[AEROCOLOR]

To be blunt, yes, you are. You're not ordering a mass-produced widget from Walmart that someone has to just pick off a shelf and throw in a box with a shipping label. Most gunsmiths and gripmakers are one man shops and I know from experience, it can be difficult to accurately estimate lead time and answer emails. I've had several custom revolvers built, dealt with several gripmakers on dozens of custom grips, refinishers, engravers and leathermakers. Sometimes their estimates are accurate, sometimes they are not. ALL delivered what was asked and there are none I would not use again. Be patient and let him do his job. Every minute he spends on the phone or answering emails is a minute he's not doing the actual work.

Hey Craig!
How about I give you a cost and timeframe on a custom paint job on your beloved Harley you`re planning on riding to Daytona Bike Week and I hold you off for a few weeks without giving a heads up on what the delay is?
Wouldn`t fly with me and I bet you might have a problem with it. I honor my commitments and schedule. That`s why they call it a schedule.
Someone doesn`t give me the respect that a customer requires and I`m done doing business with them. My customers recommend my work, communication and ethics.

The point is, stuff happens even to the most dedicated artists and craftsmen and that is unavoidable but to leave someone in the dark is inexcusable.

I can`t see any reason to accept that behavior.

Bill

 

[AEROCOLOR]

Craig.
You missed my point entirely. Guess I shouldn`t have given the scenario to lighten the mood.

Communication. That was all that was needed. The OP did nothing wrong other than wanting a bit of communication. I wouldn`t go as far as to call his actions ballistic.

I run a large collision shop and I call my customers twice a week. If I don`t then they stop liking me. That is for fairly quick turnaround work.
Customers are always welcome in my shop during repairs and I establish a repore for future work that way. Nothing secretive.
Nothing should be different for longer spans of time. I treat my customers as I would want to be treated.
I`m certain you would be pleased doing business with my company.

Bill

 

[AEROCOLOR]

No Craig. I have nine employees. Have to watch every one of them like a hawk.

I come in at 5:30 AM, never take lunch and leave around 6 PM. I paint big model airplanes and Harleys for a hobby and still make time to restore an old prewar Ford each year. I`m 61 years old and it`s getting tougher to keep the pace.Haven`t taken a week of vacation in 20 years.
Still have to keep the wife happy too.

Know why I spend that much time at my workplace?
Because that is what it takes to do everything necessary for the success of this business I`ve CHOSEN.
If a business owner can`t perform the work, including the steps required to keep customers informed of delays or issues, then they should quit.
Obviously the work/job isn`t important enough to devote the time necessary to make it viable. I`ve yet to figure out how to have a check sent to my house without performing a service for someone else.

I have no pity for someone that lets a customer down just because they don`t have time for that person.
Interacting with each customer, no matter how difficult, is part of the job. I`ve had the tough ones. I just accept them as a challenge I can overcome.

Any questions? Otherwise I`m done.

 

[AEROCOLOR]

AEROCOLOR - My compliments to you, sir. In a world full of people who can always find an excuse, it sounds like you find ways to conduct your business with the highest of ideals and dedication to your customer. There simply isnt enough of that attitude in the modern marketplace.

Some great looking old cars in your profile link, too!

Jim

Thanks Jim.

I had a tough time finding like minded employees and none of them are young.
I interview new prospects occasionally and the work ethic you describe is no longer there in todays youth.
They want to know what I can do for them...Pretty sobering really.

I`m retiring next year and hope I can slow down a bit and spend some time enjoying a few of those old cars.

Wish me luck.

Bill

 

[AEROCOLOR]

Craig, I give up. I can`t seem to get thru that the size of the business or number of employees make no difference when it comes to doing the right things for customers.

To answer your question, if I had trouble keeping up with the workload I took on (remember the amount of work is a choice) then I would scale back my promise dates and not take any additional work until I was comfortable again. This guy isn`t doing the job of nine employees or he wouldn`t have the backlog.

None of this discussion has anything to do with the OP`s issue.

Let me make it as clear as I can.
CALL THE CUSTOMER with OCCASIONAL UPDATES. An email takes five minutes once a week. That would keep his down time to a minimum.

 

[AEROCOLOR]

It does make a difference. It makes a difference when you have too much for one person but not enough to justify hiring/training another.



Neither are you, that's my point. You want to act as if your business is the same but it is not. There are several important differences and you refuse to even consider them or their significance.



Now that is funny! Look, I answer emails every single day, 365 days a year, for TWO businesses. I only wish that five minutes a week is all that it took. Hell, five minutes a day would be a gift from God. How many customers do you work on at one time, with your 9 employee business? How far out do you schedule work, a few days, a few weeks at most? A gunsmith has to be able to estimate lead time for dozens of customers weeks and months out. If not years. Is he supposed to email or call dozens of customers every time his work is setback a week? Absolutely not. It would be pointless and exhausting. That's why we call them estimates! For example, John Linebaugh is one of the premier custom revolver builders. He runs a one man shop and has a backlog of three years. Do you think his customers start complaining at 3yrs 1 day? No. Why? Because it is understood that the job takes as long as it takes and that the estimate was exactly that. An estimate. The point is, he is not knocking dents out of your car. He does not have a dozen people working for him to do the actual work while he's on the phone telling every customer the details of every day and how that affects the schedule. No, he does the best he can to estimate the lead time and the customer is REQUIRED to be patient.



You've obviously never dealt with a custom gunsmith. You would be stupid to stop taking orders. No, you push your lead time out and take whatever orders come in. If these guys didn't have a backlog of months and only took on the work they could finish in a few weeks, they'd be out of business. This is what I'm trying to tell you, your business and that of a custom gunsmith are fundamentally different.

You win, Craig. I can`t keep going. I`d have to be paid to continue this conversation.
I will state that my painting business at home is exactly the same as his and I always keep those people aware of my progress.