Late Pick Up Letter

[kpa0627]

I want some opinions on how this letter sounds before I print it off and hand it to the parents tomorrow morning. Please let me know what you think! Thanks :-)

Parents,
I have gotten rid of my hired help recently. Therefore I will always be here from now on unless I have to step out for appointments. At that point there will be a substitute used on an as needed basis only. Because of this change my days will now be longer with no breaks. I have been very lenient on not charging late fees when picking up after contracted hours. This will change and will be effective immediately.
As a reminder your contracted hours are:
a.m to p.m.
I do NOT charge for early drop offs only late pick ups.
The late fee is $5.00 per up to 15 minutes.
For example: If you pick up at p.m. you will owe $5.00. If you pick up at p.m. you will owe $10.00 and so on.
*This will need to be paid at time of pick up. If it’s not paid then a bill will be placed in “parent mailbox” and is to be paid by drop off the following day.
*If you call ahead to let me know you’re running late you will still owe late fee.
*If you know ahead of time (at least 24 hours) that you will be running late I will charge $5.00 per hour of extra care…. Only if I do not have previous plans! If you let me know less than 24 hours ahead of time it will be the $5.00 per up to 15 minutes late fee as previously explained.
Please respect that my business hours and personal hours are separate by picking up in a timely manner!
Thanks,
Kayla

[TGT09]

I think it sounds great and would love to give my parents the exact same letter. :-)

As a non-important point out and I'm not even sure why I'm pointing it out but I would make the ! in the last paragraph, just a period. I like to use exclamation points too but I feel like some people take them wrong.

[ninosqueridos]

I edited your letter based on how I would word things. I removed the 2nd and 3rd sentences because I felt they were irrelevant and leave room for misinterpretation (like if you have a substitute for whatever reason, then maybe those days you wouldn't charge a late fee - you know how some parents would read that). That way you get to the bottom line faster. Just mho, hope this helps.
------------------------------------------------

Dear Parents,

You may have noticed that I no longer have an assistant. Because of this change, my days will now be longer with no breaks. I have been very lenient on not charging late fees when picking up after contracted hours. This will change and will be effective immediately.

As a reminder your contracted hours are:
a.m to p.m.
I do NOT charge for early drop offs only late pick ups.
The late fee is $5.00 per 15 minutes late. For example: If you pick up at p.m. you will owe $5.00. If you pick up at p.m. you will owe $10.00 and so on.
*This will need to be paid at time of pick up. If it is not paid then a bill will be placed in “parent mailbox” and is to be paid by drop off the following day.
*If you call ahead to let me know you are running late, you will still owe late fee.
*If you know ahead of time (at least 24 hours) that you will be running late I will charge $5.00 per hour of extra care (availability not guaranteed). If you let me know less than 24 hours ahead of time, the late fee will be the $5.00 per 15 minutes late as previously explained.
Please respect that my business hours and personal hours are separate by picking up in a timely manner.

Thanks,
Kayla

[MarinaVanessa]

I'm more of an official sounding person when it comes to notices so I made a few of my own changes in wording also. Here's how I would word it based on what you want to say:

Dear parents,
I have recently let my assistant go therefore I will be here full-time from now on without assistance. Because of this change my days will now be longer with no breaks. Up until now I have been very lenient and have not applied any late fees when picking up after contracted hours. I will, effective immediately, enforce the late fees.
As a reminder your contracted hours are:
a.m. to p.m.
I do NOT charge for early drop offs, only late pick-ups.
The late fee is $5.00 per up to 15 minutes or part thereof.
For example: If you pick up at p.m. you will owe $5.00. If you pick up at p.m. you will owe $10.00 and so on.
*This fee will need to be paid at time of pick up. If it’s not paid then a bill will be placed in the “parent mailbox” and is to be paid by drop off the following day.
*If you call ahead to let me know you’re running late you will still owe a late fee.
*If you know ahead of time (at least 24 hours) that you will be running late I will charge $5.00 per hour of extra care and only if I am available. If I am notified less than 24 hours ahead of time the $5.00 fee for every 15 minutes will apply.
Please respect that my business hours and personal hours are separate by picking up in a timely manner.
Thank You,

[missnikki]

I edited your letter based on how I would word things. I removed the 2nd and 3rd sentences because I felt they were irrelevant and leave room for misinterpretation (like if you have a substitute for whatever reason, then maybe those days you wouldn't charge a late fee - you know how some parents would read that). That way you get to the bottom line faster. Just mho, hope this helps.
------------------------------------------------

Dear Parents,

You may have noticed that I no longer have an assistant. Because of this change, my days will now be longer with no breaks. I have been very lenient on not charging late fees when picking up after contracted hours. This will change and will be effective immediately.

As a reminder your contracted hours are:
a.m to p.m.
I do NOT charge for early drop offs only late pick ups.
The late fee is $5.00 per 15 minutes late. For example: If you pick up at p.m. you will owe $5.00. If you pick up at p.m. you will owe $10.00 and so on.
*This will need to be paid at time of pick up. If it is not paid then a bill will be placed in “parent mailbox” and is to be paid by drop off the following day.
*If you call ahead to let me know you are running late, you will still owe late fee.
*If you know ahead of time (at least 24 hours) that you will be running late I will charge $5.00 per hour of extra care (availability not guaranteed). If you let me know less than 24 hours ahead of time, the late fee will be the $5.00 per 15 minutes late as previously explained.
Please respect that my business hours and personal hours are separate by picking up in a timely manner.

Thanks,
Kayla

Looks good this way, and I agree w/ ninosqueridos. I always add "As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at _____."

[QualiTcare]

i like the changes - i didn't like the "i got rid of my assistant."

it sounds like she got fired, and maybe she did, but i still think that should be private - JMO.

[melskids]

i like the changes - i didn't like the "i got rid of my assistant."

it sounds like she got fired, and maybe she did, but i still think that should be private - JMO.

i agree...