No Call No Show Charge?

[kelsey's kids]

My parents pay a flat monthly rate requardless of absences, holidays, sick days ect... I was asking if anybody on here charges an additional fee for people you pull no call no show. I have in my contract to charge 20 extra if I am not notified by scheduled drop off time.

[Play Care]

My parents pay a flat monthly rate requardless of absences, holidays, sick days ect... I was asking if anybody on here charges an additional fee for people you pull no call no show. I have in my contract to charge 20 extra if I am not notified by scheduled drop off time.

I'm sorry, I misunderstood. I do not charge an additional fee. The fact they are paying for a day they are not using is typically enough for me. Most of the times they forget to call it's a good reason (up all night with sick kids, finally fell asleep, etc.) and they are mostly respectful of policy, etc. I guess if it were something that happened often, I might consider a fee, but would probably be more inclined to fill the spot and let the family go.

[Moppetland]

I don't charge for a no show. My parents pay me in advance for the next following week, so, they're paid up. If they don't show up, then they have lost a whole day of care that isn't going to be made up. So actually, I still got paid. It makes no sense to charge if I haven't lost anything.

If they haven't called by a certain time, and I have a planned outing like a walk or a trip to the park, too bad. I don't know what happened, but I don't think I should be calling them to wonder where they are. If they're missing in action with a no call by the 3rd day, then that's when I call them to see what's going on and if they're planning on bringing their child back. It has happened to me before, and basically, it's just the parents being inconsiderate and not calling to tell me that they are at home for a few days, or their child is sick.

I have even written in my policy handbook the consequences of not showing up and not communicating. I would only call them that 3rd day to give them a chance to explain themselves.

[Blackcat31]

My parents pay a flat monthly rate requardless of absences, holidays, sick days ect... I was asking if anybody on here charges an additional fee for people you pull no call no show. I have in my contract to charge 20 extra if I am not notified by scheduled drop off time.

No, I do not charge an additional fee for no shows because I have already been paid for the child to be there so when they don't show, I look at it like an advantage to me. Still receiving payment and not having done the work....kwim?

However, I do require the parent to call me if they are going to be late. If they don't call within 30 minutes of their scheduled time, I consider them absent for the day.

3 no-shows, no-calls could mean termination....which is at MY discretion.

Honestly, I can't see charging a fee for them not showing up if you've already been paid for the day anyways. As a parent, I wouldn't enroll in a program that charged me like that.

My dentist charges me whether I show up for the appt or not. They don't add an additional fee on top of that. I know some people say it is an inconvenience fee but I personally fail to see how it can be an inconvenience for me.

[Leigh]

Well good for you, and good for where you live, but that isnt the reality in many parts of the country .

I always try not to get offended when other providers rag on others about doing things differently, and make passive aggressive snippits about how they're better respected/more professional/smarter than others who don't *but* it rarely works out that way.

Getting payment up front has NOTHING to do with being professional or being respected.

Period.

It's a low blow to say that imo.

I'm not being condescending when I say this...I am saying that just because OTHERS don't do it doesn't mean that she can't. When you have rules and establish boundaries, your clients will see you as a professional that takes her business seriously. I am NOT ragging on the poster, nor on you, just saying that what others do does not have to affect what SHE does. I never said I was smarter, more professional than others. It was not a low blow, it was an attempt to HELP someone.

[sleepinghart]

Payment in advance is definitely a new concept for our state. I have been pre-paid for a while but the only reason I think it went over well here was because a HUGE group of providers and centers all made the change at the same time so parents really had no choice.

I think that a majority of businesses (not just child care) don't charge until AFTER services have been provided.

My DH requires a deposit or percentage of the bill to be paid before hand and the remaining balance AFTER the work has been done.

I can see how as a parent, pre-payment would be a negative, but I also understand why providers choose to be pre-paid.

When all providers in your area require it or it is standard practice for your community, it definitely helps "force" the rule.

Yes. It didn't take me long at all to figure out that not requiring payment in advance oftentimes resulted in my providing a lot of free daycare.


