Whats an acceptable time frame on getting your animal back

[Hunting Cowboy]

Great points Bone. (Glad you got your bear back!)

Having had a part time Taxidermy business many years ago, My advice to anyone considering Taxidermy as a career (and assuming they had an exellent reputation and was known for doing exceptional work) I would have three recommendations.....

 1) Raise your prices. Be happy to put more time in working on fewer mounts and yet still make the same amount at the end of the year. There is a fine line as to how high prices can be, I know. However, I know Taxidermists who have really upped their prices and are as busy as ever. This will pi$$ off some people but honestly it eliminates those customers that want cheap prices and fast turnarounds.

2) Allow PLENTY of leadway when quoting a finished date. It takes time to do great work and unless you have a five man shop, these trophies are going to get done either one at a time or in small groups or batches.

3) Honesty and Communication with the customer is a must. When things come up, let the customer know. I know many small business people that struggle with the business end of their trade/craft/Art. Mostly their talents are with the trade/craft/Art end of things.

[Pathfinder101]

Ok, after reading Massivehunter's last post, I think I should chime in here. 
#1  Michelle has a deer of mine that I dropped off during the winter of 2010/2011.  When I dropped it off, she mentioned that she was having trouble with the tannery that she was using, and she wrote 15 months on my paperwork.  Since that time, she has personally called me twice to update me on what was going on.  I don't think I am any special case, maybe I just answer my phone when it rings

#2  You said that you are worried to tell her who you are, because you are afraid that she will mess up your bear.  I have known Michelle for a few years and I can tell you one thing about her; she will not, no matter what you say to her, no matter how much you bash her, mess up your bear.  Whatever else happens, she will do a quality job on your mount.  I wouldn't worry about that.

#3  It seems to me that you are irritated that you don't have any control over how long your mount is taking and that you sound like you are fishing for a discount.  Dude, just call her, tell her who you are, and ask for the discount.  Stop playing games. 

I may be off base here, but, as Forest Gump would say..."That's all I have to say about that..."    

[buckhorn2]

I agree with pathfinder we took our bison to Michelle and she told us upfront what are problems were and also about the tannery issue I believe her and she will get it done. If I e-mail her she has answered right back maybe try that I can only imagine the number of calls she must get everyday like bone said it;s hard to wash off answer and still have time for work.

[6x6in6]

No dog in this either....

But:
Michelle: "It's hard to repond to someone when you don't know who they are." 
Massivehunter: "I may of already talked to you the other day but I am not going to say anything until I get my item back and I find a new taxidermist."

May?


Michelle: "Of the ones left all but 2 have denied having posted any messages about me on this site."
Massivehunter:  (same quote) "I may of already talked to you the other day but I am not going to say anything until I get my item back and I find a new taxidermist."

So, are we saying we lied to her when she may have talked to you the other day?

When you may have had her on the phone the other day, why didn't you say anything to her at that time about your frustations with the process.  Obviously you did not otherwise Michelle's response would have clearly stated she knew which individual had voiced his frustrations with the process.

Oh yeah, and one more:
Michelle: "From the sounds of it your not going to tell me?  How am I supposed to contact you to answer your questions?"
Massivehunter:  (yup, same quote) "I may of already talked to you the other day but I am not going to say anything until I get my item back and I find a new taxidermist."

So Massivehunter, what's the real story here.  Did she make contact with you the other day or not?  Or would you just prefer to air your laundry here on HuntWa with another may? 
I personally think your credibility in this matter is all but in the toilet, but, like I opened with, I have no dog....

[boneaddict]

But the only question not really answered was this one you can read and make your own guess. Lets say that you order a pizza, they tell you  45 minutes,  on the way to your  home they get stuck in traffic, they see something that needs to be taken care of, they get in a little fender bender, they have to stop for gas. There are a lot of unseen issues that can arise. But you know that when they get there they are going to MAKE IT RIGHT, you will get a discount, or you will get it for free…. So you should really think about that when you are handing animals over that are 7-9 months behind the time you told them. It is your business and I can see as a lot of other people can see you are not someone that can meet your end of an agreement. I will be waiting for the call to come pick up my bear hopefully within the next 6 months.

By the way, this is pitiful.       You really should look for one of those quick turnaround "fast food" taxidermists.   

[Rainier10]

I have shot a few animals that are trophies to me and had them mounted.  Getting them back before the next season would be nice but the way I look at it is it took a long time for me to score those trophies, not just one year so if I waited that long to take an animal worth mounting I can wait over a year to get it back and have it on my wall for the rest of my life.  I would rather wait two years and have a nice looking animal on the wall than wait 7-8months and have some cross eyed looking thing on the wall or have the hide slip in a couple of years.  Just my 

[92xj]

blah blah blah

Play stupid game win stupid prizes.
That's all you are doing, playing a game.  You aren't man or woman enough to post who you are so she can try and figure out the problem because you think she might sabotage your hide/rug that you have with her?  Seriously?  Grown people doing grown up things, you should try it sometime.  I'm sure you dropped your stuff off with her, why not go back and pick it up?  I do not understand this thought process.  If I take something to someone to do work and I am not pleased with their work, I go over there, tell them the problems I am having and take my article back.  It's a business, none are perfect and all need to hear pros and cons of their work.

