What do you do when your taxidermist wont respond

[Nick Ziegler]

Yes
This thread is over 2 years old
My USA taxidermy journey for this saga started in 2015

Have your received any of your mounts at all?

 

[MarkB]

What you describe could be many types of buisness.....not just taxidermy.

Correct, could be any business. I just don't see it with other types of business's. Truck is repaired when apt in made. Teeth are done during apt. I hear these issues from my best Bud who is a taxidermist all the time. I get to see it from the taxidermy business side and am in the dark on other business's. Either way it ends friendships and becomes stressful.

MB

 

[tedthorn]

Correct, could be any business. I just don't see it with other types of business's. Truck is repaired when apt in made. Teeth are done during apt. I hear these issues from my best Bud who is a taxidermist all the time. I get to see it from the taxidermy business side and am in the dark on other business's. Either way it ends friendships and becomes stressful.

MB

Make no mistake
Dennis Harris and I didn't know each other from Adam before December 2014 and we are not friends.

 

[tedthorn]

Have your received any of your mounts at all?

Of the 10.......2 are in my possession

 

[Cam Moon]

I too am experiencing a frustrating lack of communication from a taxidermist I chose to use. As far as the specific issue in this thread I do have some questions, and some comments.
-My understanding is that Dennis does fantastic work, and he is very busy and backlogged!
-My understanding is that Ted knew all of this going in, when he chose to have Dennis do the work.
-It is also my understanding that Ted wanted to have this work completed over a few years, and did not want all 10 of his mounts completed within a 1 or 2 year time period. (Perhaps to spread the costs out?)
If I am incorrect in ANY of the above, please correct me.
If all of the above is true, then there is really no issue or problem that I can see that Ted only has 2 of his 10 mounts at this time, providing that some more are very near completion.
The problem is that Ted doesn't know if they are or not. (Is this true?)
Communication (lack there of) is the only real problem. And it seems crazy that it should be an issue, as how long does it take to return a phone call or an email? If Dennis were to reply consistently, and in a timely manner, then Ted would be a happy customer. (If all else is true.... So Ted, please let me know if I'm wrong). Seems easy enough, right? So get with it Dennis. That's part of your business.
BUT it isn't that simple either!!
Dennis is working 14 hour days working on getting mounts completed for his customers. The more times he is distracted by having to take a phone call or return an email, the less work he can get completed...... And not on a minute for minute trade off either! I'm not sure if Ted is long winded on the phone, but if we were all honest with ourselves, I think we'd nearly all have to admit that we are. Hunting is a passion. Something we love. Something we enjoy doing, watching, reading about, hearing about, and talking about! As a business owner doing everything Dennis is doing, and being as busy as he is, he probably dreads the thought of making a phone call that he knows will likely take up far too much of his valuable time. He has other customers to please as well, and if he gets 30-40 calls each day, and they take 5-10 minutes each, then that's a minimum of two and a half hours per day!!! And up to just under 6 3/4 hours per day!!! Should he do that after his 14 hour day? Or should he be allowed to eat, sleep, and have some sort of resemblance of a life? Maybe he should do it in the 14 hour day he already puts in, rather than doing hands on work? Well then, if that's what he should do, and he currently has a 1 year turn around, then you can expect that to change to a 2 year turn around. If now it's 2, then expect 4. You can see how that would play out, right? So what is the solution? I don't know. Neither do you. Or do you? I feel for some of these small business owners trying to please everybody all the time. Seems to me like a difficult task.
I also feel for Ted as a customer not feeling valued or respected. Do I think that's how Dennis is trying to have him feel? Of course not. But he is. Why? Because Ted wants to know what is happening with his mounts, and not be left in the dark. I don't think that is an unreasonable request. I think he deserves that! The funny thing is, that I'd be willing to guess that Dennis feels his customers deserve that too! (Am I right Dennis?)
Soooooooooo.... How do we help? Suggestions?
I have one.
Dennis, do you know of anyone nearby that you could "hire for peanuts" that could return calls and emails on your behalf? Maybe someone who is interested and knowledgeable regarding hunting/taxidermy? Most of the questions will probably be wanting to know a timeline. (That's my guess anyways..... What do you guys think?) They may not even need to talk to you to be able to answer that question, and the more familiar they get the better they will be. Maybe you could find someone who is retired, or doesn't need much money, or is willing to trade their time for yours and has some trophies they would like done. If your time required to personally return phone calls could be reduced to 1/2 hour per day, rather than up to 6-7 hours, you may find that more manageable and have much more satisfied customers as a result. That could, of course, result in more customers and an even higher workload, but that's a bridge you can cross later!

