Public Image

[Tristate]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-08-15 AT 01:29PM (MST)[p]Before I start this let me be clear. We all know that I am a taxidermist and as an occupation we tend to be some of the messiest people on earth. None the less I really do try and break from that stigma and keep my shop somewhat organized. IT IS EXTREMELY HARD TO DO SO. However I am encouraged when people visit my shop and claim it is the cleanest taxidermy shop they have ever been to. I always know I can make it more organized and cleaner and the more work and employees I have the harder that goal is to achieve.

So this last weekend I am flicking through the channels and I stopped on the television show "Best of the West". Typically I am not that thrilled about watching the show but I noticed they were showing how they build rifles. I love watching people build things, anything. I love to watch the show "How its Made". So naturally I locked on to see. I have seen many outdoor shows where the hosts visit a shop that manufactures whatever widget for the outdoor industry. I notice how clean and organized these shops are and I watch with admiration as they machine an item to a 10000th of an inch tolerance in a room you could perform surgery in without fear. But this shop wasn't like that. In fact it was an absolute pig sty. Oily junk was piled on the benches a foot deep. Now I know we can all get a little messy at times but this is a nationwide TV show. It was like Budweiser decided they didn't need to put make up on the models in the adds and it is just a little too much to ask for them to shave their legs.

It all just seemed like a really dumb business move and not something I would expect from a company in the public eye.

 

[BuzzH]

I could give a chit less what anyone's shop looks like as long as they:

1. Make a quality product at a fair price.

2. Stand behind their work and product.

If they want to work in a suit and tie in a white room cleaned 10x a day...fine with me.

If they want to work in sweats and flip-flops in messy shops...fine with me as well.

The end product is what I'm concerned with...hold the fluff.

 

[travishunter3006]

I can see where you are coming from here Tri.

The best mechanic I ever had had clean hands. His shop followed suit. Everything was in order and put in its place. He always charged less than what the manual told him to charge and shook your hand after word. The only mechanic I have ever known to keep clean hands.

 

[elkassassin]

Hey travis?

Your Mechanic never worked on Chevy's huh?(Oil Slingin Bastards!)

Oh!

I forgot!

Chevy's don't Break!

I Gotta Respect other peoples Properties!

But a House you can't Live in!

Is like!

A Shop you can't Work in!

What'ya Tryin to say Tri?




We laugh, we cry, we love
Go hard when the going's tough
Push back, come push and shove
Knock us down, we'll get back up again and again
We are Members of the Huntin Crowd!

 

[eelgrass]

As a general rule, you can tell the quality of a man's work by how clean he keeps his work area. There are some exceptions I suppose but not very many. And if you're always scrambling to keep up and don't have time for cleanup, that says something too and will eventually catch up to you.

I was given the responsibility of being a saw filer for 20+ years and I always kept the work area clean. Organization was paramount for quick saw changes and quick turn around.

The mill owner was always dropping in unexpectedly and I always felt obligated to keep his $500K machines at least clean and functioning properly.

I always told any new employee who came into the shop that just because we're poor doesn't mean we have to be dirty.

Eel

It's written in the good Book that we'll never be asked to take more than we can. Sounds like a good plan, so bring it on!

 

[2lumpy]

Took the words right out of my mouth Eel. I've worked with numerous out fits and many different people with in them. The guys and gals with the cleanest work area were usually, (not always) the most productive, most efficient, and the quality of their work area almost always reflected the quality of their final product.

Seems to be a habit with folks, they produce what they are.

Wish I could claim the same about myself. Can't! Now my wife.........that's a different deal right there............OCD to the fricking upmost degree.

DC

 

[nontypical]

The taxidermist that I used to use kept a filthy, disgusting shop. I realize that taxidermy is not the cleanest profession, but it was like the guy almost never cleaned the place. If you ever went back into the work area, you had to be careful not to step in some nasty stuff( chemicals, sawdust, blood?, etc) that was on the floor; antlers, horns, etc, etc. I quit using him after he mounted 2 different critters in positions other than what I had ordered. It took him awhile, but the work was always very good.

The guy I use now has the cleanest taxidermy shop I have ever been in. Work is as good or better than the other guy, and turnaround is twice as fast. Plus he's about 1&1/2 hours closer to home.

Personally, I would be kinda ashamed to have people see my workplace looking like the first guy's place.

Point is...I don't think that cleanliness of the workplace is necessarily indicative of work quality. Quality from the dirty shop guy was always top-notch.

 

[nfh]

Its easy to make a pile of crap then you have a room of junk.

I keep my shop/office clean and out in the oil field I pick up everything that I left laying around. I do this cause OSHA is a pain the A$$ to deal with

 

[elkassassin]

So?

Who's GAWD-DAMNED Work Truck is clean enough to eat off the Floor Boards?

My Work Truck is for Work!

It Gets Used!

It Ain't Filthy & I clean it & Wash it every Weekend!

But It Surely Ain't Perfect!

What's the Point Tri?

We're all Different with Different Habits!








We laugh, we cry, we love
Go hard when the going's tough
Push back, come push and shove
Knock us down, we'll get back up again and again
We are Members of the Huntin Crowd!

 

[eelgrass]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-08-15 AT 10:28PM (MST)[p]BTW, the cleanliness rules don't necessarily apply to artists and most of the best taxidermists are artists. That's a different mind set all together. Some of the most artistic people I know are slobs, but their work is brilliant.

Bebop, maybe you're an artistic plumber?

Eel

It's written in the good Book that we'll never be asked to take more than we can. Sounds like a good plan, so bring it on!

 

[Tristate]

Elk,

I thought my opening post summed it up. I will try and restate for you with different words.

Most people when they are going to make an important public appearance centered around marketing their company will put their best foot forward. For some reason "Best of the West" feel that in an industry defined by cleanliness and precision they would rather present an image of filth and disorganization. It seems quite counterproductive to me.

Most men when they get a date with their dream girl will make sure the old McDonalds bags and mud are swept out of their truck before they pick her up.

On another note I recognize that in my business, the cleaner and more organized I got over the years, the more efficient my company ran and the higher quality my product was.

 

[jm77]

If I can sit on the bench and shoot under 1/2MOA groups all day long, who cares what the rifle builders bench looked like? Not me.

If someone looks at my taxidermy work and says "that's the best antelope mount I have ever seen!", does it matter that my work table looks disorganized?

Finished product and reputation are what counts.

 

[Tristate]

JM77,

If your rifle doesn't perform to the level you desire then what do you think?

 

[jm77]

>JM77,
>
>If your rifle doesn't perform to
>the level you desire then
>what do you think?


Under which scenario, dirty or clean bench?

 

[Tristate]

Dirty bench of course.

 

[jm77]

>Dirty bench of course.

I think the same thing, of course; lack of skill or craftsmanship.

If someone who wants a gun built asks the locals who builds a good rifle in central Wyo, the names they are given are not followed by " because he keeps a clean 'bench". The referrals comes from delivering to their clients consistently good shooting rifles.

 

[hossblur]

I wouldn't trust a clean mechanic. If I hire you, and you have a dirty job, yet your clean, who is doing the actual work? As a drywaller, I am covered in mud and dust. My trailer is covered in the stuff as well. However, I have never worked for anyone that cared about anything other than how their walls looked. Besides, its buisness, if you hire a guy and he spends the time to be that clean, do you think he's doing it for free? That kid in his shop that is cleaning up, and tiddying, he is paying him to do so, thusly, YOUR paying him to do so. I prefer the buisnesses that are so focused on what they do, they don't sweat the other stuff. Obviously there are exceptions(grocery store, cafe). Jiffy Lube here in town has a real nice, clean, stocked waiting room, and yet I go on down the road to the shop that smells like oil, has dirty, chew in there mouth, tatooed mechanics for my work, because they spend the time behind a wrench, not a vaccum.

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"