ok..i shot a squirrel....wierd coloration and good size....it was a gray squirrel...but where the bellys ect are white..mine had a dark choclate brown color.....no white....and it had it on its face a little ect.....awesome looking squirrel....decided to have it mounted....i know of a taxidermist...dad used him once....a few friends used him....so i went....look at his squirrel mount on his wall in the showroom.....and it looked awesome...so i asked him if he could mount it and he said sure....price wasnt bad....said itll be about a year....i was like ok thats fine.......year goes by...nothing.....i gave it to him in...febuary....04 so spring..mayish id say...i called him and asked about it..and told him im going off to college and dont know when ill be home and if its not done by then i dont wanna get charged for a storage fee...i thought and was told it would be done by then...he said dont worry itll be done by the end of august.....end of august or early sept we moved...and i wanted to change my adress with him and phone number....he said ahh no more then a month...i got about 30 squirrels "in there now" ready to be finished...maybe freeze dryer? he said mine should be in there for sure....im kinda sick of it.....hell i dont even remember what it looks like except how i described lol....so its been 2 months and nothing...should i call and just keep calling when his time limit he gave himself is up? or what should i do?? going on 2yrs for a SQUIRREL....come on thats sad....ill never take anything to him again....or recomend him....and of that mount dont look perfect when i get it back im doing something about it......i should get it free for the wait!! but what should i do about this?? im a little ticked...
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>>----Give 'em the shaft!--->
Its a tough situation that many others like you have been in as well. Its not "sad" that a squirrel takes two years though. It would be that long at my place too. It doesnt matter if its a squirrel or a leopard, its a waiting list. BUT...the difference is, what you are being told. I learned the hard way to TELL guys two years if it looked like it was going to be that long, and not promise it month by month. Thats the sad part. I guess the best I could suggest is that you go see him and give him an ultimatum...you want the squirrel finished by a certain date or youll take legal action. Furthermore you want to be sure its your speciman. Be up front, firm, and fair. Then follow through. We taxidermists too often get way busier then we planned on, and havent yet learned how to decline on the jobs we cant do. We tend to want to say whatever it takes to please the customer, to the point of doing just the opposite. Thats as good as I can advise you. Good luck.
Sometimes we throw small stuff like that on the side and go for the larger game that produces a bigger profit, but then we get more and more large stuff and forget the little bread and butter mounts.
It happens in all the businesses , I ordered a glass for my backdoor that broke during Hurricane Wilma, teh guy said 3 days it has being 15, today he told me he was busy still with the big department sores windows and he will do it soon, so I said no, you give me back my deposit and I will do the glass myself.
So as bill said you give him terms and proceed from there.
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"Blessed is He who Comes in The Name of The Lord"
this guy is all about money...my new taxidermist almost worked for him...until he saw how he worked.....and i got inside details from my current taxidermist...and from hearing the guy talk..he will get your deer or big game mount back to you within half a year-year tops......august he straight up told me all his biggame from the past season was just given back..thats 6-8months...and he was tryinggggg to squeeze out the small stuff from my year....before the deer and such started coming in...but i bet theres guys that got their archery kills back from this year already...i understand they are big profit compared to a squirrel that takes detail and time.....but turn me down.....or be honest and let me decide.....if its not done by the 2 year mark im demanding my deposit and my squirrel back.....so ill prbably call him back in a month or so....and say listen...i gave it to you in febuary...and told me about a year...if its not done by 2 years i want my squirrel and deposit back......kinda hard to do being its all verbal though? i really cant take legal action....and he can probably keep my deposit...i got a recipt for it..date of drop off and deposit....but no date written of when it would be back...i actually think he left that blank...or maybe he did write a year...its in my truck or at home...ill look tomarow....i cant stand being lied to and led on....ill see what happens....when i called to tell him i moved and have a new address and phone number he didnt even seem to care.....and i honestly dont know if he wrote it down.....i know he didnt take the 2 mins to go into his book and find my name and everything....and do it properly.......i hope he trys to tell me he called me at my old number..and noone answered and i never called him and told him about me moving.....and he wants to charge me for storage.....ahahahaaaa that will mean war.......
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>>----Give 'em the shaft!--->
Look at this...a deerhead, $550, takes me a day and a half. A $275 squirrel takes half a day. Which one is the "big money maker" now? Gom see him, bring your invoice, and make him write it all down, the estimated time, what he originally said, all of it. If he cant, or wont, thats ok, just take your speciman plus deposit minus what he actually did to the speciman, and see the new guy. Sometimes good guys (hunters and taxidermists) just dont match up well. By the way, seldom can you take a guy to court for a return time when theres no time specified. Also, sometimes when everything is on paper, and other things are verbally implied, a court CAN move on it. Good luck.
i dont really wanna take him to court or anything....just want it done...or given back with my deposit so my new taxidermist can do it for me....i bet you NY guys loose alot of sales to PA taxidermist....or can you even do out of state?? my squirrel ran around 135...pretty common...130-180 range......not sure but i think deer go for around 350ish...not sure on that but i know ive seen them go for that......and most of our taxidermists seem to run around the same....your prices are probably just about the going price in your area.....275 for a squirrel you better bring it back to life and make it live forever and just chill on my wall and turn around in diffrent angles ever 10 mins! lol.......ill call him this week.....i really dont want legal action or anything.....but if its not done im definently going to say look...you said about a year...its been ABOUT 2 years...ill be home on christmas break to pick it up and my deposit if its not done......if he would told me 2 years i would had no problem with him.....he was honest.....i would either took it elsewhere...or knew what i got myself into.....i gota find the recipt...and see what it says.....if its in writing im definently just going to show up and tell him hey.....times up dig it out of the freezer and dish out my deposit.........
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>>----Give 'em the shaft!--->
Mauser, no, actually I HAVE a lot of PA customers. I dont loose work to price, quite the opposite. I loose it to time frame...because I DO quote the long return time to discourage taking too many mounts in. I would never tell them no, but if they choose to try elsewhere, we both are ok. Guys come to some shops for high end work, very detailed... and pricey. You have great studios like that in PA, too. Other guys go out and find a very reasonable mount for 375, which is also a very reasonable price too. Theres all levels, for all tastes, time frames, price ranges and opinion. Thats why we are all very busy!
By the way, I wasnt telling you to take the guy to court. I dont think you get my drift here. Its IMPLIED, so that things get done. See?
what would you guys say??
