Anyone heard from Gunnar ? Loosing patience

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Wess1911

Wess1911

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Has anyone heard from Gunnar at Armco ?

10 (yes ten) weeks ago he told me he would send my gun and I have never heard from him since. I have tried to call, I have sent one email every week and he never answered. I paid the gun in full mid-April. I'm starting to worry. It's not the first time I buy from him but I don't know what to do anymore.

I write, I PM, I call (but no one answers)... This sucks.
 
After 18 months with him having my gun he sent me a note saying it was shipped back.. should be in Ontario Tuseday... Of course I'm not there anymore but I'll get the gun eventually... And I no idea what the bill is or will be.. But I guess... we'll see
 
Just got an e-mail from him yesterday answering a question I had. I haven't sent a firearm to him but I have purchased 2 off him in the last 2 years. Never had a problem with him responding to my e-mails. He was always very prompt.
 
Just got an e-mail from him yesterday answering a question I had. I haven't sent a firearm to him but I have purchased 2 off him in the last 2 years. Never had a problem with him responding to my e-mails. He was always very prompt.

That's the problem. I never had a problem with him and I must have sent him or bought from him 7-8 guns.
 
albertacoyotecaller said:
Why do we keep on seeing this thread over and over again here on CGN?

For those of you who don't know how it works with Gunnar, have patience. You will eventually figure it out.


Greg
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Why should anybody have the learn how somebody works?

The reason you keep seeing it over and over is that he is very slow and he doesn't tell you the truth (either purposely or through hope that it will be done faster)... If it changed their would be no new threads about it..


Gunnar and I had been talking about it for 3 months about a single stack 1911 in 357 sig.. I bought one a 9mm Ranger on the EE and had it shipped to him he got it the end of January 2008...

He said he would modify the slide and ream the barrel and test fire would take a couple days when he got to it... He told me in May 2008 the barrel was done he would get the slide done in a couple weeks...
I didn't care how long it was gonna take just do it right..

In June he tells me the barrel worked fine in a double stack just wouldn't work in a single stack He'd get a 40 or 10 barrel what did I want.. I said 10 mm

In November I called to find out what was going on.. He had the barrel it would be done in 2 weeks....

So in January it was going to be 2 weeks to get the 40 barrel ream it and fit a

In March had just gotten the barrel it needed to be reamed and fit.. I told him to leave it as a 40 it's been way to long.. Fiinish it and get it back to me ...

That was the last time I talked to him... I sent him a note the beginning of May saying it's been a year and half just send the thing back and I didn't hear anything until last week when I get the email saying it's been shipped..

I'm not upset, or angry... I told him to take his time.. Do I think 18 months is reasonable? not on your life.. I could've gone to school and learned to do it, bought the tools and parts and done in myself in that time frame... I may well have too... But there are way too many people sticking up for the guy...

If the walk-ins are getting preferential treatment he needs to tell the mail order folks that and let them know a realistic time for service..

Maybe Gunnar needs to comment and say what he is gonna do to correct these issues..

I know he's busy but if you are that busy you either take on help or stop accepting work...

He can train someone in a couple days how to sell, ship and order guns.. There is no excuse for things like that taking weeks and there being no communication.
 
albertacoyotecaller said:
Why do we keep on seeing this thread over and over again here on CGN?

For those of you who don't know how it works with Gunnar, have patience. You will eventually figure it out.


Greg
Click to expand...

The problem is that if I were conducting my business the way he does... I would be out of business.

I gave him more than 2 grands for a job he and I quote "a 2 week job, 3 and you have the gun". I gave him the go in February. While I'm supposed to wait because he is the way he is, my shooting season is going down the drain. I had to buy another gun in order to wait for the one I have bought. If he would have told me this job would take 4 months, I would have bought something in inventory from him and I still would be a loyal customer.

I hate doing this but I don't know how people would feel if I did give an update on a 3-week project for more 10 weeks. I hate it even more because if you look at my record here on CGN, most of my comments have always been to back Gunnar when people whined about not getting their guns...
 
so bear23, as of right now you do not even know if the gun is finished and correct or not or even what caliber it is chambered for.... man.

I decided to go with barry at "bits of pieces" to shorten the barrel on my super redhawk because he guarenteed me a 2 month turn around and a $200 cost.... gunnar could not even give me a reply to my email and I doubt he could have said anything about turnaround time.

anyway... I am on month 5 now waiting for my 454 super redhawk from "bits of pieces".... so much for turnaround time, but frankly I doubt gunnar could have done any better and I believe their work is equal.

I wanted my gun in time to shoot some IDPA with it, now I am on IV antibiotics for 3-4weeks and have an IV port stuck in my arm and cannot shoot with it there because of recoil..... but still it pisses me off that the gun was not here in april or may.

I realize that gunsmiths are busy , but seriously if 6-18 months is the average turn around time then they need to hire some flunky's or take in less work and charge more..... a happy medium of price vs work load will work itself out.
 
WOW these stories amaze me... Thanks for the heads up on Armco, if thats how his business works I wouldn't give him a dime, no matter how good his work is... I don't mind paying more for customer service, but not paying more for #### service. Not replying to existing customer emails and phone calls is straight up BS. There is no excuse for this #### level of customer service. I'm sorry to hear this happened, I hope it works out for you. Good Luck...
 
Westicle said:
so bear23, as of right now you do not even know if the gun is finished and correct or not or even what caliber it is chambered for.... man.
Click to expand...

You decide. This is the email I received... I'm assuming it's converted to 40 or 10 but I don't know.. But you know what they say about assuming... I've never sent him a credit card so I don't know if there is a bill or what..

cleardot.gif
Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 7:48 PM

Hi, Brian

Gun tested, and it and an extra magazine left here yesterday, Canada Post Expedited/insured/signature, tracking number 0140 1390 0056 ###x

Cheers
Gunnar

Westicle said:
I realize that gunsmiths are busy , but seriously if 6-18 months is the average turn around time then they need to hire some flunky's or take in less work and charge more..... a happy medium of price vs work load will work itself out.
Click to expand...

+1
 
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It's a sad, repeating theme, but 1911 gunsmiths tend to get product out the door in waves. The problem seems to be aggravated when they actually have lives of thier own and dare to get sick.

The problem is most of these guys have enough work to keep them busy for 30-60 hours a week for much of the year. Even when they are dedicated, the phone calls, e-mails, walk in's, and past customer urgent repairs eat in to the working hours. Add in the demands of a real life and it's not hard to get bogged down.

At this point, someone usually jumps in and suggests hiring help. I have to point out, that rarely works. Let's take Gunnar as the example. When the customer calls, do you imagine they want to talk to Jean? When the customer e-mails, do they want Jean to reply. While Gunnar is on the phone, do you want Jean at the milling machine? Short of doing billing, federal and provincial tax returns, and bringing him lunch, there's not a whole lot an extra pair of untrained hands can do around the shop.

The answer unfortunately is to turn away work when your booked solid, and to set aside time blocks just for phone calls with no exceptions. Problem is, how do you tell a customer of many years that you don't have time to build his gun for this year?
 
Canuck223 said:
It's a sad, repeating theme, but 1911 gunsmiths tend to get product out the door in waves. The problem seems to be aggravated when they actually have lives of thier own and dare to get sick.

The problem is most of these guys have enough work to keep them busy for 30-60 hours a week for much of the year. Even when they are dedicated, the phone calls, e-mails, walk in's, and past customer urgent repairs eat in to the working hours. Add in the demands of a real life and it's not hard to get bogged down.

At this point, someone usually jumps in and suggests hiring help. I have to point out, that rarely works. Let's take Gunnar as the example. When the customer calls, do you imagine they want to talk to Jean? When the customer e-mails, do they want Jean to reply. While Gunnar is on the phone, do you want Jean at the milling machine? Short of doing billing, federal and provincial tax returns, and bringing him lunch, there's not a whole lot an extra pair of untrained hands can do around the shop.

The answer unfortunately is to turn away work when your booked solid, and to set aside time blocks just for phone calls with no exceptions. Problem is, how do you tell a customer of many years that you don't have time to build his gun for this year?
Click to expand...

You tell the truth and try to sell him inventory... In the end he may loose a sale THAT time but ultimately, that client will come back. Now, those who get ignored never go to that guy ever again.
 
Canuck223 said:
It's a sad, repeating theme, but 1911 gunsmiths tend to get product out the door in waves. The problem seems to be aggravated when they actually have lives of thier own and dare to get sick.

The problem is most of these guys have enough work to keep them busy for 30-60 hours a week for much of the year. Even when they are dedicated, the phone calls, e-mails, walk in's, and past customer urgent repairs eat in to the working hours. Add in the demands of a real life and it's not hard to get bogged down.

At this point, someone usually jumps in and suggests hiring help. I have to point out, that rarely works. Let's take Gunnar as the example. When the customer calls, do you imagine they want to talk to Jean? When the customer e-mails, do they want Jean to reply. While Gunnar is on the phone, do you want Jean at the milling machine? Short of doing billing, federal and provincial tax returns, and bringing him lunch, there's not a whole lot an extra pair of untrained hands can do around the shop.

The answer unfortunately is to turn away work when your booked solid, and to set aside time blocks just for phone calls with no exceptions. Problem is, how do you tell a customer of many years that you don't have time to build his gun for this year?
Click to expand...

Thought he was hiring a trainee? Didn't he work out? It's not like there aren't lots of people on this forum that have said expressed an interest in gunsmithing.

No doubt he's busy and he's been sick... Big deal he didn't say anything about it... He just said it'll be a couple weeks.. If things are gonna take 6 months say they are gonna take 6 months.. don't have 2 years of work piling up in the shop when you know you've said it will be done in 6 weeks.. If the folks coming through the door are the problem close the door (open it a couple hours a week) or just have Jean say he's not available...
 
X2, Sorry Canuck223 but there is no excuse for this level of service... The solution is hiring another and working through the growing pains of that. Its so easy to just say, "oh theres nothing I can do it is what it is", thats such a cop out.... I run a business, if I ran it this way I'd be on the street... You have to invest in your company as business grows not just say, "oh well" .....thats jus BS...
 
Those of you who are saying "hire another" apprentice are assuming that here in BC there is another machinist's apprentice looking for work. It just isn't so, I know it's hard for you folks in the East to grasp but the unemployment rate for skilled trades in BC is still very, very low. The people looking for work out here aren't qualified to even start learning pistol smithing.
 
Westicle said:
so bear23, as of right now you do not even know if the gun is finished and correct or not or even what caliber it is chambered for.... man.

I decided to go with barry at "bits of pieces" to shorten the barrel on my super redhawk because he guarenteed me a 2 month turn around and a $200 cost.... gunnar could not even give me a reply to my email and I doubt he could have said anything about turnaround time.

anyway... I am on month 5 now waiting for my 454 super redhawk from "bits of pieces".... so much for turnaround time, but frankly I doubt gunnar could have done any better and I believe their work is equal.

I wanted my gun in time to shoot some IDPA with it, now I am on IV antibiotics for 3-4weeks and have an IV port stuck in my arm and cannot shoot with it there because of recoil..... but still it pisses me off that the gun was not here in april or may.

I realize that gunsmiths are busy , but seriously if 6-18 months is the average turn around time then they need to hire some flunky's or take in less work and charge more..... a happy medium of price vs work load will work itself out.
Click to expand...



Wow, s**tty deal. Barry at BofP is good, EXCEPT he's famous for waiting for a few "similar" jobs to load up his bench. I know, I had my CX-4 Storm rebarreled within three weeks in my hands. But another fellow who contacted me told me it was a "long time" that it was sitting at BofP... And Barry confirmed himself that he does re-barrels in "runs"...


On the flip-side, I had a magazine that needed to be returned. I paid thirteen dollars (on a fourty dollar mag, I know) for a CP Xpress Post envelope, mailed mid-April. A month goes by with no response. I get an email saying he'll do it the next day. I left on the 11th for Edmonton, just returned today. Envelope is stamped Expedited on the 4th.

A) If you forget something for over a month, particularly when you make the buyer pay 25% of the item's value for return shipping out of his own pockets, you send it overnight, no questions asked, and suck it up to making a mistake. That's the way I used to operate my business (when I was still importing stuff).

B) If no mistake is made, common business courtesy is to send it back the same way it came to you. "Business Etiquette".
 
ian_in_vic said:
Those of you who are saying "hire another" apprentice are assuming that here in BC there is another machinist's apprentice looking for work. It just isn't so, I know it's hard for you folks in the East to grasp but the unemployment rate for skilled trades in BC is still very, very low. The people looking for work out here aren't qualified to even start learning pistol smithing.
Click to expand...
Once again another cop out, I'm in Alberta, when I need hands I hire whats available, which usually is like you said, under qualified "kiddies", However I also don't put the kiddies on the big jobs out of the gate, they sweep floors, answer phones, and learn the ropes... 60% of these employee types don't work out unfortunately but, in the past few years I have had two young guys stay on, they are interested in the type of work and want to learn, these kids have made my life alot easier, not to mention one of them is finishing his 2nd year and the other is just starting his first.....

You cant expect to find a fully qualified person these days, You have to start with them young. You sift through the uselessness and you can find the diamond in the rough that can turn out to be a real asset to your company... I'm sick of the people that say it cant be done, there either too lazy to work with someone new, or there too cheap to pay for the help.... Unfortunately these business owners have it made cuz most of you are willing to put up with this BS customer service....
 
So he hires the wrong guy, and before he fires him we're treated to posts describing how Gunnar has magically become incompetent. Sure, he can win....not.
 
Decent gunsmiths are a rare breed in Canada and the problem is only going to get worse. There are not many people willing to take up the trade so you and I may be waiting a long time to get things done. How many young gunsmiths have you seen? I have no knowledge of Gunnar's situation but it is entirely possible he has taken on more work than he can handle in a reasonable amount of time. Like I said, not many smiths out there, any volunteers?
 
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