Bird Taxidermy question

[6257]

I do not get a lot of taxidermy work done so I am reaching out to others who have more experience.  In January of 2013 I took a beautiful Pintail Drake into a local Taxidermy shop near Spanaway.  I was recommended to use this shop and told they do great work. 

When I dropped the bird off I was told it would be about 9-12 months to finish and had to give a deposit of $150.00.  After more than a year I checked back because I hadn't heard anything back.  I was told there was an illness/medical condition and it would take a little longer.  I was asked to check back in 3 months.  After 5 months I showed up unannounced to see the status of my bird.  The owner was shocked to see me and caught completely off guard.  I got the same excuse and he made a phone call apparently to the person who has my bird to check on the status.  I could tell by the conversation he had no clue about the status of my bird.

At this point I was told the bird was being thawed out and should be ready in about 3 months.   Needless to say I was not happy and told the person just to give the bird back and not thaw it out so I could take it to another shop to complete the work.  I was told that it was already thawed and if I did take it back I would only be put at the back of the line with the new shop anyway.  I left the shop very frustrated and working hard to compose myself.

Fast forward about 4 months.  I still have not received one call from this shop.  Being aware of the pace of their work and realizing I did not want them to mess up the bird just to get it done, I wanted to give a little extra time for the job to be completed.  I am about 20 days short of waiting 2 years to get this bird back.

My question to you is what would you do in this situation?  I want to be reasonable, I've been accommodating and more than patient but I am getting frustrated.....Any Ideas?

[Natures Way]

you should contact them!

[Coltsdad]

Sounds like an awfully long time to me regardless of excuses for a bird. Keep us posted on out come.

[h20hunter]

Sounds like way to long. I'd ask for my money back and would consider the bird a possible loss. Then, depending on the outcome I'd either call it good or decide to name the shop and spread the word.

 

[Jaques Bonet]

A really good Taxidermist can take two years because he has plenty of work back log, sucks. Next time try Peter's Taxidermy his wife doe's birds. If you were told a certain time frame and  it wasn't done than ask for a discount. Never hurts to ask. Good luck

[boneaddict]

Did you sign any sort of contract with the expectation of delivery of product?   I would indeed contact them at this point as well as it does sound like some run around, though they really do have you by the balls.   

[Natures Way]

Hi, Larry L..... you could just as easily have called or come by but here we are.  I do agree with you that it has been to long. when I received your bird I had a third party helping to complete some of the bird projects for me. Although every effort is made to complete projects within the time frame given some difficulties with the third party came up and your project has been delayed.  At this time your bird is mounted and is drying will be completed shortly. Here is a picture of your bird, Thank you for your continued support and patience. Micheal

[Spuddieselwwu]

Hi, Larry L..... you could just as easily have called or come by but here we are.  I do agree with you that it has been to long. when I received your bird I had a third party helping to complete some of the bird projects for me. Although every effort is made to complete projects within the time frame given some difficulties with the third party came up and your project has been delayed.  At this time your bird is mounted and is drying will be completed shortly. Here is a picture of your bird, Thank you for your continued support and patience. Micheal

Worth the wait by the looks of it.  Good looking Bull Sprig.

[Coltsdad]

Dont really care for the tactics of throwing the individuals name out there like that. In my opinion you could have very well used his username didn't see were he even said it was you.

[boneaddict]

Looks like a fantastic mount about to be finished up.   A little more patience and a happy ending.   

[h20hunter]

There you go. Time to lock this up before the opinions run it into the ground.

[duckmen1]

Great looking mount.

[jackmaster]

looks pretty funny with the blue tape and stick pins though 

[Badhabit]

Isn't there a rule about first posts? 6257's first post, not even an intro just giving you a bad time. Welcome to HWF and glad to hear your bird is almost finished.

[h20hunter]

Never heard of any such rule. Typically is where do I go kill an elk/bear/deer/squatch type of first post.

[John B]

Dont really care for the tactics of throwing the individuals name out there like that. In my opinion you could have very well used his username didn't see were he even said it was you.

 

[HntnFsh]

Dont really care for the tactics of throwing the individuals name out there like that. In my opinion you could have very well used his username didn't see were he even said it was you.

I agree.  Seems like he was just looking for guidance. Also seems like he was very patient.  Unless there is more going on here than we know I think Natures Way is out of line in more than one way!

