I love text communications, it really comes in handy sometimes but I absolutely HATE the text 5 min. before pick up time that simply says "running 10 min. late". How the heck do you respond to that??? I don't want to say "ok" because its NOT ok. I don't want to say to hurry because I'd feel horrible if they got in an accident or something. I think I'm going to just start responding with "that will be a $10 late fee" with a little smiley face.

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That's exactly how I do and would respond.

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Yup. I've just started to text back, "Okay, I'll have the late sign in ready for you"

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I hear you! I just got one last night

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I respond with "Thank you for letting me know. The late fees will be X if you get here before 6 and $1 per each additional minute afterwards."

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Those late texts drive me insane. I like your idea about sending the response of "that will be a $10 late fee" with a little smiley face !!

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What about the text 15 minutes after they are suppose to be there. "Running late!" Like I didn't notice you weren't here on time.

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you know, I really want to start having something for them to sign when they show up late. I noticed the sign in sheet after he left and it wasn't even filled in!!! Maybe I'll start having a red pen nearby and hand it to parents if they walk in late.

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Oh I like the red pen idea. It makes it a little more "real" and makes it stand out

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I got the idea from BC!

I have a red folder that says "Late sign in" on the front. They put their kids name, date, pick up time and late fee. Then they leave the money in the pocket of the folder.

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I recently deactivated my text messaging in an effort to save money on bills. I have found that I no longer get late messages, or any of the ridiculous requests I used to get. It has been such a stress reliever!

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I do just respond with, "Thank you for letting me know." They know that they won't be accepted into care here until their late fee is paid, even if it is $1.00, and I let them know that their invoice will arrive in their inbox after I close out the system for the evening.

I used to have a separate sign-in sheet that was put out after hours with a giant "LATE SIGN-OUT SHEET" in red letters at the top. It had a special column for them to do the math for the late fee. A wonderful poster on this board suggested that.

Now, I use checkinkids.com (free) and it displays a red little notice when they are late that tells them the late fee.

What I have been getting a lot of lately is Grandmas picking up their grandchildren late. Every single Grandma that picks up their grandchild late has a surprised look on their face upon arriving, states, "Oh! Are you the last one?" or "Oh! Am I late???" to which I say, "Yes, we close at x:xx." even though they've been late a couple of times before. I always text their Mom 2 minutes after closing time to see if everything is okay because their child is still in care here and no one has arrived to pick them up. They are, I'm sure, well aware that they are late. I also text the Moms the minute their child is picked up and state the time they were picked up and that the invoice was just sent to their inbox. Goodness gracious.

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I just add a sticky note to the sign in sheet a couple days later saying: late pick up and the date and amount to add to the next payment. Rarely do I get late pick ups now that I've started that.

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I have a large red folder. It comes out at 6PM on the nose and the normal sign in sheet disappears.

My husband keeps the kids in the playroom and late fee signing gets taken care of before their kids get sent out to go home!

I always have a big smile on my face for the most part. I nod and smile as I listen to the excuses and hand them the pen.....

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