(begin Blackcat31 quote)I think that a majority of businesses (not just child care) don't charge until AFTER services have been provided" (end quote)

~I know that in my area & several others it is very common nowdays for doctors & dentists, etc. to ask for payment upfront before any services are rendered and to refuse to provide care if cannot do that or make prior arrangements. I do remember though that up until recently this(prepaying at MDs)was not the norm at all and when it started it took awhile for some people to adjust and the office workers got a lot of weird looks the first time a patient was asked for payment upfront. I assume that they had to change their policies because of people not having the money to pay after they had already been seen by the doctor and therefore the doctor's practice losing money. I agree it's fair for them to do this though. We do what we gotta do and changes like this are usually a direct result/consequence of negative behaviors/habits.

[daycare]

the only fee that I do have that would be charged because of a no-show, is a food waste fee.

If you are supposed to be here for breakfast and fail to show, then I will charge you a $7.00 food waste fee. I cook all of my breakfast food and will plan for you to be here unless you tell me. I will make a plate for your child and if they are a no-show that food goes in the trash. I can't wait to plate the food for when the child arrives, it has not worked for me that way. So this would be the only fee.

[BrooklynM]

I wouldn't charge extra for a no show if you are already getting paid for it. Now, as for the no call no show though, I would send them a text and say, I'm so worried about so and so. Is everything ok? I really missed him today. I just wanted to make sure you guys are alright!

If you don't hear anything back, the following morning, start calling the emergency contacts and find out if everything is ok. I am a worrier. I would worry that they were on the side of the road or something.

[daycare]

I wouldn't charge extra for a no show if you are already getting paid for it. Now, as for the no call no show though, I would send them a text and say, I'm so worried about so and so. Is everything ok? I really missed him today. I just wanted to make sure you guys are alright!

If you don't hear anything back, the following morning, start calling the emergency contacts and find out if everything is ok. I am a worrier. I would worry that they were on the side of the road or something.

I call and check in too, and if I dont hear back from them in an hour, I start calling on the emergency list. All of my parents know that I will do this.

I know we have all heard stories about a child being left in the car, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

I recently had this happen only to find out that every single number that was in the child's file was no longer in service or a bad number. I do require all of my parents to give me up to date information every quater, but I can't force them to. If I don't know the information changed, I won't know unless they are honest and make the changes when I ask.

[BrooklynM]

I call and check in too, and if I dont hear back from them in an hour, I start calling on the emergency list. All of my parents know that I will do this.

I know we have all heard stories about a child being left in the car, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

I recently had this happen only to find out that every single number that was in the child's file was no longer in service or a bad number. I do require all of my parents to give me up to date information every quater, but I can't force them to. If I don't know the information changed, I won't know unless they are honest and make the changes when I ask.

So true about being left in the car, never thought about that! Yeah, after an hour, that's a good timeframe!

[MarinaVanessa]

I don't charge an additional fee if they don't show up. The way I see it is I've already been paid and if my client doesn't come then I got paid for not caring for the child for the day. It makes my day one child easier.

Of course my clients tend to give me a heads up if they're not coming or are running late but I'm prepared for the worst by having a policy that requires them to notify me in advance. If they don't then I'll continue on with my day, I don't wait around for them but I won't penalize them. I might decide to go on a long walk to the park or something and if they arrive when I'm gone they can't be angry at me.

I also have a policy that says that if they don't notify me and it's 15 minutes past their drop off time then I'll assume they're not coming and can fill their child's spot with a drop in if the opportunity arises which for me it has.

[daycare]

food for thought about making a well call check.

about 10 years ago my best friend age 30 died of a heartattack while he was caring for his then 3 year old daughter. He was a single dad.

He had graves disease and was often on tons of medication. He would flip flop from hyper to hypo and would need to change meds when it did.

He was a single dad and had his daughter 50% of the time. He usually woke about 630 am and dropped her off around 730am. She never arrived at her preschool center that day.

The daycare center that she went to did not call anyone until around 1pm, their nap time to let them know that the daughter did not arrive to the preschool that day and dad was not answering his phone.

They finally called my best-friends mom to find out if maybe dad dropped her off there at her house and the mom said no, I will need to look into this. By this time it was almost 3pm. My best friends mother went to his house and there was no answer, but she could hear her granddaughter in the house.

