Having Troubles reaching Michelle Nelson

[jrebel]

well it is obvious that the taxidermists have gotten over whelmed with the site and all the business they have gotten from it but we all know what kinda work they do and it maybe worth the wait if you want a nice mount 

Nonsense.  There are a ton of taxidermist that do great work and are not members...if you choose to be a member / sponsor of this site and you get that much more business....you should hire more help and expand your business.  Two years is unacceptable....period.  (unless of course there is a very valid reason and the hunter has been notified). 

I don't know Michelles side of the story so my response is in general....Maybe Michelle has a valid reason.

[sirmissalot]

well it is obvious that the taxidermists have gotten over whelmed with the site and all the business they have gotten from it but we all know what kinda work they do and it maybe worth the wait if you want a nice mount 

I agree completely. But when they start being difficult to get a hold of, things get iffy. Also if you give someone a time frame of when the work should be done, keep your word, especially after several times of pushing the date back. Either way 2 1/2 years is way too long, trust me I'm in the same boat...

[jrebel]

Seriously.....I have talked to three taxidermist this year and the overall taxidermy business is exceptionally slow right now.  People who were getting animals mounted 5 years ago and not doing it now cause times are hard.  I shot my deer in late November this year and one of my taxidermist only had three deer in front of me.  The other taxidermist has my bear and I will see a full body mount back in less than a year.  I just can't believe they are that busy....

[Pathfinder101]

I know she has been struggling to catch up.  She had troubles with her tannery a couple of years ago, had to go pull all of the hides she sent them, find another tannery, deliver everything, and it put her at least a year behind.  She has had the buck in my avatar for a while, but when I PM her on this site, she generally get's back to me pretty quickly.

[Got Deer?]

Tagging. Michelle has work in progress for me and has done a good job of being in contact. Now.....if im still waiting after that much tine I to would have a problem.

u
Not sure how long your work has been in the shop if you don't mind sharing that information.  Has it been longer than 2/12 years.  If not my question is why would any work on your animal be more important than mine?  We all are paying hard earned money in hopes for the same result "One hell of a Mount"  The reason I went to Michelle is because of all the great reviews about her and on how good she is with mounting bears!!!  I wanted the best work done.

[h20hunter]

She has not had mine long enough to be done.....less than a year. I dont expect to be placed ahead of anyone. My stufff is fairly easy skull work. I was mainly posting to show that my experience so far is positive. Not sure where you got the idea about anything being a higher priority. I agreed that two plus years seems excessive.

[BOWHUNTER45]

I do not know Michelles side of the story but I am sure she is trying to get caught up 

[yote]

[bucklucky]

Hey JJdavis, My turn around is long also. I know from experiance that if one tannery has issues getting work back to a taxidermist it plays hell with turn around times. I learned the hard way. 2010 I had to go pull a bunch of work from my first tannery because they were getting way too slow, over a 1 year turn around and the quality of the tan was getting bad. I ended up pulling about 50 hides from them in like late january . I then had to find another tannery and waited for another taxidermist freind of mine get his stuff back so I could check it out before I sent my stuff. He had all his stuff back in like 2 months so I got to see firt hand what the quality was like . It was pretty dang nice so I sent what I pulled and also and all the stuff for that year to him ....... well that backfired for me also because I had to pull stuff from him in november of 2012 since it was taking well over a year to get stuff back. A fwe things have been there for 2 years now ..... Thats another story, one of them is my cougar from 2010  Its a pain in the ass to have to rely on tannerys to get stuff back. And for people asking why dont I just tan my own stuff ..... well because that is a whole nother profession.  I use to tan all my stuff but my quality was lacking and started using a tannery. I actually did make a investment on a wet drum and did tan quite a bit in 2010 but it was way too much work and too hard on my back. I am not a good shaver so I felt I need to use a tannery . Now I'm hoping that my new tannery keeps rolling through the tanning . I know they are doing a heck of a job and Im getting the best quality back that I have had. It sucks having issues and its is a pain in the ass to get cought up. Trust me Im bustin balls trying to get "cought up" myself. I can say trying to find someone competant enough to hire and work for you in the taxidermy industry is about as tough a job as it gets. Trust me I was looking for someone I could trust ....... 2 years of looking and still no prospect. I personally have contacted quite a few guys in the taxi field that have been in the buisnes quite a while. Some had it figured out , others didnt. There is actually guys out there with a 5 year turn around... wow.
 
Im sure she will get the stuff done , quality is great . Hopefully it gets worked out.

[bugs n bones]

The WILDLIFE GALLERY  IS THE BEST TAN FOR TAXIDERMY 

[actionshooter]

Hey JJdavis, My turn around is long also. I know from experiance that if one tannery has issues getting work back to a taxidermist it plays hell with turn around times. I learned the hard way. 2010 I had to go pull a bunch of work from my first tannery because they were getting way too slow, over a 1 year turn around and the quality of the tan was getting bad. I ended up pulling about 50 hides from them in like late january . I then had to find another tannery and waited for another taxidermist freind of mine get his stuff back so I could check it out before I sent my stuff. He had all his stuff back in like 2 months so I got to see firt hand what the quality was like . It was pretty dang nice so I sent what I pulled and also and all the stuff for that year to him ....... well that backfired for me also because I had to pull stuff from him in november of 2012 since it was taking well over a year to get stuff back. A fwe things have been there for 2 years now ..... Thats another story, one of them is my cougar from 2010  Its a pain in the ass to have to rely on tannerys to get stuff back. And for people asking why dont I just tan my own stuff ..... well because that is a whole nother profession.  I use to tan all my stuff but my quality was lacking and started using a tannery. I actually did make a investment on a wet drum and did tan quite a bit in 2010 but it was way too much work and too hard on my back. I am not a good shaver so I felt I need to use a tannery . Now I'm hoping that my new tannery keeps rolling through the tanning . I know they are doing a heck of a job and Im getting the best quality back that I have had. It sucks having issues and its is a pain in the ass to get cought up. Trust me Im bustin balls trying to get "cought up" myself. I can say trying to find someone competant enough to hire and work for you in the taxidermy industry is about as tough a job as it gets. Trust me I was looking for someone I could trust ....... 2 years of looking and still no prospect. I personally have contacted quite a few guys in the taxi field that have been in the buisnes quite a while. Some had it figured out , others didnt. There is actually guys out there with a 5 year turn around... wow.
 
