Bowers Service

[Member13]

Anyone have experience sending a can back to them for work? Asking because mine have been there for a long time.....like so long I am ready to ask for them to be sent back to me as is.

 

[arch stanton]

Tom Bowers is a good guy and does great work.

Why dont you call him and see what is going on.

 

[Member13]

Tom Bowers is a good guy and does great work.

Why dont you call him and see what is going on.

Last time we spoke on the phone he told me he hasn't even started them yet....that was in December. I don't want to rush them because I understand they are backed up but at this point it is almost time to ask for them back as is.

Sent out to him on 10/16/2021

 

[arch stanton]

That is up to you. I would wait until he can get to it.

 

[Jmacken37]

Cheap, fast, good work...pick 2!

Seriously, though, I hear you on how much it sucks to wait. That being said, Tom Bowers has developed an excellent reputation in the NFA community for a reason.

 

[Member13]

Cheap, fast, good work...pick 2!

Seriously, though, I hear you on how much it sucks to wait. That being said, Tom Bowers has developed an excellent reputation in the NFA community for a reason.

There are no excuses for taking this long....don't care what his rep is, to me it is bad and I will never buy another product of theirs or recommend them to anyone.

 

[nklf]

When you sent it in did he give you a firm turnaround time? I don’t like waiting but I’m getting used to it in the NFA world. Who you do business with is your business and I’m not trying to change your mind. I’m just trying to understand if Bowers missed a deadline or if you are just upset about the wait. When my contractor tells me it’s a one week job and he’s not finished 3 weeks later I’m pissed. Not because it took so long but because I made plans based on his missed deadline.

 

[Member13]

When you sent it in did he give you a firm turnaround time? I don’t like waiting but I’m getting used to it in the NFA world. Who you do business with is your business and I’m not trying to change your mind. I’m just trying to understand if Bowers missed a deadline or if you are just upset about the wait. When my contractor tells me it’s a one week job and he’s not finished 3 weeks later I’m pissed. Not because it took so long but because I made plans based on his missed deadline.

No timeline was discussed....I take responsibility for that. I was naïve to this in the NFA world. I would have thought that if it normally takes a long time he would have told me in the many emails and phone discussions we had....before I sent my items.

 

[A&S Conversions]

No timeline was discussed....I take responsibility for that. I was naïve to this in the NFA world. I would have thought that if it normally takes a long time he would have told me in the many emails and phone discussions we had....before I sent my items.

So you never asked for a turnaround time but it is taking longer than you feel it should? I guess you were naive. Complaining publicly about a business of your lack of foresight seems unfair to me. He has been in the business a very long time. As such, I am sure there is some element of this work being a "job". How many others have a myriad of questions to answer in emails? I would imagine that the time to answer those questions eats into the time he has to actually do machine time. Who knows what is going on in his life. This has certainly been a learning experience for you. Next time I would imagine you would ask for a time frame instead of complaining on a public forum. I am sure many have stories of much longer turnaround time when delivery dates were exceeded by years. I do.

Scott

Scott

 

[Gaujo]

I've had great experiences with Bowers. Fixed an endcap strike I hadn't even noticed, swapped stack, cleaned up threads and returned. Just paid 1 way shipping from my end. Gave me the confidence to buy my .22 can from him. Might have been 4 to 6 weeks. This is a small community, and I've learned it's a good idea to call first.

 

[Member13]

So you never asked for a turnaround time but it is taking longer than you feel it should? I guess you were naive. Complaining publicly about a business of your lack of foresight seems unfair to me. He has been in the business a very long time. As such, I am sure there is some element of this work being a "job". How many others have a myriad of questions to answer in emails? I would imagine that the time to answer those questions eats into the time he has to actually do machine time. Who knows what is going on in his life. This has certainly been a learning experience for you. Next time I would imagine you would ask for a time frame instead of complaining on a public forum. I am sure many have stories of much longer turnaround time when delivery dates were exceeded by years. I do.

