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Post by deejay on Nov 1, 2010 20:05:03 GMT
1st of all I'd like to state clearly that the esteemed formite Hyoujinsama is the 1st person I would turn to for advice concerning all matters pertaining to the katana & JSA.His knowledge and expertize in these areas is truely staggering and well worth listening to and learning from.However-his handling of the matter of my matts tsuka reshape/rewrap is far below my expectations-indeed.This began in July 22nd-and has not been concluded successfully.I paid for services in advance and shipped the tsuka off-he pm'd that it had arrived and would get to it shortly.It is now Nov 1st-in the duration I have sent numerous pms inquiring as to the progress-these were ignored.He contacted when he reshaped and was ready to wrap on the Aug 31st-with photos.Looked great!!!I was very happy and excited that I would soon possess something that he had worked on-honored if you will!More pms ignored,until Sept 29th-he replied with-"Holycrap-I forgot all about it.Its all wraped up and ready to go-I'll ship it tomrrow and give you the tracking #.Oct 1st-pmd me with photos-the wrong wrap,I figured to late to change I just want the damn thing back anyways at this piont.No tracking number.Will give it to you Mon-!!Oct 20-more ignored pms from me-finally "I'll send you the tracking # when I get to work.Oct 26th-another promise again of the tracking number-Oct 29th-finally a tracking number and an explanation.The tsuka is on its way supposedly-I'll believe when I see it.However-between Oct 1st and Oct 26th I became so disgusted with the whole works I gave the kat-whats left of it to a friend after offering it up for sale here-I do not want it in my house-it will only remind of a bad experiance at this piont instead of giving me the enjoyment it should.Hyoujinsama-your lack of responses to inquiries is nothing short of being disrespectful and arrogant IMHO.I can not comment on the tsuka-it is not here-I am certain that the wrap is beautifully done and exacuted masterfully-but I have not handled it.I cannot recomend using the services offered by Hyoujinsama-my pleas for information were ignored and I feel he has been grossly neglagent for the most part.On a scale of one to ten-this was a depressing-ZERO!!When you ignore communications it leads people to believe that you are on the dodge and are up to no good.I expected much,much better from you Sir,I am bitterly disappionted and I will say no more about this.DJ
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2010 22:05:00 GMT
One cannot eat a loaf of bread On the day the seed is planted Patience is the brother of wisdom
(Try to remember to keep the forum FRIENDLY. Perhaps a private conversation with Hyoujinsama would be best.)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2010 2:21:59 GMT
I have had much the same experiance with Kevin (Hyoujinsama) I purchased a custom folded katana from him some time ago, I wanted him to change the a few things on the katana, which for more money he was glad to do. All this started way back in august, it took a super long time for him to get the materials and his communication during the process was horrible, I would have to send 5 PM's to get one reply. I still have no sword and he said it shipped two weeks ago, I still have no tracking number, he said he'd get me that over a week ago. I paid for the sword and services back in august. At this point I have had a bad buying experiance with every sword purchase I've made.
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Post by Travis Nicko on Nov 2, 2010 2:54:09 GMT
Guys, you are not alone...I, too, have had a bad experience with this person. Will NOT be making that mistake again.
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Post by Hyoujinsama on Nov 2, 2010 6:22:46 GMT
Travis, your choice is an understandable one. That was a bad situation, and, once again, I apologize.
Ryan, PM sent.
Deejay, I really am sorry about the situation, and I won't waste space on here with excuses. I have resolved the issue and really wish you wouldn't have posted the sale add/given the sword away...though I am in no place to question the judgment of such an action. One of the reasons I do my best to give "discounts" and work around budgets is because part of what I consider payment is knowing how the sword is in the end. I really did my absolute best on the wrap (and I accept responsibility for neglecting the customer service as much as I did) and would still like to know, through PM or otherwise, at least what you think of the work... If nothing else, please let me know when the tsuka arrives. It will help with peace of mind.
In the end, this has been a rather hellish last few months. I hope to be able to put all of this behind me, both in regards to my inattentiveness as well as to personal problems (which, I know, are mine and not the customers). My sincere apologies to all involved. Any who are interested in the feedback here is welcome to message me. I understand a craftsman's place, and would welcome any criticisms or questions regarding the aforementioned matter(s). Any lesson, no matter how painful, is a good lesson learned...I'll certainly take something away from all of this.
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Sean (Shadowhowler)
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Nov 2, 2010 6:48:29 GMT
I just want to add a little bit. Since I don't know the specifics of each persons issues stated above, I can not comment on those. I can, however, offer my experience with Hyoujinsama. I bought a sword from him awhile back and he did custom purple itomaki on it. There were a couple delays... first when he thought it had shipped via his work but it had not... and second when USPS lost the blade, then damaged it... so they sent it back to Kev and he had to re-do the whole thing. Which he did... and an amazing job he did on it too. The itomaki on it is rock solid and comfortable in hand... and a beautiful purple that he hand dyed himself. The best compliment you can pay a craftsmen is repeat business... and I have chosen to send Kev my favorite Katana... my Oni Forge Ryu which is long discontinued and all but impossible to find these days... and he is going to polish it, fix a small chip, build a new tsuka for it and do new itomaki. Again, not to discount any complaint anyone may have... but the quality of the work he did for me on the sword I got from him was such that I'm trusting him with my favorite blade.
