I love it when karma bites people in the butt! lol

Many of you know that I've been having problems with a family. Mom switched her schedule over to make me open at 5 in the morning without asking me permission first and without offering to pay more. I don't open until 6:30, as I'm newly pregnant and already work 11 hours a day. When I told mom to switch her schedule back to within my hours last week she said fine. She came in Monday of this week and told me his last day would be Tuesday. I quickly informed her she would have to pay for not giving me 2 weeks notice. I offered to let her bring him during those 2 weeks several times and she said no. She said she was on a waiting list elsewhere for quite some time and they finally had room for her son. I said that was fine and gave her the bill for the 2 weeks notice.

Well, Tuesday morning came and I got up extra early again, for his last day. Mom comes in and says he threw up in the car on the way over so she was taking him home. She asked if she could bring him on Wednesday instead. I said that would be fine, as I didn't have anyone to fill his spot yet anyways but I wasn't thrilled about another early morning and I made sure to let her know not to bring him if he threw up one more time.

Meanwhile, I get a call from a man who has 2 kids that need care starting immediately. He had already been given a tour the week prior so I enrolled them right away and the new little ones started care this morning.

So, this morning comes, which again is supposed to be his last day and I get a text saying he's still sick and not coming. I thank her for letting me know and secretly do a happy dance because I was worried about being out of ratio if he did come, seen as how last night I had just enrolled 2 new children to take his place.

Now here's the kicker! I just get a phone call from this mom a few minutes ago. She wants to know if she can bring him thur, fri, mon, and I'm not even sure of what other days. Because something about him being sick and he can't go to the new daycare. I tuned it all out, so as not to get sucked into her sob story. I cut her off mid sentence. I tell her that his last day was supposed to be on Tuesday and his spot has been filled by a new family with 2 children. I tell her that I would be out of ratio by taking him and he no longer has a cubby or anything here anymore and his paperwork has been closed out, as she decided to move on. So... sorry!

Then I hang up the phone and I LAUGH, LAUGH, LAUGH!!!!! And I LAUGH some more! Then I call my hubby and LAUGH even more. This is what I call karma and I love it! lol. Serves her right for trying to be sneaky and change her work schedule without asking me and serves her right for trying to pull her child with no notice. Furthermore, how dare her wanting to bring her sick child with the flu over to my home to get everyone here sick because new daycare center won't take him now, for whatever reason. I hope this teaches this woman a lesson about not burning the people that watch your children.

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Karma will always get em That's hilarious!

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She doesn't have a daycare. She made that up to get you to comply. She will not want to pay notice on slots you say you have filled. She will come back at you so be prepared for more calls and a complaint to your licensor.

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LOL! Love it!! Glad you got a replacement family so quick!

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I was ready to terminate the child last week and it is only because of my hubby promising to get up early to let him in that I didn't. I made sure that everything was documented really well because of the whole situation. I think we will be okay. That is the sad part of this business though. Everytime you try to follow the rules, you risk making people mad and have to worry about them going to your licensor or pulling. This website has given me my backbone. Yay! I will no longer be a doormat.
I did discuss the 2 week notice fee with mom before I knew I had replacement kids lined up. I told her I turned away 3 families that came for tours last week because I didn't know she was pulling. That was the truth. I told her I would follow up with those families and see if they wanted the spot. Before I had time to do that, this dad called and wanted the spot. It worked out great for me. I feel that I should still charge the 2 weeks though, as most daycare's in my area charge the last 2 weeks of care up front so this doesn't happen. I feel that it is owed to me and it is in my contract to legally back me up. This family has caused me so much grief. The child cost me atleast 3 different tours by acting naughty when people were over to interview with me when I first opened and was trying to get full. What do you gals think? Would you still charge even if you filled the spot a day or 2 later?

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Have you been paid yet for it? If you haven't you will probably not get it.

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I personally wouldn't charge her if you filled the spots, better to just cut all ties and chalk it up to lesson learned. Your technically not out much or any money. I would bet she would throw a fit about asking for payment.

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I also think it's hilarious!

Is he part time? Do you allow him to switch days on a regular basis, or just when ratios allow? If the other family filled days that weren't set for this dcb, I would absolutely charge her the last two weeks. If not, I would just let it go.

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No, he came full time mon-fri. His contract was signed by mom for 7am to 5:30pm. She has been signing him in at 5 and 5:30 lately which is way before our agreed upon time. Like I said, lots of documentation for proof for the courts if needed. lol I know that she may be mad and there is a very real possibility of her not paying. In that case, we will probably take her to small claims court. Plus, her husband is military and we can follow up with his chain of command if needed.

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Gotta love karma!

One of my dc moms left me because she found someone who would charge her a dollar less per hour. Dcm didn't like the care her kids were getting there (she walked in and found the babysitter eating and watching tv while the kids - ages 1 and 5 went totally unsupervised, she never did crafts or learning activities with them, etc. ) but as she explained it to me, "She didn't want to end their arrangement with her because she was a college student and she would feel bad messing with her income." Of course, she didn't seem the least concerned about what she was doing to my income!

Anyway...the college student dumped her with no notice as soon as school started up in September, leaving her to scramble for child care. She apparently found someone else who charges less than I do but on at least 3 different occasions since September, she's called me to see if I had any drop-in openings because her day care is closed. Just so happens, I've been full each time! Gotta love karma!

