3-4 Days Schedules

[KayB]

I have a question and would like some feedback please!

I have a few that only attend 3-4 days a week. They pay weekly. Lets say 1 family comes 3 days a week. In our contract it states what days they will come and how much they owe weekly. One week they want to switch days with what their normal days are like instead of coming on their normal day Monday they want to come on Tuesday. Ok I have the spot available for them to do that. My question is...do you charge their normal rate or would you charge their normal rate with the drop in rate on top of that?

[melilley]

I let them switch days as long as I have an opening on that day and I just charge the regular rate. Except if they want to switch because of a holiday or scheduled vacation or day off, then I charge an extra day.

[KayB]

Thanks for replying!

[e.j.]

If I have the opening available and it's convenient for me, I allow them to switch days without extra charge.

[NoMoreJuice!]

Nope, my part time kids are locked into the days they choose and our contract is only valid for those days. They pay for those days regardless of attendance. If they want to attend a different day, they have to pay extra for it (and only if I have room).

Example: DCF is MWF and pays $90 a week, or $30 a day. One week they want to switch their Monday for a Tuesday. Their cost that week would be $120 because they still have to pay for their MWF spot and they have to pay for the extra day.

[mim]

Nope, my part time kids are locked into the days they choose and our contract is only valid for those days. They pay for those days regardless of attendance. If they want to attend a different day, they have to pay extra for it (and only if I have room).

Example: DCF is MWF and pays $90 a week, or $30 a day. One week they want to switch their Monday for a Tuesday. Their cost that week would be $120 because they still have to pay for their MWF spot and they have to pay for the extra day.

Same here. I do not allow them to swap days. I have set schedules for every client. I found if you let them swap once they are wanting to do it more often and also start pushing boundaries on other things. The Parent doesn't need to know you have room on that day. IMO

[TwinKristi]

If I have the room I allow them to. Currently I have one family who is a contracted 4 days but those 4 days can vary based on mom's schedule. They pay for all 4 days when some weeks they only come 2 days, some 3 days but never more than 4 days. They tried to pull a fast one and have their 5th day be a holiday but I explained to mom that it was a paid holiday so if she wants to attend the other 4 days she would owe me an extra day. LOL We'll see if they try that again next week with the 4th of July!

[Blackcat31]

I offer 5 attendance options with payment plans for each

1) Full time 5 days a week

2) Full time 4 days per week

5th day stays empty and I take the loss but enjoy the day with out that child. If parents want to add that 5th day, they must pay for it in addition to their 4 day rate.

3) Part time 3 SET days per week

Any additional days outside the set days are additional fees and only available IF I have space.
I dont allow swapping as I feel it's covered under the 3 day varying schedule option.

4) Part time 3 VARYING days per week

Families pay a higher rate due to the access to the full week but if they add a 4th or 5th day it is an additional fee.

If the 4th day is scheduled in advance, it is one rate but if it's added AFTER schedules are submitted, they pay drop in rates for that additional day or days.

5) Drop in

Parents pay ALOT for drop in and it's only available IF I have space and parents are required to call the morning they need care to inquire. I don't take reservations for drop in.

[SignMeUp]

BlackCat, so do your drop-ins come from your regular clientele, or are they other people who know of your childcare?
Just wondering, because I had a family who burned me several times on 'extra' days, scheduling them and then cancelling at the last minute. I had never needed to require payment upon request but that's what I was thinking of going to -- I got tired of putting the extra money into my budget and then getting stiffed on it.
(That family is gone now :: happyfacehappyfacehappyfacehappyface)

[SunshineMama]

I let them switch days as long as I have an opening on that day and I just charge the regular rate. Except if they want to switch because of a holiday or scheduled vacation or day off, then I charge an extra day.

Same.

[Blackcat31]

BlackCat, so do your drop-ins come from your regular clientele, or are they other people who know of your childcare?
Just wondering, because I had a family who burned me several times on 'extra' days, scheduling them and then cancelling at the last minute. I had never needed to require payment upon request but that's what I was thinking of going to -- I got tired of putting the extra money into my budget and then getting stiffed on it.
(That family is gone now :: happyfacehappyfacehappyfacehappyface)

Most my drop ins are families on my wait list. One is a past family.

What I do is require drop in's to call the morning they need care to see if I have room.

When they come to drop off, I require payment.

I don't allow drop ins to reserve or schedule in advance because I want my open days to be available for currently enrolled families ANY time they may need them.

....And because I too got tired of being stiffed for the drop ins that didnt show.

[SignMeUp]

Most my drop ins are families on my wait list. One is a past family.

What I do is require drop in's to call the morning they need care to see if I have room.

When they come to drop off, I require payment.

I don't allow drop ins to reserve or schedule in advance because I want my open days to be available for currently enrolled families ANY time they may need them.

....And because I too got tired of being stiffed for the drop ins that didnt show.

Even my rottenest family () didn't stiff me for actual care. What happened is that a current family, part-time, would schedule an extra day and I'd never required payment in advance. So they would cancel at the last minute (even when it was a day that no one else was attending) and not pay because they didn't use the day.
So I was thinking of requiring payment upon request for an 'extra' day.

After reading here, I considered requiring the request to occur on the morning of the 'extra' day (and payment), but I don't think it would actually work. My families would need to know before I'm open, and I don't want the early morning phone calls ::

[AmyKidsCo]

I let them switch days as long as I have an opening on that day and I just charge the regular rate. Except if they want to switch because of a holiday or scheduled vacation or day off, then I charge an extra day.

That's what I would do too, once or twice. But if they're routinely switching days I'd charge for 4 days a week, to keep all those days open for them.

Blackcat, if a family chooses the 4 day option, what do you do if they want to change the day off? I had a family paying FT (5 days) with 1 day off per week. They've changed the day off 3x now, which isn't a big deal, I was just wondering how you'd handle it. Do parents get confused by all the options?

[Blackcat31]

Blackcat, if a family chooses the 4 day option, what do you do if they want to change the day off? I had a family paying FT (5 days) with 1 day off per week. They've changed the day off 3x now, which isn't a big deal, I was just wondering how you'd handle it. Do parents get confused by all the options?

My 4 day a week clients pay approximately $1.50 more per day than the 5 day a week clients. I don't mind if the 4 day a week family switches their off day because I never fill that day off with a regular weekly client and like the guarantee of a day once a week with one or two less kids.

I require schedules on Friday the week before so on the day of the absence, a drop in could call and use the space. If the 4day family called last minute and wanted to use the space but I took the drop in, the 4day family would be out of luck.

Payment is the only way to guarantee space. Odds are I don't have a drop in but if I did the space belongs to who ever asked first.

There is no confusion because my parents are allowed to choose only one attendance option upon enrollment.
That becomes our contract.

If they want to change from say 4 days to 3, they must give 2 weeks notice and are allowed to change to less days only once per year.

Changing from full time to part time puts a family at risk of being bumped for a full time family.

[Crazy8]

if it is just occasional and I have the space I will let them switch without charging them for the extra day. Like someone else said, if its a paid holiday or vac day then they need to pay for the extra day.

If it became an issue I would put a stop to it but I always have at least 2-3 part timers and its never been a problem. I feel its good customer service to be flexible when I can.