Tom Bowers is a good guy and does great work.
Why dont you call him and see what is going on.
Cheap, fast, good work...pick 2!
Seriously, though, I hear you on how much it sucks to wait. That being said, Tom Bowers has developed an excellent reputation in the NFA community for a reason.
When you sent it in did he give you a firm turnaround time? I don’t like waiting but I’m getting used to it in the NFA world. Who you do business with is your business and I’m not trying to change your mind. I’m just trying to understand if Bowers missed a deadline or if you are just upset about the wait. When my contractor tells me it’s a one week job and he’s not finished 3 weeks later I’m pissed. Not because it took so long but because I made plans based on his missed deadline.
No timeline was discussed....I take responsibility for that. I was naïve to this in the NFA world. I would have thought that if it normally takes a long time he would have told me in the many emails and phone discussions we had....before I sent my items.
So you never asked for a turnaround time but it is taking longer than you feel it should? I guess you were naive. Complaining publicly about a business of your lack of foresight seems unfair to me. He has been in the business a very long time. As such, I am sure there is some element of this work being a "job". How many others have a myriad of questions to answer in emails? I would imagine that the time to answer those questions eats into the time he has to actually do machine time. Who knows what is going on in his life. This has certainly been a learning experience for you. Next time I would imagine you would ask for a time frame instead of complaining on a public forum. I am sure many have stories of much longer turnaround time when delivery dates were exceeded by years. I do.
Scott
Scott
I've had great experiences with Bowers. Fixed an endcap strike I hadn't even noticed, swapped stack, cleaned up threads and returned. Just paid 1 way shipping from my end. Gave me the confidence to buy my .22 can from him. Might have been 4 to 6 weeks. This is a small community, and I've learned it's a good idea to call first.
So you never asked for a turnaround time but it is taking longer than you feel it should? I posted above about why I didn't ask.
I guess you were naive. Complaining publicly about a business of your lack of foresight seems unfair to me. He has been in the business a very long time. As such, I am sure there is some element of this work being a "job". Yet he doesn't take into consideration us newbies and inform us prior to sending them in that there is a very long wait.
How many others have a myriad of questions to answer in emails? I don't understand what you are asking.
I would imagine that the time to answer those questions eats into the time he has to actually do machine time. Who knows what is going on in his life. That is exactly why I didn't bother him for a long time about it, just started to wonder and I called and he said he hasn't even started on them.
This has certainly been a learning experience for you. Next time I would imagine you would ask for a time frame instead of complaining on a public forum. There will not be a next time
... There will not be a next time
Yes, this has been a learning curve for you, but keep in mind that gunsmiths are horrendous at keeping to any timeline and a few border on being a disgrace. This has nothing to do with their actual work, that's another issue.
Besides giving you a price for the work, shipping costs etc, it is really their responsibility to inform the prospective customer of the back log in the shop and an estimate of how long it will take. But many see $$$ and take in all the work they can and complete it whenever they can. A few horror stories of guys sending out parts kits for builds, sit around a for a year or three then have to fight to get their stuff back without being built. No excuse for that much time.
I have learned that now....but will never send them back to him