will let me know. Okay....

I hear nothing. I made them sign a new contract with their contracted hours. He is contracted until 3:30.

They napped at 2 instead of 1 because we went to play at the park so dcb was still sleeping at 3:30. There is a sign I put on my door at nap time that says not to knock but if you are a parent, text or call to let me know that you are here and I will come to the door. Dcd knows this. He has come before at nap time and texted me.

When I woke dcb up at 4, I gave him a snack and texted Dcd to see when he was being picked up. No answer. I called, no answer. I text dcm, she tells me to call Dcd. I told her I did, he is not answering. Dcd finally shows up at 5:30. I told him I tried to call and text him and he says he didn't hear it. Whatever.

So today at pick up, dcm tells me that Dcd is upset because he tried to come by at 3:30 and the sign was on the door so he "didn't know what to do". Bull. Then she says he was upset because he thought they could stay until 6. I said they can if you have made prior arrangements. Your contract says 3:30 pick up and Dcd could have called to let me know he was here and I would have given him dcb. I told her that yesterday dcb was the only one here and is scheduled to be picked up at 3:30 so when I didn't hear from anyone about a later time, that's the time i went with and I did have other things to do yesterday.

Seriously? I don't give a flip if Dcd is "upset". They signed a contract. He failed to communicate with me three times yesterday. How is he the one that gets to be upset?

:confused::confused:

[Cradle2crayons]

Ugh.

So, dcm and her dh are teachers. They were supposed to be full time throughout June but at the last minute changed to part time with half pay for the summer.

So, I hadn't heard from dcm so yesterday I was supposed to be "off" because no one was coming in. Yeah right. Dcm text me at 9 pm telling me that dcb will be here yesterday and today.

1. I'm not a fan of "telling" me things. They need to ask.

2. This is late notice (annoying) but dcb isn't really a problem and plays well with ds so I say fine.

So, she comes in with dcb at 730 am. With a huge pixie stik no less. I gave her the side eye and threw it away immediately. She says her dh is picking up today but she doesn't know what time. She will let me know. Okay....

I hear nothing. I made them sign a new contract with their contracted hours. He is contracted until 3:30.

They napped at 2 instead of 1 because we went to play at the park so dcb was still sleeping at 3:30. There is a sign I put on my door at nap time that says not to knock but if you are a parent, text or call to let me know that you are here and I will come to the door. Dcd knows this. He has come before at nap time and texted me.

When I woke dcb up at 4, I gave him a snack and texted Dcd to see when he was being picked up. No answer. I called, no answer. I text dcm, she tells me to call Dcd. I told her I did, he is not answering. Dcd finally shows up at 5:30. I told him I tried to call and text him and he says he didn't hear it. Whatever.

So today at pick up, dcm tells me that Dcd is upset because he tried to come by at 3:30 and the sign was on the door so he "didn't know what to do". Bull. Then she says he was upset because he thought they could stay until 6. I said they can if you have made prior arrangements. Your contract says 3:30 pick up and Dcd could have called to let me know he was here and I would have given him dcb. I told her that yesterday dcb was the only one here and is scheduled to be picked up at 3:30 so when I didn't hear from anyone about a later time, that's the time i went with and I did have other things to do yesterday.

Seriously? I don't give a flip if Dcd is "upset". They signed a contract. He failed to communicate with me three times yesterday. How is he the one that gets to be upset?

:confused::confused:

Please tell me you charged a late fee?? And a hefty one at that??

[CedarCreek]

Please tell me you charged a late fee?? And a hefty one at that??

I actually don't have late fees in my policies at the moment I know, I know!

This is the last freaking straw though. I am completely revising my policies and sending out new contracts. I'm afraid that I'm going to lose everyone but maybe that's for the best.

[daycare]

I used to do things like this...letting parents tell me last minute their schedule changes and what not..

well not anymore.

My new rule is this.

All schedule changes must be submitted and approved by the provider the Friday before. Failure to submit your schedule changes by this date will forfeit any days that may have been paid for. Should need to cancel or change your days, you must request in writing at least a 48hour advance notice. There is NO guarantee that your request to cancel or change dates. In this case, you will be charged if you are in attendance or not.

I have found out that when you are nice, some people will mistaken that as weakness and they will walk all over you.

