Long time to wait?

[dredd8]

Just wondering, how long is too long?

Now, for the rest of the story. Makers give you estimated delivery dates, and normally they hold to them within a month or two, no big deal.
I ordered a knife by ???? back in July of '03, knife was promised in
December ' 03/January '04 and I still have not seen the knife and have been informed by the maker that he has not even started on it yet.
Numerous emails and phone calls to the maker, and everytime results in, I'll get you one made.
There is no question that I want this knife, I just would like to be told a realistic timeframe. I have knives ordered that the maker told me there is a two year wait, that's fine, I accept that, just not two years when promised in 6 months.
What do you think. And regardless of how bad you ask, I am not giving up the makers name.

 

[Megalobyte]

While I agree of course that a maker should do his best to give you a fairly accurate time estimate, I know that what happens is a maker gives you their estimate, truly believes it at the time, then, subsequently falls way behind because of poor time management skills, and/or unanticipated problems, and in trying to please everybody, ends up pissing a lot of people off.

Some people feel that makers should be given a LOT of lattitude, and like an artist, who's work cannot be rushed, should not be held accountable, while others feel that in any business, even this one, going way over your estimated delivery time is unacceptable, it just depends on your point of view, and how patient you are.

I think that if a maker is going way over their estimate, they can minimize a lot, or even most of the bad feelings if they communicate regularly with the customer, instead of avoiding them as has been known to happen, people dont like to feel like they are being ignored, especially when they feel they are in the right.

There are some very good makers who really dug a nice hole for themselves...

 

[ErikD]

I don't really care to much about missed estimated delivery dates, given a few things. Firstly, and most importantly to me, the maker must be honest with me. If I order a knife and am given a delivery time of 6 months, fine no big deal. If that time goes by and we have been in communication, and he tells me that it hasn't been started yet, no big deal. Sure I am disappointed, and impatient to get my hands on the knife. As long as I am not getting the "it's done, and will be in the mail tomorrow" for weeks or months on end. Hey **** happens, I can understand that and respect that, but I can't stand getting a bs line constantly.

Secondly, no money has yet been exchanged. I don't want to have someone taking there sweet time to deliver on something that has already been paid for. To me paid means done, transaction complete. I can think of some cases where exceptions could be made, but not for the most part. I think that having any amount of moeny given in advance should mean that the given delivery date is much more firm than if no money has been given.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

It all depends on communication and the attitude of the makere. If I am kept informed about delays then I don't have a problem waiting a reasonable amount of time. What a reasonable amount of time is depends on the severity of what is causing the delay. However, I don't consider being told six months and it taking well over a year to be a reasonable delay. Have you been given any good reason for the holdup?

I do not believe that the fact that no money has changed hands gives the maker the right to complete the knife whenever he feels like it. Some latitude should be given to the maker, but every effort should be made on his/her part to be as close to the estimated delivery time as possible.

The delivery time that I am given is part of my decision making process. If I were told that the knife was going to be a year or more then I might have decided to look elsewhere. I believe that this is the reason that some makers give lowball delivery time estimates. They believe that if they told the potential customer the actual time it would take, that some people would choose to look for a maker that could deliver sooner.

Good luck, and I hope you get your knife soon. I certainly understand your frustration.

 

[dredd8]

The numerous emails and phone calls have all been from me to the maker, I have not heard from him nor has he given me any excuse. I realize that **** happens, but, keep contact with the buyer and the buyer can make the decision from there. I do not mind the wait, as long as I am told what the actual wait will be.

 

[Rod Neep]

The delivery time that I am given is part of my decision making process. If I were told that the knife was going to be a year or more then I might have decided to look elsewhere. I believe that this is the reason that some makers give lowball delivery time estimates. They believe that if they told the potential customer the actual time it would take, that some people would choose to look for a maker that could deliver sooner.

Or one who says he will deliver sooner?..... but be one of those who extends his delivery period anyway.

Basically, it boils down to the fact that if you want a specific maker to make a specific knife for you, then you have chosen the right person in the first place. (Assuming that you did your homework).

Regards
Rod
ps. Old saying: If you want a job done well.... give it to a busy person

 

[Mr.BadExample]

I prefer getting some sort of honest ballpark estimate. When ordering knives I try to make sure they all don't come due at the same time, but that happened to me this year. Things happen, and delays are common- as long as there's honesty it doesn't bother me. Heck, a knife coming early can be more of a cause for panic, if I just spent the "extra cash" because there's no knife order coming due this month.
Being put off for a year one month at a time is unfair- if the time comes and the maker said "It's probably going to take 9-12 months for me to reach your spot on my list, things have been crazy" that's a heck of a lot more reassuring than calling 3 times over the course of a year and hearing "I'll get to it" every time.
Your best bet may be to do a search on the maker's name here and in the Exchange forums and see what the feedback is.

 

[Bladeandbarrel]

Most knifemakers are poor businessmen who forget about the customers order five minutes after the order is taken. Now, I am sure five good-old boy knifemakers will jump up and shout about this, but sorry, those are the facts and exactly how the purveyors stay in business despite their universally higher prices. Most knifemakers fail in business because of poor customer service and order forecasting, not poor quality or work ethic.

I only have to hear lame excuses like :
"I was getting ready to call you as I lost your order"(the dog ate it? If you lost my order, how could you call me?),

"the knife got lost in the mail" (how come my numerous bills never, ever get lost?)or

"the blade cracked when I hardened it"(You too? Is this a standard deflection technique taught at knifemaking school?)

once now to recognize the poor attempt at the snow job.

Instead of getting frustrated with the continual fibs and flubs, I resign myself to the fact that in my life, with hundreds of available knives to use and fondle, there is never any such thing as a "knife emergency".

And never, ever, I repeat never pay in advance.
Every serious collector has a horror story or two similar to this...

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Or one who says he will deliver sooner?..... but be one of those who extends his delivery period anyway.

I don't have any problem with a delivery time being extended as long as I am kept informed and the delay is reasonable. I do have a problem with makers that don't bother to communicate. Being busy is no excuse for poor customer service. With lousy customer service you won't be busy for long.

 

[Brett Gatlin]

I know that when I got serious about knifemaking, I would sometimes quote longer wait times than I thought I would need. This allowed me to make errors and still get the knife made in a reasonable time.

I am just now getting to where I can be accurate, but still overshoot my times somewhat out of habit. I dread going over a deadline. But if I did need extra time, I think that a legitimate reason would satisfy any customer on my list.

I can see where evading the customer would get old really fast.

Brett