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Update, and about rush jobs (an apology!)
12 years ago
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Don't wait for the queue to shrink—the commission docket is rarely empty.Hiya, everyone~ I really need to get down to work today, so I'll try to keep this short.
I'm pretty far behind on work, as you guys have probably all noticed -- Havok & Hijinks is running alongside my main queue and I have been trying to manage my time a little better. I'm buckling down with new rules on how much time I spend on what and I hope it will help.
A regular client of mine who has always been honest, patient, and awesome with me, recently e-mailed me with a concern about my rush order process -- namely, that it seemed a little too easy for people to be continuously and unfairly skipped. I had rarely ever had more than one person ask for a rush job within a two or three month period, so the efficacy of my procedure hadn't come into question before. I'd changed the cost and method for doing it several times while attempting to make it both affordable for my clients who really can't wait, but also not so prohibitive as to prevent anyone from hiring me just because they were in a hurry...
But I had two rush jobs pop up just before this client hired me and I can see how that must have been really unfair to everyone who was ahead of her, too; though she actually wasn't skipped via rush order, I remember did finish a Naoki piece ahead of hers on a rough "art block" day, so she felt the sting. Everyone who was skipped twice could have come to me with the some concerns but I was clueless -- so I'm really glad she brought it up with me.
I'm a scatterbrain who can't cook because she will burn boiling noodles, so it didn't occur to me that people who have been waiting patiently might get really annoyed if it's that easy to jump to the top of the queue -- costly or not. I think a client should be allowed to do it, because it really does suck when an artist you like is constantly booked and you're on a time crunch... but I needed to have a rule about how many rush orders I can take, or how many times you can be skipped. It's my fault for not looking ahead to all possible situations and thinking about it. Again, rush orders have only come up maybe five or six times in my five years at FA, but I still should have made it a priority that the process wasn't harmful to regular customers.
So I've changed my rules about rush orders. If you're in the normal queue and waiting, you can ONLY be skipped ONCE, whether by rush order or by my idle hands (that doesn't count pieces that get completed while I'm waiting on a response from you, though; I gotta keep working!). That means if someone has hired me and wants to leapfrog to the front of the line, they may do so, but if you got skipped, you're immune to getting skipped over again. This will allow for rush orders but avoid a possible "back-and-forth skip war" (which hasn't happened yet, but I realized under the old rules it totally could have!). If I skip you because I just can't handle your piece right now and MUST complete someone else ahead of you (sometimes it happens; I struggle, I need a day to think your piece over, I have to wash my brain out), you get your little red X and even a rush order can't skip you.
So, the new rules:
1. It's $5 per person in line to skip ahead, no matter what type of commission it is.
2. If you have been skipped, you're immune to being skipped over again, so the longest additional time anyone can be made to wait is the time it takes to do that extra pic.
3. So, in conclusion: if the list is 12 people long, and a new person rushes to the front, the next person who wants a rush order is only able to skip anyone at the bottom of the list who hasn't been skipped over yet (if any). This limits rush orders, but it's fairer for everyone else.
Basically, it's leapfrog with immunity after you get jumped. It's like Survivor plus Duck-Duck-Goose, but less drama, more pizza rolls. (Because I say so.)
I hope this is a good compromise and I invite anyone to weigh in on the new policy here in the comments. Questions, comments, suggestions, all are totally welcome! I apologize to any of my clients who might have been irritated by the sloppiness of the old method and I will try to make sure I make it up to you.
Thanks to the client who was honest enough to bring this up with me. I really am sorry she had to and that it took me a week or two to get around to retooling the policy, but I hope it's better late than never.
And I wish I could be posting all the Havok and Hijinks stuff, but while I haven't signed an NDA, I know I gotta keep that stuff mostly on the DL (though I'll ask
anzel when I can start posting stuff, since I think it might help generate buzz and you guys AREN'T GONNA BELIEVE HOW AMAZING THIS GAME IS).
