Should I call out a custom knife maker for really poor customer service

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mioduz

mioduz

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Long story short and without calling out a maker I'll make this very general. In Jan of this year I messaged a custom maker interested in getting on his books. After discussing options and finishes I paid his deposit with the promise the knife would be done before end of february. Sometime early February I messaged him again in interest of getting an additional knife (different model). Again we discussed options and he stated that he would build them together and that they would both be ready to ship end of feb. As we went through March I tried not to pester him much as I knew I added a knife and surely that will add to my lead time a bit......right? After several coversations and what seams like a never ending list of excuses we get to April when he says that he has to put my knives on hold to make knives for blade show. Now part of me thinks he's in business and he has to have knives to show at a convention like this, and that's normal. The other half of me is thinking I placed an order in January that was supposed to be filled by February and my order is being benched so he can build knives for a show so he can show off his wares but can't build my knives???? Wtf???. At this point I'm getting aggrevated but keep it cool and he says he will get on them as soon as he's back from blade show. I messaged several times after blade with nothing but excuses and b in return. Most recently he said they might be done in 2 weeks. But I'm not holding my breathe.

I don't want to tarnish this makers reputation early on but to me this kind of customer service is poor at best.
Oh and another thing that irks me. Since I've placed my order in seams as though his name has really spread and he's gained a lot more attention.
 
Is it a maker with a presence here(BF) ?
Have you alerted him to this thread ?

DC
 
Doug C said:
Is it a maker with a presence here(BF) ?
Have you alerted him to this thread ?

DC
Click to expand...

I would assume he does have an account on here, but he does not have a hosted forum.

I wasn't trying to make this out to be hostile blackmail "make me my knife or I'll tell everyone how much you suck" thread. And honestly I'm not sure if pointing this out would do me any good.

Just frustrated at this point. I am a business owner as well. I try to give realistic time lines to all my customers. I usually meet all dead lines but sometimes I do miss. But never have I told someone 2 months, then had them wait .
 
Guys, this is nothing new. I cancelled an order recently because I was also given the Blade Show excuse. Guys at the show got knives they didn't wait for = not been on a waiting list for many months only to be told to wait longer. And then to add insult to injury knives bought at the Show pop up on forums and other sites for sale.
 
I guess my biggest gripe is that he told me 2 months to complete and we are 7 without any movement. To any other business owners out there: big tip: always quote the longest realistic possible time to do a job. If they arnt willing to wait then you need to work harder at getting lead times down. But the moral of the story is if you get the work done on time you did a good job and didn't piss anyone off. And if you get the work done early, your a hero!
It's how doctors work. "You've got 1 year to live." 3 years later your still telling your neighbor how good your doctor is by keeping you vertical all this time
 
mtangent said:
You're being treated like third rate customer. Only you can decide what to do about that.
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The thing is ... if you've been waiting for a long time to get a custom you do not want to give the place in line up ... so you just take it on the chin and wait longer. Cancelling an order is not a solution in most cases so few will do it. And if you make a fuss in public the maker will just move someone else forward into your slot.

These are cases to be taken up with the various knife makers guilds ... provided the maker is registered.
 
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Get a refund and move on. At this point any flaws in the final product will be greatly magnified by your frustration.
 
Nellem said:
The thing is ... if you've been waiting for a long time to get a custom you do not want to give the place in line up ... so you just take it on the chin and wait longer. Cancelling an order is not a solution in most cases so few will do it. And if you make a fuss in public the maker will just move someone else forward into your slot.

These are cases to be taken up with the various knife makers guilds ... provided the maker is registered.
Click to expand...
If a maker was slower than expect, but working through his list in order, I would cut some slack.
In this case, the maker has started making blades for blade: so where is the orderer's place? He's already lost it.
 
Keep it friendly but ask for your deposit back based on you can't afford to tie up the money anymore, since your knives aren't started. See how cooperative he is then. Don't name him unless he wants to hold that money even though he's done nothing for you.

Lets remember, a new knifemaker will come up on problems he never foresaw, either. Everything takes too long and costs too much. Then if he's good, he gets more orders. He can't keep up. He may be a good knifemaker but he's no businessman. He loses control of time and customers. He gets constant inquiries he hasn't got a good answer for.

His fault, not yours. Cut your losses, go find someone more reliable. Keep it as friendly as you can.
 
Nellem said:
The thing is ... if you've been waiting for a long time to get a custom you do not want to give the place in line up ... so you just take it on the chin and wait longer. Cancelling an order is not a solution in most cases so few will do it. And if you make a fuss in public the maker will just move someone else forward into your slot.

These are cases to be taken up with the various knife makers guilds ... provided the maker is registered.
Click to expand...

You nailed that one on the head.
 
It's pretty common for makers to stop working on their list to make show knives. I ordered a move at blade last year and was told it would be done before the end of July. He got a snag with something and then the knife build bumped up against another knife show. He was in communication the whole time and told me the knife would be one of the first ones he did when he got back and it was. Got the knife at the beginning of September.

Not a huge delay but similar circumstances. The difference appears to be communication.

Good luck. Interested to hear who the maker is.
 
After my recent situation I would name him. The good makers who actually produce when and what they say suffer when others let us THE BUYERS the ones who pay them! Down
 
Name him.
Others here may want to avoid him. That would be their choice.


Also(IMO), never pay any up front unless its some type of special order that he would not be able to sell if you cancelled.
 
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