Late fees

[apples and bananas]

My honest opinion is that it does sound a little harsh. If I'm a client that is always on time then sharpening the late fee may feel like you're looking for more money.

I would suggest that you deal with the person that's the issue on an individual basis. If there's one person that's taking advantage of it then I would suggest that you change their late fees.

If it's more then one person then I would suggest that you look at what you're doing. Are you enforcing it strong enough? Are you letting the clients know that late pick ups intrude on your family time. Have you told them that it's not acceptable and your closing time is your closing times.

I don't enforce a late fee because in my mind, enforcing a late fee allows a client to think that it's ok for them to be late, they just pay a fee for it. I simply don't allow lates as a rule.

The odd time a client will ask if I can keep johnny a few min later in case they get stuck in a meeting. Some days I can and I let them know it's fine, but I confirm a "by the latest " time and some days' I can't and I tell them that.

I guess it depends on your clients.

[ladyjbug]

My honest opinion is that it does sound a little harsh. If I'm a client that is always on time then sharpening the late fee may feel like you're looking for more money.

I disagree with the above. I think that if I am a client that is always on time, I wouldn't worry about you changing the policy. After all, you wouldn't be breaking the policy, why be concerned about the consequences for someone who does break the policy? I would think about a policy change "Oh, someone must be breaking her policy!" and pat myself on the back for it not being me. Oh, and maybe go and get my a provider a coffee because I appreciate her very, very, much. Well, that's wishful thinking, but doesn't hurt to put it out there!

My late fees are $1.00 a minute. There is no grace period. My contract says that I can enforce them at anytime so to be prepared. However, if there is a huge blizzard and if some people are stuck on the roads or an emergency comes up, I am not a heartless person. Some of these things are just part of where I live and I expect them on some level. All of my current clients would be considerate enough to phone and warn me on days like that. I think late fees are more of an "inconsideration fee". I would charge someone that didn't phone and then came waltzing up my drive 3 minutes late, rather than the parent that apologized profusely and sprinted up my drive 8 minutes. I would charge the 3 minute late one even though she was earlier than the other one, because she came with the expectation that I had nowhere to be and that my time was not as valuable as hers. The 8 minute one, maybe I wouldn't charge (depends on the reason) because the respect was there for my time and for me.