Attention Jerry Busse, Please

D

DPris

Joined
Nov 27, 2003
Messages
1,317
Jerry,
In November I ordered a tan/tan Steelheart via credit card over the phone. The projection at the time was 12-16 weeks.
Since then, I've called about four or five times & emailed twice.
Each time your contact people were very courteous, but each gave a different story, "They're done", "They're not done", "I don't know when they'll ship", "Don't know what they're doing", and so on.
On 5-27 I called again, was told they would be shipped in a week. Then somebody else called me back about five minutes later to say they couldn't find my order, even though I'd specifically confirmed with the first person that they did have my order. She took it again over the phone with a credit card, said to correct the shipping schedule & add a week because of the Blade Show. She said the SHs would all be shipping by the end of the second week, apologized again, and said they'd put my name at the top of the list to get my knife out the soonest because of the inconvenience. Both gals were very apologetic and very pleasant to deal with.
But, this being roughly twice as long as the original projected period & the last day of the second week after I was given the revised shipment schedule, the credit card still had not been charged as of earlier today. Having tried all day to call with nobody answering the phone, I'm not sure how else to get a message through directly to you.
I don't mind waiting on a custom order, but I don't collect & I don't want to sleep with it. I want a superior working blade to actually use. I understand production delays. I do have a hard time with excessively long waits and a company whose employees don't seem to know what's going on.
I would still like the knife, but with all due respect, if you can't have it here by next Friday please consider the order cancelled.
I am not slamming you, your company, or anybody who works there. The door just doesn't stay open forever.
Thanks for any attention you may give to the matter.
Denis Prisbrey
 
I would seriously suggest calling the shop and speak directly to Jerry. There appear to have been some changes in the office staff right before Blade and I think they will be changes for the better. I would not rely on this thread to cancel your order. I have been waiting since the first day they were taking orders for these, but I know that things happen over at the shop and that Jerry is constantly working to improve customer service. I can wait as long as it takes for a good all around beat the snot out of it using blade. I hope that you talk directly to Jerry and that things come to a positive resolution.
 
Progunner,
Been trying all day to call, just get a recording.
I'll see what develops next week & if the knife's not here by Friday I'll call, email, write a letter, and/or whatever it takes to make sure they understand the order's cancelled as of that point.
I was hoping that Jerry Busse might see this & save a sale.
I do still want the knife, but a company that promises a product in 8 months & gets it out in 4 (they do exist) will get more of my money than a company who promises it in 4 & still doesn't have it out in 8. Not sarcasm, just business.
Thanks for trying to help.
Denis
 
DPris,
Have some patience. You'll get your knife, and you'll love it.
Jerry isn't known for his punctuality.
 
Jerry will see it I am sure of that, unless he is comatose from trying to catch up after Blade. If he doesn't reply, I'll even try to make sure he sees it for you. Sometimes I have luck getting him to answer the phone at strange hours. :) They had some serious phone problems the other day, but I thought that was all cleared up. It wasn't a phone company recording was it?
 
Walking Man,
As one buzzard said to the other- "Patience, hell! I'm tired of waiting, I'm gonna go kill something!" :rolleyes:


Progunner,
Nope, it was a Busse company recording, I just didn't feel like leaving a message.

Denis
 
DPris said:
Progunner,
Nope, it was a Busse company recording, I just didn't feel like leaving a message.

Denis
Click to expand...


Call me crazy but I'd probably recommend leaving a message so they know you're still trying to get in touch with them :) Not picking up the phone could be from anything...full staff meetings, low Fri staff levels, etc... I'm sure they check the voicemail on a regular basis, but without a message?
 
I think Jerry said that there isn't anyone in the office on Fridays, only in the shop and they don't always have extra time to get the phone, try early on Monday, I think they open at 10:00am.
 
In the future, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND that anyone with little patience NOT order from Jerry. Just wait for it to come to the company store.
P.S. What the H@LL is this damn heavy duty thing!!!!!! Dammit, tell me, I'm getting impatient!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(for those of you who didn't catch it, I was being deliberatly ironic in that second part)
 
I believe the "Heavy Duty" is a thicker Active Duty and will be in limited numbers.
 