[Pathfinder101]

 
Michelle will not let anything out of her shop that is not top quality work.  5 years from now this is how the conversation will go:

"Wow.  Nice bear."
"Thanks"
"That's REALLY good.  Who did the taxi work?"
"Michelle Nelson.  I was waiting on that one for a while... took me ___ months to get it back."

"Uh huh...you got her number?  I've got a _________ in my freezer that needs to get done..."
 

[massivehunter]

Well as I said in my original post I did not care to meet and become friends with anyone. I just wanted to point out the fact that so far everything that has been told to me is a lie. I think it is a shame that all who posted on here defending her is actually thinking they are helping her when in fact you are actually hurting her showing she is LATE on everything. If anyone can come on here and give me a legit reason or a business that when you bring something to them and they do not hold up their end of the agreement you are not concerned. As far as not saying who I am I will stick by that. I don't care who says nothing will happen to my bear, everything else I have been told has been a complete lie. So I am leaning towards something happening to my bear. I can say that a lot of the comments put in here have been taken to my advantage. After contacting a lawyer I showed this thread and he was quite interested in it. I will also not say any names about the messages I got from other customers that are stating the same issues and problems.

[Woodchuck]

Holy smokes, grow up. Be an adult and go talk to her. Spewing garbage on the internet is just that garbage. As so eloquently stated before, if you choose to play stupid games you will get stupid prizes.

[h20hunter]

Yawn........


I guess the day taxidermy becomes a type of work that is exact in timeframe I'll switch over to Team Massivehunter. I guess the day people become perfect I'll also switch over to Team Massivehunter. I guess you really should just go get your bear and move on to greener pastuers.

[6x6in6]

Yawn........

Here, here.

[popeshawnpaul]

You said you have a contract, so why don't you post it on here and we can determine if it's been violated.  So far, you have made no allegations that the contract that YOU signed has been violated by her.  She did not make you sign that contract as you state with all kinds of crazy terms.  You read it, or didn't and that's even dumber, and then you signed it.  It's no different than a mortgage when you fail to make your payments...they will take your house.  I'm sure the contract says that is the whole agreement between you two and does it specify the time frame?  Is she required under the contract to call you?  You can contract to do anything and it sounds like you did.  Sour grapes now that you don't like the terms of the contract you signed?  Please post the contract here and show us how it's been violated.  You are making us guess by not telling us all the facts and insinuating she violated the contract but I've seen no allegation she has done that yet backed up with proof. 

It really hurts people's business when you come on an internet forum and don't have the kahunas to even say your name and make allegations against someone.  I don't mind if you have facts and are prepared to show them.  Otherwise, it's just libel.  As far as legal action, even if she was in violation of the contract...what are your damages?  You didn't get to see your bear on the wall for a few extra months?  As a business owner myself, I'll put the burden on you to these questions because you are the one attempting to damage her business on this.  You could have called and worked through these issues but it sounds like you didn't.  Instead, you are afraid because she will ruin or lose your bear?  Then you assume she won't give you your deposit back?  If she violated the contract, wouldn't you be entitled to that back less any unjust enrichment from the expenses she is out at the tannery? 

Am I crazy?

Whitelightning - Michelle was the Taxidermist on my Bear. Did it take longer than she intended yes Michelle_Nelson – I just spent the last 5 hours calling, playing phone tag, and recieving phone calls from all the customers that I still have Bears (Rugs, Shoulder Mounts, 1/2 Life Size, and Life Size) for in 2010.
Bearpaw - I have taken several bear to Michelle and some of the mounts took a little longer than she thought Michelle_Nelson - I try, exerytime a customer calls me for an update, to ask if they are aware of the set backs.  I do this to make sure everyone knows in case I have missed anyone.  I have posted about my set backs in several threads on this site as well. 
 
So you first say that it took you five hours to contact customers, then you say when a customer calls YOU, are they aware of the setbacks?? I really think that should in fact be YOUR job to inform.  I can see that being late is the way you conduct yourself in a business like environment. You have answered most of my questions just by replying to this thread. I may of already talked to you the other day but I am not going to say anything until I get my item back and I find a new taxidermist.
 
But the only question not really answered was this one you can read and make your own guess. Lets say that you order a pizza, they tell you  45 minutes,  on the way to your  home they get stuck in traffic, they see something that needs to be taken care of, they get in a little fender bender, they have to stop for gas. There are a lot of unseen issues that can arise. But you know that when they get there they are going to MAKE IT RIGHT, you will get a discount, or you will get it for free…. So you should really think about that when you are handing animals over that are 7-9 months behind the time you told them. It is your business and I can see as a lot of other people can see you are not someone that can meet your end of an agreement. I will be waiting for the call to come pick up my bear hopefully within the next 6 months.

[bobcat]

If it was up to me, Massivehunter would be banned from this site forever, and his bear would be put out in the street and burned.   

[bearpaw]

Massivehunter
I want to allow people to express their opinion on the forum, but I don't like to see the forum used by someone who offers nothing else to the forum and is only here to try and destroy someone's business, a business that is actually trying to resolve the issue. It appears to me that Michelle has tried to contact her customers and that this person is failing to let her resolve the issue. Instead, this person seems more intent on causing harm to the business than getting his bear back.

My advice is to put up or shut up. You must have her info if you have a contract, she also posted her info for you to contact her here in this topic, give her a call and ask for your bear back and take it to a different taxidermist or else give her time to get it done. But don't continue to use this forum the way you are with no intention of resolving the issue or I am turning bobcat loose on the ban button and we will delete this entire topic.