Orders are getting on my nerves

Listen, if any of y'all ever can't afford to pay for a knife for whatever reason, just let me know. I'll sell it to someone else, and we can all go forward as friends. Maybe when you're better off I can make one for you.

Folks can't eat knives. Don't hurt yourself paying for one of mine. But please. Let me know so I can sell it and pay my bills too.

Thats about the most honest, humble and straight forward plain truth spoken.

Gotta like the "MEN" from GA.:cool: Integrity shapes the profile. Its one of the reasons why I like your knives.

Look forward to seeing you Friday:)
 
This is a good discussion!

Andy, as you know I'm one of your clients. I can definitely feel for you trying to balance all kinds of changes without making mistakes. A couple of different thoughts from this discussion have "leapt out at me" that cause a little confusion (no quotes):

1. It's been said that customers should communicate clearly and concisely, with minimal interruption of the knifemaker. That makes perfect sense.

2. It's been said that knifemakers should periodically update their clients, so clients can budget accordingly.

If I leave the knifemaker alone I am taking a risk that my order will be misplaced or forgotten. If I email the knifemaker, I am risking offending or frustrating the knifemaker.

For the sake of clarity, it is a business relationship, but also the beginning of a friendship. Faith doesn't require evidence, but trust does. How is the situation best resolved?

What's your best advice for me then? I have no idea when the project will be completed and I'm one of those guys who likes to "keep in the loop" (especially when my beautiful bride asks me for periodic updates so she can balance the budget accordingly...yours isn't the only project we've got on the go). However, I wish only to have a mutually pleasant relationship.

Your considered advice or opinions would be appreciated!

Thanks for your time, Andy.

Kurt.

I can only speak for myself, but honestly I don't think you'd be bothering anybody to ask for updates on a regular basis, especially by email. I'm not talking every day or anything, but letting a guy know how stuff is coming along every couple of weeks is no big deal.

The key is paying attention to any timelines given to you by the maker. If he says your order is probably going to be about 3 or 4 weeks before delivery, it's not a big deal to shoot him an email about two weeks in just to let him know how excited your still are about the knife and inquire how far along it is. Two weeks after that, if he hasn't given you word that it's done, email him again and tell him again how you can't sleep at night and "is it nearing completion?"

If he says the knife is 3 or 4 months out, shoot him an email two months in just saying something like, "howdy! Just checking in to see if we're still on schedule. Thanks!" Then another email a month later. Eventually he'll probably tell you once it's cued up and in the batch, at which point, feel free to remind him of how excited you are and get an update every couple of weeks like I said before.

As long as you're not saying,
"You dickhead. What could possibly be taking so long? You must think you're such hot sh#t that you can just make an order whenever you want. Update me or I want my money back!"
you're not bothering anybody.

Giving customer updates if they ask isn't a big deal. It's no secret that knifemakers can get forgetful about keeping people informed on progress sometimes. It's not because they don't care. Maybe they just have a bazillion things going on and keep forgetting to shoot out a couple of emails or think they already did and get confused. We're not the smartest bunch in the world. We just destroy steel bars a little prettier than other people.

Sometimes orders fall through the cracks. It's nothing personal and the maker would definitely rather that not happen, but hey... stuff happens and it's just a mistake. Maybe the piece of paper with the order on it got blown away or accidentally thrown away. If you have a stack of orders all over a table and one disappears, it's just an accident and a simple update request would remedy the situation. Then the maker would say, "Oh dude! Sorry, I must have accidentally lost that one somewhere. I'm glad you emailed me. I'll go find the email right now with your specs and print it out again!" No worries. Asking for updates can even help a maker avoid a mistake like that. So, that being the case, asking for updates is actually helping the maker out.

If the knifemaker you ask to make you a knife is upset or in any way bothered by you asking for an update, he's a dickhead and you should have given your money to a nicer guy. If any kind of maker of anything acted like I was bothering him by asking how everything was going, I'd tell him "thank you, but I've changed my mind. I'm sorry for any inconvenience." That's not the kind of guy that gets my support, kudos, or any bit of my money.

Wow. This turned into a rant. My bad. ONWARD!

"Email us asking for updates on the regular and it doesn't bother us at all" is the jist of all that crap above this sentence!
 
On a side note:

If anyone ever wants an update on me or has any questions about anything, feel free to shoot me an email. I check my emails 2 or 3 times a day unless I'm on vacation and I certainly don't mind answering them. OR gimme a call if you want. My personal cell phone number is posted in the contact info on my website. As long as I'm not right in the middle of grinding or in the middle of that scene in Conan the Barbarian where him and Thulsa Doom are at the top of the thing and he's about to cut his head off, I'll answer the phone. If I don't answer the phone, just leave me a message and I'll call you back. Doesn't bother me one bit. I'm sure Andy feels the same way. Bottom line is customers are our business. We're here for you. We make knives for you. Without you guys, we have no business. We don't get big heads and every single order and sale matters.
 
