[Harp-L] Why do customizers take so long?

[Matthew Smart <matthewsmart@xxxxxxxxx>]

I've been thinking about posting this for a while. But first, I will say 
that I am grateful for the customers I have and no one has really been 
that nasty to me about timelines. I am posting this for the purpose of 
helpful discussion, with hopes that customer and customizer might share 
their insights. I am not whining, I am not looking to create any 
controversy.  I am also NOT using this as a shameless way to promote 
myself. I am just posting this for the pure purpose of discussion and 
interest. You will see that I name drop 5 other customizers in this post.

So, why do customizers take so long? Here are my reasons:

1) I do certain trade secret things that have a very defined timetable 
per harmonica. i cannot reduce it.

2) To make money at this trade you have to have a queue. It is like a 
pipeline of work. This means that you are always behind! ha ha

3) Where is my harp? emails and calls. I totally understand why people 
do this. But it does pull me off the bench to go look and respond. I 
love Joe Spiers' no whining zone thing he has on his website.

4) Overbend setups, doubleplates, special builds can often be an endless 
time sucking wormhole. They always take longer than I think they will.

5) Distributors don't always have the keys I want; can't always afford 
to have hundreds of harps lying around in stock.

6) I make my own combs, other parts ..this also takes time.

7) I can work on many harps in a day, but I cannot complete a single one 
in one day. I believe that harps need time to settle. You have to make 
sure the tuning doesn't drift. H Its common practice to tune multiple 
times before sending it out. Harvey Berman confirmed this for me years 
ago. Sometimes I wont be happy with a harp, then it will sit for a week. 
I will go back to it and its better. I dont know if this is a settling 
effect or just psychosomatic.

8) R&D _ I dedicate time every month to research new tools, new 
techniques, new harps, new models. etc. I personally believe that if you 
are not moving forward, you are sliding backwards. I was excited about 
the sub30 and then I groaned at the same time because it was something 
new i would have to learn. Thank God Richard Sleigh and Mike Fugazzi 
have made some progress in figuring them out.

9) Marketing- we have to post on forums, work on our websites to get the 
orders coming in.

10) I move when the spirit moves me. I believe customizing is an art and 
I cant always work on them 8 hours a day. Sometimes I have to walk away 
from it for my sanity! Many of us also have other means of making 
income. Not just building harps.

11) REPAIRS! I really admire Joe Spiers policy on placing a high 
priority on repairs. That is awesome. I do the same. He inspires us all.

Now, I am a relative newcomer to this game so I look forward to the more 
experienced have to say.  Lastly, a quiz:

True or False? Emailing/calling your customizer frequently will get your 
harp shipped faster.

Maybe true, but this increases our anxiety level (at least in my case) 
and I can make mistakes or miss certain things if I rush. My best 
clients give me time and are very patient. I am very grateful for that 
and I spoil them by offering extra services and small upgrades.

Regards

p.s. I want to give a shout to Richard Sleigh. I can't live without my 
draw scrapers. Also to Dave Payne for being such a great mentor.

--
hetrickharmonica@xxxxxx
www.hetrickharmonica.com
www.harpcase.com