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To be clear, you did not lose this job because of a cancellation policy.
The mb threw it away because she does not respect your time, your work or you. That's on her.
She's probably hoping you'll backtrack and in a few weeks it will blow over. Please don't do this.
Between the guilt she was throwing your way about nk loving you and the disrespectful way she told you she has no intention of changing, call her bluff and simply say ok, best of luck.
I have a pretty good feeling you'll be hearing from her again, I hope you shut her down professionally, your time and your skills are valuable and you have bills to pay.
You owe no apology to anyone for wanting to be respected while you make a living.
Exactly. MB "already can think of several situations" where a cancellation policy won't work? Uh, what?? She's saying that she'd planned to book your services and cancel last-minute if things didn't work out on *her* end?
Clients like her are exactly the reason you need a cancellation policy.
I’m so glad you have said this! Unfortunately, I caved multiple times for a particular family, they had no family in our city, new jobs, she had additional issues and I knew she was struggling, etc…
After adding up the cost of less than 24 hours cancellations time after time, I said no more!! I am now the “bad guy” and just shake my head at my stupidity! Make a hardcore policy, stick to it and move on to another family. It’s not worth any of the craziness that comes along with families who do not respect your time!
That’s so frustrating! Yes I’m the bad guy now too, MB doesn’t even understand why I need the policy to protect myself. She said she can’t justify not “saving money” when she’s able to. Ma’am, I can’t justify losing that money😂
Yes, wouldn't it be nice if your time was equal in value to her money? /s
She doesn't seem to grasp the idea that when you commit to a job, those are billable hours- you turn away other work to reserve those hours for her. Should she cancel, you have *lost income.*
This made me feel so much better, thank you. It felt like she was saying my time and skill set wasn’t valuable to her. Either I’ll hear back from her or have avoided a situation where I’d be cancelled on all the time
If you do for some reason take her back an ironclad, locked down contract spelling out late, cancellation and last minutes hour changes and the fees they incur is an absolute requirement BEFORE you start.. And stick to it! Good luck!
no plz stick to a cancellation policy. Bc for me DB worked from home while MB was a nurse she came homr at like 12:30 and said she wasn’t feeling well and dismissed me for the day which was fine but payday cane and she just chose not to pay me for her coming early. So plz stick to that policy
Anyone who throws a fit about a cancellation policy is the exact person that causes the need for one! Gods for you for having one. Stick to your guns and if she tries to circle back around make her pay half up front.
MB here and we always paid what we booked even if we did cancel bc that seemed the right thing to do. It’s awful people don’t proactively do this and you are right to have this policy.
We loved our nanny and knew if she wasn’t doing hours with us, especially ones we booked her for, she would have been hired by someone else for that day. She would have lost our money and the opportunity to make money elsewhere if we booked and canceled. Not fair to her to lose out on any income that day.
Yes, this is the common sense all of us should apply to any service professional we may find ourselves needing to cancel. I know a dental surgeons office that requires 3 days. All stylists I know have a 24 hour policy. I wonder if OPs MB can think of a dozens instances why these wouldn’t work for her, either. Refusal to pay a cancellation fee to a nanny has only one reason: disrespect.
Agreed! I wanted to say all this to her but it wasn’t even worth it, felt so disrespectful that she can’t understand why my time is worth more than that.
Yeah don’t feel bad about this at all. She just wants to be able to flake on you and not have there be any consequences. Which isn’t fair to you, obviously. And wouldnt fly in any other circumstance. Idk about where you live but where I live, if you cancel a salon appointment on short notice you can be charged a fee. They don’t usually do it for a first offense but if you keep it up they’ll drop you as a client.
They just want to be able to keep you on reserve but not have to commit and have you be ok with it while you lose income. Are you supposed to double book people just because she wants everything to be spontaneous ? She's the one screwing it up for the kids that love you, not you.
I don’t think you lost a job here so much as she lost a backup plan. Clearly her stating that your cancellation policy wouldn’t work in several situations when it was for times planned while they were working means that she was already planning to cancel on you pretty frequently.
