Acceptable to ask for bill to be checked?

Kynthia

It was a normal request for someone you purchase a service from and she's treating it emotionally. As long as you are polite I don't ghink there's a lot you can do about how she reacts to it. Some people don't see themselves as a business when they are a sole trader and take it very personally.

duchy

Childminding is a fairly unique business

Many aren't run like businesses - odds are your childminder is one of those (evidenced by the fact you can cancel scheduled days without charge). What exactly was the "confusion" about whether you had cancelled the day or not? Surely you emailed her ? (For some reason I get the feeling that the failed cancellation was yours and your wife's fault the way you've glossed over it and are prepared to pay)

If your childminder isn't a businesstype person she may feel that as you or your wife see her several times a week you could have simply asked and the offence is taken by the fact you tried to make it official or in writing. It may be your way but perhaps isn't hers.. You probably weren't - but it does come over a bit pompous. Why couldn't you have just asked face to face?

What does your wife think ? She actually knows the childminder so may have a better idea of why she is so upset rather than people on a forum who don't actually know her....or her personality

Personalty I didn't want a childminder who was completely emotionless...... They are looking after my child not a cardboard box. Most childminders are Mums working from home -they often have no business experience so to hold them to very high levels of professionalism whilst forgetting to cancel days yourself is a bit of a double standard.

I think it's pretty clear though which posters have used childminders personally and which haven't

Diamond_Orchid

I think she is acting quiet unprofessionally. Mistakes can and do happen and she shouldn't mind you asking her to recheck the invoice.

The way she is acting is like another person said, like she's been caught out.

Poppie68

Diamond_Orchid wrote: »

I think she is acting quiet unprofessionally. Mistakes can and do happen and she shouldn't mind you asking her to recheck the invoice.

The way she is acting is like another person said, like she's been caught out.

'Caught out' doing what? .....

Poppie68

Diamond_Orchid wrote: »

I think she is acting quiet unprofessionally. Mistakes can and do happen and she shouldn't mind you asking her to recheck the invoice.

The way she is acting is like another person said, like she's been caught out.

Again 'Caught out'....doing what?

tea_lover

Poppie68 wrote: »

'Caught out' doing what? .....

- charging for days she shouldn't have been
- not keeping proper records
- not being professional in her dealings with clients

I don't agree that childminding is unique. If you're offering a service and charging for it then you're running a business and need to be capable of all that entails - whether that's keeping a proper record of your finances or knowing how to deal with enquiries and complaints.

if someone couldn't cope with an email without sulking and didn't know whether someone had cancelled a day or not, it would make me question whether they had a handle on everything else they needed to - are their first aid qualifications up to date, are they only looking after the right number of children etc.

[Deleted User]

tea_lover wrote: »

Anyone running a business should be happy to check invoices if asked. Sulking is not an attractive trait in a childminder!

Well I thought that. Surely as a business you've got to expect once in a while someone will ask you to justify? It seems weird to take offence at it.....

And as for the email, it really was very polite indeed. I made sure of that because of the personal nature of a childminder service.

[Deleted User]

jemb wrote: »

She allows you to not pay when your child isnt there? Majority (ours included) still bills you for when your child isnt there, and 50% off for when the childminder is away. We pay same amount every month and average it out at 4.33 weeks per month. She only goes one day a weekbut then at least it's the same every month.

We've got two fixed days. The rest is flexible on an as required basis - which we appreciate she does for us.

[Deleted User]

tea_lover wrote: »

- charging for days she shouldn't have been
- not keeping proper records
- not being professional in her dealings with clients

I don't agree that childminding is unique. If you're offering a service and charging for it then you're running a business and need to be capable of all that entails - whether that's keeping a proper record of your finances or knowing how to deal with enquiries and complaints.

if someone couldn't cope with an email without sulking and didn't know whether someone had cancelled a day or not, it would make me question whether they had a handle on everything else they needed to - are their first aid qualifications up to date, are they only looking after the right number of children etc.

Well I dont think shes done that. Yes maybe it could be a bit better organised but its not deliberate Im sure.

Poppie68

I think the OP from his not really addressing the issue of them informing/not informing the childminder that he knows after querying the matter he and his wife are at fault, the childminder obviously believes she is/has been accused of false invoicing and is upset.
Maybe she is overly upset or maybe the ops email wasn't as tactful as he believes it was, but for some to say she is acting like this because she is 'caught out' is unfair and totally without basis.