How to Respond to this DCM

[childcaremom]

So my dcf that has been having trouble following rules.... picking up a few mins after closing, payment was late. I sent out a warning on Friday, paper and email, reminding them of policies.

Today she picked up 2 mins late. At 5 pm (her pick up time) I put the note in her bag.

She just emailed me for clarification. Stated she was not late.

(I am advertising to replace. These parents are as much work as their kids)

[Thriftylady]

Can you put the clock you use near the door? Then when she gets here, you can point at the clock and say "oh look DCM, you are X minutes late".

[childcaremom]

Yes, I am going to the store tonight to get one. We are outside at pick ups but I guess I need to get something because this family needs some hand holding.

I told her that I use the time on our phones. But a little visualization will go a long way, I guess.

I just feel like she is going to argue this to no end.

[NoMoreJuice!]

Do you have a late fee for late payment? And a fee for picking up late? It seems she's just not taking you seriously, and I would stop that behavior right now. Let her know that she will be charged $2 a minute after closing time, and she owes $XX.00 for the late pickup and $XX.00 for the late payment.

I agree, get a clock and point it out when she is late.

[childcaremom]

Originally Posted by NoMoreJuice!

Do you have a late fee for late payment? And a fee for picking up late? It seems she's just not taking you seriously, and I would stop that behavior right now. Let her know that she will be charged $2 a minute after closing time, and she owes $XX.00 for the late pickup and $XX.00 for the late payment.

I agree, get a clock and point it out when she is late.

Yes, I gave her the warning on Friday.

Now she is late picking up. I have a sheet always ready so I can pop it in a bag if the alarm goes off (I set my alarm to each pick up time). So at 5, alarm goes, in goes the sheet.

I had to chat with her about her little guy screaming and not napping again and her older one ran off. But verbal warning I guess, too, is needed.

[NightOwl]

I have a clock directly above my sign in sheet and, in my policies, it clearly states that that particular clock is atomically set and late arrivals are determined by the time on that clock alone (not mom's cell phone, or the radio clock in their car, etc). I even advise them to set their most used clock to match mine. So my response would be to tell her that I go by the displayed time on my clock above the sign in sheets and no other.

[childcaremom]

Originally Posted by NessaRose

I have a clock directly above my sign in sheet and, in my policies, it clearly states that that particular clock is atomically set and late arrivals are determined by the time on that clock alone (not mom's cell phone, or the radio clock in their car, etc). I even advise them to set their most used clock to match mine. So my response would be to tell her that I go by the displayed time on my clock above the sign in sheets and no other.

So I would potentially say:
"Dcm, as per my email on Friday, I use the time on my phone for the accurate time. At 5 pm, you were not here, and I placed the late slip in the bag. Pick up time was 5:02."

[childcaremom]

And can I just say how much I hate having to deal with dcps like this. They are so.much.work.

Just follow my policies for petes sake. It isn't even big things... but they add up. And they are only on their third week.

[Blackcat31]

Originally Posted by childcaremom

So I would potentially say:
"Dcm, as per my email on Friday, I use the time on my phone for the accurate time. At 5 pm, you were not here, and I placed the late slip in the bag. Pick up time was 5:02."

Originally Posted by childcaremom

And can I just say how much I hate having to deal with dcps like this. They are so.much.work.

Just follow my policies for petes sake. It isn't even big things... but they add up. And they are only on their third week.

That is exactly what I would say. Time on 99.9% of cell phones and on computers is accurate and in sync.

She may have pulled into your driveway before 5 and be thinking that is why she wasn't late..... I make sure my families know that when they say 5 pick up time, that means have your child and be gone BY 5 not get here at 5.

I also agree that parents are becoming more work than ever and I used to dread it....now I kind of have fun with it.....

[daycare]

maybe I am the odd man out here, but you don't give any kind of grace period? I give 5 min grace period each way. lets face it, its impossible to get anywhere exactly at a certain time. DC is the only place that it's not good to show up 10 min early and its bad to show up 5 min late.

I would not be billing for 2 min over pick up. If it were more than 5 min after pick up, then yeah I would be giving them a bill. whats a difference of 3 min??? it's a buffer.....

I have a time clock now, but when I didn't I removed their time sheet and put a late time sheet out there that they had to sign.

so if they there pick up was 500 then at 505 i would remove the normal sign out sheet and give them a late sign out sheet. In bold red letters at the top said late pick up or late sign out.

are there other issues? how long have they been with you??

[MarinaVanessa]

There are a couple of things that can be done in this situation.
First and foremost you should be direct with her and have the conversation face to face. My policies say that they are not to be even on minute later than their scheduled pickup time and that the time is based on MY clock.

Other things you can do:
- charge $1 per minute past the pickup time.
- have a sign in sheet for parents with a digital clock right next to it. Have a blue/black pen ready for them to sign and if they are not there yet for pick right at their scheduled pickup time CHANGE the pen to a red one.
- don't have a pen there at all and you be in charge of writing the time in for them and they have to sign.