Scott

Scott

So you never asked for a turnaround time but it is taking longer than you feel it should? I posted above about why I didn't ask.
I guess you were naive. Complaining publicly about a business of your lack of foresight seems unfair to me. He has been in the business a very long time. As such, I am sure there is some element of this work being a "job". Yet he doesn't take into consideration us newbies and inform us prior to sending them in that there is a very long wait.
How many others have a myriad of questions to answer in emails? I don't understand what you are asking.
I would imagine that the time to answer those questions eats into the time he has to actually do machine time. Who knows what is going on in his life. That is exactly why I didn't bother him for a long time about it, just started to wonder and I called and he said he hasn't even started on them.
This has certainly been a learning experience for you. Next time I would imagine you would ask for a time frame instead of complaining on a public forum. There will not be a next time

 

[Member13]

I've had great experiences with Bowers. Fixed an endcap strike I hadn't even noticed, swapped stack, cleaned up threads and returned. Just paid 1 way shipping from my end. Gave me the confidence to buy my .22 can from him. Might have been 4 to 6 weeks. This is a small community, and I've learned it's a good idea to call first.

I have learned that now....but will never send them back to him

 

[Kramer]

So you never asked for a turnaround time but it is taking longer than you feel it should? I posted above about why I didn't ask.
I guess you were naive. Complaining publicly about a business of your lack of foresight seems unfair to me. He has been in the business a very long time. As such, I am sure there is some element of this work being a "job". Yet he doesn't take into consideration us newbies and inform us prior to sending them in that there is a very long wait.
How many others have a myriad of questions to answer in emails? I don't understand what you are asking.
I would imagine that the time to answer those questions eats into the time he has to actually do machine time. Who knows what is going on in his life. That is exactly why I didn't bother him for a long time about it, just started to wonder and I called and he said he hasn't even started on them.
This has certainly been a learning experience for you. Next time I would imagine you would ask for a time frame instead of complaining on a public forum. There will not be a next time

Yes, this has been a learning curve for you, but keep in mind that gunsmiths are horrendous at keeping to any timeline and a few border on being a disgrace. This has nothing to do with their actual work, that's another issue.

Besides giving you a price for the work, shipping costs etc, it is really their responsibility to inform the prospective customer of the back log in the shop and an estimate of how long it will take. But many see $$$ and take in all the work they can and complete it whenever they can. A few horror stories of guys sending out parts kits for builds, sit around a for a year or three then have to fight to get their stuff back without being built. No excuse for that much time.

 

[A&S Conversions]

... There will not be a next time

Your choice, but I would ask for a time frame. Obviously, neither of you communicated clearly. Maybe since you didn't ask for a time frame, he might have assumed you were in no particular hurry? We can't answer your questions. Maybe Tom could if you asked him. I am sorry that you didn't get the responses that you were hoping for.

Scott

 

[skoda]

Yes, this has been a learning curve for you, but keep in mind that gunsmiths are horrendous at keeping to any timeline and a few border on being a disgrace. This has nothing to do with their actual work, that's another issue.

Besides giving you a price for the work, shipping costs etc, it is really their responsibility to inform the prospective customer of the back log in the shop and an estimate of how long it will take. But many see $$$ and take in all the work they can and complete it whenever they can. A few horror stories of guys sending out parts kits for builds, sit around a for a year or three then have to fight to get their stuff back without being built. No excuse for that much time.

Five months and you are upset? How long did you wait for BATFE to approve the transfer? Nothing in the NFA world goes quickly or even what is considered slow in "the normal world". I had an old Winchester that took over five years to get back and the first guy sent it back to me without doing any work after two years. The next guy took three years but did the work mostly correct after I had to send it back to him a second time. (yah, no more old Winchesters for me). You're not dealing with Walmart or General Motors, places like Bowers are niche producers and are usually one to five person operations. The guy repairing your can is the guy that originally made it and is also the guy that orders the material to make it and is the same guy that sweeps the floor and takes out the trash can every week.

If time was critical you should have asked about how long it would take to do the work. I've called Bowers and spoke to Dorothy. She's extremely friendly and I'm sure would get you a time estimate if you just called.

https://bowersgroup.com/contact-us/
Call us at (503) 992-8697
Monday – Friday 9am-6pm PT
Saturday 10am-4pm PT

 

[Gaujo]

I have learned that now....but will never send them back to him

Lots of big companies getting into the suppressor game that can service your needs, nothing to worry about. I just like when I do business to be able to talk to the proprietor on the phone. Something special about that for me, but I hear Silencerco does really fast turn around.

 

[Member13]

Got the cans back late last month. I haven't shot them all but they all look good.