[matteusz]

In case anyone hasn't seen this:

http://www.akalmp.com/

Mark posted they will be going to load up the stock later this week I believe it was.

Looking forward to seeing what yall do with all that old stock and new ideas.

[jp8900]

Thats awesome news! Was afraid the brand wasn't gonna survive. Excited to see what the future holds.

[Dark Side]

Holy ****! That is outstanding news!



Now where is that EvilM milling?

[Spartan X]

Glad to see the company did not just fall off the map. That you Jared for keeping AKA Alive!

[Wizardry]

Happy & Disappointed

I am happy to hear that AKA will live on but am disappointed that the business was sold to Destructive Customs.

I am not trying in any way to bash DC but here are the Pros & Cons as I have seen them over several years.

Pros:
1) Jared does excellent work on milling
2) DC has been around a long time
3) AKA lives on through DC
4) Jared is a nice guy

Cons:
1) Jared does not write anything done so you can't rely on anything he says.
2) Promises are never kept - A friend of mine had a Viking milled by DC and it took over 1.5 years and too many phone calls to list to get done.
3) There is always some excuse as to why things don't get done in a reasonable amount of time, i.e. (sick, family issues, full time job, etc.). If you are in business you are in business and customer service requires that you satisfy the customer, not provide a endless list of excuses
4) We are now limited to getting parts from one source. AKA use to ship almost immediately.
5) The web site is up and down like a yoyo. When it is down it takes forever to get it back up. If you are in business you back things up and then can restore them in short order.
6) Customer service on milling promises is a -10, in terms of getting your marker back in any reasonable amount of time, even when you wait till DC is not busy.


I hope the folks at DC read this and see it as an opportunity to improve but old habits are hard to break.

Wizardry

[Warwitch]

In DC's defense, the only real fault of theirs is a tendency to overcommit. But having said that, they really do want to please everyone. Waiting is the hardest part of getting custom work done in ANY hobby/field. And while you may wait a while, you know they wont sacrifice quality just to get it out the door.

Getting custom work done takes A LOT of patience on the customers part in just about any field. Small shops that do good work typically function in a similar fashion. Its just the nature of the creative minds doing the work and I can totally relate to that.

[Wizardry]

Warwich....with all due respect...in business there is no defense for what I stated in my post. There is no reason for a -10 customer service. No matter how good the finished product is or how low the price is when customer service is this poor it is a way of life which is not acceptable in the business world.

This is completely opposite to the standard set by AKA when they were making markers and handling all the parts.

[Warwitch]

Being a business owner, I typically agree. Im always good on my deadlines. But I don't do 'custom'. And I can appreciate the delays and logistic problems with that kind of work.

One of my major points is this: Were not talking about retail or cookie-cutter work here. Things take longer than expected in the custom world. Always. After my first couple of projects (and much irritation) I learned the best way to get what you want done right is to let these guys do it at their own pace. ANd I don't just mean DC. Ive had custom car parts made, archery supplies, tac gear, etc. If patience is not one of your strong points then STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM CUSTOM WORK! Such work is usually done by a handful of guys in their spare time. If you consign to having work done knowing this (and that delays are the usual) then your irritation is as much your fault as theirs.

Back OT, Im glad to see that the name will carry on. And that the work that is done will be to the standard we have come to expect from AKA.

["T-MAC"]

I've gotta go with Wiz on this one. The only thing stopping me from trying to get work done from DC (albeit beautiful work) was their horrendous wait times and lack of communication. If you cant do the work, then don't. If they are trying to please everyone, they're effectively pleasing no one.

That said, I do wish them the best and hope to see some awesome new products.

[Wizardry]

Warwick I think you missed my whole point. The point is customer service and has nothing to due with "custom" or "patience." Customer service is meeting the needs of the customer, period! Whether it is "custom" or not.

BTW...the same mill jobs are being done over and over again so I would argue this is standard. As a matter of fact the mill jobs are shown on the web site, so they are cookie cutter. I spent over 25 years in the manufacturing sector so I know from experience what it takes to make a standard or custom product.

Wizardry

[Wizardry]

T-Mac, you stated it exactly to the point!

Wizardry

[haxorwear]

Originally Posted by Wizardry

Warwick I think you missed my whole point. The point is customer service and has nothing to due with "custom" or "patience." Customer service is meeting the needs of the customer, period! Whether it is "custom" or not.

BTW...the same mill jobs are being done over and over again so I would argue this is standard. As a matter of fact the mill jobs are shown on the web site, so they are cookie cutter. I spent over 25 years in the manufacturing sector so I know from experience what it takes to make a standard or custom product.

Wizardry

Buying parts from DC has always been a timely experience. What makes you think getting pre-made sidewindersor other parts will be any different?

There's a big difference between having to machine something and having pre-built stock to ship out. Jared's always been great at the latter. The former? Not a rocketship when it comes to that, but he's been ok. I've had guns go see Jared for 18mos before, and it doesn't bother me. I expect gunsmithing/milling/machining work to take time, and I always get the result I wanted back from him.

Someone once described machine shop ownership as 99% repairing broken machines and 1% doing machining work. I think it is a good description -- if it were really as simple as people think it is, everyone would go buy machines and space and some electrical drops and mass produce parts to amass a fortune. That's just not realistic, though.

Could he do better? Probably.
Will he? I think he probably feels some pressure to do better now that he carries the AKA brand, too.
Is anyone's experience with him "the standard"? I don't think so.

I'll keep giving him my business. I'm patient, he does quality work, and he's a really nice guy who cares about this niche of the paintball world. We're lucky to have him -- everyone else abandoned us long ago.

[Auctionjunkie!]

I can safely presume that no one in this thread complaining/informing about extended wait times has ever done any business with Doc Nickel!

[Warwitch]

Word. Creative minds don't make the best business men. But that's not why we take our business there either.

[haxorwear]

Originally Posted by Auctionjunkie!

I can safely presume that no one in this thread complaining/informing about extended wait times has ever done any business with Doc Nickel!

Ok, seriously, I was laughing out loud in my chair for like 2 minutes straight after reading this.

[PsychoToad]

Awesome!!!!!

[T-killa]

Sweet, so does this mean it will be a one stop shop?
That could be very convenient

Cheers to a new chapter!