 

[K-man]

You also have to remember that personal things and what I call "life events" also throw a monkey wrench into the mix. Dennis is an artist first and a businessman falls somewhere far down the list. What seems obvious to most of us doesn't always work for others. I agree lack of communication is a problem. I have a R8 barrel that was supposed to ship Nov 1 and haven't been able to have any contact either e-mail or phone. Highly frustrating, not to derail thread, but similar

 

[tedthorn]

I too am experiencing a frustrating lack of communication from a taxidermist I chose to use. As far as the specific issue in this thread I do have some questions, and some comments.
-My understanding is that Dennis does fantastic work, and he is very busy and backlogged!
-My understanding is that Ted knew all of this going in, when he chose to have Dennis do the work.
-It is also my understanding that Ted wanted to have this work completed over a few years, and did not want all 10 of his mounts completed within a 1 or 2 year time period. (Perhaps to spread the costs out?)
If I am incorrect in ANY of the above, please correct me.
If all of the above is true, then there is really no issue or problem that I can see that Ted only has 2 of his 10 mounts at this time, providing that some more are very near completion.
The problem is that Ted doesn't know if they are or not. (Is this true?)
Communication (lack there of) is the only real problem. And it seems crazy that it should be an issue, as how long does it take to return a phone call or an email? If Dennis were to reply consistently, and in a timely manner, then Ted would be a happy customer. (If all else is true.... So Ted, please let me know if I'm wrong). Seems easy enough, right? So get with it Dennis. That's part of your business.
BUT it isn't that simple either!!
Dennis is working 14 hour days working on getting mounts completed for his customers. The more times he is distracted by having to take a phone call or return an email, the less work he can get completed...... And not on a minute for minute trade off either! I'm not sure if Ted is long winded on the phone, but if we were all honest with ourselves, I think we'd nearly all have to admit that we are. Hunting is a passion. Something we love. Something we enjoy doing, watching, reading about, hearing about, and talking about! As a business owner doing everything Dennis is doing, and being as busy as he is, he probably dreads the thought of making a phone call that he knows will likely take up far too much of his valuable time. He has other customers to please as well, and if he gets 30-40 calls each day, and they take 5-10 minutes each, then that's a minimum of two and a half hours per day!!! And up to just under 6 3/4 hours per day!!! Should he do that after his 14 hour day? Or should he be allowed to eat, sleep, and have some sort of resemblance of a life? Maybe he should do it in the 14 hour day he already puts in, rather than doing hands on work? Well then, if that's what he should do, and he currently has a 1 year turn around, then you can expect that to change to a 2 year turn around. If now it's 2, then expect 4. You can see how that would play out, right? So what is the solution? I don't know. Neither do you. Or do you? I feel for some of these small business owners trying to please everybody all the time. Seems to me like a difficult task.
I also feel for Ted as a customer not feeling valued or respected. Do I think that's how Dennis is trying to have him feel? Of course not. But he is. Why? Because Ted wants to know what is happening with his mounts, and not be left in the dark. I don't think that is an unreasonable request. I think he deserves that! The funny thing is, that I'd be willing to guess that Dennis feels his customers deserve that too! (Am I right Dennis?)
Soooooooooo.... How do we help? Suggestions?
I have one.
Dennis, do you know of anyone nearby that you could "hire for peanuts" that could return calls and emails on your behalf? Maybe someone who is interested and knowledgeable regarding hunting/taxidermy? Most of the questions will probably be wanting to know a timeline. (That's my guess anyways..... What do you guys think?) They may not even need to talk to you to be able to answer that question, and the more familiar they get the better they will be. Maybe you could find someone who is retired, or doesn't need much money, or is willing to trade their time for yours and has some trophies they would like done. If your time required to personally return phone calls could be reduced to 1/2 hour per day, rather than up to 6-7 hours, you may find that more manageable and have much more satisfied customers as a result. That could, of course, result in more customers and an even higher workload, but that's a bridge you can cross later!