Personally I didn't like dealing with this issue so I purchased a Schlage LiNK system. It's hardware that goes on your front door with a keypad. I went ahead and paid for the $10 monthly fee and was able to designate a code to each parent that ONLY works during their scheduled pickup times. One minute early or late and their code doesn't work so they have to knock. No way to argue that.

[childcaremom]

Originally Posted by daycare

maybe I am the odd man out here, but you don't give any kind of grace period? I give 5 min grace period each way. lets face it, its impossible to get anywhere exactly at a certain time. DC is the only place that it's not good to show up 10 min early and its bad to show up 5 min late.

I would not be billing for 2 min over pick up. If it were more than 5 min after pick up, then yeah I would be giving them a bill. whats a difference of 3 min??? it's a buffer.....

I have a time clock now, but when I didn't I removed their time sheet and put a late time sheet out there that they had to sign.

so if they there pick up was 500 then at 505 i would remove the normal sign out sheet and give them a late sign out sheet. In bold red letters at the top said late pick up or late sign out.

are there other issues? how long have they been with you??

I don't do grace periods anymore.

She has been late by a few mins a few times. Sat in her car on her phone once and I brought the kids to her. Then late with payment. I gave her the warning on Friday after that. Told her there would be late fees going forward. So staying firm on that, put the sheet in the bag.

This is only her third week.

And dcb doesn't nap well. He screams. Not related but he only slept 20 mins today.

[childcaremom]

so then...

Do i charge?

She doesn't sign out ever. It is in my policies that if they don't sign out, then it is up to me to write the time in and late fees will be based on this time.

I charge $10 per part of the first 15 minutes late.
I charge $30 per part of the first 30 minutes late.

After 30 mins, I reserve the right to terminate care immediately with no refund of fees.

[childcaremom]

I guess I feel that this is a he said/she said.

[MarinaVanessa]

I wouldn't do grace periods either. A 5 pm pick up time with a 15 minute grace period could quickly turn into a regular 5:15 pm pickup everyday

[daycare]

I charge and automatic $7.00 failure to sign out fee. In the past I had parents not sign out in hopes of me not noting they were late. Thank god those parents are long gone.

If they are new, i would perhaps tell her this. I wanted to go over pick up with you again one last time because it seems like the pick up time you chose is not working out for you. YOur contracted time is 8 am to 5pm....this means that you are able to use those hours and can pick up at any time before 5pm, after that time, late fees go into affect.

As for the grace period. I live in a very busy city where most of my parents have to commute out and the traffic can be horrific at times. especially if there is an accident or such. I would much rather give that 5 min grace period or ask the parents to change their contracted times set. I do have the tier rate payment structure, which means later pick up would be more money.....

I have a grace period except at closing time.
This isn't this parents only infraction though so it's different.

I don't have a grace period anymore. It was taken advantage of to often. The thing that irked me is dcps are off work early and still comes a few minutes late. Sorry got things to do with my family.

[Josiegirl]

Originally Posted by MarinaVanessa

There are a couple of things that can be done in this situation.
First and foremost you should be direct with her and have the conversation face to face. My policies say that they are not to be even on minute later than their scheduled pickup time and that the time is based on MY clock.

Other things you can do:
- charge $1 per minute past the pickup time.
- have a sign in sheet for parents with a digital clock right next to it. Have a blue/black pen ready for them to sign and if they are not there yet for pick right at their scheduled pickup time CHANGE the pen to a red one.
- don't have a pen there at all and you be in charge of writing the time in for them and they have to sign.

Personally I didn't like dealing with this issue so I purchased a Schlage LiNK system. It's hardware that goes on your front door with a keypad. I went ahead and paid for the $10 monthly fee and was able to designate a code to each parent that ONLY works during their scheduled pickup times. One minute early or late and their code doesn't work so they have to knock. No way to argue that.

Oooh that LINK system sounds cool! I've never heard of that.
I admit, I'm far too lenient a.k.a. a pushover, when it comes to a couple minutes here or there.

[AmyLeigh]

Originally Posted by daycare

maybe I am the odd man out here, but you don't give any kind of grace period? I give 5 min grace period each way. lets face it, its impossible to get anywhere exactly at a certain time. DC is the only place that it's not good to show up 10 min early and its bad to show up 5 min late.

I would not be billing for 2 min over pick up. If it were more than 5 min after pick up, then yeah I would be giving them a bill. whats a difference of 3 min??? it's a buffer.....

I have a time clock now, but when I didn't I removed their time sheet and put a late time sheet out there that they had to sign.

so if they there pick up was 500 then at 505 i would remove the normal sign out sheet and give them a late sign out sheet. In bold red letters at the top said late pick up or late sign out.

are there other issues? how long have they been with you??

I have a short grace period also, but only because it has not been abused. On my advise, all of my families have given themselves an extra 10 minutes on their contracted pick up times to avoid this problem. It's enough time in case there is an issue like you mentioned and to call if there is going to be a longer delay, but not enough to run a bunch of errands before picking up a kid.

[Meeko]

I have a digital clock right by the sign in/out area. According to state regs, parents MUST sign in and out, so no option.

It is in my contract and handbook that time is taken from the daycare clock ONLY. No arguments on whether they are late or not.

