Renae Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 I have a client (and she is a friend) that is bringing over a baby quilt tonight and she wants me to quilt it before Friday, March 13th. She knows I have 2 other quilts to get done before hers and she is friends with one of them and she said and I will quote, "will you do mine before .........'s ? but don't let her find out. Oh, well so what if she does." I was so stunned I didn't know what to say. I just told her I had a hair appointment at 3:30 and so she could bring it over after that. So we decided on 6:00 tonight. I feel like I should charge her a rush order charge besides the quilting charge because I have 7 quilts ahead of hers not just her friends. Can anyone give me some fast suggestions? And how much should I charge for the rush charge???? Renae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hi Ranae, I'm no expert, but I would definitely charge her a rush fee. How do you break down your charges? For example, I charge a quilting fee and a set up fee. If you do that, you could double the quilting fee? I'm sure many more people with much more experience than I will chime in here, but that's my 2 cents worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Renae, I have no idea what to charge as a rush fee but I'm thinking 25%. Especially since now you have to work her into everybody else. This really could back fire if the other customers get ticked. I don't know what I would do but it makes me sad that a "friend" would put you in that position. Charge extra for your free time! Sorry I wish I could be of more help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Epp Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hi Renae, This is always a tough one. You KNOW you're being used by your "friend", don't you? That's why you're feeling used. I would explain to her that all your quilting time is already scheduled and that to put her ahead of the line up means you have to give up your "free" or "me" time. If you're married, it also means giving up "we" time, something which your hubby may not be too happy about. If this is a friend you want to keep, I'd explain that THIS time only, you'll quilt it ahead of your other scheduled quilts, but that she owes you supper out, or lunch if you're too chicken to ask for supper. LOL If it's a friend you don't care about keeping, then charge her your normal "rush" charge. Since it's on your "free, me, we" time, you should get "time and a half": 150% of the normal charge. NEXT, you add this to your brochure, so you don't have to deal with it again. As we get older, we get smarter. In the last few years, I've had to decide which of my friends were takers and which ones gave as good as they got. I have fewer friends, but I'm much happier because I now have more time for the friends that respect what I do, and don't just use it for their own advantage, without ever giving anything in return. Life's too short to spend it with people who make you feel less than your are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renae Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 She is wanting only a panto edge to edge and I'm not sure how big it is........I'm guessing small. So it will be priced at .015 a square inch. So if it doesn't come to $37.00 then I will automatically charge $37.00 plus the cost of thread at $1.00 a bobbin because I know she will want varigated and she will want my batting. Renae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 I had a $30 rush fee on small quilts and $40 on larger ones. Make sure you charge because this is done on your own time after hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renae Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks Darlene, that makes sense and she is doing exactly that to me and I shouldn't let her. But she is the user type if you let her but don't ever try to use her......... know what I mean. Anyway, I'm going to ask for an extra fee if she wants a rush job or she can get in line like everyone else. Renae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renae Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks everyone for the info.......I'm going to put your advice to use and not be so scared to speak up. Renae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Epp Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Renae, are you saying your minimum charge is $37??!! Me thinks you're using yourself! :cool: Get your minimum up to $50. Add a 50% rush fee to that and the charge is $75. You still have to mount it, quilt it, trim it and put up with her. That's worth at least $75! Bet she won't do that to you again. LOL Why don't you just give HER the choice. $50 minimum if she gets in line with your other customers; $75 if she wants it done now. I wouldn't argue with her. Just tell her this is your "job" and you have to make it pay the bills. Period. Maybe then she'll understand that she's not as "special" as she thinks she is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renae Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 :D:D I love that Darlene!! I believe now would be a great time to raise my priceses anyway. I haven't done it yet and now seems like the right time. Thanks! Renae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 As I wsa reading this words were bouncing in my head and I was ready to start typing, and saw Darlene's last entry....."She said EXACTLY what I was going to".... So I guess