A letter to Shawn Gately and Blue Table Painting

Shawn, Thank you for the prompt response. When you get back into the office can you clarify the timeline for me? We are apparently operating under different expectations regarding how quickly this project will be completed. 1. On 8/17/13 you said “Turnaround would be 1-2 weeks. However, I think it could be faster than that, since I have found the models locally. I've got them on hold for me at a local shop. If you checked in every three days I am confident it could be done within the coming week. But I'd need you to check in.” 2. On 8/24/13 you said “Got your Instructions and your Marauders are on order, thank you. I'm out to Valhalla this coming week, but as soon as I'm back everything should be in and a go.” At this point I had added two models to the project and you were waiting for them to arrive. 3. Again on 8/24/13 you said “It will be six days for your Marauders to arrive. There will be nothing to report I'm sorry to say.” At this point you had my deposit, my instructions, and I assumed were six days from project start. Based on your original email to me which said, “Matthew, Hey there, thought you might be interested in this. I am reaching out to a few clients from years past. I have put together a small team of artists, plus myself to take a few no-waiting projects. This includes Joseph (a master miniatures painter) and Renn (a master assembler).” I was given to understand that as soon as my deposit and models were in hand your veteran team would start on the project with a 1-2 week completion date, sooner if I called regularly. As of 8/24/13, that would mean assembly and painting of my five models should have begun approximately 8/30/13, 9/3/13 if delayed till after the holiday. According to your most recent email 9/7/13, “I just got in from Comic Con and it's super-late, but I wanted you to know I got this email. I talked with Mike D. about your project today and he's on standby to start it up this coming week. All is well. I will re-read this and re-respond again soon....” My models have been sitting for the last week with your master team with no work being done. So everything is not “well.” So you can understand where I’m coming from here, I’ve recently read some extremely critical reviews of BTP, its employees, and the quality of its finished product. I’ve spent more than $3,000 with you and BTP in the past. While there were issues, the projects generally were satisfactorily completed. I undertook this project with the expectation that the best of the best were standing by to begin work on my battle group. That is apparently not the case. This lends credence to every poor review I’ve read—all from the last 12 months. Simply put, I feel like I have been misled. You pushed for my deposit and now that you have my money the project isn’t a priority. I specifically went with BTP because of your quoted turn around and your claim that master artisans were on staff to handle my project. As of today, the first was apparently false advertising and the second is in question. I’m not trying to force your hand. As a concerned customer on your supposed short list I want you to understand how this looks. Going forward, please set realistic expectations and meet them. My future patronage and thousands of dollars are dependent on your ability to deliver on these promises. Please provide a revised start and completion date for this project. Sincerely, Matthew Nixon