To me it sounds like that while Boyd has signs up and info on the property and website saying that you need to pay before leaving the property or have a 30-day band, he maybe had not enforced the 30-day ban.
The thing is, when you post rules and you want people to abide by those rules, then you need to enforce consequences.
Based on the messages that CC posted, it sounds like her paying after leaving had not been an issue. It sounds like other people have done similarly.
For the record, I pay by the lesson at my favorite barn. I always try to pay before I leave the barn, but sometimes I forget. 99% I pay by the end of the day. I have occasionally forgotten and paid a day or two later, which I feel bad about. But it is so far not an issue and my instructor has not needed to hunt me down or reprimand me. If she changed her policies, I’d do my best to abide by them. Another barn I am at, they ask us to pay by the month. I’m new to the barn, so kinda just went with ‘drop off a check at my first lesson of the month’ (yes, they are an old school check only barn). This has been fine for the last three or fourth months, but this last month (literally on 8/1) they told me, “Hey, in the future we’d like the monthly money by the 1st of the month”. I did not have my checkbook that day, but I paid them the next available day and I have updated the reminders in my phone to make sure that I bring checks at my last lesson of the month instead of the first lesson. Their faciltiy, their rules.
In other words, there are ways to handle this. We don’t know how much Boyd has allowed previously, we don’t know if Boyd has ever told CC that paying after leaving is unacceptable. We also don’t know how well Boyd/Windurra have been at enforcing the month-long ban for non-payment. And if CC and/or others have made a habit of paying at the end of the day, after leaving the property and without penalty, I can understand why they might think that’s okay.
From what I saw posted on social media, I think both parties could have communicated better. I get Boyd’s frustration - people should pay and he shouldn’t have to chase people down. But also, if people are abusing the rules put in place, he and his staff need to enforce those rules. Otherwise people are going to continue to see how much they can get away with and continue to push boundaries.
Based on what I saw posted on SM and via this thread, I do think Boyd went over the top with his posts. But we also don’t know the history. Maybe Cooper is a repeat offender how has been warned before.
In a perfect world, I think the exchange should have gone more like:
BM: Hey, CC, you schooled 5 horses today and we haven’t received payment yet. As you know, payment is due before you leave the property.
CC: Okay, but Neal handles the payments and he’s busy until later.
BM: Then you should have paid ahead of time. Again, payment is due before you leave the property. And since that did not happen today and it’s not your first incident, you are banned for 30 days.
Stick to the facts and stick to the rules. Keep it simple and keep it brief. Also, document, just in case.
I think that Boyd was probably correct in the broad strokes of this situation. I think he also handled it terribly. I have no opinion about Cooper as I’d never heard about her before this thread. She might be a terrible person, but also sometimes terrible people get caught up in situations where they’re not the bad guy. That doesn’t mean Boyd is the bad guy in this situation.
But it wouldn’t surprise me that Boyd and Windurra need to do a better job of enforcing their rules (and maybe even change things up. And probably not easy or cheap, but it seems like the current honor system is causing a lot of stress for Boyd, so there should be better alternatives). If lots of people are taking advantage of them and Boyd constantly has to chase people down for payment, it’s because people don’t think the 30 day ban will be enforced or it doesn’t matter.
Should Boyd have to deal with this BS? Absolutely not. But some people just suck. So I think he either needs to get more hardline about enforcing rules or find a way to keep people off property without paying.
It’s not easy! But also posting a rant on FB about one particular bad actor is not gonna help.
. But resisting improvement won’t keep a business at its best vitality and profitability over time.
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on physically maintaining the ground conditions, setting the course, etc.