♥
Now, back to work!
xoxo
hd
I'm pretty far behind on work, as you guys have probably all noticed -- Havok & Hijinks is running alongside my main queue and I have been trying to manage my time a little better. I'm buckling down with new rules on how much time I spend on what and I hope it will help.
A regular client of mine who has always been honest, patient, and awesome with me, recently e-mailed me with a concern about my rush order process -- namely, that it seemed a little too easy for people to be continuously and unfairly skipped. I had rarely ever had more than one person ask for a rush job within a two or three month period, so the efficacy of my procedure hadn't come into question before. I'd changed the cost and method for doing it several times while attempting to make it both affordable for my clients who really can't wait, but also not so prohibitive as to prevent anyone from hiring me just because they were in a hurry...
But I had two rush jobs pop up just before this client hired me and I can see how that must have been really unfair to everyone who was ahead of her, too; though she actually wasn't skipped via rush order, I remember did finish a Naoki piece ahead of hers on a rough "art block" day, so she felt the sting. Everyone who was skipped twice could have come to me with the some concerns but I was clueless -- so I'm really glad she brought it up with me.
I'm a scatterbrain who can't cook because she will burn boiling noodles, so it didn't occur to me that people who have been waiting patiently might get really annoyed if it's that easy to jump to the top of the queue -- costly or not. I think a client should be allowed to do it, because it really does suck when an artist you like is constantly booked and you're on a time crunch... but I needed to have a rule about how many rush orders I can take, or how many times you can be skipped. It's my fault for not looking ahead to all possible situations and thinking about it. Again, rush orders have only come up maybe five or six times in my five years at FA, but I still should have made it a priority that the process wasn't harmful to regular customers.
So I've changed my rules about rush orders. If you're in the normal queue and waiting, you can ONLY be skipped ONCE, whether by rush order or by my idle hands (that doesn't count pieces that get completed while I'm waiting on a response from you, though; I gotta keep working!). That means if someone has hired me and wants to leapfrog to the front of the line, they may do so, but if you got skipped, you're immune to getting skipped over again. This will allow for rush orders but avoid a possible "back-and-forth skip war" (which hasn't happened yet, but I realized under the old rules it totally could have!). If I skip you because I just can't handle your piece right now and MUST complete someone else ahead of you (sometimes it happens; I struggle, I need a day to think your piece over, I have to wash my brain out), you get your little red X and even a rush order can't skip you.
So, the new rules:
1. It's $5 per person in line to skip ahead, no matter what type of commission it is.
2. If you have been skipped, you're immune to being skipped over again, so the longest additional time anyone can be made to wait is the time it takes to do that extra pic.
3. So, in conclusion: if the list is 12 people long, and a new person rushes to the front, the next person who wants a rush order is only able to skip anyone at the bottom of the list who hasn't been skipped over yet (if any). This limits rush orders, but it's fairer for everyone else.
Basically, it's leapfrog with immunity after you get jumped. It's like Survivor plus Duck-Duck-Goose, but less drama, more pizza rolls. (Because I say so.)
I hope this is a good compromise and I invite anyone to weigh in on the new policy here in the comments. Questions, comments, suggestions, all are totally welcome! I apologize to any of my clients who might have been irritated by the sloppiness of the old method and I will try to make sure I make it up to you.
Thanks to the client who was honest enough to bring this up with me. I really am sorry she had to and that it took me a week or two to get around to retooling the policy, but I hope it's better late than never.
And I wish I could be posting all the Havok and Hijinks stuff, but while I haven't signed an NDA, I know I gotta keep that stuff mostly on the DL (though I'll ask
anzel when I can start posting stuff, since I think it might help generate buzz and you guys AREN'T GONNA BELIEVE HOW AMAZING THIS GAME IS).♥
Now, back to work!
xoxo
hd
No one can foresee everything. You fix the system when you notice a problem. Until you notice a problem, so long as the system works, might as well keep chugging along!
Course, I think that's because I was running yesterday.