Every shop has taken the job that had to be done by Friday, moved three orders to do it, worked late, and charged the normal price. Rush fees exist to stop that being free.
Price the displacement, not the panic
The cost of a rush job is rarely the extra hour on the press. It is:
- Overtime or unplanned staffing.
- The other order that slips, and the goodwill you spend on it.
- Higher reject rate, because hurried setups are worse setups.
- Expedited blank freight, often at several times normal cost.
- Owner attention, which is your scarcest resource.
Add those up on the last rush job you took. That number, not a percentage from a forum, is your fee.
A structure that customers accept
| Requested delivery | Fee | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Inside standard lead time | None | Normal work, normal price |
| 50 to 99% of standard lead time | 20% | Resequencing, no overtime |
| 25 to 49% of standard lead time | 35% | Overtime, displaces other jobs |
| Under 25% of standard lead time | 50%, subject to capacity | Everything above, plus reject risk |
Three things make this work: it is written down before anyone needs it, it is expressed in lead-time bands rather than named days, and the top tier is explicitly conditional on capacity. You are selling a place in the queue, and you are allowed to be sold out.
Say it in the quote, not in the argument
Put your standard lead time on every quote, and the rush tiers next to it. Then the conversation is never "why are you charging me extra", it is "which of these do you want". Customers who need speed are usually the least price-sensitive customers you have; the ones who object were never in a hurry.
The blank freight trap
Expedited blanks can cost more than the decoration. Quote rush freight as a pass-through at cost, itemised, and check stock before you commit to the date. A rush fee does not help if the garment cannot physically arrive.
Protect the jobs you displace
The hidden cost of rush work is the customer who quietly slipped. If you move an order, tell that customer before they notice, and give them a new date you will hold. A shop known for hitting dates can charge for speed. A shop known for moving dates cannot.
Printer's Friend keeps the promised date on the order and shows it on the production board, so resequencing a rush job makes the knock-on visible rather than discovered later. For the seasonal version of this problem, see managing rush season without hiring.