Cothran

[slothart]

Has anyone been in contact with Don Cothran recently?

I placed an order through his website for a bunch of "in stock" parts a couple weeks ago and have yet to receive an invoice/confirmation email.  Sent a follow up email asking about the order last week and haven't received a reply. 

I know he recently posted he was very busy, so I would prefer to avoid interrupting him with a phone call if i can help it.  Just at a stand still on a project until I know what's up with this order.

[yel01z06]

i would just give him a call he is a super nice guy if he is real busy he will just ask to call you back just give him a shout

[R002]

I just received some parts (breech, tube, power adjuster, and some other small parts) this week from Don. I placed my order about a month ago, recieved a reply from him after a week and got my order on the mail 3 weeks later. Just be patient and follow up once in a while. I can tell you its well worth the wait.

Cheers

[slothart]

I've ordered from him once before, but it was only a bolt, bolt handle, and a safety pin.  That order took a little under 3 weeks from the day I placed the order to receiving the parts.  This time around, my order list is longer.

I will give it a bit more time and perhaps a phone call next week if I haven't heard anything.

Appreciate the input all.

[breakfastchef]

I have sent a few emails to Don recently; all have not been replied to. I will give him a call on Monday.

As a side note, I am pretty much customer-centric when it comes to business. In the Crosman modding world, that seems to be missing, and many folks look the other way and tell the rest of us 'that is the way it is'. Perhaps this is true. If it were me, and Crosman mods were lucrative, I would certainly do something to respond quickly to customer inquiries and ramp up production to meet current demand. Most people just want a reply and a shipping estimate, and will be satisfied with that. Unanswered emails and unknown shipping times are quite another thing.

I am not knocking Don or anyone else, just goosing our vendors to provide us with better communication.

[slothart]

In the case of Cothran Machine, he says on his site that creating airgun parts is a "hobby".  That kind of dictates a different level of expectation for those purchasing airgun parts. 

As long as no money has changed hands, there is no true issue in this situation for me. 

I just really want to use one of his breeches for my current build and I'm getting impatient because I am ready to get started.

That said, I agree it would be nice to see an update posted to the website explaining what's up or a form/spam email giving a quick explanation/confirmation that orders will be filled.

ehh, if this order doesn't work out, I'll either see about getting a Ultimate Breech from Crooked Barn or see if QB Mags still has riser breeches available.

[L.O. Little]

As a side note, I am pretty much customer-centric when it comes to business. In the Crosman modding world, that seems to be missing, and many folks look the other way and tell the rest of us 'that is the way it is'. Perhaps this is true. If it were me, and Crosman mods were lucrative, I would certainly do something to respond quickly to customer inquiries and ramp up production to meet current demand. Most people just want a reply and a shipping estimate, and will be satisfied with that. Unanswered emails and unknown shipping times are quite another thing.

I'm with you 100%. Good, quick communication and accurate ETAs are two reasons I buy so many parts from Charlie Mellon, and why I bought my one and only custom gun from Roy Weid (Mountain Air Airguns). Charlie and Roy conduct business like it's a business, not a hobby.

That said, I'm guessing that producing mod parts for Crosmans is not very lucrative... The SS breech that I got from Don was scribed on the the underside, saying something about it being #156 (IIRC, I know it was under # 175). That's not a lot of breeches. Small runs cost more. Whether or not you're making money, you still need to maintain communication with your customers.

In the case of Don, I'd highly recommend calling him instead of emailing him. I have called him, and I can tell you he was extremely busy running his shop as I was talking to him. Even so, he gave me an accurate ETA on the parts I ordered, and those parts were superb. I installed a Crosman steel breech on a 2240 last night (not the first time I've installed a Crosman steel breech), I was blown away by how inferior it was to Don's SS breech. Don's tolerances were so much tighter than those on the Crosman part, I'll never buy another Crosman breech.

[doncoth]

Hi Sorry for the delay in replying back to you. I just answered some email and responded to the orders that came in over the last couple of weeks. Let me know if you don't get anything from me. Thanks Don

[slothart]

Just got the invoice a few minutes ago... all is good and I need to work on my patience.  Thanks, Don!

On the communication subject... I don't think there is a disagreement here.  Just a distinction of business models and expectations. 
If the preference is to do business with people who's main priority is selling airgun parts, there are other manufacturers that follow that model and will be more responsive to the customer's wants. So I agree with you.
In this particular case, the Cothran website states up front that airgun parts are a hobby, which to me means it is more about personal enjoyment in making the parts and seeing others using the parts then it is about making money or building a successful mod-parts business.  In that case, customer's wants are secondary to personal satisfaction in the hobby.

My personal experience: I am self employed and I have my primary work that I do as a business and I also have secondary work that I do as a hobby (My primary work is as a freelance illustrator & concept artist).  The work I do as a hobby (gallery paintings, prints, personal paintings/commissions that I sell when I am finished) are done for my own enjoyment and I am not particularly worried about making others happy with that work.   Don't get me wrong, i appreciate others' enjoyment of my hobby work, but the main concern is making myself happy.  Others liking it is just gravy.
ehhh, i'm getting off topic... as far as the phone calls, that is more of my personal bias.  I hate dealing with phone calls while I am working and always prefer email as it is less intrusive when I am trying to get work done... that whole, do unto others thing.