Being taken advantage of

I have a "problem" I am hoping I can nip in the bud quickly but I have my hours posted on my daycare sheets, I "remind" my parents several times a year what my rules are and I have a couple of families who are pushing the limits on my rules a lot lately. My pickup time is 4:45 or shortly after (I understand sometimes with traffic etc. you will be a bit late) My rule sheets state that if a family is off but brining their children, drop off is 8:30 am. and pick up is 4:00 pm. otherwise pick up at the 4:45 pm. agreed time. Well now families are showing up at 5 - 5:20 pm. I've "reminded" them so many times and they are basically just ignoring me. How do you ladies handle when parents are late for no reason. sometimes they are not even working. Why sign contracts and agree to rules if you are not going to follow them. I am finding that I am getting burned out by being open for 10 hours when technically all of these families only work 8 - 8.5 hours a day.

Time to enforce a late fee! I charge $1/minute after closing time, and bill them at pick up. Perhaps along with this you can create a 3 strike rule for lateness resulting in termination. Demand their respect!

Oh and no more "shortly there after". Be there at 4:45 or you will be charged.

When I first opened I had similar thinking. That everyone would do their best to get here on time. I quickly learned that I had to enforce my late fees for anyone to respect my closing time.

I have in my contract a section on late fees. And I go over this in interviews. I am careful to point out that I don't want their late fees. I just want them to pick up on time. My contract states that if someone is late, I have the right to terminate the contract immediately with no refund of fees.

I've never had to do this, but if someone was late all the time I would.

You need to enforce your policies. I have one dcd I have to get tough on. I've told them in our interview and in our contract that I do NOT open prior to 7:15am. He has been coming 7:10/7:08/7:05.....Mornings are crazy and every minute counts around here. Today I refuse to open my door until 7:15. He can wait outside until our contracted hours start. At 7:15am.

Yup late fee !!!!! Post a note on your door that effective immediately any one arriving after xxxx o'clock with have to pay a late fee of $xx /minute (whatever you decide is severe enough to stop them from doing it) in cash at time of pickup. Repeated lateness may result in immediate terrmination.
If someone is late and they don't have your cash you tell them you must have it in the morning or I won't accept your child into care. But you have to enforce it and stick to it .... Otherwise your wasting your time. I would also hand a copy of the letter to each parent saying this is a copy of rhe note posted to please read it and sign it and hand it back to you so they can't say they didn't see it.

I have to say that if you have allowed them the occasional "pick up shortly after" option, then this translates to the parents as, "my dcp doesn't mind, I pick up late all the time" You just turned into a pushover to the delight of all the parents. Lets be clear, this is not being taken advantage of at this point, it is abusing you and your services which is rude and disrespectful, but because you have not enforced your rules, you have given them permission o treat you this way. First thing you need to do is write a letter to each parent highlighting in bold their hours and explaining that these were agreed hours upon signing their contract. Address the problem head on by pointing out that on a regular basis parents are picking up late, in some cases more than 30 minutes late. As a result these behaviours have forced you to take action and from now on every child has to be picked up no later than 4:45 each day. As soon as they are picked up there is a flat rate of $10 within the first 10 minutes even if they are just 2 minutes late and after the first 10 minutes you charge $1 per minute ongoing. Make sure you enforce the rule, no free passes, no next times. If you have a rule and you don't uphold it then these people have no respect for you and really no need to follow your rules.

Also I should add that these late fees must be paid before further care is provided so if the parent doesn't have the money at pick up then they must bring the cash at drop off in the morning otherwise you have to grow a backbone and TURN THEM AWAY. The only way they will take you seriously and stop messing you around is if you make them, by enforcing consequences.

I agree with the other posters, make up a letter for each client restating your hours of operation and you late fee policy.

Late Fee! I charge $5 for every 10 minutes they are late after 5pm. I also state in my contract that if there are too many late pickups that I reserve the right to terminate care.

People will take advantage of you every chance they can. Get tough and be consistent. Don't ever bend the rules for anyone EVER!

I have some parents who will occasionally TRY and drop off earlier or who pick up a few mins late or right at closing.
This is what I do: I keep ALL my lights off. Doors locked. Its a ghost town in my house until 7:00am. Last week I had a mom knock and knock (I don't have a doorbell hehe) and I stayed upstairs and ignored them until 7:00. When I opened the door I said "Oh sorry were you knocking? I was upstairs getting ready, every minute counts here in the mornings" and that was that.
For the lateness I have my lateness policy posted on my whiteboard which states you get 3 chances then are charged $1 per minute payable by drop off next morning in CASH otherwise child is not accepted into care that day.
I also do my best to have the kids all ready in their coat, shoes etc for when parents pick up. When parents arrive right at my close time, I make a point of saying "Sorry can't chat, headed out the door".
Usually they take hint. Still happens from time to time.

I agree with the other ladies. I charge $10 for the first half hour you are late and $30 for anything after that. I have had one family late 3x in the past 5 months and have paid $50. I think they just figure if they pay the late pmt than all is fine. I am considering upping my late fee. What drives me the most crazy is that they don't even send a text to say they are running late so I'm just sitting her with their child wondering when they will show up!! I send a text 5 mins after I am closed.