I close at 6PM. At exactly 6PM, I replace my regular sign in/out book with a bright red one. They have to sign out in it and initial the late charges before they leave.

I also wouldn't do a grace period because it gets taken advantage of and then they question your late fee/policy. I tell dcps and it's written in my handbook that child must be signed out by their contracted time or a late fee will be charged. It is even stated to give themselves enough to time to arrive before their contracted end time. I ended up buying a small travel clock that I taped inside my sign in/out binder with a note on it saying licensing and food program requires the exact time child is signed in/out. Now the dcps use it for the time.

[daycare]

Originally Posted by AmyLeigh

I have a short grace period also, but only because it has not been abused. On my advise, all of my families have given themselves an extra 10 minutes on their contracted pick up times to avoid this problem. It's enough time in case there is an issue like you mentioned and to call if there is going to be a longer delay, but not enough to run a bunch of errands before picking up a kid.

yeah My parents dont abuse it either. they pretty much understand that they have until that time to pick up...for the most part, my parents are pretty early picking up as opposed to late. and even when they are running just a few min late or will arrive right on the dot, they usually shoot me a text and let me know they might be a tad late. As long as it's not all of the time, I don't care.......

[childcaremom]

This is something that I went over extensively in the interview process. Dcm assured me that picking up by 5 wouldn't be an issue as she sets her own hours.

I just went out and bought a travel digital clock that I can hook over the sign out sheet and will have her sign out with the time.

I am legally unlicensed so it isn't required, but most parents do do it, or I just fill in the time. It's in my policies that late fees are based off of that so it's in their interest to sign out.

But I don't think she read the policies as she doesn't follow quite a few of them.

[Blackcat31]

Originally Posted by childcaremom

This is something that I went over extensively in the interview process. Dcm assured me that picking up by 5 wouldn't be an issue as she sets her own hours.

I just went out and bought a travel digital clock that I can hook over the sign out sheet and will have her sign out with the time.

I am legally unlicensed so it isn't required, but most parents do do it, or I just fill in the time. It's in my policies that late fees are based off of that so it's in their interest to sign out.

But I don't think she read the policies as she doesn't follow quite a few of them.

In this case I think you might need to touch base with mom and just let her know you expect families to read AND follow your policies. If she is a newbie, just let her know that since it's new you are giving her this verbal reminder to read AND adhere to your policies or the relationship you have as provider-client will not function properly.

Maybe just say something casually like "Good morning Jean! Say I wanted to take a moment and ask you if you've had a chance to thoroughly read my program policy handbook because it seems there has been a few things that are being misunderstood or misinterpreted. The example that comes to mind is pick up. During the enrollment process you assured me that 5:00 pick up was not going to be an issue. I understand things happen but I allow very little leeway with my policies and must insist that all my families follow my program policies so that my program is a positive experience for everyone."


Something like that maybe. ??

[NightOwl]

I have the keypad entry on my front door also. It sounds like the same one, but I didn't realize I could set it to work only during business hours. I need to find my manual.

[childcaremom]

Originally Posted by Blackcat31

In this case I think you might need to touch base with mom and just let her know you expect families to read AND follow your policies. If she is a newbie, just let her know that since it's new you are giving her this verbal reminder to read AND adhere to your policies or the relationship you have as provider-client will not function properly.

Maybe just say something casually like "Good morning Jean! Say I wanted to take a moment and ask you if you've had a chance to thoroughly read my program policy handbook because it seems there has been a few things that are being misunderstood or misinterpreted. The example that comes to mind is pick up. During the enrollment process you assured me that 5:00 pick up was not going to be an issue. I understand things happen but I allow very little leeway with my policies and must insist that all my families follow my program policies so that my program is a positive experience for everyone."


Something like that maybe. ??

Yes. Thanks I plan on having a chat with her tonight b/c this will not work out otherwise.

[childcaremom]

Well I chatted with her at pick up and asked if she understood the policies and late fees. She got a little huffy about that but tried to insist that she wasn't late. She was set on the idea that my phone's time was off. I told her it is my mobile. I told her that this was the time that I went by, per policy, and that the alarm was set to go at pick up times.

Then reminded her of payment due by 9 am. She told me that it must have been delayed. I said I understand emt can be delayed so send it the night before and I will accept it in the morning.

She was not happy but too bad.

I am so done with this family.

[Blackcat31]

Originally Posted by childcaremom

Well I chatted with her at pick up and asked if she understood the policies and late fees. She got a little huffy about that but tried to insist that she wasn't late. She was set on the idea that my phone's time was off. I told her it is my mobile. I told her that this was the time that I went by, per policy, and that the alarm was set to go at pick up times.

Then reminded her of payment due by 9 am. She told me that it must have been delayed. I said I understand emt can be delayed so send it the night before and I will accept it in the morning.

She was not happy but too bad.

I am so done with this family.

Translation:

She was unhappy that you aren't a push over.

[lilcupcakes09]

Just termed a parent today because I was tired of being walked all over. I too let a few minutes here, a few minutes there without saying things. Signs in on time but really comes a few minutes early. Now she wants deposit back that would have gone towards the last week. Is now a good time to bring up all late charges that I never applied out of courtesy??