Walking Man,
From where I sit this isn't a matter of patience. :)
My field is much more guns than knives, so I'll give some illustrations.
I ordered a $2000 custom Sharps rifle from Shiloh Sharps, they told me ten months, I had it in eight.
I have a $2000 custom .44 Mag Redhawk. Bowen told me up front what his times would be, he met them. The engraver told me up front what his times would be, he met them. That gun took me one month short of two years to get back in my hands. The gripmaker told me up front he'd be a year (after the rest of the gun was done), he met his quoted time frame. The leather for it also took about four months. I knew up front that particular custom leather maker takes a while, I'd ordered custom leather from him before.
Cylinder & Slide has done an annual custom gun project for me for six years now, they tell me up front 4-6 months, they tell me when they're starting & when they're finishing, and they meet their time frame.
I'm no stranger to custom orders, and I don't expect them to show up on the doorstep overnight. Superior custom products take time. I came to Busse for a superior product, and I was perfectly willing to wait the allotted time for it. Busse set the delivery schedule, I didn't. If they'd said 8+ months in the beginning, I probably wouldn't be posting this now.
Each one of those companies above has people picking up the phone who can either explain the process and the progress, or find it out for me if I call to see how things are coming along. Communication in the event of an unforseen delay is a part of doing business, or should be, in my opinion.
The point here is that I don't mind waiting, if things are adequately described up front, schedules are kept to, and factual info is available if I call to see what's going on. If there's a delay, be able to tell me what it is & why. I can understand an occasional glitch in production schedules, those things happen.
What brought me to this post was a product still not here in 8 months when the original period was given as 3-4 months, nobody able, so far, to give me a clear idea of what's going on with the product, a lost order, and a new delivery period given & not met.
I've been polite, I've said please & thanks, I'm not calling anybody names.
If you were to briefly put aside the brand loyalty & the Busse Club Membership, and reduce this to a purely business matter, would you wait indefinitely for a product of any type from somebody else under these circumstances?
My summer season is well under way. I want a superior tool to use. I don't collect, I don't want to frame it & hang it in the vault, I don't want to fondle it on cold winter nights, I couldn't care less about "cool", I'm not a stealth operator, I'm not interested in "oohs & awes" from friends (mine wouldn't know the difference between a Busse & a Buck anyway :eek: ), and any prestige in owning a Busse (however well deserved) has no place in the equation for me. Just want the performance when I need it.
Pure & simple, if I can't get it here in what I consider a reasonable time frame I'll go somewhere else. May not end up with exactly what I want, but at least I'll have something in hand, and Busse is not the only quality knife producer on the block.
Hoping to get one from the company store on what was shaping up to be a very popular knife struck me as risky, and I couldn't figure out how to time that since I have no idea when those Steel Hearts will hit the store, how soon the allocated number will be snapped up, and so on. That's why I ordered one. I wanted to be sure of getting the knife, it looks to be just the package for my needs.

Dark,
Nope, no need to call you crazy. :D
Your suggestion about leaving a message might be a good one, but my experience in making lots of phone calls all across the country as part of my job has led me to have little faith in return calls. I tried Busse several times during the day on Friday when I was near a phone. I couldn't stay at the phone all day waiting for somebody to hopefully call me back, and one of my greatest gripes in the modern business world today is me leaving a message asking for specific (and simple) info, then getting back to the answering machine several hours later to pick up a returned call message saying, "Hi, this is So & So from Such & Such returning your call, bye." I rarely get the questions answered or the info I requested in the callback message. Possibly I'm doing the people at Busse a disservice in including them in that group, but that's what I commonly encounter & why I didn't leave a message. I prefer to conduct that type of interchange live, easier on my blood pressure. :D

So, thanks again to all who've offered help so far.
Still hoping for the knife by Friday.
Denis
 
DPris said:
I'm no stranger to custom orders,
Click to expand...