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Post by Travis Nicko on Nov 2, 2010 13:58:11 GMT
The quality of his work is not so much the issue (although, that was also somewhat lacking in my case) as is the lack of communication and his irresponsibility in shipping and packaging. My item was supposedly sent out on three different occasions, the first two times it was "lost" or "misplaced." Only the last time did I get any tracking/insurance info and that was only accomplished through many, many emails, pms and phone calls. Perhaps I was being a pest, but I only wanted some updates and info...that's it. To top it all of, when I finally recieved my sword it was packaged so badly that the blade was free to jostle around in the wooden box it was sent in and the tip (1-2mm) was rolled over. There were 4 (count 'em FOUR) plastic shopping bags crumpled up in the box for padding...that's it. No bubble wrap or even newspaper. I sent the bare blade screwed and taped to a wood board, I got it back in a decorative box with nothing covering the blade. Kevin did offer to recompense me, but I was too dissapointed with the whole situation...the refund wouldn't repair the point on my sword and I wasn't about to send it back. Too little, too late.
Coincidentally, my blade was also initially supposed to sent out through his work fedex account...you'd think he would've given up on that method by now.
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Post by SwordLord on Nov 8, 2010 4:37:11 GMT
I sadly had the same experience with Kevin. Terrible communication, took about 7 weeks when he said a couple and I got the same excuse that he left it up to the guys at SnA to ship the sword and they didn't. Seems like a tired and over used excuse. When I finally got my sword back the blade was covered in something I don't know what and it took me about an hours of rubbing with wadding polish and alcohol to get it off. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.
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Post by spud on Nov 8, 2010 9:17:17 GMT
I find this all very surprising, not that I doubt how people are feeling. My person experiences dealing with Kevin have been the complete reverse, fast service, good communication, excellent work, well packaged etc.
I have been on the opposite end of this (the K.I. saga that dragged on for 2 yrs), I think the difference that needs to be taken into account is with the K.I. vendor is we all received excuse after excuses followed by abuse & a big "take a walk" if you don't like it. With Kevin at least he's acknowledging there was a problem (his problem not the customers) & wants to learn from it & from the sounds of it tried to make amends where possible.
I've witnessed over the years where good vendors have had things happen in life that basically made them look like they had come off the rails (unfortunately we can't control how life's events affects us & what do can or can't do at times). It's how they get back on track & do their best to prevent the same results happening again that makes the difference & is the true test.
I've heard of many people waiting well over 12 months for work to be done from other vendors & not hearing a peep until the day the sword landed on their doorstep. I know these are smaller jobs & hence a relative shorter lead time would be expected so what seems like an unduly long lead time can be very irritating especially when communication is not their.
I deal with this daily, working for an international mining company purchasing parts globally & spending millions of dollars with certain companies who don't deliver on time & ignore me the customer. So I understand the personal frustration believe me.
All I can say is I will continue to have work done by Kevin, I have trusted him with the sword that meant the most to me & never had a problem. I'm willing to take into account that for all his skill & vast knowledge he's human & makes mistakes the same as everyone else. I hope in time this unfortunate short term hiccup can be viewed in context of the overall long term service provided in the past & future.
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Post by Wes on Nov 8, 2010 9:31:46 GMT
I've got Kevin working on a project for me now. So far communication and enthusiasm has been high and I have had no interactions with him that have given me pause or concern. My only annoyance has nothing to do with Kevin at all. The fittings I ordered from Yamato over 2 weeks ago haven't shipped yet. I sent them an email before the weekend hopefully I'll have them soon and then Kevin can get started
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Post by SwordLord on Nov 8, 2010 15:09:10 GMT
To reiterate, I did post about this on the old forum and did not name names. I felt Kevin had good intentions and maybe got wrapped up a bit. The "life gets in the way of living" scenario and I let it go. However, when I see multiple people experiencing the same thing and getting the same excuse, it again raises an eyebrow. But the good thing is it would seem Kevin does not run away from the issue and eventually resolves the situation and I would only hope that these posts will humble him a bit. The most important thing when dealing with people is communication. Always answer inquiries. Even if the answer you have for your client isn't something they want to hear, a bad answer is better than no answer at all. Like Sean, I work in sales as well. I work for a major HVAC distributor with hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars at stake. Peoples demands and expectations can get rediculous, but if you keep good communication, they respect that you are working with them to make things flow smoothly. Even on a smaller level such as these, communication and honesty is important. Maybe even more so when you're dealing with something that has sentimental value to the customer.
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Post by John Greybeard on Nov 12, 2010 1:24:58 GMT
This is not to minimize or discount the experiences and observations of others, but every exchange I've had with Kevin has been very positive. His enthusiasm and prompt responces have energized every project we've worked on together, and I'm looking forward to many more.
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Post by danmasamori on Nov 13, 2010 15:34:22 GMT
I have never dealt with Kevin myself, however I have heard some very good things about his work. Perhaps if Kevin was having personal issues that may been getting in the way, he should not have been excepting commissions for custom work at that time, just my 2 cents worth....
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avery
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Post by avery on Nov 15, 2010 19:25:16 GMT
To the OP; I was just curious as to what you thought of the quality of the work once you recieved it. I see you haven't done a follow up post and think that many of us would like to know the final outcome.
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Post by deejay on Nov 29, 2010 22:40:28 GMT
Kevin-the tsuka arrived a short time ago.Held up in customs I believe-no faultthere.Sir,it is without a doubt the tightest tsukemaki I have ever held-the reshaping of the tsuka itself is exceptional-it is a thing of beauty.Very comfortable in the hand-gracefully and elegantly done.However-it is not wraped katatemaki!!But none the less a beautiful job.My complaint was not of the craftsmanship but of the lack of communication-Kevin,please feel free to post the photos you sent to show the differance.Again,I will repeat-in all things pertaining to the katana I bow to Kevins vast knowledge in this area and would gladly accept his advice in all matters pertaining to the katana without question.Its handling,its construction-the how tos of customizing.
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