She called the fire department and they broke the door down to find him lying dead, naked on the bathroom floor, this was around 4:45pm by the time they found him. Later it was found that his time of death was 8:08am. Every part of me wonders if the school would have called sooner would my best friend still be here?? My heart breaks to think about my best friends 3 year old daughter in that house all day long while her dad laid dead on the bathroom floor.

Because of this experience, I call within 20 minutes of them not arriving at the time that they are scheduled to arrive. I know that I can't prevent things or stop things from happening, but I always just think what if......................

[Blackcat31]

food for thought about making a well call check.

about 10 years ago my best friend age 30 died of a heartattack while he was caring for his then 3 year old daughter. He was a single dad.

He had graves disease and was often on tons of medication. He would flip flop from hyper to hypo and would need to change meds when it did.

He was a single dad and had his daughter 50% of the time. He usually woke about 630 am and dropped her off around 730am. She never arrived at her preschool center that day.

The daycare center that she went to did not call anyone until around 1pm, their nap time to let them know that the daughter did not arrive to the preschool that day and dad was not answering his phone.

They finally called my best-friends mom to find out if maybe dad dropped her off there at her house and the mom said no, I will need to look into this. By this time it was almost 3pm. My best friends mother went to his house and there was no answer, but she could hear her granddaughter in the house.

She called the fire department and they broke the door down to find him lying dead, naked on the bathroom floor, this was around 4:45pm by the time they found him. Later it was found that his time of death was 8:08am. Every part of me wonders if the school would have called sooner would my best friend still be here?? My heart breaks to think about my best friends 3 year old daughter in that house all day long while her dad laid dead on the bathroom floor.

Because of this experience, I call within 20 minutes of them not arriving at the time that they are scheduled to arrive. I know that I can't prevent things or stop things from happening, but I always just think what if......................

First, daycare....I am sorry for your loss. I can completely understand why you feel obligated to call no showing parents. It makes sense.

I also understand how mentally and emotionally the "what if" game can play on your sanity and acceptance and understanding of such a tragedy.

However, I care for 10 kids (sometimes 12). I cannot possibly pick up the slack for those times that a parent doesn't call me or show up at care. I will say that if it is highly unusual for a parent to no show, without calling, then I probably would call them. I might forget though because it does get crazy busy here in the mornings.

In your scenario, why didn't the dad's work call someone when he didn't show up? Why didn't the mom call and check up in her child? There are a lot of others that could've, should've and would've called to check on him too...I just don't always feel like ALL of this should become a child care providers responsibility.

Bottom line is that there will always be "what ifs" in all situations and I don't feel that a child care provider SHOULD have to call to check on a family.... especially because a big majority of the time, the family is simply being irresponsible and disrespectful.

If you have the time to do so, great! I would call. If you don't have the time, I don't think you should feel badly about that. It's simply a matter of what you (general you) as a provider feel lies within your realm of responsibility and what doesn't.

Some providers DO go above and beyond...some don't. NEITHER are wrong.

[Heidi]

I also start calling after 15 minutes, but I only have 4 families to deal with, 5 at most.


I would be more worried if it's out of character for a family not to show or be late. Still, if I exhaust the parent, the emergency contacts, and the work number and still get no answers, I will call 911. I've never had to do it, thankfully.

[Heidi]

Well good for you, and good for where you live, but that isnt the reality in many parts of the country .

I always try not to get offended when other providers rag on others about doing things differently, and make passive aggressive snippits about how they're better respected/more professional/smarter than others who don't *but* it rarely works out that way.

Getting payment up front has NOTHING to do with being professional or being respected.

Period.

It's a low blow to say that imo.

Did you really take it that way? I didn't get that at all.

Maybe because I'm in the prepayment camp as well. I think I'm the only provider in my county that does it, too. It's not something I ever talk about until we get to the end of the interview (when their hooked..teeheehee). It's honestly never been a determining factor. BUT, big BUT...I mostly enroll infants (not always, but mostly). So, since the options for good infant care are sparse, that helps.

I always charged in advance, but when I restarted my dc 2 1/2 years ago, I added a deposit of 1 week at contract signing AND paying a week in advance. I pretty much have my 2 weeks covered that way.

Dang, no Judge Judy for me!

Oh, and I'm not trying to be argumentative, my dear Willow. Please don't think I am arguing with you. You have to do what works for you. No disrespect intended.