Thread: Venting Thread
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MrsB 08:55 AM 01-18-2012
I was having problems with a few families who pay consitently late. (I require payment on Monday for that week) In my contract I have a clause that you can have two seperate occurances per year where you can pay up to 4 days late without getting charged a late fee after the 4th day you get charged regardless. So I put a chart up on my bulliten board at the sign in table right in front where everyone can see it and it has all the parents names on it. When they pay I put the date in the square of the date that it was paid. If they are late I highlight the empty box with a yellow highlighter (so they know their will be a late fee on their next weeks pay). If they used one of their 2 non penalty I highlight it in green once they pay with the date they paid. If it has gone 4 days with still no payment I mark the box in pink. Which means the next daycare day they are not allowed to bring their child to care without payment.

Seems a bit complicated but the idea is simple. No parent wants to be called out for not paying on time. You could do something even as simple as putting their name on the bulliten board as "So-n-So" NOT PAID. The parents got the hang of it REALLY quick and after the third week of doing this I have only had 3 late payments and they were made on Tuesday. (Been doing this for about 18 months now) Then you have proof and so do they, of late fees charged and they cant say well I paid on time. I used to get so frustrated with this every week and would take it so personally.

Sometimes you just have to take it back to basics. Remember when you were in kindergarten and you had the color coded behavior charts? Same idea just for people that are supposed to act like adults. I had a few balks at it but I just explained that I have to be consitant with everyone and I have to get paid so I can have the food, curriculum, heat, lights, and water, ready for them when they get here. Besides would they like it if on pay day their boss told them oh I forgot my check book can I get it to you in 5 days!

I have one parent that I know is struggling and she called me one night and said my child support check didnt come through and I really dont have the money to pay you until it goes through. I let her know that I so appreciated the call and hoped that she would be up front with me in the future. We agreed that this weeks payment would be due on Wednesday for half the weekly rate (she needed to give me a post dated check for Wednesday on Monday still) and that the other half would be due with next weeks payment. I wrote it up she signed it on Monday and gave me the post dated ck and I marked it on the sheet as paid on Monday on time. No late fees. I let her know again I am more than willing to work with her if she is having a hard time but she needs to let me know ahead of time so we can come up with a plan before its due rather than just assuming I dont mind. She felt like I was being understanding and I didnt feel disrespected! I'v been doing this long enough though that you can't please everyone and there are always be "THOSE PARENTS" Everyone hope you are having a wonderful day!
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