Testimonial for CJ Thorp
This testimonial is a response to the below testimonial written by Shipra.
I am deeply sorry and disappointed that you had a bad experience. Pregnancy is a stressful time and I am sorry for any anxiety our experience may have caused.
However, I am slightly confused why your review does not mention that our contract was terminated due to your refusal to pay my full fee, even after I granted multiple extensions.
Doulas are self-employed and must enforce their own contracts. Although I deeply love my work, I have a family to take care of and cannot do this work for free.
I am sorry if you, for some reason, believed you were exempt from paying the full fee, even though you signed a legal contract agreeing to do so.
I sent a formal notice of contract termination after multiple payment reminders, which contradicts the statement that I terminated the contract without informing you. I was encouraged to do this by multiple senior doulas in our community, who know that our work is valuable and we deserve to be paid on time.
Regarding communication: it is outlined explicitly in my contract, that if you ever believe you might be in labor that you must call me, not text.
Unfortunately, it appears that clause was ignored and you chose to text for possible early labor, then became angry when I did not respond right away. It is stated explicitly in the contract to call if I do not respond to a text within 20 minutes, but that was not done.
Again, I am sorry for any stress these situations may have caused in late pregnancy, but doulas must enforce their own boundaries. Once it became apparent that you had no intent to pay the full fee, I was forced to make a difficult decision and end our agreement, and also refunded the majority of your fee.
-Testimonial response
January 30, 2025
CJ Thorp
Solid Ground Birth Services
Birth Fee: $400 to $1300
