posted
Happens all the time, at least to me. I just finished typing a response on my credibility on the Paint Drying post, Seems like someone does'nt believe that Rush orders are of a concern, and even questioned me on my story. As I was typing my heated response, a call came in to me, from an Adverising Agency, a National advertising agency, the call went like this... Neil! We have a Problem! I need you to come through for me! I just laughed to myself, because I knew this was'nt happening, after all Rush Orders don't happen, I was just dreaming this. The Caller went on to say, The Premiers Campaign Bus Broke down, There's an election taking place in this province by the way, you can see a bus I did for his rival on the portfolio page to confirm my "Story". Anyway he said we need another Bus Lettered, the one you did for us last week broke down, and we have to have one ready for tomorrow at 12 noon, and get this, we have to fly to Deer Lake to do the install. So as I'm typing this we are cutting Vinyl on my Imaginary Plotter, and Tomorrow Morning, I'm going to take the imaginary Plane to deer Lake to do the install, for the Imaginary Rush Job.
Then I'll take the imaginary check to the bank.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Doug you still up.. I'm off the hook, a call just came in, and now all I have to do is send the vinyl graphics out to the bus line, which is DRL Coachlines, they are in triton nfld, a short distance away from deerlake, they are going to do the install, that's great, cause I don't like flying, I'm going to Jamaica next month and I'm trying to get the nerve up to do that, if all those naked Girls walking around the beach don;t get me there nothing will. lol, I know it's a sexist remark.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged |
I got a call from my Brother-In-Law yesteday with the following details...
Someone asked my Brother In Law, Joe, if he knew any one who did signs. Joe recommended me and later that night found out I was hurt and not able to work. The customer found another sign maker, who, for some reason, bowed out on the one week before opening his new florist shoppe. Joe then stepped up to the plate to help out and took the job himself. He's a pretty good artist in his own right. He called yesterday, after noon, and asked if I could help him out with some tips on the lettering. I told him to swing up and I'd have a look see at where he was at. He showed up with a look of terror on his face. It seems that the florist is opening this Friday and he was terified he wouldn't make it on time. There were 3 signs to do, four surfaces in all.
I couldn't help smiling. Been there..done that.
We pulled the signs in and did a simple layout on the computer, cut and applied the vinyl to them in a couple of hours. At one point he went home to pick up some paint he'd coated the signs with and when he got back, he somehow had backed himself into the position of having to have the signs delivered by 7:30 last night!!!!?????
In all honesty, I hate rushing stuff, but watching Joe go through the whole process was a good reminder of what not to do. It was a fun "rush" yesterday.
Joe's doing the install Friday afternoon with a little better idea how to do it, but I'm keeping Saturday morning open...just in case.
My take on the deal...I get a new color cartridge for my HP printer, the customer has some temporary signs and will be calling me soon, and Joe...well...at least he got a good night's sleep last night.
Letterhead kinda day... Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Ray, great story, My wife has the right attitude towards these kind of situations, when we get calls like these it's sometimes best to just relax a little, and things usually sort themselves out a little easier, like this morning.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Neil it seems that you still are upset by a repsonse to your earlier post. I beleive that rush jobs ARE a big concern if you want to keep your good clients happy. I think the key is to discern between the true rush jobs and poor planning on some peoples part. The bus job that you are going to do is a true rush job. The client couldn't forsee the bus breaking down and now is in a jam. For something like that I would beak my back for them!!
On the other hand here is an example of poor planning. A guy comes in the shop last week and wants a routed sign that says, No Hunting/No Trespassing. Seems like the sub-division that he lives in has been having problems the last several hunting seasons. He comes in on Tuesday afternoon and wants the sign by Friday morning. That is when hunting season starts in his area. Now if I had no work in the shop and was sitting around on my duff it wouldn't be that big of a deal. But I have anywhere from 12- 18 jobs in the shop right now in various stages of completion. I tell him no way! I can have it early the following week but not by friday morning. If he had come in a week earlier he could have had his sign when he wanted it. So he agrees and leaves somewhat put out that he won't have the sign for openning day. I finish the sign on Tuesday and call him. He is all excited. When does he get here to pick up the sign? He hasn't yet, it is still sitting in the shop.
My point is to learn to distinguish between true rush jobs and those that are a result of poor planning on the clients part. To often with the latter, I have rushed to get something out only to have it sit, finished in the shop for 3 or 4 days.
Just my two cents. Have a safe flight and good luck with the bus!
posted
Ya, I gotta love poor planners. We never say no to a rush job unless it just can't be done. We also make it very clear to our clients that our standard turn-around for in-house graphics is 10 days or less. If they need something completed in less than 5 days, they'll pay extra for it - up to 50% of the invoice total and sometimes more. If the client doesn't want to pay the rush charges, they'll either change the due date (which happens more often than not) or not get the job done. That being said, over the last 2 weeks alone, we had at least $3000 extra in rush charges. However, most of the money invoiced in rush charges covers express shipping of materials to the shop and overtime. The company rarely makes very little when we take on rush jobs.
