A Hundred Rush Jobs & a Disabled V-nailer

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Jeff Rodier

Jeff Rodier

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Posts
19,217
Loc
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Been trying to get to equipment maintenance for a couple of months now. Was about to do it when all #### broke loose and have been buried for months in "Emergency" framing jobs and now my v-nailer petered out. Should be an easy fix but now all of these rush orders are going to have to wait.

I hung a bunch of signs last week that say "RUSH ORDERS COST MORE" and that has helped but as I had feared I am in jam now.

I now charge a rush fee on every rush order because they are killing me and are being abused to death by the local artists. I do a lot of framing for people who vacation here so those are legitimate rushes but the others are just poor planning on the art owners part. :soapbox:
 
My V-nailer needs maintenance as well but I have Thumbnailer Master for that situation.
 
So contact one of the many suppliers of used equipment and get a cheapish VN2. Simply use it to slam these frames together. While using this second one get yours worked on and then sell the back up.

You'd tell me to do this, so listen to the sage advise :) No sense using a corner vise when you can get a working machine in 2 days. The money coming in on these 100's of frames will pay for the back p and you can sell it here after you're done.

If I were closer I'd let you borrow my shop to slam frames together after hours.
 
Wow would it suck to have 100 rush jobs and be busy!
 
Planning

A customer was in the store one day and heard another customer become somewhat upset (not bad) but somewhat because we are charging a rush order fee. Once all paper was completed money exchanged and the slightly upset customer left, the other customer mention how well we handled the situation. then she said this to me " I would not have been that nice, I would have told him " listen, poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part "! and I would have charged him double. Now I am not suggesting one do this but I love the saying and the fact it came from a customer.
 
Love that saying too ;) And it is on the counter at the plaque maker I go to. $75 for overnight and $25 for 3 days. FWIW he typically does the work in 2 days, but if you want it guaranteed then you pay.


Jeff, how long have you been needing to do the maintenance? Pay the piper and recoup the money by selling the backup vnailer.

Glad you're busy, I am assuming that you are planning on making more than $8 per frame, Us that $800 get a back up vnailer and then sell it after your better one is fixed. Get a good starter model so that you can sell it to a start up framer or artist that wants to buy moulding from you,,,
 
Since we've been pretty busy and Ultramitre decided that I should be shunned like an amish guy that buys an electric shaver I fear I'm doomed to repeat his mistake.
 
I figure my supplier wants my equipment to fail so I move from length to buying joins so they threatened Ultramitre to stay away.


THAT'S A JOKE


 
$50 part should have us back in business on Tuesday. There's going to be a whole lot of whining going on in the next few days around here. Maybe this will teach them a lesson to not wait till the last possible second to bring in their work.
 
I'm the type of guy to leave his film in the camera for a year, then take it to a one-hour processing place. I'm also the type of guy to still use film. Point is, I'm the customer. If I want to leave projects til the last minute, that's my prerogative. On the framer's side, you can either get the work done, or you can't. If you have the time and the materials to get the job done, you can be a hero. "Gee, that normally would take me a week, but I think I can move things around and have this for you by tomorrow 3 pm. I normally charge a $50 rush fee, but since this is a $300 job, I'm going to waive the rush fee, too."

In this economy, you should be glad customers are darkening your door with cash in one hand and artwork in the other. Make them feel like fecal remnants because they waited til the last minute, that will be the last time you see them or their money.
 
PaulSF said:
In this economy, you should be glad customers are darkening your door with cash in one hand and artwork in the other. Make them feel like fecal remnants because they waited til the last minute, that will be the last time you see them or their money.
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Same ones over and over again 20 or 30 times per year. They could go down the road and pay twice as much but they will still have to wait since the others don't own inventory.


I am also considering adding a $20 fee to anyone saying "In this economy". That fee would increase to $30 if they add the line "You are lucky to be busy".
 
Jeff, I have two underpinners and have never had one break down. You have one and it is broken. I think I see a pattern emerging here. But that's just how Mr Murphy operates.

Jeff K
 
Exactly, Paul. In reality, a "rush" order should be a relatively rare occurrence. If you have "100" rush orders pending, it probably means your definition of "rush" needs to change. If your clientele is one that needs super fast turnaround, you have to adjust your business to make that your standard capability. If it means having to hire another person, charge more, whatever, that's what you need to figure out. You might just find out that you are currently overworked and underpaid.
:cool: Rick
 
Rick Granick said:
You might just find out that you are currently overworked and underpaid.
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That is a fact but these are the cheapest people on the planet right here. Many of them tell me they were paying several hundred dollars more when the lived up North then ask me to give them an additional discount.