Im sure she will get the stuff done , quality is great . Hopefully it gets worked out.

Good explination of some of the "behind the scene" issues, Charlie
I'm not going to pass judgement until both sides are out.
Michelle has been a long time member here and I have never heard any complaints before.

[BuckHunter23]

Here's the thing, part of running a business is customer service.  If you can't provide simple customer service, then you should probably consider doing something else for living.  So what if her quality is amazing?  There are several taxidermist out there that do great work and provide great customer service as well.  It's not too much to ask to provide status updates or be honest about delays.  Sounds like you've made several attempts to reach her and you are getting blown off.      So that tells me she doesn't give a darn or that something else may be up and she's scrambling to come up with a good reason/excuse.  Sorry but 2 1/2 years is a long time to be waiting.  And telling someone you are going to send pictures and not following through is BS.  That was a few months ago too.  At this point I'd say you have two options, sit it out and wait not knowing when you'll ever see your bear, or going to get what hopefully is left of it and taking her to small claims court to recoup your money.  Hopefully it doesn't come to options two, but sounds like you might not have much of an option if she won't respond.  Interesting note too that she is on her constantly and has yet to reply or reach out to you directly.  Good luck buddy! 

[jjdavis2222]

Hey JJdavis, My turn around is long also. I know from experiance that if one tannery has issues getting work back to a taxidermist it plays hell with turn around times. I learned the hard way. 2010 I had to go pull a bunch of work from my first tannery because they were getting way too slow, over a 1 year turn around and the quality of the tan was getting bad. I ended up pulling about 50 hides from them in like late january . I then had to find another tannery and waited for another taxidermist freind of mine get his stuff back so I could check it out before I sent my stuff. He had all his stuff back in like 2 months so I got to see firt hand what the quality was like . It was pretty dang nice so I sent what I pulled and also and all the stuff for that year to him ....... well that backfired for me also because I had to pull stuff from him in november of 2012 since it was taking well over a year to get stuff back. A fwe things have been there for 2 years now ..... Thats another story, one of them is my cougar from 2010  Its a pain in the ass to have to rely on tannerys to get stuff back. And for people asking why dont I just tan my own stuff ..... well because that is a whole nother profession.  I use to tan all my stuff but my quality was lacking and started using a tannery. I actually did make a investment on a wet drum and did tan quite a bit in 2010 but it was way too much work and too hard on my back. I am not a good shaver so I felt I need to use a tannery . Now I'm hoping that my new tannery keeps rolling through the tanning . I know they are doing a heck of a job and Im getting the best quality back that I have had. It sucks having issues and its is a pain in the ass to get cought up. Trust me Im bustin balls trying to get "cought up" myself. I can say trying to find someone competant enough to hire and work for you in the taxidermy industry is about as tough a job as it gets. Trust me I was looking for someone I could trust ....... 2 years of looking and still no prospect. I personally have contacted quite a few guys in the taxi field that have been in the buisnes quite a while. Some had it figured out , others didnt. There is actually guys out there with a 5 year turn around... wow.
 
Im sure she will get the stuff done , quality is great . Hopefully it gets worked out.

I wasnt baggen!! I heard you were behind. But I also dont think you would ever be 2.5 years behind. I have seen your work and I plan on bringing you work! Seriously!

[Got Deer?]

I'm putting this out there that the issue isn't the quality of work going to be done by Michelle.  I've seen the work she does and it's very nice.  No complaints there.  There was another post on here called What is an acceptable time frame to get mount back.  I put in my story out there back then about the length of time it was taking to get it back.  It wasn't until that post came out that she had ever called me directly.  At that time she told me that my skull was done and I could pick it up.  I went to her shop and she let me know of her tannery issues and some personal stuff that came up that she was backed up at that point.  She ensured me that my bear was only behind one other rug mount and she'd start to work on it.  After my conversation with her that day I felt a little better about everything.  I even went back into the thread and made another good post back in there thanking her for her time.  The excuses have always been the same about email stuff must be going to junk mail or that hot mail is messing up.  As for the calls I stopped doing that as she said to stay busy in the shop she can't answer calls all day long as that takes away from work.  Asking me to reach out through this website to have a conversation was my best shot at getting a hold of her.  I've only done what was asked by her.  As stated by others in a business world communication is key.  When there is lack of that from the business owner it makes it hard for a client not to worry about what is going on.  I believe only reaching out every so often is not crazy on my part.  Myself and others are in the same boat and its very hard to deal with the same excuses over and over.  It might sound like a vent here but if you were out here in the same situation and couldn't get a reply back in over 2 months very hard to keep faith in the person that has your animal.  Makes your mind go crazy.

[Kola16]

hotmail is going whacked...I can vouch for her on that........I can easily see how you are concerned too