What to do when the customer wants it NOW!

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mmayo

mmayo

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Jan 12, 2013
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Tehachapi, CA
During December a customer contacted me about having a black diamond knurl rollerball made in Italian olive wood. Time went on and that lead seemed to disappear. Yesterday it became a must for HER to have it ASAP for a birthday present; she had lost my contact information. Today I found a pretty blank, found the DK black kit, cut the blank, drilled it, sanded the tubes, glued up the pen with 5 minute epoxy and made a opalescent ring while it cured. I flush sanded the ends, turned the blank and after all the other steps, I have her pen. Yes, I had other plans today, but the pen is done. Now back to those other plans. It took about 1.5 hours; clearly not my usual time needed.
 

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mmayo said:
During December a customer contacted me about having a black diamond knurl rollerball made in Italian olive wood. Time went on and that lead seemed to disappear. Yesterday it became a must for HER to have it ASAP for a birthday present; she had lost my contact information. Today I found a pretty blank, found the DK black kit, cut the blank, drilled it, sanded the tubes, glued up the pen with 5 minute epoxy and made a opalescent ring while it cured. I flush sanded the ends, turned the blank and after all the other steps, I have her pen. Yes, I had other plans today, but the pen is done. Now back to those other plans. It took about 1.5 hours; clearly not my usual time needed.
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Beautiful - what kit is that from?
Michael
 
"Of course I need it today. If I needed it tomorrow, I would bring it in tomorrow."
Hopefully it will bring in some more business. However, one could make a work schedule and put it in line along with the rest. Seems like the customer dropped the ball on giving a definite date for it.
 
Mark

that is a stunning result in a demanding time schedule!

Great work and the contrast works fantastically well. Must treat myself to some of those kits when next in USA.
 
Why is poor planning on a customer's part an emergency on my (or your or another's) part?

I do not entertain rush orders. Bad things always seem to happen. Good for you to help out your customer. I hope you were able to salvage and enjoy your plans.
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 
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I'm not opposed to a rush order, but I would certainly charge a hefty premium for jumping to the head of the line for a one-day turnaround.

When I take an order, I let the customer know where they are in line and approximately how long it will take once I get to their order, and I tell them I'll inform them when I start their order. I find customers respond well to this.

If someone wants a quick turnaround, but is unwilling to pay extra for rush, I politely decline the job. If they're insistent, I quote the old adage: You might want it good, fast, and cheap, but you can only have two of those.
 
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