Havin' fun,
Checkers
-------------------- a.k.a. Brian Born www.CheckersCustom.com Harrisburg, Pa Work Smart, Play Hard Posts: 3775 | From: Harrisburg, Pa. U.S.A. | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
posted
"Rush Jobs don't happen" Thats a joke right. LOL
I's seems that every other day someone wants some thing sooner than yesterday. Just last week I had a customer call saying the forgot to get signs and banners for the biggest event in this area for the year. My question was when do you need it by? respons was 4pm today. it was already 12.30. They rushed the art work over "ahhhhh a f*@*ing business card for art work. We got the job done on time. 2 banners & 3 small signs, combo of vinyl and digital print. Bust your ass off to help some one in a bind and they will tell every man and their dog what a life saver you are. We have already had a new customer because of doing that one rush job. Niel, great that you don't have to fly now you will have more time to do the next "Rush Job" doesn't happen.
posted
I was going to respond in the other thread, but I was too busy doing rush orders.
Love them, thrive on them. It's got to the point where the mining companies can't work any other way... 4 bus days normal order, same day/next day for rush orders, 50 % of our orders from them are rush, and were talking big orders... it sure limits the number of places they can order from, and panic factor limits quibbling over pricing.
We're pretty far out in the boonies so delivery of material from suppliers can be slow, to accommodate this I do have to maintain a large inventory. I order between 20-40 sheets of dibond at a time, avg. aluminium blank order is $8000, reflective by the 48" roll, etc.; but by buying in bulk like that I save about 20% on costs and eliminate freight charges, which more than covers my stocking costs.
posted
Matty, 2 more Rush <A TITLE="Click for more information about job" STYLE="background-color: #f0f000; " HREF="http://search.targetwords.com/u.search?x=5977|1||||job|AA1VDw">job</A>s just came in since the bus, all for tomorrow! lol.
Steve I have no problem with you, I just don't like being called a bull****ter! Unless I read your post wrong, then I Apologize, but I know I never read your response wrong. Or did I?
Is this what you said?....
"Doesn't make sense! (SORRY)" You must be getting a kickback for the work then.
I don't know of any other way of taking it. I guess that was the needle up my azzz, lol
[ October 09, 2003, 10:36 AM: Message edited by: Neil D. Butler ]
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Hi Neil... How come everybody wants their signs YESTERDAY, but wants to pay for them TOMORROW? I try to be nice to everybody. If I can squeeze in a rush job, I will. If I can't, I say so. I even suggest where else to try, and not sarcastically. I don't charge extra for a rush job, but we all should. That way it is fair. "You want it in a hurry? Sure! No problemo. That will be extra, buddy." Then maybe next time, the client will be more timely. What do you think? Should we try? Love- JILL
-------------------- That is like a Mr. Potato Head with all the pieces in the wrong place. -Russ McMullin Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I think the only reason NOT to charge a rush fee, is if you really can't look them in the eye & feel justified doing so. Like Steve said... if you're sitting on yer duff anyway that's different, but since that never happens for most of us, I explain that I will have to either skip dinner, sleep &/or what wee bit of r&r I usually afford myself... or I will have to call some client ahead of them & gracefully ask to be let out of a time committment to them. I make it clear that I would be happy to get it done on time... but the sacrifices that MUST be made to do the impossible will cost them. (I usually don't feel enough justification to tack on a full 50%... but wish I did)
I think Mike said it all...
quote: ...it sure limits the number of (other)places they can order from, and panic factor limits quibbling over pricing.
posted
Thanks Steve, that's appreciated, it really is.
Jill most customers of mine don't mind paying a little extra for a rush Job, and like you said, we don't always want one, but when they want something desperately, they will even offer to pay extra, like today... the Bus graphics are now on their way to the Client and I have More money owed to me, with a little extra to boot, it's been a great Fall so far, record sales. and there's no end in sight, I really hope this keeps going, I need it, and happy to do it.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Good Morning Doug! Had the first cup of Coffee yet, I wish I could have one with you. lol. And you hit the nail right on the head, we should be paid for our sacrifices.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged |
I'm pretty burned out on the rush order thing, and I figured out a way to set the terms on them without a whole lot of doubt in the customer's mind as to what a rush order is REALLY all about.
Here's a pic of the wall in my shop. I usually leave the customer next to it for a second and let it do the talking for me.
Weeds out the deadbeats in a hurry, too.
If I'm not playing drums after closing, someone's gonna pay! Hehe Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
It was good talking to you as well stephan, nice of you to call. Yes we are Neigbours and Special Neighbors, we are both East Coast Canadians, and I know that we are a special breed.
Ray that's a good one, it's after 7 here this evening and I'm woking away, I have to get myself away from the web every twenty minutes and change the foil in the edge, or where's the humanity! So I'm working, but the Edge is doing all the work tonight.
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged |
Today at 3:00, a very good client of ours calls, in a very agitated state, and says he needs a banner by tomarrow.
I figure ne needs a 4 x 8 or something. Nope, he wants a 3 x 30 banner. Oh, by the way, he needs two of them.
When I left at 5:30, the vinyl was cut and weeded and ready to go for the morning.
A simple layout and let the cutter run while I was working on some other layouts. Multi-tasking at it's finest.
Have a great one!
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6451 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I hate to rush ... thinking about it ... I live by them rushes. Most of what i do is toward special events...talk about planning...hehehe. and movies needs is all about timing.
É
-------------------- Élaine Beauchemin scrip Lettrage Scripsit inc. St-Hubert, Quebec, Canada www.scripsit.net Posts: 1096 | From: Saint-Hubert, Québec, Canada | Registered: Nov 1998
| IP: Logged |
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Dunno]](graemlins/dunno.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
"Doesn't make sense! (SORRY)" 
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
extra, buddy." Then maybe next time, the client will be more timely. What do you think? Should we try?
![[Applause]](graemlins/clap.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic