Interacting with Pipe Makers

[projektio28]

Hey everyone,

I am having a set of UPs made by a maker who's name you would know. I placed my order last year in Spring, put 50% down and was given a rough date of completion 07/2009.

I was wanting to check with the maker and see where we were at in terms of them being ready in July, so I left a voicemail back in January and didn't hear anything. I thought maybe email was quicker so I emailed two weeks ago and still have not heard back. I grant you that people in general are very busy, so I can understand letting a few days pass by, but especially after not hearing back on a voicemail I left a month and a half ago, I am kind of surprised.

What is the proper etiquette for me to continue to reach out to this person? Should I leave another voicemail, or is email usually the best method? My whole point in wanting to know whether they'll be ready or not is that money is VERY tight right now. With the U.S. economy in the tank, and my personal income is down 30% in 2008 compared to 2007, I am watching every penny. But if they won't be ready until say December that would give me a lot more time to come up with the other 50% to conclude the transaction instead of sweating bullets between now and Summer.

Anyway, I thought I should get some perspective before I am viewed as a nuisance or the maker runs away to Jamaica with my money... LOL!

Cheers!!

Matt

[PJ]

One phone call and one email don't sound like you're piling on the pressure. A few more calls and emails will give him the message that you expect a reply.

[Elmek]

If it is whos suggested above then he is very active on the other UP forum http://uilleannforum.com/forums/index.php so nothing wrong with his internet connection

Try a few private mesages and when email make certain you tick the recieved and read boxes

If it is not who is suggested then remember pipemakers are invariably very busy and may not watch the emails every minute of the day and phone answering machines are not always reliable and will not always take a message if the memory is full so try several times as he may not have recieved your message

The ones I know personaly are often working long hours in the workshop to make a living and having to cope with all the problems that affect us all as well. Those playboy makers (should it be play-persons) that fly off to Monte Carlo for eleven months of the year in there private jets are in the minority

Hope this helps

John

[Douglas]

I have had a number of chanters and sets of various types of pipes made for me through the years. I don’t recall ever asking a pipe maker when the set would be ready. And, with the exception of one chanter I ordered, they are never ready on time.

It is very difficult waiting, I must admit, but it is very difficult for these guys to accurately predict when your set, out of X number of sets, will be ready. I do however think that good communication skills are important, but many artist types don’t have those skills. I can deal with a wait easier if they are feeding me tidbits of information.

Hopefully you will have a good set of pipes after your wait.

P.S. 50% up front is a lot. I good pipemaker knows that they can sell the set if you fail to purchase them (unless they are very unusual).

[Cathy Wilde]

Granted, being a female type I like as much information as possible ... so I think it would be perfectly reasonable to write the maker with the story you've just given here (about time and money). In fact, if he is busy and worried about disappointing he might be very happy to hear there's the possibility of a customer-extended deadline.

Of course, sometimes you can just find yourself in the same position (i.e., wondering if they'll get done) in December, but at least you'll have the cash on hand to add power to any nagging you may need/elect to do then.

Good luck!

[projektio28]

Thanks much for all of the responses and suggestions ladies and gents!

To answer your question Elmek, no it is not the maker you were eluding to. This is my very first set of UPs, and I had no idea to expect whether a deposit, of any size, would be required or not. I am spending a few thousand dollars on a half-set and I suppose it seemed reasonable to me at the time. I will take your suggestions about continuing to reach out via phone and email, plus I know he has an account on here, so I can try that too.

I guess I don't really need an extension, I was merely suggesting that if he had called me to say, "Hey, they won't be ready until November..." that would give me a few more months to work out getting the other 50% together. If they are still ready in July, great, no big deal, I will use my tax return to help cough up the rest, but I just wanted to know if we were still on track or not...

You guys are also right about one thing, a lot of makers do not give out a "to be completed by" date. I would assume because they are insanely busy and might not be a UP maker full time, perhaps they have an 8-5 job, or perhaps they have so many sets on the workbench to finish.

But this particular person does give out a date apparently at the time the deposit is received. I suppose this is a good will gesture since he asks the buyer to front some money, thus showing some seriousness about the purchase.

On a side note, I love your avatar Cathy. Glad to see there another Father Ted fan on this board!

Matt

[projektio28]

I wanted to leave a final follow up message on this thread. I heard back from the maker yesterday after sending a 2nd email referencing the 1st one and the original voicemail. He apologized for the delay in getting back to me and did say that he was a bit backlogged on projects. So it looks like my UP set will be ready later this Fall instead of this Summer.

As I mentioned before, this will give me a little more time to save up the money to make the final payment, so I can't complain about that, I am more relieved than anything to have heard back from him...

Thanks again for all of your suggestions, it's nice to know I have a sounding board here when I need one!

Matt