Seriously, such a simple thing.....

[Daisey-Bogie]

Seriously, it is too much to ask that your ferrier calls you back? I have now left 3 messages. 1 on the cell number of the guy that actually comes out and trims and 2 on the guy who does the scheduling, and have never received a call back. Should I call it quits with them? The messages were left, 1st 3 weeks ago, 2nd last Friday, 3rd, Monday, and today is Thursday. I know these guys are good which is why I like ussing them, but not returning calls is annoying. I am a secretary for a BUSY company and I will even admit I may sometimes not call back the same day, but I will call the next day and at least say sorry i missed you, I was out call me back. All I want is 2 barefoot trims. so If I need to move on, who do I call in southeast Pa. Particular Chester County? HELP! am I overreating, which My husband thinks I am. The last time I had them come out I also had to leave multiple messages.

[Lavender Menace]

That is really crappy customer service on their part. Are they the only reputable farriers in your area? If so, maybe they know they can get away with it. I would find someone else ASAP.

[Donkey]

Two trims isn't a lot of work so it might be a lack of motivation for them. Can you offer to trailer your horses to another barn where they are working? That might get you in quicker and a reply.

[BornToRide]

I hope he's OK - has he had a history of being flakey about returning phone calls? Or perhaps it is his way of saying I don't want to service your horses anymore? All possible............

[NowThatsATrot]

Huh. Sounds like you have one of the same farriers I used to have.

I actually fired two for that reason. They ignored my calls for 3-4 weeks and suddenly my horse was going on week 10 between trims and I was calling around to find someone else in the area. Unacceptable, for a horse that grows as much foot as mine does.

I always showed up to hold my horse (who always stands politely, and usually naps), paid cash on the spot, even helped hold/fetch other boarders' horses occasionally, so it's not like we were a bother. With the second guy, I found out he was actually showing up to do other people's horses, and still ignoring my calls and my horse. It's not like my horse was a barefoot pasture puff, either, as some of his other clients were. (Not that pasture puffs aren't important, but these horses could have afforded an extra week or even two.) He was in moderate to heavy work and missed a lot of time because I didn't want to risk injuring him with his toes so long, or after pulling off shoes because they were going tappy-tappy.

[equusus]

HELP! am I overreating, .

Maybe Weight Watchers can help?:lol:
Sorry, couldn't resist....

On topic, I would move on. The farrier obviously doesn't care.:no: Find one that does.
Ask around your local barns and tack/feed stores.

[horsestablereview]

I've very rarely had a farrier that was good on the phone. Haha. That also goes for a lot of bodyworkers....I just keep calling and sometimes nagging.

I've also found that paying on time, or day of usually motivates a lot of people to come out and do the work. Sometimes I'll even give them a tip. This REALLY helps.

[2 tbs]

I'd probably leave one more message letting him know how despearate Thunder is for a trim and maybe even ask if he can suggest other comparable trimmers if his schedule is just too full right now (it's show season and if you are in an area with lots of shows maybe he's travelling around more?? - giving the benefit of the doubt here...even though I've dealt with some really crappy farries over the years--have had some great ones too though!)

After that, I'd be checking with vets and tack shops or even friends to see who they suggest. Unfortunately that's just how it goes sometimes with farriers - it's not right mind you, but many of them forget they work for you and obviously, if they aren't calling you back, they don't need to work for you ;) It's a good thing they all aren't like that!!

[Daisey-Bogie]

I have actually thought of everything everyone has said. My barefoot trims are not as important, they are busy, but come on pick up a phone and let me know. So who would any of you recommend? If anyone wants to know who it is just send me a pm.

[JohnDeere]

Its not just you.

Our area is small so all the farriers are well known, actually everyone knows everyone. The farrier we use is the only good one left and its because hes been trained by the best. But he has to many barns & tries to do to much at each barn. Trainer had to reach thru the phone & slap him before he wold return a call. We have a lot of horses so its not chump change to him.

I dont know if all farriers are like this but vets sure arent...:lol:

[AEM74]

Unfortunately, I think farriers in general are notorious for this sort of thing. I adore the farrier that I have now. Not only is she good but I call her once and although she only calls me back about half the time, I know that she'll be out to re-set my horse within a week or so of the phone call. I don't need to be at the barn when she works on him so frankly, I don't care if she calls me back or not. My horse has nice feet so it's just a straight forward re-set and I know she'll call if she notices something NQR with him.

Numerous calls over the span of three weeks and still no response? I think I'd be shopping around for a new farrier. I had that happen once years ago. The issue was that this particular farrier had become pretty hifalootin (in his mind) and he just didn't have the interest in re-setting my non-A-circuit horse anymore. Would have been nice if he had diplomatically communicated that to me, but I figured it out on my own quickly enough and it all worked out in the end.

[JB]

It's well worth at least trying a few more times to get hold of him/them.

Cell phone service, and voice mail delivery, is not a given, 100% reliable thing. So, he may really not have gotten your message.

The guy who does the scheduling may think the farrier called you back already.

It may be a simple issue that has nothing to do with "only" 2 trims and a lack of desire.

If you like this guy, and he's been reliable to this point, this one incident is likely not worth firing him over.

[fourmares]

It's a well known fact that farriers are afraid of dialing the phone... dunno why.

[MardiGrasTimeStable]

OK listening to you guys makes me SUPER grateful for my farrier who has always returned phone calls within 48 hours, or left a message on his vm that he was out of town until xx-day. I went through a number of farriers before finding him through word of mouth and in the 3 years I've been using him I can honestly say I've never dealt with a farrier who UNDERSTANDS the value of returning calls.

[Seven-up]

I recently had to cut my farrier loose (well, I just quit calling him since he wouldn't call back) and get another guy to come out. First farrier is great, does fantastic work, hysterical, but my last 2 shoeings were both 12 weeks apart. :eek: He didn't make appointments ahead of time, and when you called a week before they were due, like he asked, you couldn't find him, and he didn't have voicemail.

So, this last time, I called him every day for about 10 days, then just let it go. I hope he's ok, but barring that, he either didn't want to come out for 3 horses or is too busy or something. He always said my horses were a joy to work on, so I don't think that played into it. But who knows?

Anyway, my new farrier (old, actually, I used him years ago) has a secretary. She calls you back the same day or the next day. You have to call early because he's booked about a month in advance, but the return calls are fantastic. They are really on the ball.

So yeah, maybe try him a few more times and then find someone else. If this is a freak occurance, I'd let it go, but if this is becoming a pattern, find someone new.

[ponyjumper4]

And sometimes they're just real people with their own problems or other things going on in their personal lives. My hay person didn't get up with me for a long time and it wasn't like her either. Turns out her mother was very sick. Certainly a good reason for not returning my calls or emails.