There is a clear understanding between us the service provider and the tool owner that there has to be Preventative Maintence at fixed times, and these times must be built into their production schedule.
There is no way around it, or you get the chaos you have discribed.
And at a certain point, if your tools cannot be bought up to high quality, scrap them and get new tools.
Queen has to look at both their tools and work force, and increase their QC.
I was going to say something similar, but you said it in a much more concise manner.
As a contractor, part of my duty is to make sure my tools are up to speed. If my compressors paint guns need seals (or a breakdown cleaning), my painters can't put on the type of finish I want.
If my nail guns need maintenance and don't shoot correctly, I have bent nails, dents in fine molding (read: ruined, expensive materials), and slower production times and reworking of the woodwork.
If my saws need to be cleaned, oiled, and calibrated to get stain grade cherry crown molding up with joints tight enough to seal with a coat of lacquer, I can't put up with anything less. You get the picture on this.
The point is, my crews don't stand around, they don't sleep, they don't watch TV.
I find a way to get my tools maintained so that they are up to speed. I have rented cabinet saws, paid for people to come at odd hours to fix my bigger machines, and generally done what I needed to do to get the job done including sending people home early with 1/2 pay if I have equipment failure. I am not perfect, nor are my workers, nor are my projects. But it isn't from lack of effort. Perhaps Queen can pay a few guys to come in on the weekend, after hours, or have their equipment worked on when they have an OSHA training day.
My business is built on referral, with no advertising. I CANNOT afford ONE, not ONE unhappy customer in this economy. I will take a hit if need be to make a customer happy. I provide a full warranty on my product, and I must tell you that my customers are entirely unconcerned with any excuses I have for poor workmanship. If they saw kitchen cabinets they didn't like, molding that required too much putty, lacquers that were properly applied, or anything else they felt should be my responsibility, they wouldn't under any circumstances go through all the reasoning, theorizing and conjuring of reasons on my behalf to excuse me.
They want what they paid for. My business (especially in this economy) is dog eat dog, and good projects are like finding gold. My personal philosophy is that it is easier and more productive to deal with happy clients (think referral with me) that will call you back when they need something else done.
In the last 27 years of self employment, I have never had a client offer up a ready made excuse for me to help hide my shortcomings. The don't feel bad for me due to unfair competition from illegals or shady contractors, market constraints, a bad economy, poor quality of materials from a vendor, rising labor costs, poor availability of craftsmen, or any of the other litany of things a contractor faces. I am sure they would not have a moment's concern if I told them I needed to calibrate, clean, or repair my machinery.
They want what they paid for. I make sure they get it. They are unconcerned with my problems.
I learned two things a long time ago that have helped me survive in business.
From my Dad:
If you don't have time to do it right once, how will you find time to do it again? That alone has saved me countless warranty callbacks.
From the best salesman I ever met:
It's is a lot easier to keep a happy client, no matter what you put into it, than it is to go get new ones.
From the bottom of my heart I hope the USA makers can get together and make a good go of it so we can take pride in their products and once again buy with confidence. I am not so sure we are that far off now, as with the millions of knives produced by Queen and its brands, using our little pond to sample their wares here at BF really isn't a very big sample. So I wouldn't have a clue how many warranty issues they actually face daily. As for me, I would even pay more (although buy less knives) for a fine quality American knife if that would get the issue resolved.
One thing I know for sure, if you don't take good care of your customers, they won't be back, regardless of your business.
OK... off the soapbox now.
Robert
The Vintage version has Mississipi as part of the tang stamp, not many knives with that state on 'em, at least not nowadays.