great minds do think alike...or at least in my pea brain I have a great mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethDurand Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Oh Darlene, fabulous responses! The only thing I would add is that this "friend" has known that the baby was expected for how many months now, and she wants to crowd in at the last minute? Not that I have a response to this, but something to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Epp Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 LOL! Easy for ME to talk when I don't have to face the "friend" huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspingler Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 When someone comes to me with "can you do this by XX" or "how soon can you get this done" or "what are the chances of getting this done", it's an automatic $25 rush fee. It means that I have to work overtime to get the other quilt done when I promised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg_marsh Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 I have read about the $50 min and agree with it completely. It only makes sense because no matter what the size - you still have all the prep work......Don't sell yourself short. Also, time and a half makes sense for a rush order - because you are in business for yourself, does not give you (and I mean you) the right to not charge according to the rest of the world - rush orders almost always cost more!!!!! Your service is valuable - if she went to someone who was not her friend - I am sure the other person would charge a rush order price if she would even agree to the rush order. Be proud of yourself and what you do and charge accordingly!!!! We often sell ourselves short (me included) and it makes me mad at myself every time I do it ................. Good luck and I think Darlene's advise about putting rush order prices in our brochure is great!!! Thanks Darlene!! & Hi back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnHenry Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 My teacher told me that they used to use the $25.00 rush fee, and found that too many people were perfectly willing to pay an extra $25.00, so they increased it to 50% and the requests stopped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Originally posted by Renae She is wanting only a panto edge to edge and I'm not sure how big it is........I'm guessing small. So it will be priced at .015 a square inch. So if it doesn't come to $37.00 then I will automatically charge $37.00 plus the cost of thread at $1.00 a bobbin because I know she will want varigated and she will want my batting. Renae Renae, I think regardless of size, you should have a minimum charge for any quilt. Many people I've heard have $50 as their minumum quilting fee. So there you go: $50 standard base fee, and $25.00 rush fee + thread. Could be close to $80.00 for that baby quilt! So there you have it. $$$ Ka-ching! $$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkerekes Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 My minimum fee is $60 and my rush fee is $75. I once quilted a baby quilt for $200. She called me on Saturday morning and needed it by Sunday noon. It took me about an hour to do! I couldn't believe that she paid me that---I almost felt like I was pimping myself out. But---she didn't bat an eye when I said $200--probably because I was willing to do it! Is $25 enough to make people be more considerate of you? I don't think so. I don't think $25 hurts enough;). I also think that your friend is taking advantage of you--always remember that YOU teach people how to treat you. Jill Kerekes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatty94 Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Well, we are all going to be anxiously waiting to see how things turned out Please let us know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 You are getting wonderful advice! I would not put a "rush fee" charge on my brochures, but I do have them on my intake sheet now just to warn my customers how expensive it will be if they don't plan ahead!! And it is 50% of the quilting charges. My minimum is $50. I have done emergency quilts without a rush fee--for ill people or deadline charity offerings--but not one for anyone who forgot to schedule correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I'm trying to work out if I am a sucker or a bit harsh. I don't charge a rush fee, (well not so far) but I will sometimes rush a quilt. I need a good reason though. No reason, no rush. I am also a lot more likely to pull out all the stops for someone with an OK reason who expects me to say no and is quite calm about it. Then if I fancy meeting the silly deadline for whatever reason that's fine. You've not offered any reason for this quilt to be a rush, so for me it would be a flat no. I think the fact that you are asking what you should charge extra for this is a great first step in looking after yourself. Keep up the good work. Strange thought, I think I like my rush quilts best of all, maybe that is why I don't feel any need to charge more for them? Ferret (who has a huge quilt on the frame with a history that does **need** to be done ASAP) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 There is a time and place for a rush charge....if the quilt is for something like this past weekend where Brendalee did the rush quilt for a funeral....No, if someone is sick and the