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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>What the what? -long
nanglgrl 09:23 AM 06-25-2015
This happened to me a few weeks ago so it's not a vent or a "need advice" post I guess I'm just posting it as one of those "this crazy thing happened" posts.
I enrolled an infant a few months ago, the child should not have been in group care but I was toughing it out. I had to do a temporary term with the child because when she started she wouldn't drink formula (was breastfed and mom wouldn't pump), wouldn't drink from a bottle and would not sleep without being held. Mom said she worked on it and I let her return. It was better for a week but slowly went bad. The worst part of the day was at drop off in the morning because the child would scream her head off when I conversed with clients and stop as soon as I focused on her. I told the mother that she would either need to find new daycare or drop off 1/2 hour later since by that time everyone else had finished dropping off. Mom was at home during the day so she agreed to drop off 1/2 hour later.
When my clients enroll they know that once a month I have to close a little early to get my child to the orthodontist. Fast forward and I had to close early, no biggie to any of my clients (so I thought). The next day the infants mom picked up 16 minutes late. I told her she was 16 minutes late but since this was the first time I would wave the late fee but this was the only time the late fee would be waved. She seemed to understand and I didn't relate her being late to me closing early the day before. The next month she was 7 minutes late (again a day after I closed early) and I told her she had a $7 late fee to pay at drop off the next week.
The next week after she dropped off I checked her money envelope and it didn't contain the late fee. When she picked up I said "i noticed that you didn't include the late fee with payment, I will need you to bring that at drop off tomorrow or I won't be accepting your child" she responded "we need to talk about that but in the meantime take a look at this" and she proceeded to hand me a piece of paper. She then said "that's all of the times I've had to drop off late or pick up early for you and I never complained about it so I feel like I shouldn't be charged for the 7 minutes I was late". I handed her back the paper and said "let's just consider this your notice and this will be your last week" she was flabbergasted.
She really saw nothing wrong with her argument. She seemed to be counting every minute her child was in care and any time she was required (always with a months advance notice) to pick up early and the times she had to drop off 1/2 hour later than we originally scheduled to keep me as a provider. Even though I charge a flat rate for part time and full time she didn't get it, in her mind I owed her for those minutes. She kept trying to get me to talk about it and finally switched it to "you never liked my daughter anyway, did you?"
I ignored those statements of course and told her she had paid for and could finish out the week but it would be her last week. She said she no longer felt her child was safe with me and didn't come back but did try to request a refund by breaking down my weekly fees into a daily fee. I didn't refund anything. She tried again by email saying I termed her child immediately and she was entitled to a refund. I responded that her child could still come the rest of the week and that as we had discussed at pick up she was not termed immediately. The email was definitely her trying to set a trap. It didn't work. I never refunded and life has went on.
In all my years of doing this Ive had some crazy things happen but I've never had a client who thought she was paying for x amount of minutes a week and one way or another was going to get every last minute. Just shows ya that just when you think you have most of it figured one of these parents will surprise you!
I enrolled an infant a few months ago, the child should not have been in group care but I was toughing it out. I had to do a temporary term with the child because when she started she wouldn't drink formula (was breastfed and mom wouldn't pump), wouldn't drink from a bottle and would not sleep without being held. Mom said she worked on it and I let her return. It was better for a week but slowly went bad. The worst part of the day was at drop off in the morning because the child would scream her head off when I conversed with clients and stop as soon as I focused on her. I told the mother that she would either need to find new daycare or drop off 1/2 hour later since by that time everyone else had finished dropping off. Mom was at home during the day so she agreed to drop off 1/2 hour later.
When my clients enroll they know that once a month I have to close a little early to get my child to the orthodontist. Fast forward and I had to close early, no biggie to any of my clients (so I thought). The next day the infants mom picked up 16 minutes late. I told her she was 16 minutes late but since this was the first time I would wave the late fee but this was the only time the late fee would be waved. She seemed to understand and I didn't relate her being late to me closing early the day before. The next month she was 7 minutes late (again a day after I closed early) and I told her she had a $7 late fee to pay at drop off the next week.
