Currently, ASAP orders lock an editor into a 60-minute "unavailable" block after they accept, with no way to release early. This is a strong fit for full-shoot turnaround requests, but it creates a bad incentive for small jobs: an editor asked to do a single-image edit would spend only a few minutes on the actual work, then sit idle and unable to take other orders for the rest of the hour. As a result, editors are declining these small ASAP requests even when they're shown as available, and the orders don't fall back to a normal order after the decline.

Customer impact: Matthew D. had a single-image ASAP order declined 5 times over 35 minutes. Editors were visibly available in the queue the entire time, so from his side the feature looked broken, when the real issue is the order size versus the ASAP time-block design.

Proposed solution: a "Single Image / Quick Edit" service tier with its own parameters, separate from standard ASAP.

Possible parameters to define:

Shorter or no post-completion "unavailable" lock for the editor, since the job is small and fast

Scoped to single-image or very small batch edits only

Same fast-turnaround promise photographers want from ASAP, without penalizing editors for taking quick jobs

Why it matters: this closes a gap between "full ASAP shoot" and "standard queue," which is a real use case (single listing photo needed same-day) that the current system actively discourages editors from fulfilling.

Source: Intercom conversation 215475462480219