I make it VERY clear in the interview that I cannot under any circumstance be open past 5:30 because my kids have after school activities and I have errands to run. My fee is 1$ per minute and if they late more than three times they are terminated. I also have in my handbook " please respect my hours as my time with my family is important to me". Haven't had any issues yet.

I think the problem here was that you were too lenient from the get go. Set a time limit and fees and stick to it.

Just curious for those that do have a late fee; have you ever lost a dcf because of enforcing this rule. I am really not sure what my dcp would do if I was to do this as there are a lot of daycares in my area. I know my rates are very good compared to others, but wouldn't want to lose anyone because of enforcing what they agreed upon in the beginning.

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Originally Posted by martymonty

Just curious for those that do have a late fee; have you ever lost a dcf because of enforcing this rule. I am really not sure what my dcp would do if I was to do this as there are a lot of daycares in my area. I know my rates are very good compared to others, but wouldn't want to lose anyone because of enforcing what they agreed upon in the beginning.

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?????? Are you kidding me ?

I think you need to decide if it's a rule or not. My closing hour is very important to me so I enforce this rule. I have never lost a family due to this, however with the exception of one, no one has ever been late as I am very clear about my rule. They know I will terminate after repeated offenses.

agree! I am going to be blunt - you need to grow a set and fast!! If you loose them because you enforce your rules then so be it. Those kind of people you don't want in your daycare.

My response is pretty much in line as mickyc and Crayola "To the point" and I am not going to mince my words as I think the louder and clearer I am the better for you.....It's quite simple, if it bothers you either do something about it e.g late fees and enforce your rules which yes will likely have some parents pissed off at you and run the risk of them leaving you but that's the consequences of them not sticking to your rules. Or, if you are more worried about losing a parent then feel free to let them abuse your rules and walk all over you, but I am sure others on here will agree, don't complain about it.

You have 2 choices each with possible consequences...poten tially lose a crappy disrespectful daycare family because you want to finish on time and be respected as a daycare provider or Don't give them consequences which will result in repercussions which are only a problem to you and don't complain on here about it....

People on here love to offer advice to others, but don't expect people to offer kind words if after advising you multiple times what to do for the best, you role over and do nothing because you would rather have daycare families who don't respect you and your business rules. I hazard a guess that most on this forum won't want to hear your complaints after that because you couldn't find the courage to stand up to these people.

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Originally Posted by bright sparks

My response is pretty much in line as mickyc and Crayola "To the point" and I am not going to mince my words as I think the louder and clearer I am the better for you.....It's quite simple, if it bothers you either do something about it e.g late fees and enforce your rules which yes will likely have some parents pissed off at you and run the risk of them leaving you but that's the consequences of them not sticking to your rules. Or, if you are more worried about losing a parent then feel free to let them abuse your rules and walk all over you, but I am sure others on here will agree, don't complain about it.

You have 2 choices each with possible consequences...poten tially lose a crappy disrespectful daycare family because you want to finish on time and be respected as a daycare provider or Don't give them consequences which will result in repercussions which are only a problem to you and don't complain on here about it....

People on here love to offer advice to others, but don't expect people to offer kind words if after advising you multiple times what to do for the best, you role over and do nothing because you would rather have daycare families who don't respect you and your business rules. I hazard a guess that most on this forum won't want to hear your complaints after that because you couldn't find the courage to stand up to these people.

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I'm glad you said it bright because with all the "be nice " orders lately I was afraid to say what was actually on my mind and that was why ask for advise if you don't actually want it or will act on it .... Really ..... You have a contract for a reason, you have rules for a reason, you don't work for these people but if they smell despiration you've lost !

Hi mickyc, just wanted you to know that I was also concerned about losing a client if I told them that I would start charging a late fee. My policy is that I charge a late fee after 10 hours of care. This mom said that she misunderstood and thought she had to pay a late fee after closing time. I knew this wasn't true as we had a long discussion about it before her son starting coming here. I found that before I laid down the law, the mom was coming later and later, not due to work but because she was working out or picking up their supper. I find that if you make your rules clear, fair and enforce them, clients generally will respect them. Good luck!

I've had to enforce my late fees with 2 of my families at some point. One family 3 times, the other once. Neither of them left but I was really nervous doing so the first time I did it. It gets easier the more times you do it. And I don't even think twice about charging it anymore. Good luck!

I get the OP's side a bit. I have a late fee and I do charge it but I do feel a bit.....degraded maybe? I hate being like "oh ya, don't forget you owe me $10" lol but I would do it because I don't want too send the message that being late is okay. Thankfully the family that has been late 3x has always paid the fee without me asking for it. If they ever didn't though I would just add it on to their next payment email.

I sorta wonder if they think that as long as they pay the fee, that it's ok. They know my fiance works evenings and I don't have children so I think they think "well she's home anyways". I however enjoy my evenings off and I don't want this to continue so I'm considering raising my fee and maybe terminating after 3 late pick ups.

