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What it's really about is setting reasonable expectations. I have a couple of guns with a reputable smith. Dropped them off in Sept and was told the work would be done by Christmas. Called before Christmas; "not yet"..., called at the end of Jan; "not yet"..., Called at the end of Feb; "not yet"... It's one thing to tell a customer the work is going to be done in 4-months and not deliver and another thing to tell a customer it's going to be 9-months and deliver in 6-months. I can understand a second-tier smith over promising delivery in order to get work in the door, but a top-tier smith that already has too much work has no reason to over-promise and then not deliver.

What really gets me is when a smith can't remember the last story they told me. "It's going to be in the next run of case colors, should be done in the next month" then "just putting it back together" then, "hope to have it started next month." I learned a long time ago "always tell the truth if for no other reason than it's the easiest thing to remember."

Vic, You are not reading . The original poster wrote of communication issues. Obviously he picked those gun smiths because they do quality work . Read it again . I am speaking about communication! Like when you call your dentist and would expect a call back. As far as being dishonorable, maybe I was giving him a way out. Maybe he misquoted the original price, but could not tell me it would cost more. I was completely "honorable". A common practice on other industries. I do not care about his honor, all I wanted was my gun back and gave him an incentive to do so. I am now working on a construction litigation case... This is done all the time. You are too focused on quality and not the issue raised by the poster... Lack of communication. Something I know you understand from your good reputation.

Lots of different perspectives on this issues - thanks.

I am in the professional services business and try to work with gunsmiths the same way I work with my clients. I ask for but do not negotiate an anticipated price and completion date at the front end. If they cannot provide either at that point, that is something that should be discussed. I expect to be given a heads up if there is going to be significant delay or cost over-run. I realize most good gunsmiths to have a backlog but also expect that to be factored into the proposed completion date. I would have a different set of expectations about a completion date if I were told it will take two years to build a custom gun from scratch as opposed to being told it will take a month to re-blue some barrels or fix an ejector. And I only use gunsmiths that have direct recommendations from folks I trust - including in these two situations (which involve names familiar here, so that is why I have not gotten into the details too much).

One problem with shipping your gun to a gunsmith in another part of the country is that it gets pretty difficult to retrieve it if the situation does not work out.

Doverham, well stated. Your last paragraph is key. So, sometimes you need to step back and figure a way to be sure you get it back.

I wasn't questioning your honor at all. I meant that he should not have taken "extra" money just to get your gun back, that's not right.
I apologize if my post was confusing.

Oh... Sorry. I misunderstood, my bad. Thanks, I agree that I should not have had to pay.

No Condor, you should not have had to pay extra to get your gun back. That's bullshit.

When I was in college, I bought a brand new Colt Trooper Mk III .357 mag. After less than 200 rounds, it began sometimes misfiring when shooting single action. When the hammer dropped, the trigger would kick my finger forward and the transfer bar would not come up. I took it back to the gunshop where I bought it, and told the so-called gunsmith who ran the shop to return it to Colt, or an authorized Colt repair facility, since it was only a couple weeks old and should be handled under warranty.

He called a week later and said my gun was fixed. When I went to pick it up, I remarked how fast that was and he presented me with a bill for $25.00 for "cleaning and adjustment". He told me he did the work himself rather than sending it to Colt as I requested. I told him I did not ask him to clean a brand new gun that could not possibly have been dirty inside, and refused to pay. We argued and he told me he would not give me my gun until I paid, because he worked on it and did not work for free. Finally I said, I'll pay if you guarantee your work, and he agreed. I was pissed to put it mildly, because I expected to pay only for him to send the gun to Colt.

I went straight home and grabbed some cartridges and went to the range. It f---ed up on the 3rd shot. I went straight back to his shop and demanded he return my money. He refused. I got, shall we say, rather loud and boisterous. Two customers who were there quietly slipped out the door as I was turning the air blue and calling him everything but a white English gentleman. He grabbed the phone and told me to leave or he would call the cops. I told him I wanted him to call the cops because he did work that I did not authorize and charged me for guaranteed work that did not fix my gun. I told him I intended to press charges for theft of services. He went to the cash register and got my money and handed it to me and told me not to ever come back. I said, "What makes you think I would ever do business here again?"

