i am suppose to pick up my mounts from last year tomorrow if he gets them done. but we have been arguing for the last week because i need to have an idea when they will be done so i can plan rather to stay in a hotel an wait or ship or just take them back with me an have someone finish them. the taxidermist RIPPED me in an email for asking an wouldnt answer my phone calls so i could ask. so i went by his place today an we had a discussion. the mounts look great an i hope they will get done tomorrow, but this guy is a ...... HOLE. I would never take anything there again, feel like i have been lied to a bunch. tried to communicate with him an just went south. oh well, heres hoping.
BAD taxidermy experience
- Thread starter bnsafe
- Start date
I\'m not sure I understand what the conflict is ... but I\'m pretty sure that taxidermists and farriers are pretty-well guaranteed to be on \"their own schedule\" ...
I know ... doctors are, too! (But I\'ll tell you, I sure as Hell try to be the exception, and if I were a taxidermist, I would try to be the exception there, too.)
Good luck, and I hope your mounts look good. I\'ve got both kinds (well-done and poorly-done) in my house right now, and I sure prefer the former!
Post photos when you\'re done ... and, personally, if you\'re satisfied or not with the work, I\'d post the name of the taxidermist. I think it\'s a perfectly fine use of the internet to offer opinions of local businesses.
I know ... doctors are, too! (But I\'ll tell you, I sure as Hell try to be the exception, and if I were a taxidermist, I would try to be the exception there, too.)
Good luck, and I hope your mounts look good. I\'ve got both kinds (well-done and poorly-done) in my house right now, and I sure prefer the former!
Post photos when you\'re done ... and, personally, if you\'re satisfied or not with the work, I\'d post the name of the taxidermist. I think it\'s a perfectly fine use of the internet to offer opinions of local businesses.
thanks john, its to long of a story to go into, but basically he is on his own schedule, which is fine, i just wanted a eta of when they will be done so i could plan on 1. drive back to mo an pay to have two mounts shipped, 2. stay in a hotel an wait, 3. take them back an have some one else finish them. money is short right now an i was looking for the cheapest way. he told me he would call me when they were done an i was needing an eta. i assume he felt i was pushing him, i was trying to get info. a little communication would have went a long ways here. thats all i was trying to do an he took exception to it.
i can say this, as a nurse, i have been inconvinenced alot with getting called in, people griping about stuff they dont understand, etc. alot. but, customer service is extremely important an after being in the workforce for well over 20 years i have never talked to someone like what our conversations have been, an would be fired on the spot for doing it.
obviously i wont be going back there an he knows that. so im hoping he gets them done today, i pick them up an he is professional an we load them up an i drive off into the sunset. last thing i want in a argument. i wont say start it for sure.
i can say this, as a nurse, i have been inconvinenced alot with getting called in, people griping about stuff they dont understand, etc. alot. but, customer service is extremely important an after being in the workforce for well over 20 years i have never talked to someone like what our conversations have been, an would be fired on the spot for doing it.
obviously i wont be going back there an he knows that. so im hoping he gets them done today, i pick them up an he is professional an we load them up an i drive off into the sunset. last thing i want in a argument. i wont say start it for sure.
Hate to hear that. I\'ve not had great luck with taxidermist either. I\'ve had some terrible work done and just burnt the mounts. The last 2 mounts turned out good (except my bear was turned the wrong direction!!!). I had a buck done last year. I built the pedastal for it and the taxidermist knocked a section of walnut trim off and tried to glue it back on with some sort of epoxy! When he finished he wanted to haul the mount around for shows and didn\'t want to give it up even though it had been paid in full for several months. I guess that line of work just attracts those kind of people, at least that is the conclusion I\'ve come to. At least my buck turned out good though.
cohunter14
Administrator
- Jul 10, 2017
- 5,332
Scott, you haven\'t gotten your mount back from LAST YEAR\'S elk yet? That seems a little crazy to me. Was that sort of expectation set up front?
I had a LOT of help from a guy here at work. He has a bunch of tools and a nice shop. The wood was basically free, it was cherry and walnut from his family\'s sawmill. It took a little while, we only worked on it a few hours a week. Basically just need a good table saw, router and compound miter saw and a sander. Every joint was tight bonded or biscuited. I used to make turkey calls so I had a little wood working experience. My buddy is much better and has built a lot of stuff so between us we made it work. If I were going to do it again, I would have used diffferent wood. The boards we used were OLD and had never been kiln dried. Used them because I liked the color of the aged cherry versus what I could buy. It takes cherry a long time to get that dark. None of the boards were true so it took some work getting them workable. I couldn\'t have built it by myself.
cohunter14
Administrator
- Jul 10, 2017
- 5,332
\"cnelk\" said:
WOW :shock: Maybe I have different expectations I guess...
That sucks Scott hope it turns out ok for you. I got lucky and found a guy that is retired that does it as his hobby. It\'s not just a job to him he loves doing it and loves to talk and interact with you about hunting and stuff. He does amazing work for a fair price. I did not want to take mine to some of the bigger places just to have it sit in a corner till it was convenient for them to do it.
thanks guys, he told me a year when i dropped it off. an today is a year. what im upset about is i went by in july to pay him in full an tell him i was going back to mo an that today would be my last day in co. he told me then they were getting hides back from the tannery an would be working on them but would be done by then. i called him on the way out just to get an update an he was friendly. when i killed my mulie i called to tell him if he could get my two mounts done so i didnt have to ship them i would leave my mulie out here. i was told by an assistant the elk hide was froze, antelope cape that i was told he had for me a year ago (i had him get me a new cape) had been ruined by the tannery (?) an new one was being tanned in house, an the assistant didnt even know if the forms had been ordered yet. that was when i kinda lost my temper. i didnt get out of line but voiced my displeasure of being told they would be done yet hides wernt tanned an forms may or may not have been ordered almost a year later. if he had communicated with me none of this would have happened. like i tried to tell him if i didnt have to ship two or three mounts, a very expensive endeavor, i would leave my mulie out here a just ship it. thats when i got the nasty email asking why we were still talking about my mounts an he wouldnt be pressured to get them done etc. well i paid him a ton of money an needed some updates an was wanting to leave another mount there, thats why we were talking about them. i waited a week an called him twice while elk hunting asking him to email me a eta so i could decide rather to wait, go home, or take them an have them finished back there depending on what was cheaper. he never answered any of my phone calls or emails an when i walked into the shop yest in person he says, \"what the hell are you doing here, i told you i would call you when i was done, this one really pisses me off\". i told im i wasnt there to get in a pissin match but to figure out what i needed to do so i didnt sit around an pay a hotel room over the weekend an then get told they werent gonna be done so i wasnt out that money. he said he didnt care, take them right now even though they werent done, an he was \"pissed\". i was kinda speechless. now im just mad. he finally told me he would have them done by five today so i paid for a hotel instead of heading home. if he doesnt i wasted a day an money simply cause he wont communicate. i will say the work i saw looked very good. but he is a jerk at best.
cohunter14
Administrator
- Jul 10, 2017
- 5,332
Probably best to wait to tell us until you get your mount back...just in case!
well got em home an the antelope up. but i was gonna put the elk on a tv stand that had a back to it but wouldnt hold the weight without letting him lean forward, so, being im in an apt for awhile i dont think i should screw into a stud. plan b i guess, just not sure what that is