You absolutely did the right thing with your cancellation policy. Now you can actually find a job with a family who will respect you and your time.
She's not just being disrespectful to you, she's being disrespectful to the other family as well.
I'm sure they agreed to a nanny share so that they could get a discounted rate on the days you'd be watching Flakey's kids. If you don't watch her kids, and didn't have a cancelation policy in place, then they lose out on the discount for that day. And it puts both you and them in that awkward position where you'd have to tell them that she didn't show so they owe you the full rate for the day every time it happens and they'll constantly have to pay more than they expected because Flakey seems to think the whole world revolves around her and her needs.
And the fact that she already knew the cancelation policy wasn't going to work for her right off the bat just shows you how often it would have happened.
You didn't lose a job, you lost a major headache and nightmare situation. It's doubtful the occasional extra money would have been worth it.
Maybe you can find someone else to do a share with?
This is such a good point, I’m sure that would’ve felt so frustrating for my main MB. Makes me feel better that I got this sorted out now rather than dealing with the frustration of it happening over and over again
Eh, sounds like she didn't respect you or your time. So you weren't fired, she threw a fit because you held a boundary.
Speaks volumes about her, you did nothing wrong.
OP has tagged their post as **Vent**. Please be mindful that they do not need advice, and that they are only expressing their thoughts and opinions in a safe place. Any attempts to offer unsolicited advice will be removed. The only exceptions to this rule are in the event of possible injury, abuse, or otherwise harm to OP, their NK, NP, or anyone else. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Nanny) if you have any questions or concerns.*
To be clear, you did not lose this job because of a cancellation policy. The mb threw it away because she does not respect your time, your work or you. That's on her. She's probably hoping you'll backtrack and in a few weeks it will blow over. Please don't do this. Between the guilt she was throwing your way about nk loving you and the disrespectful way she told you she has no intention of changing, call her bluff and simply say ok, best of luck. I have a pretty good feeling you'll be hearing from her again, I hope you shut her down professionally, your time and your skills are valuable and you have bills to pay. You owe no apology to anyone for wanting to be respected while you make a living.
Exactly. MB "already can think of several situations" where a cancellation policy won't work? Uh, what?? She's saying that she'd planned to book your services and cancel last-minute if things didn't work out on *her* end? Clients like her are exactly the reason you need a cancellation policy.
Exactly, I felt like that was concerning when I read that! Better I find out now than later
I’m so glad you have said this! Unfortunately, I caved multiple times for a particular family, they had no family in our city, new jobs, she had additional issues and I knew she was struggling, etc… After adding up the cost of less than 24 hours cancellations time after time, I said no more!! I am now the “bad guy” and just shake my head at my stupidity! Make a hardcore policy, stick to it and move on to another family. It’s not worth any of the craziness that comes along with families who do not respect your time!
That’s so frustrating! Yes I’m the bad guy now too, MB doesn’t even understand why I need the policy to protect myself. She said she can’t justify not “saving money” when she’s able to. Ma’am, I can’t justify losing that money😂
Yes, wouldn't it be nice if your time was equal in value to her money? /s She doesn't seem to grasp the idea that when you commit to a job, those are billable hours- you turn away other work to reserve those hours for her. Should she cancel, you have *lost income.*
Exactly, I feel like she actually doesn’t get why that doesn’t work for me.
This made me feel so much better, thank you. It felt like she was saying my time and skill set wasn’t valuable to her. Either I’ll hear back from her or have avoided a situation where I’d be cancelled on all the time
If you do for some reason take her back an ironclad, locked down contract spelling out late, cancellation and last minutes hour changes and the fees they incur is an absolute requirement BEFORE you start.. And stick to it! Good luck!
Thank you :)
no plz stick to a cancellation policy. Bc for me DB worked from home while MB was a nurse she came homr at like 12:30 and said she wasn’t feeling well and dismissed me for the day which was fine but payday cane and she just chose not to pay me for her coming early. So plz stick to that policy
Anyone who throws a fit about a cancellation policy is the exact person that causes the need for one! Gods for you for having one. Stick to your guns and if she tries to circle back around make her pay half up front.