Wow.....long

You are correct on most counts but let me clarify time line

Our deal was two animals per year
2016 was the first full calender year for this project.
2015 crate from Africa arives in August at
2016 two mounts promised....none delivered
2017 2 mounts delivered on December 9th after this thread was posted
2018...no mounts
2019...no mounts
2020....I have decided to drive up to Michigan and pay AOW my owed balance and move my stuff.
I have requested a invoice of balance due...and
I have requested pictires of the elk that is supposedly done but have not had any sent nor a responce to that request.

 

[tedthorn]

You also have to remember that personal things and what I call "life events" also throw a monkey wrench into the mix. Dennis is an artist first and a businessman falls somewhere far down the list. What seems obvious to most of us doesn't always work for others. I agree lack of communication is a problem. I have a R8 barrel that was supposed to ship Nov 1 and haven't been able to have any contact either e-mail or phone. Highly frustrating, not to derail thread, but similar

I went into this with several PMs exchanged from Dennis and I. When this first contact was made it was Dennis who reached out to me when I was having issues with my D/P/S in 2014
It was arranged by us that I could afford two per year and 2016 would be the first year I would get two.... I recieved my first two 3 weeks from 2017 with promises from Dennis that him and I would never have a communication problem again. Then I told him as we stood in an East St Louis Hotel parking lot to do my elk and two impala next....he said no problem as he would get the impala in no time and the elk as soon as it got back from tan.....then the communication break down goes right back to where it was like nothing changed.....I still see post here....I still see post on Face book but no emails, phone calls or text get returned since about April 2018
I then stopped to asking about the elk directly on his FB post and I finaly get through. Im promised that pictures of the form with antlers will be sent....never shows. About 3 weeks ago after more emails go unanswered and AT&T tells me he no longer has a cell phone I decide its over....time to punt....I no longer want this in my life.

 

[Jeffrey Masters]

Damn, I am sorry. What a crappy end to an incredible hunting experience. I have been in business for myself for going on 30 years now. Saying that someone is an artist, therefore cannot run a business is total BS. All it takes is a little attention to detail. Funny that Dennis is the best of the best at his craft, but cannot do the same with his business. I kiss my clients @()& every day to keep the channels of communication open, and them happy. I don't like it, but I know that I have to make them happy, or they will go elsewhere for my services. I put up with an insane amount of BS from my clients each and every day. They waste my time, and could care less. I spend countless hours in meetings, and on the phone, which pays me NOTHING! I do it because that is what it takes to keep my clients happy. Very simple, I like to hunt and drive old vehicles. To do so, requires that I keep my clients happy. I want my animals done with the incredible artistic talent Dennis provides. I do not want to wait another year. I am in a serious quandary about how to proceed.

 

[johnnyblues]

Damn, I am sorry. What a crappy end to an incredible hunting experience. I have been in business for myself for going on 30 years now. Saying that someone is an artist, therefore cannot run a business is total BS. All it takes is a little attention to detail. Funny that Dennis is the best of the best at his craft, but cannot do the same with his business. I kiss my clients @()& every day to keep the channels of communication open, and them happy. I don't like it, but I know that I have to make them happy, or they will go elsewhere for my services. I put up with an insane amount of BS from my clients each and every day. They waste my time, and could care less. I spend countless hours in meetings, and on the phone, which pays me NOTHING! I do it because that is what it takes to keep my clients happy. Very simple, I like to hunt and drive old vehicles. To do so, requires that I keep my clients happy. I want my animals done with the incredible artistic talent Dennis provides. I do not want to wait another year. I am in a serious quandary about how to proceed.

Question, you say Dennis has incredibly artistic talent and I’m sure he does but to be honest there are many many great taxidermist out there. My taxidermist in my opinion does excellent work, and when hunters see what he’s done for me all were impressed. Dennis likes to tell everyone about his awards etc.If that impresses someone so be it. But it comes with a price apparently. Can the hunter live with this? This is not the first time we’ve heard this from members. I don’t understand the fuss....

 

[tedthorn]

I am not looking forward to picking my stuff up.

1500 miles
22 hours
The possibility he isnt there when I get there.

If he won't answere the phone, PMs or emails planning a trip to go pay my debt and reposes our stuff very well could turn into a weekend wild goose chase.
My wife is making the trip with me to bear witness.
I will make a post after the fact.