Actions speak louder than words and you will HAVE to do something about it, not just tell them about it.

[Patches]

I actually don't have late fees in my policies at the moment I know, I know!

This is the last freaking straw though. I am completely revising my policies and sending out new contracts. I'm afraid that I'm going to lose everyone but maybe that's for the best.

Oooooh no! I would be p!ssed if I were you and would definitely be putting late fees in my policies.

[CedarCreek]

Okay guys help me! I was going to send this letter out July 1st notifying everyone of policy changes and then that will give them a bit to decide. I will require new contracts by August 1. Does sending a letter out seem like a good idea? Here it is:


Dear Parents: July 1, 2013

This letter is to inform you of policy changes that are being made effective August 1, 2013.

In the last year, I have been trying to figure out how best to run my business in order to coincide with my families needs. Thank you for bearing with me! I will be sending out new contracts for you to sign and return before August 1 if you are in agreement with the new policies. If you feel that these policies are not a good fit for your family, I completely understand and will accept your two weeks notice.

Policy changes:

Each family will move to contracted hours if you have not done so already. This means that although I can be available from 6am to 6pm, your child's hours will depend on the commute time that you need to and from work. If you need an earlier/later drop off/pick up time, you will need to notify me no later than 24 hours before the time adjustment to ensure that I will be able to accommodate you.

A late fee of $5 per 15 minutes will be charged for early drop offs or late pick ups outside of your child's contracted time unless previously agreed upon. A late fee of $1 per minute will be charged if you are late past 6pm unless previously agreed upon. Payment will be due the day the child is early/late. The daycare clock will be used to determine payment.

Your child will not be accepted into care past 9am unless previously agreed upon. Unscheduled, late drop offs are disruptive to our day.

Teachers must sign a “Summer contract” at the beginning of summer verifying their full time or half time schedule needs.

Teachers must notify me on Monday of the two days your child will be in attendance for the week during summer if you are utilizing half weeks. If I do not hear from you, I will assume you do not need care for the week and the child will not be accepted into care once the schedule for the week has been made.

Your week of free vacation may now be used consecutively or be broken up into separate days. However, you may not use these days on paid holidays or during your two week notice period.


Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the new policy changes. I hope you understand that my family is very important to me and as I know is the same with you, I want to spend all of the time that I can with them! I have loved caring for your children and laughing with them. They make me proud everyday with how much they learn and grow. I hope to continue to have the privilege of being their childcare provider.

Thank you,
Cedar Creek


What do you guys think? It's risky, but I cant handle this poo anymore.

Special shout out to MarinaVanessa for the policy/pay rate ideas! :hug:

[LaLa1923]

Okay guys help me! I was going to send this letter out July 1st notifying everyone of policy changes and then that will give them a bit to decide. I will require new contracts by August 1. Does sending a letter out seem like a good idea? Here it is:


Dear Parents: July 1, 2013

This letter is to inform you of policy changes that are being made effective August 1, 2013.

In the last year, I have been trying to figure out how best to run my business in order to coincide with my families needs. Thank you for bearing with me! I will be sending out new contracts for you to sign and return before August 1 if you are in agreement with the new policies. If you feel that these policies are not a good fit for your family, I completely understand and will accept your two weeks notice.

Policy changes:

Each family will move to contracted hours if you have not done so already. This means that although I can be available from 6am to 6pm, your child's hours will depend on the commute time that you need to and from work. If you need an earlier/later drop off/pick up time, you will need to notify me no later than 24 hours before the time adjustment to ensure that I will be able to accommodate you.

A late fee of $5 per 15 minutes will be charged for early drop offs or late pick ups outside of your child's contracted time unless previously agreed upon. A late fee of $1 per minute will be charged if you are late past 6pm unless previously agreed upon. Payment will be due the day the child is early/late. The daycare clock will be used to determine payment.

Your child will not be accepted into care past 9am unless previously agreed upon. Unscheduled, late drop offs are disruptive to our day.

Teachers must sign a “Summer contract” at the beginning of summer verifying their full time or half time schedule needs.

Teachers must notify me on Monday of the two days your child will be in attendance for the week during summer if you are utilizing half weeks. If I do not hear from you, I will assume you do not need care for the week and the child will not be accepted into care once the schedule for the week has been made.

