Little help please? Question about rush charges.

[morea]

Looking for a little direction here...

got a client with a 4 spot color logo she needs vectorized for printing. It's not too bad, probably will take around an hour or so...

thing is, she JUST mentioned it and needs it first thing tomorrow morning. Obviously, I can't work on it here at work, won't get home until around 6 tonight (if I'm lucky what with this blizzard).

It will involve some shuffling of work around to do this tonight. In this sort of case, do you guys charge rush charges? If so, how do you calculate them? I obviously don't intend to take advantage of the client, just want to work out a cost that is fair to both of us.

Also, I don't want my clients to get in the habit of giving me their work the night before they need it, because I won't always be able to do this!











The more people I meet, the more I love my cats.</A>

[i]Post Edited (morea) : 3/1/2005 4:07:14 PM GMT

[D-Frag]

I would charge rush charges, and the way I would do it would be time and a half...kinda like overtime.

http://www.pillargraphicdesign.com/dfrag/DFRAGSIG_flat.jpg

*CAUTION* Do not attempt to view while under the influence of drugs or alcohol

digitalcamwhore (http://digitalcamwhore.deviantart.com/gallery/)

[D-Zine]

I would probobly go along the same lines as D-Frag on this. You get a job at the last minute that the client just HAS to have by the next day...they should be paying more because you have to re-arrange everything at the last minute. Sure you don't have to take the job, but they can also take the work somewhere else if they don't wanna pay more. You should be compensated for it.

Its different if you know its only gonna take you like 10 minutes. Or is it? Haha! Just kidding. If I knew it was only gonna take a few minutes I probobly wouldn't charge more. That's me tho. An hour or more I think it worth that rush fee.

I have a guy I do flyers for here down at the Dragway. Good guy. I do his flyers pretty cheap, as a favor, and they don't take me long at all - maybe 10 min/each. I shouldn't do them cheap...but I know when he needs em, he needs about 5 at a time. I don't give him a rush charge...BUT...he always pays me for it anyways. Last time he payed me 3 times what I charge, for one flyer because he needed it ASAP. THAT is RARE to find I think! I got luckly! Humm..where they hell is that guy right now..I need some money! haha!

Anyways..thats my thoughts. I would do what D-Frag suggested.

Power to the Oldschoolers

[red raw]

hmm, if I charged rush charges for last week!

I'd say an extra 20-50% of normal price for an urgent job would be reasonable, esp if it involves home-time work

The difference between a Madman and me is I'm not Mad! - Dali

[Neuro]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. It's so difficult to price things and figure out what is fair when you work full time also. So much of the information out there is for people who do work full time. It's difficult to calculate it with our situation. I know a lot of you guys are in the same boat. Just gets a bit frustrating trying to figure things out.

'Money, it turned out, was exactly like sex, you thought of nothing else if you didn't have it and thought of other things if you did.' - James Baldwin
(From CreativeLatitude.com's article 'The brewhaha of business budgeting' by Neil Tortorella)


** Personal Blog</font> (http://neuro-i-carmotur.blogspot.com)

** Business Blog</font> (http://catseyecreations.blogspot.com) - updated 2/25/2005</font>

[Ulysses]

I too think D-Frag's suggestion is very reasonable. Working in your own time in fairness, is a convenience that a client would expect to pay for ... like any time involved service.

Post Edited (Ulysses) : 3/1/2005 6:15:11 PM GMT

[Patrick Shannon]

It goes without saying that without rush charges, customers (especially soccer moms) will walk all over you. And in 80% of those cases, the customers don't need it as quick as they let on, which is why a rush fee makes them consider twice if they REALLY need it rushed. I've been lobbying for a rush charge here for a long time, it never happened. (Of course, the employers don't hesitate to tack on an additional 'Customer Aggrivation' fee when THEY'RE inconvenienced.) I'd also make any people demanding rush jobs aware of any other rush jobs already ahead of them, the early bird gets the worm after all.

If the job is a short and easy ten minute nonsense, then something like that I'd just do and get out of the way.

Patrick Shannon

'Dear valued customer, go home and die. Signed, your friendly graphic artist.'

http://www.patrickshannon.com/mwwc_sm.gif
My War With Culture (http://www.mywarwithculture.com)
Political incorrectness reinvented.