I don't know Denis, but I can confidently argue that delays in the custom blade smithing world are quite common, if not the absolute norm.

We have all heard the horror stories. I don't think any vetern collector of knives (or swords :D) is surprised by the fact that deadlines are moreso guidelines than anything else.

But there is no question that Jerry has built a loyal following (well, maybe cult would be more appropriate), and that it was done through years of hard earned trust.

Every great smith falls behind eventually. But then Jerry is more production than custom right now. Regardless, welcome to our obsession, and truly that is what it is. I hope you stick around, as I'm sure Jerry will make it right.

Sincerely,

-D
 
Dave,
Thanks for the words of cheer.
Admittedly, I'm not much of a custom knifer, and if this type of thing is common among the custom/semi-custom/high-end production brethren then maybe my expectations were unrealistic. Accurate communication along the way can do wonders in creating & fostering a Delay Tolerance Syndrome among those trying to be customers, howsomever.
I was deliberately & with great care aforethought avoiding the C word you used. :D
No question about the loyal following. :rolleyes:
This is still me just lookin' for a good tool, hope it's here by Friday.
Denis
 
DPris said:
Dave,
Thanks for the words of cheer.
Admittedly, I'm not much of a custom knifer, and if this type of thing is common among the custom/semi-custom/high-end production brethren then maybe my expectations were unrealistic. Accurate communication along the way can do wonders in creating & fostering a Delay Tolerance Syndrome among those trying to be customers, howsomever.
I was deliberately & with great care aforethought avoiding the C word you used. :D
No question about the loyal following. :rolleyes:
This is still me just lookin' for a good tool, hope it's here by Friday.
Denis
Click to expand...

Your original post stated your concerns/issues very succinctly. I am sure as soon as Jerry becomes aware of your situation, he will do all possible to make it right.

I find it interesting that you chose to use the " :rolleyes: " when referring to Busse customers and those who post to this forum.

May I ask why you chose that expression, with its associated negative connotation?
 
Denis, I too have had problems with this issue. If you check my early post history you'll find that I wasn't nearly so nice as you. You'll also find that the problem was taken care of after nearly coming to an explosive head. I guess my point is that once you get this hammered out beyween you and Jerry you will be as brand loyal to Busse as you are to the other very fine makers of your tools.
As an aside, I had waited almost 3 years, if memory serves, for 2 custom knives from a guy who I had stayed in constant contact with. He REALLY missed deadlines and it took the threat of a lawsuit to get my knives as he had already charged me.
As to the "cult" stuff, there's worst things in life than having this group of like minded people in this "cult" with me. I know that most would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. Hang in there, it's worth it.
Bob Mills
 
Hope all works out well with your order Denis. I'm still waiting on my HOFSH also, but I'll keep waiting on that beast as long as need be. I was lucky enough to discover Busse before the ergos were discontinued, so those were only a couple weeks wait after ordering. I think with the new system of only two knives per ordering period and the new Fusion line up has something to do with the wait. I mean that since I've owned my first Busse in 2002 to now, there has been more and more and more people discovering these awesome blades, so I imagine Jerry is taking more orders than ever before :eek: . But like I said I already have a few Busses' that I consider the best blades I'll ever own, so the wait for the new Fusions is okay for me because I know when it comes, it will be icing on the cake with my other ergos, but I sure am ready to use that freaking awesome HOFSH ;) Good luck :)
 
That,
In this case, in that spot, it's a visual indication of the word "understatement".
Any negative connotation is supplied by you, not me.
Denis
 
thatmguy said:
Your original post stated your concerns/issues very succinctly. I am sure as soon as Jerry becomes aware of your situation, he will do all possible to make it right.

I find it interesting that you chose to use the " :rolleyes: " when referring to Busse customers and those who post to this forum.

May I ask why you chose that expression, with its associated negative connotation?
Click to expand...

I too took note of that and wonder what the intended inflection was.

Denis, I can see how that could show understatement.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top