How do you handle rush orders?

[Stacey K]

Owner here.

Good customers who rarely ask - I do it at no charge (unless I pay rush fees for materials or shipping) - 8/10 will give me a $$$ tip!!

Signs, banners, shirts for the school kids when they go to state - I will work till 2am to get it done at no extra cost

PITA people - they pay more. One guy does it to me EVERY TIME and he tells me he's a PITA and I say, yes you are. He tells me to charge him more and I do.

Random people - it depends why and mostly they pay extra or top dollar. Many of them will also tip me.

I'm just a one lady shop so sometimes I have to turn the job down. I'm not staying up all night to make banners and then catch a plane at 4am with no sleep.

 

[visual800]

In the beginning I used to do rush work to try and be the hero. than I found out as I got more experience its a PITA and its all on ME for accepting it. I dont do rush work anymore, its all about who didnt do their job, not my problem

 

[netsol]

years ago a friend (in another type of business) gave me good advice <that i admit i DON'T always follow>
regarding, rush charges, free estimates, extending a warranty on something that failed a couple days after the warranty period expired...

he showed me how he would invoice things at full price, and then extend some sort of VALUED CLIENT COMPLIMENTARY DISCOUNT removing or reducing the fee.
the point being, if you simply perform the service waiving the rush charge, you end with a client who thinks they can waltz in ANYTIME (EVERY TIME, IN THE FUTURE) get same day or next day service
CUTTING THE LINE and getting in front of clients who are CAPABLE of planning more than 20 minutes ahead...

this way they understand there are people AHEAD OF THEM. they also understand you will probably NOT be so generous next time

it's also worth specifying a "QUICK SHIP MENU" items that are easier for you to produce today or the next day without breaking your routine

 

[victor bogdanov]

99% of the time they can wait, seems like it is rarely a real rush where they absolutely need to have it asap. I discovered this by doing work asap and then the customer does not pick up for a couple of days after their supposed rush due date. The worst ones try to make changes an hour before their supposed due date

 

[Bonzai901]

I think it mostly depends on how big is the job and who is the customer; we always going to have rush orders but can try to educate the customer on how long a job it takes to get it done, I learned that once you do some for a customer most of the times they expect the same results always, being said that if a regular customer is on a bind you can help but definitely not every single time, part of the reason of why I left my last job because you can't promise a next day job every day of the week pushing other jobs behind from regular customers and falling behind every day; if I go in the morning and plan my work flow setting the jobs by materials and printers to get them done faster but then your boss comes and tell you stop whatever you are doing and run this but you already got set up for a couple hours run, it creates waste time and have to figure out where to move your materials.

 

[print321]

At least your rush orders get picked up! I'm an internal shop so rush fees aren't a thing for me, but nearly all my 'emergency' signs end up sitting in the shop for days/weeks waiting for pickup

That happens a lot, honestly. We see plenty of “urgent” jobs that turn into slow pickups. From a printing side, we try to confirm pickup or delivery upfront on rush orders so they don’t end up sitting around. Clear timelines make a big difference, especially for emergency signage.

 

[mbasch]

I agree with most people. It depends on the customer but for most we charge a rush fee, not to price gouge, but to cover this disruption and give them incentive to plan better. With that said there is a real cost to rushing a job through. There is disruption, a larger chance of errors and stress on your team. Just remember "no good deed goes unpunished". Amazon has trained people to think they can get anything they want in a day or 2 and we are seeing how that expectation in our industry. People pay more on Amazon to get it delivered. They can pay more to get it faster.

 

[print321]

We do accept rush orders. First, we review the details of your project, including the product type, quantity, and deadline. Based on the turnaround time, we prioritize the order to meet your timeline. Our goal is to deliver your order quickly with fast local delivery while maintaining high-quality printing in USA.

 

[jfiscus]

If they want it fast (under 2 weeks), there's a rush charge. We aren't just sitting around here hoping business comes in every day; we're booked a month plus out on installs.
A lot of the time once they see the rush charge, they decided it isn't a rush after all.
We occasionally waive the rush charge depending on client or project.
My favorite is the rush order that they will not approve the proof for days on.

 

[White Haus]

If they want it fast (under 2 weeks), there's a rush charge. We aren't just sitting around here hoping business comes in every day; we're booked a month plus out on installs.
A lot of the time once they see the rush charge, they decided it isn't a rush after all.
We occasionally waive the rush charge depending on client or project.
My favorite is the rush order that they will not approve the proof for days on.

Man, I'd love to be in that position.

We routinely have customers that expect orders within a couple of days, then drag their feet with providing files and expect timeline not to change.

 

[Elwood "Woody" Smith]

Charge 30-50% Expedite Fee for anything under your normal turn for the product being purchased AND ONLY IF PRODUCTION SCHEDULE ALLOWS IT.

It's the only way they will learn (the customer). If you continue to do this nonsense, it never goes away.

This is my 36th year in printing. I'm done with this crap from new or random clients; they have not earned the right.

Now I have good clients who consistently send me lots of work, and I help them when I can.