I am confused!! please help..

[paz]

Hello Ladies,

Its been a while since my last post. hope everyone is well.
I have a full timer starting full day JK this coming September and mom is negotiating the rates for before and after school. On our initital interview told her I was able to provide B & A even do my kids attend another school near by and the school hours r different. We did not discussed rates because was not sure at that time and never provided the type of service.
She is currently paying $150 a week including holidays/vacation/days off everything as outlined on my daycare policy booklet. Mom has been great and appreciate the quality of my services.

My problem is how to deal with B&A school payment fees..the child stills keep the spot in my daycare and I cant fill up with another child but mom expect me to lower my fees 50%..drop off at 7am/provide breakfast/drive her to school along with the other DCC plus dropping my own kids to the bus stop..same goes picking up/given snack/parents pick up at 6pm sometimes later. Told her my fees are $125 based on 2 hours in the morning and 3 hours after school. She did not agreed and call around for prices even plasp and still try to negotiate with me..I feel discourage and dont know what to do anymore...thank you for your time reading this.

[Bookworm]

I wouldn't negotiate my fees. If she does not want to pay your fees then maybe you should suggest that she find b&a care from a different provider. Just tell her that she is taking a full time spot up and that is your fee to cover the loss of income.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

[paz]

thanks Bookworm..I told her $75 is not going to cover my services/effort put into this and her replied was so what rate are your proposing? why?

[Mamma_Mia]

wow she's a smart one huh?
Does she think the rate you gave her at the interview was a "tester"? lol That IS your rate!!

[paz]

Yes Mamma_Mia she is a smart one and thinks I am the stupid one.
I have no tolerance for this type of situations.

[Play and Learn]

Nope. Do you get to negotiate your fees with a dentist or a lawyer? NO.

I still don't understand how people like this try to negotiate fees. She obviously had experience with someone else, or knows of someone else who negotiates!

For my school-age rates, I charge $10/hour. Essentially, they'd be here only 2 hours max because of my hours and when the buses come. For P.D.Days, they have to pay $45. No negotiating. I don't care!

[Inspired by Reggio]

Sadly this is why most of us just choose NOT TO OFFER this service ... why would we want to take a 'cut in pay' for the privilege of serving them when we could just accept a full time child into care with less 'hassle'?

Honestly unless you have to walk back and forth to a school for your OWN children anyway and you want a play mate your kids age and so forth so that this is a PLUS for you the fact is that offering this service is a PITA from both a programming standpoint and a financial stand point ... you are rule by the clock of getting them to and from school in time so it messes up sleep times for younger children and you have to often 'wake' children in the afternoon to get there in time and than on top of that you have to go outside in nasty winter weather and push or pull your wee ones to drop off and pick up and so forth which is often no picnic cause people do not shovel their snow nicely and they are often icy and dangerous and than on top of all that you have school age ATTITUDE to contend with in that the kids often do not want to be a part of the program and do the Im bored, this sucks and other things that the younger ones than emulate!

Personally IF I were to EVER offer that kind of service I would not drop my fee at ALL cause a space is a space my program ... plus since I have no 'school age' kids myself for me I would rather have a younger kid here the full day and the freedom that entails than have to transport back and forth to school and be ruled by the 'clock' ... honestly I would want to charge EXTRA for that PITA experience

[paz]

Reggio!!! you always have the right words for any situation, can not thank you enough for the time you take to be there for all of us.
It is a lot of work and on top all underpay.

[paz]

Reggio! even do I dont owe her any explanation for my fees and just because she sent me a text quote: in the context of an employee employer relationship-if I am employed on a part-time basis I would not continue to receive my full time pay`.

how does she figure the child is part-time if is with me everyday and I am responsable for her school attendance. I want to respond back in a way she would understand this is not how it works in this bussiness..a spot is a spot. thanks

[Inspired by Reggio]

.... in the context of an employee employer relationship-if I am employed on a part-time basis I would not continue to receive my full time pay`....

She sent you this as argument for paying you less?

I would reply that she is not an employer ~ she is purchasing a service!

If she buys a membership to a gym ~ the fee is based on a monthly 'rate' and she pays for that membership whether she goes 3 times a week or 3 times a day cause she is paying for the 'membership' in the gym. Is she wants a pay as you go membership at the gym it will actually cost her MORE that if she just bought a monthly membership which is why most people just opt for the monthly option.

If she is renting an apartment and she goes away on vacation for 2 weeks and is not 'using it' the landlord does not credit her two weeks of 'rent' because she is paying to ensure the space is secured for her upon her return and if she does NOT pay her rent she will return to find an eviction notice

Bell Canada charges her the same basic rate for a landline whether she is home to use her phone are not to ensure the service is 'there for her when she needs it' .... if she talks one month for 60 hours and the next month drops down to 110 minutes Bell does not 'drop her rate' cause she is now part time phone user?

I could go on and on but you get my point ~ she is comparing apples and oranges here!

If my employer dropped my hours down to part time nope they are not obligate to continue to pay me full time wages ~ but the fact remains I am free to find another job to offset the lost income which might result in me no longer be available for the hours they were offering and termination of my agreement with that person So while she is free to request a change from full time to part time hours YOU do not have to accept that ~ you will find someone else who is willing to attend full time and pay you the service you need.

As I said it is clients like HER that create the scarcity of 'school aged programming' .... seriously what is the 'incentive' to offer this service to people who do not even GET what they are asking someone to do ~ forgo income that a full time child would allow them?

Heck the school boards have the SPACE to offer these programs so there should not be any 'issue' with finding before and after school care but the fact is that most DO NOT offer it because parents are not willing to PAY ENOUGH for it to attract employees willing to work the wonky split shift where you basically end up working a measly 6 hours a day from 6am - 9am and 3pm - 6 pm but you are 'stuck' with 6 hours in the middle which is not enough time to go anywhere are do much once you factor in 'travel time' back and forth to work and so forth ~ it gets old fast and people constantly 'quit' and than the schools have issues with staffing so they just do not offer it!

The basically want to pay like $1-2 an hour and they even bitch about that over their $5 latte :roll: