In early September 2011, I was looking for a local gunsmith to correct an accuracy problem with my…read moreRemington Model 700 30.06.
Based on the recommendation of a friend, I took the rifle to the Michael Fix.
I didn't meet with Mr. Fix himself, as it seems that his wife handles the PR & business end of the shop.
She asked all the pertinent questions in order to relay the history to her husband. This being done, I left the shop with a good first impression, pleased in the assumption that my accuracy trouble would soon be a thing of the past.
I was told that the diagnosis & repair might take "a while" because Mr. Fix was fairly busy. With this in mind, I put the matter on the back burner and focused on bow hunting as the leaves began to change color and September gave way to October.
It wasn't until late October that I began to become a bit uneasy as to the status of my repair job. With no word at all from Fix (or wife), the cold realization came over me that my rifle may not be back in my hands in time for the upcoming November bear season.
Fortunately, I am one of those people who has been blessed with a nice gun safe and an assortment of rifles within it, so finding an alternate to hunt with was not difficult.
What DID bother me greatly was the absence of this particular gun (this gun which was used to harvest my first deer (buck) AND my first bear. Call it silly superstition if you will, but outdoorsmen are a superstitious lot, and the loss of a favorite rod or gun is generally considered bad medicine; a bad JuJu, if you will.
If this still fails to make sense, imagine hitting a hole-in-one with your fathers favorite club, or placing a collar on your beautiful new dog which had belonged to your best friend who was put down the previous Fall.
We place an emotional value on these objects, and as long as we are human, that will never change.
Back to the story. November came, and still I tried to be patient, knowing that if the rifle scope had to be sent back to the Manufacturer (Leupold), it would add greatly to the required repair time.
I called the shop in late November, and was met with a somewhat dazed sounding response from Mrs. Fix which basically amounted to "Why are you calling us? This is odd. Did you expect the job to be done ALREADY? It's only been three months. Don't be so unreasonable; We'll get to it when we get to it."
Before the conversation ended, I was reminded yet again that Mr. Fix was "busy", and that the job would most likely be completed by the end of December. At this point, I had lowered my expectations drastically, and was just relieved to hear that they hadn't lost the rifle or destroyed it.
As expected, December came and went with nary a whisper or peep from Fix, as the new year rang in and my ridiculous, insulting situation became even stranger and more frustrating.
The farce continued through JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, and finally into APRIL, when I'd had enough. A small part of me was curious to see just how long Fix might drag the job out (thinking we might end up with a page or two in the Guinness Book), but after SEVEN (7) MONTHS (yes, seven months; September 2011 - April 2012), my patience & good nature had long since run out.
I called the shop and asked if the job was complete. Answer: "No". Next question: "Did Mr. Fix even START the job, or even pick the rifle up IN SEVEN MONTHS TIME and LOOK at it? Answer: "NO".
I'm not generally a nasty person nor would I ever direct foul language at a female, but this was a monumental exercise in restraint, which I passed (barely!).
I asked if someone would be in the shop if I came right over to pick the rifle up, and was told yes. A short time later I was pulling into the same driveway that I had pulled into THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
Most reputable businesses, when it's been established that they've failed you or wronged you somehow, bend over backwards to correct their wrongdoing and make you "whole".
What did I get from the Michael D. Fix Gunshop? Nothing. Zip, zilch, nada. Just a blank stare from Mrs. Fix and a reiteration of the lame "we were busy" excuse. MY needs were of NO importance to them.
After being misled & strung along for seven long months, they should have made my job priority #1 and done it for FREE as a gesture of good will and a greatly deserved apology. Instead, I was handed a dusty rifle (they DO collect dust when they're thrown in a corner and ignored for the better part of a year), and bid goodbye.
The point of the story is that if they were far too busy to EVER work on my rifle, I should've been honestly told so at the outset. I WAS told that it might take "a while", but nowhere within the fragile realm of sanity would anyone expect a simple accuracy check to take SEVEN MONTHS (seven months on the way to FOREVER, until I pulled the plug).
Ironic that his last name is "Fix" because that's the ONE d*mn thing he DOESN'T DO!
If you need gun work done, this joker should be your absolute LAST choice on earth!!!