I am doing work for several shows for each of 2 colleges in the area and we know that college students never do anything ahead of time. At least I can print all of the 5 foot long graphics projects right up to the point I run out of ink. These items will determine final grades so they get priority. Just finished up a half dozen show and sales for the local artists and have another dozen in the coming month.

When I don't have time I sell them ready mades and materials so they can do their own framing.
 
Jeff Rodier said:
.....these are the cheapest people on the planet right here.......they were paying several hundred dollars more when the lived up North.....
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Those two statements don't jibe. They used to pay hundreds more. Not that they liked it, but they were willing to, and they did. Now you have them conditioned to believe that they should be able to get "rush" service while purchasing frames made from high-end European mouldings at bargain basement prices. That is their new reality because you have told them that it is. Personally I would rather be doing a lower volume of frames in a reasonable time period for my capacity for the same total number of dollars. But that's me.
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick
 
Jeff Rodier said:
...have been buried for months in "Emergency" framing jobs and now my v-nailer petered out.
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Why don't you just plug in your spare underpinner?

If you have 100 "emergency" jobs, that probably means you have about 500 routine jobs in queue. Even at a bargain-basement average order value of, say, $75 per frame, you're sweating over what could be $30,000 to $50,000 worth of framing orders? In any case, that VN-42 would probably cost you 10% of the value of orders in process, or maybe less; perhaps a total of less than $2500 after fuel to go get it, and the seller might agree to meet you halfway.

For me, that would be a no-brainer.
 
Just for the sake of argument, how many other industries do what picture framers do on a regular basis ........... not charge for rush orders?

I am not holding my breath.
 
Jeff, your website says same day turnaround. Now, that you have a limping, broken piece of equipment, you want to charge the customer more for that service???? It's not their fault. My advise, for whatever it's worth, is to take those signs out of your window. There are those in your area that do carry inventory, and DO price competitively.
 
EMcBride said:
Out of curiosity, what do you consider rush? A day? Two days?
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Yes plus while they wait or 4 days or need 6 photos printed and framed in 5 or come in 5 minutes to closing and wanting to pick up as soon as I open. This is an incredibly unique market with thousands of artists selling their work or entering shows. Half the residents have retired and downsized everything, all the good furniture and stuff was handed down to the kids or still have a house up North they will be selling. We are the coupon capital of the world to the point where Groupon was never able to enter the market. The retirees plan to live forever and have money left over for the kids when they are gone.

The frame shops here live off of commission art sales plus a little framing and hope to pay the rent. I sell frames and see 20-30 customers a day. I would like to do less custom framing and more ready made frames. I cut up about 15 boxes of moulding in the last 2 weeks to try to get more ready mades out but I am falling behind because of rush orders.

Now to Jerry's question, there is no industry in the world that makes a custom manufactured product and charges no rush fees. The pace they expect is insanity and all the name of "These Economic Times". I could have employees but I don't want any. I could raise all of my prices but that would penalize those who plan ahead and are willing to wait 10-14 days for a great deal.
 
Jeff Rodier said:
...I could raise all of my prices but that would penalize those who plan ahead and are willing to wait 10-14 days for a great deal.
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It's nice that you want to be nice. And it's especially nice that you want to work your fingers to the bone for the lowest possible prices, for customers who don't appreciate it, when you could be making a lot more money and working a lot less.

You're too nice. Or something.
 
Too many customers offers far more security than too few customers. It is also a situation that is much easier to change if I would decide I want to do so.
 
Bob Doyle said:
So contact one of the many suppliers of used equipment and get a cheapish VN2. Simply use it to slam these frames together. While using this second one get yours worked on and then sell the back up.

You'd tell me to do this, so listen to the sage advise :) No sense using a corner vise when you can get a working machine in 2 days. The money coming in on these 100's of frames will pay for the back p and you can sell it here after you're done.

If I were closer I'd let you borrow my shop to slam frames together after hours.
Click to expand...


OK so if you won't listen to me then listen to Jim.

Jim Miller said:
Why don't you just plug in your spare underpinner?

If you have 100 "emergency" jobs, that probably means you have about 500 routine jobs in queue. Even at a bargain-basement average order value of, say, $75 per frame, you're sweating over what could be $30,000 to $50,000 worth of framing orders? In any case, that VN-42 would probably cost you 10% of the value of orders in process, or maybe less; perhaps a total of less than $2500 after fuel to go get it, and the seller might agree to meet you halfway.

For me, that would be a no-brainer.
Click to expand...