[boneaddict]

Always more than one side to any given story.  Was a name needed to clarify if this annonymous user was indeed the right person.  I immediately figured Natures Way when Spanaway was mentioned, so can appreciate him wanting to clean the air. I have been looking at his work for sometime and am contemplating taking some there.  This might have dissuaded me from doing so.    Up front, face to face, no excuses from him.  Seems much better resolution than some of the other wayward taxidermy threads we have had on here. I immediately thought run around by the tone of the OPs post.   That was dismissed by the way the business handled it.  Wouldn't you want to protect against your reputation if you were in business.  Like I said, glad it seems to have ended as it did.   Stuff happens, especially in this industry.  I'd be happy as heck with that mount, even if it took a little extra time.   My thoughts aren't worth this but     Also curious why we haven't heard from the OP

[MtnMuley]

Couldn't have said that any better.


.........waiting on the OP's as well..........

[buckfvr]

When I have something in the shop, I tend to show my face often, out of interest primarily, but I believe it helps.  I would wait for the finished product before venting any frustrations, and usually a great finished product soon erases the disappointment of the deal.

[irishevox]

Dont really care for the tactics of throwing the individuals name out there like that. In my opinion you could have very well used his username didn't see were he even said it was you.

I agree.  Seems like he was just looking for guidance. Also seems like he was very patient.  Unless there is more going on here than we know I think Natures Way is out of line in more than one way!

Nature's way will never get my business.  He threw out your first and last name!!! 1st off unprofessional.   Then he passed off your bird to a third party before he asked if that was ok.  I have had birds mounted and it took about a month max. I use Whidbey Island Taxidermy for most things.  I am using 10 point Taxidermy for my bear rug (takes about a year).   But I can honestly say the lack of professionalism and calling people out by name on a Forum is totally unsat. regardless of how good they do.  So Natures Way is off my Taxidermy list.

[boneaddict]

Then he passed off your bird to a third party

  Very common.   There is a pretty good chance your bear rug was too.   Just as a point to your post. 

[irishevox]

I talked to the guy an specifically asked him to do it him self and that is why it is taking over 12 months

[boneaddict]

Good thing to be aware of going in.   Most are not.   

[sirmissalot]

Its very common for most good taxi's to sub work out. Fish, rugs, birds, and skulls are all very common to send out to a third party

[HntnFsh]

Its very common for most good taxi's to sub work out. Fish, rugs, birds, and skulls are all very common to send out to a third party

There's nothing wrong with that.  As long as the customer knows it ahead of time.

[sirmissalot]

Interesting way of thinking.

[HntnFsh]

Interesting way of thinking.

Is this in reference to my comment?

[Boss .300 winmag]

Dont really care for the tactics of throwing the individuals name out there like that. In my opinion you could have very well used his username didn't see were he even said it was you.

I agree.  Seems like he was just looking for guidance. Also seems like he was very patient.  Unless there is more going on here than we know I think Natures Way is out of line in more than one way!

Nature's way will never get my business.  He threw out your first and last name!!! 1st off unprofessional.   Then he passed off your bird to a third party before he asked if that was ok.  I have had birds mounted and it took about a month max. I use Whidbey Island Taxidermy for most things.  I am using 10 point Taxidermy for my bear rug (takes about a year).   But I can honestly say the lack of professionalism and calling people out by name on a Forum is totally unsat. regardless of how good they do.  So Natures Way is off my Taxidermy list.

I don't really think he will miss your business. 

His work is top notch look at all his posts of finished work on here, plus I've seen it first hand at the sportsmanship show. 

If I lived closer to him and didn't already use a top notch taxi he would get my business. 

 He is just protecting his business from some troll who didn't do his home work before posting, or hiring him to do his mount.

I learned my lesson on my first deer mount along time ago, ask questions about the whole process they use, if they send out some work, look at the finished product they get back, etc there is never a dumb question when you are the customer! 

[kodiak 907]

Dont really care for the tactics of throwing the individuals name out there like that. In my opinion you could have very well used his username didn't see were he even said it was you.

I agree.  Seems like he was just looking for guidance. Also seems like he was very patient.  Unless there is more going on here than we know I think Natures Way is out of line in more than one way!

Nature's way will never get my business.  He threw out your first and last name!!! 1st off unprofessional.   Then he passed off your bird to a third party before he asked if that was ok.  I have had birds mounted and it took about a month max. I use Whidbey Island Taxidermy for most things.  I am using 10 point Taxidermy for my bear rug (takes about a year).   But I can honestly say the lack of professionalism and calling people out by name on a Forum is totally unsat. regardless of how good they do.  So Natures Way is off my Taxidermy list.

