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mac60 04:39 AM 08-11-2010
Are your daycare rates negotiable?
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JenNJ 04:50 AM 08-11-2010
No. If I had to increase, I would work with an existing family if they couldn't afford it, but I wouldn't take on a new family that tried to talk me down.
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melskids 05:21 AM 08-11-2010
no.

i dont get to negotiate what i pay for curriculum, liability insurance, food from the grocery store, my water bill or electic.
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Golden Rule 05:23 AM 08-11-2010
I have offered discounted rates depending on my financial ability at the time and specific parental situations.

I also tend to have one of two here for "no-pay" due to extreme medical bills/etc.... (childhood cancer/cardiac/renal disease) BUT I will never give it to someone who asks/expects it.

It is a gift I offer parents in private and the other parents will never be aware of it.
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Janet 05:32 AM 08-11-2010
I'm pretty firm on my rates, so I would say that I'm not flexible in general. However, if I have a situation where a daycare family has a schedule that will fill in the gaps for my attendance, then I would be willing to work out a different rate because it helps me, too.
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emosks 06:09 AM 08-11-2010
Nope.......
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jen 06:11 AM 08-11-2010
Nope.........
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missnikki 06:29 AM 08-11-2010
For ME, once the contract is signed, that's it.
If I feel generous, it's got to be MY idea, and in private, like the PP said.
Never ever ever AFTER care is given and a bill goes out.
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momma2girls 06:35 AM 08-11-2010
I have given tons of breaks in the past, and they always, I repeat always bite you in the butt!! Never again!!!!
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kidkair 07:42 AM 08-11-2010
I used to me flexible and negotiate but now I stick to my rates. I also require that the kids arrive by a certain time and are picked up after a certain time. I have found that this deters a lot of the families that I wouldn't get along with anyway. I have great families and one that asked me to charge them for tuition to give me more money out of an account through their office
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safechner 08:01 AM 08-11-2010
I used to because I feel so sorry for family who cannot afford but now I am not doing it anymore. I found there is no excuse because they can afford to buy $50 or more pack of cigarettes per week or two, pedicure, color hairs, etc..
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DanceMom 08:02 AM 08-11-2010
Yes - but to a degree...Im not going to turn away an enrollment because of a few bucks if I can afford to do so.
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momma2girls 08:19 AM 08-11-2010
Originally Posted by safechner:
I used to because I feel so sorry for family who cannot afford but now I am not doing it anymore. I found there is no excuse because they can afford to buy $50 or more pack of cigarettes per week or two, pedicure, color hairs, etc..
I know exactly what you mean, or have tons of new toys, etc... when you are giving them breaks!!
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DCMom 09:52 AM 08-11-2010
No, not really. But I can't say that anyone has ever challenged them. I will negotiate on late pick up fees and late payment fees, but that is at my discretion.

That is the beauty of owning your own business~it's your decision to make
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misol 10:41 AM 08-11-2010
Originally Posted by Heather:
Yes - but to a degree...Im not going to turn away an enrollment because of a few bucks if I can afford to do so.
Same here. Of course I'd rather them pay my rate but if they ask the right way (without a sense of entitlement) and they really seem like a good fit then I may give them the rate they are asking as long as they are not trying to lowball me. Or I might even come back with a counteroffer!
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judytrickett 10:56 AM 08-11-2010
The short answer - NO!

Never, EVER assume someone does not have the ability to pay you what you are worth.

Money is about priorities and NOT about money.

The same people who claim can not "afford" daycare would somehow manage to come up with $500 TOMORROW if their car or their refrigerator broke.
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originalkat 11:13 AM 08-11-2010
I am pretty firm on my rates. The only two times I have gone down in rates was:
1. A current family needed to go down to 3 days per week (which I dont do). So I gave them the lowest rate I can afford to give per week which was $100 per week.
2. One time I was really needing a family and was not getting any bites. One mom called twice and the second time she called she asked if I could go down to $100 per week (a $25 per week discount). I went ahead and did it. I am so glad I did. I LOVE this little girl and her mom always donates stuff for parties and special stuff.

Both decisions have worked out.
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Abigail 01:43 PM 08-11-2010
Originally Posted by originalkat:
I am pretty firm on my rates. The only two times I have gone down in rates was:
1. A current family needed to go down to 3 days per week (which I dont do). So I gave them the lowest rate I can afford to give per week which was $100 per week.
2. One time I was really needing a family and was not getting any bites. One mom called twice and the second time she called she asked if I could go down to $100 per week (a $25 per week discount). I went ahead and did it. I am so glad I did. I LOVE this little girl and her mom always donates stuff for parties and special stuff.

Both decisions have worked out.
That is awesome it worked out. Did each family only have one child?
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Abigail 01:50 PM 08-11-2010
I know what the minimum $100, average $125, and maximum $160 weekly FCCH rates are here, so my plan is to charge $130 weekly rate and keep it the same straight across the board. This seems really expensive in the end actually because almost everybody here gives a $10-$20 discount according to age, but I will not discount the rate....why take any pay cut when I'm limited so if they're preschoolers the cheapest rates are only $85/week! If I don't get any takers, I am willing to go down some, but I would take off $10 and see if they'd accept or wait for the next. Then start back up higher again for the next client. After I get going, it shouldn't be a problem.

I hope my plan works out!
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alyssyn 02:01 PM 08-11-2010
No breaks here.
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originalkat 02:20 PM 08-11-2010
Originally Posted by Abigail:
That is awesome it worked out. Did each family only have one child?
------Yes------
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MyAngels 03:02 PM 08-11-2010
Mine are. I have a "friends and family" rate, which is slightly lower than my general rates, but I do that because I want to encourage those families to attend my daycare. It's always given with the strict admonition that this is not something to be shared with other daycare families, and it's always been something that I offer, not something that the families have asked for.

In 18 years I've never had a problem with it, and those that I give my lower rate to are always the best families at any given time, so it works, for me anyway.
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