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dung happens...i could never afford a new fiddleback....but i got 2 off the Exchange...for the price of one new one :)

i wouldnt take deposits either...youre knives sell fine even if the original buyer doesnt buy them!

maybe take a va-cay or have a nice 6'r of turbodog!
 
I re read my post and it reads much harsher than I had ment it to... sorry :(

Do I still get a machete?

Ski

No problem my friend, and yes. I can definitely get a machete to you. We're all waiting for the same thing. The second round of samples. Sweet as these are, there was a reason for the second sampling. Not a functional one, but a standards one.

This is a good discussion!

Andy, as you know I'm one of your clients. I can definitely feel for you trying to balance all kinds of changes without making mistakes. A couple of different thoughts from this discussion have "leapt out at me" that cause a little confusion (no quotes):

1. It's been said that customers should communicate clearly and concisely, with minimal interruption of the knifemaker. That makes perfect sense.

2. It's been said that knifemakers should periodically update their clients, so clients can budget accordingly.

If I leave the knifemaker alone I am taking a risk that my order will be misplaced or forgotten. If I email the knifemaker, I am risking offending or frustrating the knifemaker.

For the sake of clarity, it is a business relationship, but also the beginning of a friendship. Faith doesn't require evidence, but trust does. How is the situation best resolved?

What's your best advice for me then? I have no idea when the project will be completed and I'm one of those guys who likes to "keep in the loop" (especially when my beautiful bride asks me for periodic updates so she can balance the budget accordingly...yours isn't the only project we've got on the go). However, I wish only to have a mutually pleasant relationship.

Your considered advice or opinions would be appreciated!

Thanks for your time, Andy.

Kurt.

Kurt, please check for updates. I got your handle material in now. But the order will likely not proceed until July or August.
 
Sorry if someone else mentioned this. I read straight thru this thread.

Perhaps a waiting list to order. I put my name on the list. Six monthes later you email/call me and say "would you like to order your knife now?" Include the cost and estimated completion date and how long I have to respond. If I respond during to given time period, we do business.
 
Well, once again, I've got a large handfull of ordered knives finished and can't get e-mail responses from the orderers. Over half the knives this time have not responded in three weeks to at least three e-mails. This is getting rediculous. I'm very understanding of financial situations in todays economy, and don't mind selling the knives if someone can't take them. I've never tried to force anyone to take a knife. But to just make me e-mail you again and again is complete and utter bullshit. I have bills too. I got laid off also.

Listen, if any of y'all ever can't afford to pay for a knife for whatever reason, just let me know. I'll sell it to someone else, and we can all go forward as friends. Maybe when you're better off I can make one for you.

Folks can't eat knives. Don't hurt yourself paying for one of mine. But please. Let me know so I can sell it and pay my bills too.

Wow, I just read this and have to agree..... it is very ridiculous that a customer will not respond to one email...... much less three. :eek:

What you have said above is more than fair Andy..... much more.
I think if you have a chance to sell them... don't wait on a reply from someone who is obviously dodging your emails.

Best of luck.......... :thumbup:
 
Sorry if someone else mentioned this. I read straight thru this thread.

Perhaps a waiting list to order. I put my name on the list. Six monthes later you email/call me and say "would you like to order your knife now?" Include the cost and estimated completion date and how long I have to respond. If I respond during to given time period, we do business.

I think its a good idea. We'll see how the website works for handling orders once its online (about a month). It has order handling built in, and may help a LOT.
 
Sounds like it's time to come up with a new policy for your orders. Something like, "If payment arrangements aren't made within 10 days of knife completion, the knife will be put up for sale to others." :)

I agree, maybe the third e-mail notice should in effect say that if you don't hear back from them within the week the knife is going up for sale. I know from sheath making that communications and logistics can me more work than the actual production.
Just do what you have to do to keep knife making enjoyable and profitable for you. Your customers will adapt.
 
I agree, maybe the third e-mail notice should in effect say that if you don't hear back from them within the week the knife is going up for sale. ~~~~~
Just do what you have to do to keep knife making enjoyable and profitable for you. Your customers will adapt.

While I agree with what you say for the most part...... there is no reason a maker should have to contact a customer three times.... any more than a customer should have to contact a maker three times.

Communication is the name of the game and the customer should be on to of it same as the maker. Otherwise it all falls apart.

Just my .02............ :)
 
i dont get it? if i was serious about getting a blade i would have no problem paying in advance. it woould eliminate all problems.

and i know, ive done this before to a maker. i ordered a knife, and a month later when it was done, i had no cash left to pay. life kind of got in the way.

had i been urged to pay in advance, i would have had the money and budgeted the next month accordingly.

so time is the real culprit here, it steals all our knife money!!!:rolleyes:
 
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