Agreed. Lack of professionalism and customer service/communication 

[HntnFsh]

Dont really care for the tactics of throwing the individuals name out there like that. In my opinion you could have very well used his username didn't see were he even said it was you.

I agree.  Seems like he was just looking for guidance. Also seems like he was very patient.  Unless there is more going on here than we know I think Natures Way is out of line in more than one way!

Nature's way will never get my business.  He threw out your first and last name!!! 1st off unprofessional.   Then he passed off your bird to a third party before he asked if that was ok.  I have had birds mounted and it took about a month max. I use Whidbey Island Taxidermy for most things.  I am using 10 point Taxidermy for my bear rug (takes about a year).   But I can honestly say the lack of professionalism and calling people out by name on a Forum is totally unsat. regardless of how good they do.  So Natures Way is off my Taxidermy list.

I don't really think he will miss your business. 

His work is top notch look at all his posts of finished work on here, plus I've seen it first hand at the sportsmanship show. 

If I lived closer to him and didn't already use a top notch taxi he would get my business. 

 He is just protecting his business from some troll who didn't do his home work before posting, or hiring him to do his mount.

I learned my lesson on my first deer mount along time ago, ask questions about the whole process they use, if they send out some work, look at the finished product they get back, etc there is never a dumb question when you are the customer! 

But if your new to the taxidermy thing its pretty dang hard to know what to ask. Ive had a couple mounts done. Didnt really ask any questions. Because I had no idea. For the bull I got this year I talked to several taxis, and was able to recieve some great insight from another as to what to ask. Its really been a learning curve.

His work is top notch! Beautiful animals. But hes also dealing with the public so what he says and does is a reflection on his business. Maybe he lost more than 1 potential customer because of the way he responded to this.Maybe he lost a bunch. I hope not. But we'll never know. Somebody said that it was easy to figure out who the O.P. was refering to. I wouldnt have had a clue if not for the taxis reply. I think it would have been the same for others.

Natures Way is a highly respected business on here. Unfortunately in many peoples minds that respect has been taken down a notch. Its a shame.But from a potential customers viewpoint Some will question the wisdom of doing business with him because of the way this was handled. I honestly feel that the taxi should have kept the customer in the loop on what was going on. A 2 minute phone call could have saved a lot of grief.

I really hope this works out well for both parties. Would hate to see either of them suffer any ill will because of it!

[Kuduman]

Possibly another poor communications problem.

NOT SAYING IT WAS THE CASE HERE BUT.....
 I would seriously caution anyone from using a taxidermist who consigned out work for any reason especially without the clients knowledge.

[Natures Way]

The way that things where in the first post seem to be a little more dramatic than I remember every time he has called and every time he has come by I have been here or answered the phone.  I deal with hundreds of people every year, As far as needing feed back as to what too do, his friend has commented on this post a couple times as if he didn't know him and is also friends with another taxi on this site. So I'm sure he had a way to get an idea of what to do. Not going to go into that, Larry and I have talked the bird is almost completed thanks for your concerns and comments. We make every effort to complete projects when expected those are estimated completion times and in this case was to long,  sometimes It doesn't always go as planned we have and will make every effort to make that happen now and in the future. Thank you

[BOWHUNTER45]

Hi, Larry L..... you could just as easily have called or come by but here we are.  I do agree with you that it has been to long. when I received your bird I had a third party helping to complete some of the bird projects for me. Although every effort is made to complete projects within the time frame given some difficulties with the third party came up and your project has been delayed.  At this time your bird is mounted and is drying will be completed shortly. Here is a picture of your bird, Thank you for your continued support and patience. Micheal

NICE JOB  Like I have said many times over ...I really like your work ..that's as good as it gets right their now ! 

[6257]

Hey all I appreciate all of the information given.  The reason for the post was just as I explained.  I wanted to get an idea from people like you who have used Taxi's in the past as to what to expect or how to handle the situation because I do not get a lot of Taxi work done.  Additionally there was a reason I chose Natures Way in the first place. His work that I saw looked awesome and I wanted the same for my bird. 

Communication is a huge part of business (and life) and as one person said earlier, a simple call from the owner would have avoided any confusion.  Additionally, had I gotten the picture posted earlier I would have been more than ok with the extended wait time because I would have been able to see the amazing project I was going to receive.

Lets leave this thread with a lesson learned on my part and on the Taxi's.

[boneaddict]

    I am going to lock it up now that you have had a chance to respond.   I'm jealous of the mount you are getting.  Hopefully we get to see the final product.