 

[Cam Moon]

@tedthorn
Thank you for the additional information. I do hope that you didn't feel I was trying to excuse his lack of communication, but rather explain how hectic his life may be. My feelings are that we are all human, and we all make mistakes. However I really feel for you and the predicament you now find yourself in. Mistakes can be made, but if you get an apology and you're told it won't happen again, and then it continues..... Well, I guess it makes you wonder how sorry the person really is. I think it's unfortunate it's come to this, but if I were in your shoes I wouldn't know what else to do either. You really are in a $hitty spot.

 

[mark-hunter]

I think that this thread has touched much wider point.

When I was preparing for safari, and doing research, i needed to get idea on ALL costs, including taxidermy, shipping and dip and pack.

My experience in budget planning is this:

- price on airplane tickets - easy to get.

- actual hunt: price for hunting day rates, and trophy fee, easy to get, either publicly posted around on web sites, or by sending to outfitter an email to which they answer, always, and shortly.

- various other costs, visas, etc - easy to get

And then taxidermy: O man! O, Man!

I have sent numourus emails to taxidermy workshops, in Africa - asking for price.
Have received 10% of replies. Maybe.

All - but really all, outfitters or PH-s that I have contacted directly were excellent in their communication transparent in pricing, quick to answer. Outfitters and PH-s have generally high PR standard. Top notch!

Taxidermy workshops, opposite:
Planning and closing safari budget with taxidermmy, with my experience, it remained open question.
Posting the taxidermy prices on web pages, very rare. Almost never. (Why?)
Very hard to get an answer, to potential client. (Why?)

So, when I was finally closing a planned budget for safary, I have considered few offers of few taxidermy shops that replied.
Took rough averages, planned XX%, additional costs, consulted my booking agent, based on his experience... and had rough idea. But - till the box arrived, in fact I have never been certain what the final price will be.

 

[johnnyblues]

@tedthorn
Thank you for the additional information. I do hope that you didn't feel I was trying to excuse his lack of communication, but rather explain how hectic his life may be. My feelings are that we are all human, and we all make mistakes. However I really feel for you and the predicament you now find yourself in. Mistakes can be made, but if you get an apology and you're told it won't happen again, and then it continues..... Well, I guess it makes you wonder how sorry the person really is. I think it's unfortunate it's come to this, but if I were in your shoes I wouldn't know what else to do either. You really are in a $hitty spot.

Cam moon, unfortunately this is not an isolated situation.

 

[Bhfs300]

Hi Mark
I don’t see this and in my experience it is the real question mark that you don’t know and have little or no control over. Dip and shipping can vary by thousands.

 

[Jeffrey Masters]

Question, you say Dennis has incredibly artistic talent and I’m sure he does but to be honest there are many many great taxidermist out there. My taxidermist in my opinion does excellent work, and when hunters see what he’s done for me all were impressed. Dennis likes to tell everyone about his awards etc.If that impresses someone so be it. But it comes with a price apparently. Can the hunter live with this? This is not the first time we’ve heard this from members. I don’t understand the fuss....

I guess I am trying to justify not making a change. I just hate to go down that road.

 

[johnnyblues]

I guess I am trying to justify not making a change. I just hate to go down that road.

. If you want to eliminate unneeded aggravation I think you’ll have too. Biggest reason I never used him and I’ve been tempted to be honest. My guy never disappoints me so why change?

 

[Jfet]

I am interested in this thread for much the same reason.

 

[Ragman]

Boy this makes me appreciate my taxidermist even more. And for many reasons. #1 is that he is a phenomenal taxidermist and has clients from all over North America and overseas. #2 is the fact that communication is immediate. His wife and another lady work the front office and are always on top of things. The fact that he’s in the same town as me doesn’t hurt either! And #3 is that he is a people person. He always has time to talk if you stop in the shop. He may not stop working, but he’ll happily chat with you for as long as you like (within reason) even though he is incredibly busy. Great taxidermist and great person.

 

[mikecatt13]

This isnt uncommon with artists. From taxidermy to car paint jobs to whatever else. It extremely hard to find one that operates a business well. I'd venture to guess that the successful ones have likely just realized this and have delegated the business tasks so that they can focus on what they are best at. That's the person/business you have to find.