I took it to another gun shop and explained the situation. The proprietor said he would send it to Colt and see what happens. A few weeks later Colt sent my gun back with a new hammer, and they covered postage both ways. The gun store owner told me I owed him nothing since all it cost him was the time to put it in a box and mail it. Of course, I continued to give him my business until he retired, and I gave him a ton of word of mouth advertising. The other guy... not so much. I told everyone I could about him in no uncertain terms. He went out of business a few years later, and I hope I helped.

Keith, I understand. Remember , I did not have to pay him to get my gun back, but elected to pay extra for him to finish the work at our new agreed date. If you will, some years ago , I hired a contractor to do a deck for me in Chatham on the Cape. He was highly recommended and average price. He did the job, the hard stuff like cement bolsters and good wood , but time went by and he failed to show up for the planking...the last stage. I finally track him down , I ask him what has he done with part of the down payment. $800... I said let me have it back. He says he spent it. So now , with a week to go before the 4th of July I am in a spot.what to do? Throw him off my property, hire another deck contractor, and sue the guy? He is judgement proof, no money. So, my mind is racing. I said, " ok, I will go with you to the lumber store and buy the remaining wood......and....I will pay you another $300 to finish the job in the next couple days. He agrees, we get the lumber together because , I was not going to trust him to get it...we go back and he starts finishing the job....and shows up the next day too...because he has $300 to get. We finish the work, the deck is ready for the forth, I did not have to hire another contractor, I did not have to sue him and know I get nothing. No new contractor to say, " oh, I got to tear all this down and start from scratch" . So for the pain of the extra $400 for lumber and the " incentive" of $300 I avoid some thousands with a new contractor, getting it done ...maybe in September, and not have to spend money to sue the guy....and get nothing anyway. So, sometimes, as you did, you pay the guy to get the colt IN your hands. Pissed as you were...you had the colt....and we both learned some lessons....pay a bit more now instead of a ton later. Just a simple Business decision looking at the economies involved. Sometimes it works , sometimes not.

Stan,

If your concept of a gun being at a gunsmith's shop for a long time is "several months" you have either been exceedingly lucky or you haven't sent many guns out for work.

I always ask for a completion date on projects & explain that I need it completed for a certain event i.e. season opener, shoot event, special hunt or something similar. It doesn't always work but I think it does give you a little more leverage if you have an agreed upon date & I try to allow 6 months to a year for the smith to get things done but unfortunately, getting my work done has exceeded a year on more than one occasion. That said, once you have established a relationship with a gunsmith, I've been pleasantly surprised with the quick turnaround on some of the smaller emergency type jobs but I realize its at the expense of some other poor S.O.B. that isn't getting his stuff worked on.

When the agreed upon delivery date has been exceeded by a couple of months about all you can do is politely remind the smith of the original completion date he agreed to & establish a new agreed upon completion date. Picking things up & taking them to another smith usually puts you back at the bottom of the new smith's priority list & I've never found that many really good gunsmiths that I trust to do things correctly, not bugger screws etc.

Just my $.02 worth & one of the reasons (as stated on this thread by others) that I try to do as much work on my own as I can.

I have been fortunate, BM, but I also do my homework, as best I can, on a 'smith. I have never had one gone for a long time, but then I have never asked for a restock, or a full restoration either. Blue jobs, dents removed, ejectors fixed, one had a lock work that wouldn't recock, checkering, rib relay, trigger work ........... all these are individual jobs I have had done by well known 'smiths, and never once did I ask them how long it would take, and never once did anyone keep a gun or parts of a gun over 4 months.

Maybe they appreciate not being pinned down, and repay that appreciation with timeliness. I dunno, but that's my track record.

SRH