Brickburn & Jeremy
if this isn’t OK. Just delete it but here are Shakka’s posts in this thread and if it is just here because he wants to see himself try to keep this going I think it isn’t OK either.
Dennis is not a friend of mine but I was very impressed with his work and after I had my first safari’s done in SA and it was terrible I said to myself I was going to have Dennis do my next one if I went back.
I did go back and I contacted him and got it set up with his help.
After he had my Trophies and I saw he started on them I flew from Denver to Detroit rented a car and drove up to his place to see him at work. A very enjoyable experience. Years later I got another great trophy and got him to do it also.
He did great work on it and I have it in my trophy room.
My question is why would someone throw kindling on a fire when they have nothing involved.
Shaka posts in this thread?
FWIW: THIS has been a great thread on how to choose a taxidermist.
I'm sure that some potential business has been lost here.
I am well aware of Dennis's health issues but there is a poster here who has been trying to reach Dennis for over a year with NO RESPONSE and who also has a trophy with him for over 3 years.....both well before Dennis's health issues.
I don't know about you but I find this totally unacceptable...I don't care how "Good" he is I wouldn't give him my business
Read some of the other posts here as well....not good
Bhfs300 said:
So you want to jump in just for the fun of it or you a relative of him?
Kind of rude to just stir the pot.
No I'm not, I'm just a guy reading this thread like you are.
I had to chase a taxidermist around for 2 years myself and I remember how frustrating it was to not get the decency of a return call or a one line, 30 second email.
It's just common decency that is question here. I too have my own business and I work anywhere from 60-80 hrs a week but if a customer of mine attempts to contact me I WILL get back to him...I don't care how busy you are you owe your customers that small bit of respect. You can always find time to shoot a one line email and I think that that is all the posters that chimed in here expect from him.
Bhfs300 said:
you seem to have a bunch of friends that like real fast.
I have had some real nasty things happen to my trophies also it never goes away you look at it everyday.
Work done turned the wrong way, ears that are flat, hair filled in poorly told that is how it is done. You can find the posts.
View attachment 358097 View attachment 358098 View attachment 358100 View attachment 358106
FWIW: I don't know you and I have no idea who any of the guys here are that "liked" my post or the member who responded to you after my post is but I will tell you one thing...If you want to do your friend Dennis a favor you should stop wasting your time here responding to me and tell HIM to respond to his customers!
You are missing the point here my friend...nobody is accusing Dennis of doing shoddy work, on the contrary it looks as though he does beautiful work and has allot of skill BUT he is NOT being a good businessman by ignoring customers calls for YEARS...even before his heart attack. That is totally unacceptable in any business.
The pictures you posted mean nothing. There are bad taxidermists and there are plenty of great ones too..which Dennis IS.
Read Dtarin's post, which is the one after mine. He is telling you about his experience with Dennis which is NOT GOOD...did you see it?? Is he a liar?
PS: if Dennis continues along this course he will lose business. He already lost one guy for a Leopard mount...me. I have a hunt coming up and I narrowed it down to Dennis and Animal Artistry to do my mount if I am successful. No way will I use Dennis after reading his customers comments. I will pay more money and get a 3 month guaranteed turnaround with no game playing and 2 year wait.
Before you accuse me of promoting AA, I will tell you that I do not know the owner or anyone who works there and I haven't even spoken to them yet about doing my mount.
Do your friend a favor, tell him to answer his customers.
My 2 cents take it or leave it
He doesn't get it.
Potential customers, use him at your own peril
PARA45 said:
@Shakka, man you do have a hard on for Dennis. You made your point, we got it, let it go. Let the customers deal with him like they have been. I don't have any food on this fight, but you can only kick a man on the ground so many times.
A bit of arrogance in his reply but you are right, I shouldn't have responded....it's his business to run as he see's fit. I just don't get the "Hero Worship" by some of you whether it's a PH, Taxidermist, etc. A few of you guys are being abused and are STILL joking with him and giving him a pass for what would be an email or text that takes 30 sec.....NOBODY is THAT busy. And he doubled down on that with his response. I think that his clients understand that he had a heart attack and has been laid up but nobody here seems to be pushing him to finish their mounts...they just want the respect of a quick email...is that too much to ask?
That said yes I'm done. Sorry fellas
All I can say is WOW! I'm sure glad that I read this thread before choosing a Taxidermist
Personally, I am amazed at some of the posts here defending Dennis.
I don't care if it were Michaelangelo himself doing my work, I would never tolerate being treated like that
The ironic thing is that this entire thread would have disappeared long ago if Dennis had simply given his customers the respect of a quick email letting them know whats going on with their work, or a quick text photo of progress. No one here seems to care much about how long he is taking to do the work or the quality of his work either
There is NO EXCUSE for his lack of communication
You would think that after reading these posts and getting the heads-up from his friends that he would rectify the situation but it doesn't seem so
Sad to see a master taxidermist lose his reputation for such a minor flaw in his business practice
Proneshooter said:
Another update: Dennis did not bring the Zebra cape we chose not to mount. Said he would send it to us immediately. Six weeks later no cape and no response to my attempted communications.
How long before Dennis's defenders chime in with an excuse??
Hello, just read your post where you referenced my name and called me a "serial poster." Not sure what you meant by that but I only gave my opinion on Dennis's business practices based on what I read over 7 pages of comments.
FWIW: I could care less what you think of me since I only voiced my opinion on what I read here.
Wait a few hours until his friends here come along and ask you to be patient with the "Artist."
Best of luck with the situation my friend. I would hate to be in your position
I wonder how many present and potential clients that Dennis has lost over this thread?
Yes...a modern day Michaelango lying on the wooden scaffolding, paint dripping into his eyes, toiling away dawn to dusk just to make his clients happy....not a spare minute left in his day to send even one one line email or to make a 30 second call.
The artists life is a hard one! Vive Il Artisto!
Kevin, joking aside, Dennis was given the benefit of the doubt a year ago. There is ZERO EXCUSE for the way that he is treating his clients.
And the sad thing is that there are some good guys here who have extremely patient with him for years and ask for nothing other than a truthful reply from him
And all this after he took their deposit money
Proneshooter said:
Shakka,
I have been no fan of Dennis here in this thread. I have made my problems and opinions of he and his business practices known. Now that said, I must take exception with this one sentence in your post (quoted above). Dennis never asked for a deposit, unlike any other taxidermist I have dealt with, it was simply that I would pay the bill in full when the work was delivered. I do not know if he treated all of his clients this way, or if I was an exception. I also, am not trying to be argumentative or hope I do not come across as ass. Just want the record straight as to MY experience with Dennis.
John
Click to expand...
You sound like a very fair and honest man John. I don’t know Dennis and I certainly wouldn’t let him do my trophys for free so I’m sure that I will never meet him either. just feel bad for the guys who are in limbo here...that’s the only reason for my comments
TTundra said:
You posted before that Dennis did your leopard. So has he done taxidermy for you or not? Do you know him or not? The posts from you about him seem quite relentless and personal...
What’s the difference?
Tundra, what’s the difference on if he did my leopard or whether I know him or not?
After reading this entire thread, why are you defending him?
With that said, yes you are right....I have posted enough in this thread, and since I am not a party to any of the complaints this will be my last one and I won’t comment on it any longer. It does seem like I have a personal stake in it
PS FWIW, if you are a friend of his, maybe you can tell him to show his customers some respect and answer their inquiries
I said in my previous post that I will stop posting in this thread...I said enough already
I just sent you PM