patient and terminal, then again no. BUT when they take advantage of you, lie to get something done or try to pull the "Friendship" card, then I say draw a line in the sand and stand on it. I have/had a friend who would go around telling people she just loved having a friend who quilted because she (meaning me) doesn't charge me anything, I get my quilts done for free. Well, let me tell you here and now that when I heard that, and found out she was seriously telling people that....her quilt went to the back of the pile and the back of the GEE I'm moving pile, guess its going to have to wait pile... Her quilt wasn't done for almost 2 years.....didn't get paid for it either, but I wasn't expecting to by that time. But I got my point across....don't take advantage of me and I won't spin you to the bottom of my pile. And she doesn't ask me to do her quilts anymore either....Oh darn!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witha'K'quilting Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Laughing out Loud for sure on this one Bonnie. I just asked a friend if she had any quilt tops...2 or 3 that I could quilt for free. The condition is that I get to choose what to do with the quilts. She gave me 3 tops and it is going to be great practice for me. I was very excited until I unfolded the tops and really looked at them. Now I haven't a clue what to do with them...and I certainly am thinking that customer quilts in the future would be a PITA after seeing her workmanship. I think she pulled 3 of her worse tops from her stash. Not quite square...huge borders...awful fabric. Ugh! What did I get myself into? I will be posting pics soon asking for help?!? I do however agree with Bonnie and Linda in this: even though I do not quilt for others...I would do so under a true emergency such as death, illness, etc. However, if time simply got away from the customer...I would charge something to compensate for my time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I have a "friend" like that, too. She got me good last fall when she asked me to quilt a twin bed quilt for her 12 or 13 year old granddaughter's birthday. I really only quilt for myself, but she offered to pay me, so I decided to take her up on it. I looked at the price lists on lots of internet sites and came up with an average price. I was going to charge her 1.5 cents a square inch for the CL Swirls. I forgot what the price/size was exactly, but when I got the quilt, it was a baby quilt with a huge border around it to make it a twin bed bedspread - all the way to the floor! Yikes. It was very wavy before I even put it on the frame. I did make it look very nice (can't go wrong with the Swirls). There were no puckers. I used King Tut thread - no cheap stuff. But the batting she brought was very old, thick and thin spots and threw lint and fuz all over the room. It was really crappy stuff. Plus it was pieced together and some of it was a different type of batting. Anyway, in the end she did not give me what I asked for up front because I wasn't in business. She decided to pay me half of what she normally paid her longarmer for the 1.5 cent pantos. Did I mention, I got it in the morning and she needed it by dinner so she could bind it that night. Her granddaughter's birthday was the next day. Humm... Live and learn. Well, not me. Read on... So, last Sunday she called me to stop by and see a tee-shirt quilt she just finished for someone. I went over to her condo and saw the quilt. Well, it was just pieced, not quilted. Twin bed size. Well, she begged me to quilt it for her because she promised it to a lady for her son's birthday which was on Friday. I said I was really busy with my block exchange quilt and I wouldnt have time. Anyway, she finally wore me down and I agreed to do it for her. But, I told her that I wanted $80 for the quilting. She drew out a large loop and star meander, so I said $80. She also wanted a varigated thread. The only one I had that was the right color was Rainbows. OK. That was fine with her. Of course, she wanted it back later on Sunday - same day, so she could bind it and get it to the lady mid-week. OK. I took it home and quilted it. It took about 4 hours. Then I drove it back to her condo. She said she was sorry, but she could not pay me until the lady paid her. Hummm. So, over the weekend, I called her and asked how the lady liked the quilt. She said she didn't like the loop and star meandering that it didn't suit the quilt. The tee-shirts were all music related (he plays in a rock band) and she thought the quilting should have also been music related. Funny thing, I have a music panto that I showed the friend, but she still said loops and stars. I didn't think it did it justice, either, but I still had the drawing this friend did when she said that is what she wanted quilted on it. The lady paid her $400 for the quilt, but I didn't get paid because the customer promised her $500, but because the lady didn't like the quilting design, my friend took $100 off. She mak=de $400 and I made zip. Now, I have really learned my lesson!!! This same friend (shall I say former friend) is almost finished another tee-shirt quilt and is now looking for someone to quilt it for her. Any volunteers? LOL Sorry I went off on a rant. It happens sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Sandy, I sent a U2U 2 U I'd like to see you on TV. Judge Judy or one of those other programs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.