The next week after she dropped off I checked her money envelope and it didn't contain the late fee. When she picked up I said "i noticed that you didn't include the late fee with payment, I will need you to bring that at drop off tomorrow or I won't be accepting your child" she responded "we need to talk about that but in the meantime take a look at this" and she proceeded to hand me a piece of paper. She then said "that's all of the times I've had to drop off late or pick up early for you and I never complained about it so I feel like I shouldn't be charged for the 7 minutes I was late". I handed her back the paper and said "let's just consider this your notice and this will be your last week" she was flabbergasted.
She really saw nothing wrong with her argument. She seemed to be counting every minute her child was in care and any time she was required (always with a months advance notice) to pick up early and the times she had to drop off 1/2 hour later than we originally scheduled to keep me as a provider. Even though I charge a flat rate for part time and full time she didn't get it, in her mind I owed her for those minutes. She kept trying to get me to talk about it and finally switched it to "you never liked my daughter anyway, did you?"
I ignored those statements of course and told her she had paid for and could finish out the week but it would be her last week. She said she no longer felt her child was safe with me and didn't come back but did try to request a refund by breaking down my weekly fees into a daily fee. I didn't refund anything. She tried again by email saying I termed her child immediately and she was entitled to a refund. I responded that her child could still come the rest of the week and that as we had discussed at pick up she was not termed immediately. The email was definitely her trying to set a trap. It didn't work. I never refunded and life has went on.
In all my years of doing this Ive had some crazy things happen but I've never had a client who thought she was paying for x amount of minutes a week and one way or another was going to get every last minute. Just shows ya that just when you think you have most of it figured one of these parents will surprise you!
Blackcat31 09:27 AM 06-25-2015
Originally Posted by nanglgrl:
Just shows ya that just when you think you have most of it figured one of these parents will surprise you!
Truer words have NOT been spoken. Just shows ya that just when you think you have most of it figured one of these parents will surprise you!
Blackcat31 09:28 AM 06-25-2015
Oh, and in regards to the situation....
Nicely managed!
Nicely managed!
Play Care 09:40 AM 06-25-2015
Yowza!
I know you are surprised, but I put in a blurb in my contract about how later drops offs and earlier pick ups didn't mean they could be early/late another time or not accrue late fees, etc. You know how people hate to think they're not getting their money's worth
I know you are surprised, but I put in a blurb in my contract about how later drops offs and earlier pick ups didn't mean they could be early/late another time or not accrue late fees, etc. You know how people hate to think they're not getting their money's worth
Shell 09:43 AM 06-25-2015
wow! Agree that you handled that all perfectly.Is she serious?! I can't wait until she tries to pull that again (if she tries). The next person probably won't handle it as professionally as you did!
nanglgrl 09:54 AM 06-25-2015
Originally Posted by Play Care:
Yowza!
I know you are surprised, but I put in a blurb in my contract about how later drops offs and earlier pick ups didn't mean they could be early/late another time or not accrue late fees, etc. You know how people hate to think they're not getting their money's worth
I have this in my contract as well. I've had the whole "since I dropped off 1/2 hour late can I pick up at x?" before but never had a minute counter parent that was keeping track of every minute. She even added it up and said "all of it together adds up to me paying for an entire day I didn't get to use". She also said "a center would have someone to cover for them if an employee had to close early"..um I'm not a center. At some point I don't know if she was just trying to pull reasoning out of her butt or if she really believed what she was saying. I think she just thought I would and should agree with her and never thought I would terminate. There was no way to get her to realize I wasn't terminating over $7, I was terminating because the flat out refusal to pay the late fee showed me that we could not work together.Yowza!
I know you are surprised, but I put in a blurb in my contract about how later drops offs and earlier pick ups didn't mean they could be early/late another time or not accrue late fees, etc. You know how people hate to think they're not getting their money's worth
nanglgrl 09:58 AM 06-25-2015
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Oh, and in regards to the situation....
Nicely managed!
Thank you. It was all surprisingly calm. I think I was in shock a little and am certain I had a "are you serious right now?" look on my face the entire time. When I handed her the paper back I was thinking "what the what? I just can't even! Is this for real?" LolOh, and in regards to the situation....
Nicely managed!
daycarediva 10:33 AM 06-25-2015
Oh my goodness!!! I wouldn't have put up with her either! Great job being so professional and standing your ground!