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I plan on asking for a non-refundable deposit of the last week up front when they sign up along with first week and the enrollment (supplies/registration... w/e you wanna call it) fee when I start {a useful tool I learned from this site}. Maybe after a while I would make it two weeks deposit or give them an option of paying a certain mount for a few weeks until it is paid off. It might be too late to do with her but could be useful to do for future families.

ETA:
At this point I wouldn't even want her to come back to my daycare for any reason- even if it is to pay me. Plus karma/justice (w/e you wanna call it) works both ways and if you keep pushing your luck it will run out. I personally would just be the bigger person and yeah it may sting a bit but it's better than doing it and her saying that you are trying to cheat her out of money or saying that you are stingy and only care about money on a potential website ad and have it affect your business. Plus most people charge for the last 2 weeks to give them some time to fill the spot and you now have 2. There is also that saying 'kill them with kindness' get under their skin by showing them the kindness they never showed you.

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Personally, I wouldn't but that's just me. I would just want to be done with her. If your contract states that that's your policy, though, you have every right to go after the money. It just wouldn't be worth the hassle for me.

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I this story

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I wouldn't pursue the money. You filled the spot and there was no option for that child to attend the final 2 weeks of care. If they pay for it, they have a right to attend unless there is some extenuating circumstance.
I collect the final two weeks of care upfront as a "security deposit" to be applied later on down the road if a WRITTEN two weeks notice is given to me. I was burned as well.

Good riddance!!! You will be much better off.

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Heck I once baby sat for two kids (a 2 year old and a delayed 4 year old) for like 7 hours 3 times a week whenever they were too sick for daycare (lasted about 3 months) I was also a full time student (18 creds only 2 days a week) and I NEVER turned on the TV- the minute the parents left (if not before) I turned off the TV and we would play together and read and sometimes I even tried to do a mini preschool thing were I would try to go over colors and numbers and simple actions with them in English and Spanish. Sometimes I would turn the radio to the Christian station and we would dance around. Even during nap time when they were in their rooms and I was in the living room- I would either read a magizine or do some homework and trust me, I grew up with my eyes glued to the TV and even I know that it's not the best thing for kids.

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Normally I would agree. I have another family that skipped out on about $150 and that one just isn't worth pursuing but this one is already $400 and it will be a whole lot more if we get to go to court and pursue court costs on top of it.

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I did fill the spot but the mom that left only gave me a one day notice. She didn't know I would be able to fill the spot and she didn't even have the courtesy to tell me she was looking for a new daycare. Also, I asked her a few times if she was sure she didn't want to bring him for those 2 weeks and she told me no. I documented that on her bill that I made out for her and I have it documented in a text conversation we had that she declined to use her 2 weeks. If she had said yes, I would have told the new family that they would have to wait 2 weeks before starting care with me. I offered to provide the care but she declined. In fact, she said his last day was Tuesday but when she asked to bring him Wednesday too I told her yes just to be nice. She thought she had things all set up at his new daycare but something must have fell through or they didn't want him because he has the flu.

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How dud she get to 400 debt? The military part is AWESOME. Yes take her to small claums.

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That's great!!! I love stories like this (only when the parent was mean first).

I do have to say however that if it came down to it and I was in your shoes and if the DCM didn't want to pay for the final two weeks of care I would probably push it to a certain degree but if in fact I had filled the spot immediately I would probably just let it go since there was no loss of income for me. If you take it to court you can always show your contract and the part that requires payment for the final two weeks but if you were full a judge MIGHT look at that and see it as not a loss of income. You just never know.

I have a buddy that was sued by his ex gf and the story went a little like this:
My friend "Bill" rented a room from some girl he met through a friend (2 bedroom apartment).
He signed a contract to share rent and utilities 50/50.
After a few months Bill started dating the girl and stopped sleeping in the 2nd bedroom, kept paying 50% of everything.
Some time later the GF told Bill that a guy friend of hers was going to move into the 2nd bedroom since no one was sleeping in it.
Bill didn't particularly like the guy and thought that the guy was after his GF.
Bill told GF that he would end the relationship and move out if she moved guy in.
GF moved guy in anyway. Bill moved out the same day.
GF (now ex-GF) tries to get him to pay extra month of rent because he didn't give 30 day notice, Bill says no.
Ex-GF takes him to court, shows contract.
Judge throws case out because ex-GF had someone to replace Bill and take over his half of rent and utilities once he moved out.
Also returns Bills counter claim for prorated rent that he paid for the days of the month that he did not live in apartment because the original agreement was that he was paying for half of the rent and utilities in exchange for the 2nd bedroom which she had then gave to the other guy.
... BUT it depends on the judge, the way your system works and how you present the case.

I have also seen a case here in the same county where an 8yo was charged for a felony for stealing a bottle of water, feeling guilty about it as soon as he walked out the door, turned right back around and went right up to the clerk and admitted to what he had done. The clerk just thought to scare the kid and called the cops to talk to him (scare him straight as a lesson), cop took him to the police department and booked him and the DA pressed felony charges on the kid and won . So ... like I said, it can go either way.

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That is ridiculous.

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