Your week of free vacation may now be used consecutively or be broken up into separate days. However, you may not use these days on paid holidays or during your two week notice period.


Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the new policy changes. I hope you understand that my family is very important to me and as I know is the same with you, I want to spend all of the time that I can with them! I have loved caring for your children and laughing with them. They make me proud everyday with how much they learn and grow. I hope to continue to have the privilege of being their childcare provider.

Thank you,
Cedar Creek


What do you guys think? It's risky, but I cant handle this poo anymore.

Special shout out to MarinaVanessa for the policy/pay rate ideas! :hug:

The $1 a min late fee starts AFTER they do not show for their CONTRACTED time. Otherwise, what's the point in doing contracted hours? I would then have an hourly rate IF they arranged overtime in advance. Mine is $10 for each extra hour, some charge $6. It really depends on your area.

[CedarCreek]

The $1 a min late fee starts AFTER they do not show for their CONTRACTED time. Otherwise, what's the point in doing contracted hours? I would then have an hourly rate IF they arranged overtime in advance. Mine is $10 for each extra hour, some charge $6. It really depends on your area.

I put in a $5 per 15 minute charge for going outside of contracted hours. You don't think that's enough? Or add that that's an additional fee?

[AmyKidsCo]

All schedule changes must be submitted and approved by the provider the Friday before. Failure to submit your schedule changes by this date will forfeit any days that may have been paid for. Should need to cancel or change your days, you must request in writing at least a 48hour advance notice. There is NO guarantee that your request to cancel or change dates. In this case, you will be charged if you are in attendance or not.

Not to hijack the thread, but what about parents who don't know ahead of time? I have a DCM who finds out at 7pm that she has to be in at 7am the next morning, instead of 8:30am. For me that means a 6:45am drop off instead of 8:15am drop off.

Obviously I'd prefer more notice, but she tells me as soon as she knows.

[CedarCreek]

Not to hijack the thread, but what about parents who don't know ahead of time? I have a DCM who finds out at 7pm that she has to be in at 7am the next morning, instead of 8:30am. For me that means a 6:45am drop off instead of 8:15am drop off.

Obviously I'd prefer more notice, but she tells me as soon as she knows.

I guess if you've signed a contract knowing that the parents hours are up in the air, there isn't much you can do.

But if it was a newer occurrence, I would think you could charge an early fee.

[Patches]

I put in a $5 per 15 minute charge for going outside of contracted hours. You don't think that's enough? Or add that that's an additional fee?

Honestly, I think that you should just do straight up $1/minute outside of contracted hours and drop the $5 per 15 minute thing.

[CedarCreek]

Honestly, I think that you should just do straight up $1/minute outside of contracted hours and drop the $5 per 15 minute thing.

Okay, I think that's what LaLa was saying too. I will seriously consider that.

[wahmof3]

Honestly, I think that you should just do straight up $1/minute outside of contracted hours and drop the $5 per 15 minute thing.

This

I currently have $5/ 15 minutes late and some dcp wait until that 15 minutes is up to get here.

I will be updating to $1/ minute late.

[daycare]

Not to hijack the thread, but what about parents who don't know ahead of time? I have a DCM who finds out at 7pm that she has to be in at 7am the next morning, instead of 8:30am. For me that means a 6:45am drop off instead of 8:15am drop off.

Obviously I'd prefer more notice, but she tells me as soon as she knows.

Honestly, if it were an every once in awhile thing that it happend I would not mind. If it was something that would happen often, I would charge them an inconvenience fee of $5.00 for each occurrence of a last minute schedule change. I would also let them know up front that I could not guarantee the change.

[Crystal]

I would be absolutely livid about him showing up 2 hours late. I would charge a late fee without it in my policy....that or they could find a new child care provider if they refused to pay for your time. They wouldn't work overtime for free, why should you?

That being said....it is in my contract that it is $10 for every 15 minutes OR fraction thereof, that they are late. That means if they are even one minute late I COULD charge them $15. I wouldn't do that, but if they were 16 or 17 minutes late, you bet I would charge them $30. I have only had to do it once in 16 years....because parents KNOW I am serious about my policies and they respect that.

Treat yourself better, and like the professional that you are. And get PAID for your time!!!!