Moderator: BullWhipBorton
I'm still pacing madly too, waiting for Bernardo to finish one I have on order from him.DarenHenryW wrote: Bernardo hasn't finished my whips, so obviously they haven't even shipped.
On the minus side, my 2nd offspring will arrive any day now so I may not be awake enough to use it.
BaptisteTheFool wrote:Graeme says a tracking number would be fine and that it's his usual practice anyway.
I didn't mention you, Daren, but considering he says he always sends tracking numbers, perhaps double-check your inbox? Might you have overlooked it?
InexorableTash wrote:I'm still pacing madly too, waiting for Bernardo to finish one I have on order from him.DarenHenryW wrote: Bernardo hasn't finished my whips, so obviously they haven't even shipped.
On the plus side, the rainy reason may have ended by the time it arrives.
ZackC wrote:Hello everyone.. Im new here but thought I would chime in about ordering a whip. I live in the US and I ordered a whip from Mike Murphy. I placed my order on Dec 8 i think..give or take a few days. Mike told me he could have it made and shipped before Christmas and would also arrive before then too. It was a 7' 8 plait Austrailian Bullwhip if that helps with my point. I went ahead and placed the order and much to my surprise I got it Monday before Christmas. I was really pleased that he could make the whip and ship before the holidays. He had told me that he clears his books just for the holiday season. Just thought I would give you an idea of what the shipping time was on that whip. I plan on ordering more whips from him in the future too. The next one is gonna be a 10' 12 plait Indy whip as soon as I can.
That burns my backside. This is what I'm going through with Mike, not Bernardo or Graeme. Graeme's last message to me was that it already shipped. I'm assuming that weather and shipping problems, customs, etc, is what is keeping my order from me. Bernardo has not told me that his package has shipped yet and has explained his reasons, which are understandable. Mike keeps telling me he is about to, but never quite says that he has. You would think by now that I'd feel that I'm being ripped off, but we talk on the phone almost once a week, and I know for a fact that he has fulfilled at least two orders for Anthony DeLongis in this time. (what do we talk about and where are my whips? That's a story I'm saving for when either my whips show up or I get my money back!) Needless to say, these whips better be amazing, because at this point, I doubt I will order from him again regardless. These kinds of shenanigans I don't need in life from strangers living in Michigan making whips that I also don't really need. 
Wait a minute, I think the destroyed by "customs" whip scenario actually happened long ago to a member here didn't it?rawvoodoo wrote:I also had a dream last night. More of a nightmare really. I dreamt that I got my whip from bernardo and it had
a big red sticker on the box saying that it had been inspected by Homeland Security. When I opened it I found
that they had unbraided the entire thing.
Indiana County Jr. wrote:Wait a minute, I think the destroyed by "customs" whip scenario actually happened long ago to a member here didn't it?rawvoodoo wrote:I also had a dream last night. More of a nightmare really. I dreamt that I got my whip from bernardo and it had
a big red sticker on the box saying that it had been inspected by Homeland Security. When I opened it I found
that they had unbraided the entire thing.
Indiana County Jr. wrote:Wait a minute, I think the destroyed by "customs" whip scenario actually happened long ago to a member here didn't it?rawvoodoo wrote:I also had a dream last night. More of a nightmare really. I dreamt that I got my whip from bernardo and it had
a big red sticker on the box saying that it had been inspected by Homeland Security. When I opened it I found
that they had unbraided the entire thing.
Indiana County Jr. wrote:Folks,
I don't think Mike understands how this can impact him on future customers. Word of mouth can completely destroy a business if you are not careful when taking care of unhappy customers. He should atleast offer a compensation of some sort to atleast save face for himself.
Allen
rawvoodoo wrote:
I also had a dream last night. More of a nightmare really. I dreamt that I got my whip from bernardo and it had
a big red sticker on the box saying that it had been inspected by Homeland Security. When I opened it I found
that they had unbraided the entire thing.
tomek9210 wrote:Definitely to much fibbing for my taste. If I were you, I'd like to have my cash back. It's ridiculous, whips will be done in 5 weeks, sorry no, 5 months; they are already sent, sorry no, something got messed up, they aren't sent; wow Darren, I admire your patience. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but better be prepared for total failure
louiefoxx wrote:Daren,
Interesting he didn't send pics. In about the same time it would take to write " Sorry for not sending pics but i'm just so busy up to christmas" he could have snapped a pic and attached it.
Your situation has motivated me to send you the pics I took of you when you were up here in August. They're in the mail on Monday morning...you'll get a something whip related next week!
Louie
We're in the same boat, Doug. Bernardo is a sweet guy, and a very talented whipmaker. I think he makes promises because he genuinely believes he can fulfill them, but he just has had a lot personal stuff getting in the way lately. I don't like it anymore than you do. But I have complete faith in him. On thing that's good about Bernardo though, is that he will give you a tracking number and tell when it has shipped, and he usually sends photos. When you get that, you know its only a matter a couple of weeks away. I haven't got that yet, but I'm sure it will be soon. He too hasn't finished the overlay on my whips either. On one of my past whips, I know he redid the overlay once or twice because he is a perfectionist. And I must say, it was worth the wait.rawvoodoo wrote:This is really frustrating. I was told in the beginning that it would be 4 or 5 weeks and I would have it by the end of October. Since then I have been told 2 or 3 times that it would be a week till it was done and that all that needs done is the overlay. I hate to say it but its starting to feel like I am being told only what I want to hear. I guess that there's nothing left to do but wait and
I feel your pain man. I was originally told it would take 30 days to complete my whip from the date of order. It is now going on 11 months, he will not respond to emails, and now I learn his phone is disconnected.rawvoodoo wrote:This is really frustrating. I was told in the beginning that it would be 4 or 5 weeks and I would have it by the end of October. Since then I have been told 2 or 3 times that it would be a week till it was done and that all that needs done is the overlay. I hate to say it but its starting to feel like I am being told only what I want to hear. I guess that there's nothing left to do but wait and
](./images/smilies/Indy_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
kwad wrote:
Not being able to get ahold of Graeme is beginning to worry me as well.
I'm starting to think that it is time to kiss my money good bye.
Daren if you wish to submit an official complaint we can send him a warning. Realistically what we can do if he doesn’t respond or make the situation right is revoke his vendor status and either suspend or ban him from Club Obi-Wan. However if he has pulled a disappearing act (he hasn’t logged in to the site since December 21st 2010) that doesn’t do much good for those who already have orders pending. Unfortunately out side of those actions we don't have a way to force him honor an order or reimburse payment.DarenHenryW wrote:That said, perhaps the moderators have some muscle they could exercise here? Dan? What can be done if this goes on much longer and more people with outstanding orders are left out to dry?
Perfectly well spoken and handled, Dan, just as I knew you would. Thank you for checking in here and laying it down for all of us who are concerned. As to your comment that its best to do business with professional whip makers, I think you are very right about that. I'm learning that the hard way with Graeme and Mike Brower, who isn't even a member here. For me, having purchased whips from the likes of Terry Jacka, David Morgan, Joe Strain, and Bernardo Del Carpio, amongst others, I felt that seeing what some budding whip makers had to offer didn't seem like a big deal. Indeed, my first order with Graeme was hassle-free and satisfying. He sure made a fantastic whip for an unbelievable price and was a strong and respectful communicator. I use the whip all the time in fact; after almost a year of serious use (and even a little abuse) it's holding up and still performing very well. I honestly still don't believe that Graeme is attempting to take the money and run with my follow up order. In fact, I'm still 90% sure that my whips are literally stuck in transit as I type this. I hardly think that Graeme never sent them. The fact that he posted a picture of one of the whips he made for me doesn't really prove anything, but its something . . .BullWhipBorton wrote:Daren if you wish to submit an official complaint we can send him a warning. Realistically what we can do if he doesn’t respond or make the situation right is revoke his vendor status and either suspend or ban him from Club Obi-Wan. However if he has pulled a disappearing act (he hasn’t logged in to the site since December 21st 2010) that doesn’t do much good for those who already have orders pending. Unfortunately out side of those actions we don't have a way to force him honor an order or reimburse payment.DarenHenryW wrote:That said, perhaps the moderators have some muscle they could exercise here? Dan? What can be done if this goes on much longer and more people with outstanding orders are left out to dry?
Sadly I’ve seen these situations before, some whip makers tend to be all talk and little action, others just get in over their heads and can’t handle the work load with whips being ordered, paid for in full and either taking years to arrive, or never arriving at all. We are all human and sometimes things happen, delays occur, its inevitable but there is no justification for a lack of communication, especially when compiled with mistakes and excuses.
Hind sight is 20/20 but this might be a good time to stress the importance doing business with professional whip makers who not only have experience, but who have also established themselves with both good reputations and solid business practices. You may pay a little more, but you are guaranteed quality and seldom if ever have to deal with this type of drama and uncertainty with orders. With all that said though, I do hope this all works out and that you get the whips you ordered sooner rather then later and they meet your expectations.
Dan
Btw I like the new matched pair.
Yes, with Bernardo, it's definitely WORTH the WAIT!!! Without question!Noah wrote:Man those are some great looking whips there Daren! Great job Bernardo!
