--Apple-Mail=_843D4CF7-4AFE-4C7D-B10B-2FEC708B1A9E Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Thanks Steve=E2=80=A6very helpful. Much appreciated. Tim Thomas Home Care Assistance (Montr=C3=A9al) 4464 Ste. Catherine Ouest Westmount, Qu=C3=A9bec H3Z 1R7 Tel: 514 907 5065 <> Fax: 514 907 5067 <>=20 tthomas@homecareassistance.com www.homecareassistancemontreal.ca www.facebook.com/hcamontreal www.twitter.com/hcamontreal > On Mar 14, 2018, at 4:36 PM, Steve Darley = wrote: >=20 > Hi chaps.=20 >=20 > Business is good here at the moment thanks - February a bit tricky but = we look back on track for March. Hope you guys are still rocking and = rolling... >=20 > At this stage it looks like the brains of the operation Cheryl will be = in Chicago. Based on the amount of learning I brought back from = Nashville, I suspect it makes more sense for her to be there!! >=20 > We have all our caregivers at the same rate - those who were ahead of = minimum at the time of the government mandated increase did not get = raised and those that were below got a decent bump. We pay $1/hr more = than minimum. We actually had most caregivers at the new minimum prior = to the mandated increase so their increase took them out ahead of = minimum rather than catch them up. Everyone gets $15 (live-in and = live-out). >=20 > With regards clients we increased most clients on Jan 1 and = significantly so. Our average client increase was 11.3% with our maximum = closer to 16.5%. Based on the fact that our caregiver costs had already = risen through 2017 this increase is helping us to claw back margin that = we had lost. We were very open that we raise every year as a matter of = course but that this year was larger than normal on account of the = mandated wage increase.=20 >=20 > The size of the increase in wages here was something like 19% but due = to the fact that we were already ahead of the minimum we were able to = raise the employees a smaller amount and then the clients by approx 11% = and still appear to the clients as though we were cutting them a break = based on what could have been due to the increases. No push back from = any clients as we reminded them that everyone was going up. >=20 > We have a two phase approach for our clients also. Any client acquired = in Q4 of 2017 we are not raising until April 1 of this year. However = typically they were already at higher rates that don't have margin = impact to such an extent as our older clients who were benefitting from = lower hourly rates. >=20 > The basic premise was to be open, blame the government and remind = clients that all the other agencies who aren't as good would be raising = rates too. >=20 > Hope this helps. >=20 > I look forward to tales of Chicago excess from Cheryl. >=20 > Cheers > SD >=20 >=20 >=20 > With regards cl >=20 > On Wed, Mar 14, 2018 at 3:54 PM Tim Thomas = > = wrote: > Hi Steve, >=20 > Hope business is good. Will you be in Chicago for the regional = meeti