Jeff Rodier said:
Too many customers offers far more security than too few customers. It is also a situation that is much easier to change if I would decide I want to do so.
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Jeff, I am loath to bring this up here, but you have already struggled with this decision. You made a wise decision too those few months back, and here you are again struggling with the same decision. Look back and remember how much you wanted to be with family then. That love hasn't changed. Here's a reminder that we were behind you then and are now. Family first...
Jeff Rodier said:
I have the store closed today and we will begin making plans for services. All of this has me considering how to achieve a better balance between my work and family life.
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Remember when you came back you had clods walking in on you and your grief. they were not there for you, and you have been there in spades for them. Remember you and GeAnn had a "get balance back in our lives" talk.

Well your machines are wearing down, your customers are still not concerned for your mental health. and You are still worried about not getting their work down, not being there for them. If that doesn't say slow down and say it loud and clear I don't know what will.

Take your own advice, get your balance back. Live your life, and start by charging real money for your frames. As you say if they want cheap they can go to WalMart. If business dies then sell off that inventory of 20,000 ready mades and start selling houses again.
 
V-nailer is repaired and now the Wizard is toast. It won't cut through boards consistently. Spent a bunch of time with tech support yesterday and today will be round 2. Been printing and mounting final projects for numerous classes at the 2 colleges while trying to repair equipment so there has been plenty to do. I will be cutting and joining all of my frames while waiting for the mat cutter to be resolved. Wish I had time to make ready made frames.
 
Oh Oh …..Him again…… Murphy’s Law…..a real pain that fellow. :(

I hope all gets sorted soon for you.
 
Jeff,

Not to read too much into, but methinks there are some folks on this thread aren't buying the volume level you claim. I can see in a tourist situation the type of art/artist demand you see and think it's a great model potentially but for one person to be the primary machine doesn't make sense. I know you aren't thrilled about employees but even if you found someone to come into the shop after hours for a reasonable wage to just cut and/or join your frames, readymades, etc you would find that you are able to focus on so much more than just the labor portion of what you do.

When it comes to the same day and rushes, do you have a flat charge for that? Maybe it would make sense to have a table that addresses this need based upon size and timeline? There are companies here that offer next day blinds but they charge more for them. Maybe a table similar to what's below.

Piece size (up to) 5 day rush 3 day rush next day
16x20 add $5 add $10 add $15
24x36 add $10 add $18 add $25
32x40 add $25 add $30 add $40
etc
etc

You would still likely be the cheapest option for these artists but it might help level out their lack of being prepared and the emergencies it generates for you. Plus it puts more in your pocket for the duplicate pieces of equipment you need!
 
Paul, not worried about what others think since dozens and dozens and dozens of Grumblers have been here in my store. I have always gone out of my way to help out customers who have a bona fide reason for last minute items. So many of the artists have decided everything should be at their convenience and I am now charging them rush fees. The hundred plus students in the last week got charged no rush fee and that is something I accepted when I went after their business.

Somebody mentioned I should take the rush order sign down since I offer it as a service. UPS offers rush orders as well and they charge for the service. Nobody ever said it is free. The regulator for the v-nailer was in a 4 inch cube box and I asked for it to get here one day early and that cost me an extra nearly $40. My health insurance company charges me an extra $50 if I go to an emergency room rather than waiting until the doctors office is open. It is a fact of life that rush service costs extra everywhere other than a frame shop.
 
Still a chicken and egg thing. Who started the race to the bottom?

Your complaints about your customers have been pretty consistant since you came on this board, yet you still market to those same cheap customers in the same manner. If your marketing is to the low end, why are you surprised that is what you end up with?

Your volume seems to have been pretty consistant as well. You would think that with the demands placed on the machinery you use (ultra-light industrial) you would have redundant backup, or have converted to much more heavy duty machines by now.
 
I picture you like a fast motion wrecking ball in reverse. You approach rubble and frames appear.

I think you and I are similar in that we do a maniacal amount of labor. My methods are slower, but I still pile it on.

My only concern is that if were to say, be in a car wreck and have to spend several weeks in the hospital, do you have someone who could pick up the reins and make sure the 100+ orders you have in the hopper get done?

So long as not a single one of those catfish customers is more important than having a meal at home with your family, I say go for it. If you're making sacrifices for catfish customers, well, they don't need guidance in the world and they sure as heck won't change your colostomy bag someday.
 
Wizard saw this and called within minutes of getting in on the west coast yesterday.

Big shout out to Ken at Wizard along w/ whomever was monitoring the G. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
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