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Originally Posted by 5 Little Monkeys

I get the OP's side a bit. I have a late fee and I do charge it but I do feel a bit.....degraded maybe? I hate being like "oh ya, don't forget you owe me $10" lol but I would do it because I don't want too send the message that being late is okay. Thankfully the family that has been late 3x has always paid the fee without me asking for it. If they ever didn't though I would just add it on to their next payment email.

I sorta wonder if they think that as long as they pay the fee, that it's ok. They know my fiance works evenings and I don't have children so I think they think "well she's home anyways". I however enjoy my evenings off and I don't want this to continue so I'm considering raising my fee and maybe terminating after 3 late pick ups.

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That's exactly it ... Your late fee has to be substantial enough to be a deterrent not a ticket to keep doing it. If you add the clause "chronic lateness will result in immediate termination" that way your not bound to 3x but can do it at your descretion.

Thanks, that's a good idea!!! I used to be open till 515, so the $10 was for 15 minutes, until 530 and then anything over 530 was a full day's rate, which is $30. I am now closed at 5 and I forgot to change that part in my contract so now they pay $10 for the first 30 mins.

They are my last to pick up normally and they usually pick up at 430. I think that is what bugs me the most. When they don't get here until 530, that is almost an hour past their usual time so why can't they at least send a text!! I have mentioned it on my monthly newsletter twice now. I am finding this group to have way less respect!

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Originally Posted by 5 Little Monkeys

Thanks, that's a good idea!!! I used to be open till 515, so the $10 was for 15 minutes, until 530 and then anything over 530 was a full day's rate, which is $30. I am now closed at 5 and I forgot to change that part in my contract so now they pay $10 for the first 30 mins.

They are my last to pick up normally and they usually pick up at 430. I think that is what bugs me the most. When they don't get here until 530, that is almost an hour past their usual time so why can't they at least send a text!! I have mentioned it on my monthly newsletter twice now. I am finding this group to have way less respect!

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Change it to a $1/minute after 5pm .... That'll fix their wagon

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Originally Posted by 5 Little Monkeys

Thanks, that's a good idea!!! I used to be open till 515, so the $10 was for 15 minutes, until 530 and then anything over 530 was a full day's rate, which is $30. I am now closed at 5 and I forgot to change that part in my contract so now they pay $10 for the first 30 mins.

They are my last to pick up normally and they usually pick up at 430. I think that is what bugs me the most. When they don't get here until 530, that is almost an hour past their usual time so why can't they at least send a text!! I have mentioned it on my monthly newsletter twice now. I am finding this group to have way less respect!

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Hey wait a minute .... If they are your last pick up at 4:30 why not close at 4:30 ??? That would be my letter ...
Dear parents
. As of xxxxx my closing time will change from 5pm to 4:30pm. Late fees of $1/minute will apply for any pickups after 4:30. Late Fees are required in cash at the time of pick up. Thank you for your understanding.
Regards 5 little money's daycare

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Originally Posted by Crayola kiddies

Hey wait a minute .... If they are your last pick up at 4:30 why not close at 4:30 ???

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I agree...why not just close at 4:30 if they are your last pick up. The hour they are late picking up because they are running errands is time they are stealing from you to run your errands and have family time.

I recently had to do the same thing. Change my closing hours. I had my hours 7-5:30 but all families except 1 were picked up by 4:45. I had 1 family whos parents would arrive at pickup in their casual clothes, so it was clear they were going home first and running errands before picking up their child and I was waiting an extra 45 minutes for THEM. I posted a notice and handed it out to all parents saying that I was closing now at 5:00 and there would be $1 minute late fees.

I do not charge a late fee because I do not want parents to think that being late is an option. I am a university professor and have to leave on time to teach. I close at 5. Only once has a parent come at 5 minutes past 5, and I was already in my car while my hubby had the child outside ready to go. They got the message. They usually arrive 15 minutes before closing just to be safe, or to give them leeway in case of traffic issues. They know if they are late, they will be terminated. This business closes at 5, just like any other business.

I just recently (well in the summer) had a turnover of daycare children. I was closing at 530 with my old group, my late child left so I switched to 515. Then my turnover happened so I changed to 5pm. I don't want to change again as most parents I interview need 5pm anyways. I don't mind being open till 5 but for the most part (almost always 4-5x a week) I am done at 430pm. I don't mind if parents do an errand every now and then as long as they are here by 5 which usually happens anyways.

I have 2 families that if dad is picking up because of the mom's shifts, need 445pm pick up. So even if I were to change my hours (for the 3rd time in a year lol) I would have to stay open till 445 anyways.

So I revised my contract last night and added a termination clause in there and added being late consistently as a reason to term.

I considered switching my hours to 445 but when I need to fill one of these spots I don't want to have to redo my contract again because most people need at least 5pm around here I find. This group knows that I am done at 430 and for the most part that is when they pick up.

Thanks for the advice! I am learning so much on this site lol