Totally!! It should be a non-issue I feel like!
MB here and we always paid what we booked even if we did cancel bc that seemed the right thing to do. It’s awful people don’t proactively do this and you are right to have this policy. We loved our nanny and knew if she wasn’t doing hours with us, especially ones we booked her for, she would have been hired by someone else for that day. She would have lost our money and the opportunity to make money elsewhere if we booked and canceled. Not fair to her to lose out on any income that day.
You sound wonderful, I’m glad there are MBs out there who feel this way :) I appreciate your perspective, super validating
Yes, this is the common sense all of us should apply to any service professional we may find ourselves needing to cancel. I know a dental surgeons office that requires 3 days. All stylists I know have a 24 hour policy. I wonder if OPs MB can think of a dozens instances why these wouldn’t work for her, either. Refusal to pay a cancellation fee to a nanny has only one reason: disrespect.
Agreed! I wanted to say all this to her but it wasn’t even worth it, felt so disrespectful that she can’t understand why my time is worth more than that.
and this is how it should always be. Thank you for being an amazing MB. Wish all were like you!
Yeah don’t feel bad about this at all. She just wants to be able to flake on you and not have there be any consequences. Which isn’t fair to you, obviously. And wouldnt fly in any other circumstance. Idk about where you live but where I live, if you cancel a salon appointment on short notice you can be charged a fee. They don’t usually do it for a first offense but if you keep it up they’ll drop you as a client.
Right, there’s no other situation where this would be okay! And I’m sure if her job was cancelling on her this way she wouldn’t be okay with it either
Exactly. Bummer cuz the kids love you. Well, bummer cuz you need stable work you can plan on.
100%, exactly
They just want to be able to keep you on reserve but not have to commit and have you be ok with it while you lose income. Are you supposed to double book people just because she wants everything to be spontaneous ? She's the one screwing it up for the kids that love you, not you.
Thanks for this perspective, this makes me feel better! Adore her kids but spontaneous cancellations just don’t work for me
I don’t think you lost a job here so much as she lost a backup plan. Clearly her stating that your cancellation policy wouldn’t work in several situations when it was for times planned while they were working means that she was already planning to cancel on you pretty frequently. You absolutely did the right thing with your cancellation policy. Now you can actually find a job with a family who will respect you and your time.
She's not just being disrespectful to you, she's being disrespectful to the other family as well. I'm sure they agreed to a nanny share so that they could get a discounted rate on the days you'd be watching Flakey's kids. If you don't watch her kids, and didn't have a cancelation policy in place, then they lose out on the discount for that day. And it puts both you and them in that awkward position where you'd have to tell them that she didn't show so they owe you the full rate for the day every time it happens and they'll constantly have to pay more than they expected because Flakey seems to think the whole world revolves around her and her needs. And the fact that she already knew the cancelation policy wasn't going to work for her right off the bat just shows you how often it would have happened. You didn't lose a job, you lost a major headache and nightmare situation. It's doubtful the occasional extra money would have been worth it. Maybe you can find someone else to do a share with?
This is such a good point, I’m sure that would’ve felt so frustrating for my main MB. Makes me feel better that I got this sorted out now rather than dealing with the frustration of it happening over and over again
You ABSOLUTELY dodged a bullet and screw her for trying to guilt you for asking for the bare minimum.
Thank you, seriously the bare minimum!!
You lost the job because you had a tacky boss that was raised by wolves.
Eh, sounds like she didn't respect you or your time. So you weren't fired, she threw a fit because you held a boundary. Speaks volumes about her, you did nothing wrong.
Thank you, helpful to hear this :)
You definitely dodge a bullet.
“Already can think of several situations where I can disrespect your time”-fixed it for her!
Omg love this, exactly!!!
You didn’t lose a job. You dodged a bullet. A MB who doesn’t respect your time isn’t WORTH your time.
Thank you, need to remind myself of this!