Gonzalo Fernandez
10-21-2014, 4:19 PM
Two years ago I took a woodworking class here in NC with Gregory Paolini and built a bow arm Morris chair (see attached picture). Although there were a few bumps along the way, the main one being he was short an instructor and we all went home with unfinished pieces, it was still a great time and the 6 of us learned a ton of useful woodworking knowledge. Greg was also readily available via phone and email with the many questions I had after the class ended regarding getting my project completed. He has even used a picture of my chair as the example piece on his website for the class, which was pretty cool.
About 6 months later, I tried to get Greg, who advertised private classes in his shop or yours, to come to Cary for a private class for myself and another local woodworker. Long story short, after initially coming up with a tentative date and agreeing to come, he did not return emails or voice mails over the next several months regarding the project we were supposed to be doing or finalizing a date. When he did finally get in touch a few days before we were supposed to start, I told him that since he never got back to us, we had made other plans. To his credit, he did apologize .
Fast forward to this spring when I signed up to do a Maloof style rocking chair at his shop. My only issue was that as a small business owner it is really hard for me, from a financial and time perspective, to take a full week off of work (the class went from Monday to Saturday). I called and emailed Greg, explained the situation, and was glad to hear he was amendable to me coming up earlier to do the first day of the course sometime in the July-October range, then join the scheduled class on Tuesday for the rest of the week. This would have allowed me to work that Monday and take the rest of the week off.
After talking with Greg in June, confirming I was enrolled in the class, and being promised a list of dates, I never heard back from him again. I sent multiple emails every 3-4 weeks and left voice mails with no response. That's 5 months without hearing back from him.
Why am I writing this? I am disappointed as to how it was handled and honestly, just want to vent. I was really looking forward to the class. I've also now burned 4 vacation days this week. It may not seem like much, but I rarely take off 4 days in a row due to work. The last time I took a full week off was over two years ago to take the Morris chair class. Greg is a nice guy and a good instructor, but he really dropped the ball. Again. Hope the folks taking the class enjoy it, that rocking chair looks really cool.
Thanks for reading, I feel better getting it off my chest. Now I need to go find something to do this week. I've got a honey do list a mile long I'm trying to avoid!
About 6 months later, I tried to get Greg, who advertised private classes in his shop or yours, to come to Cary for a private class for myself and another local woodworker. Long story short, after initially coming up with a tentative date and agreeing to come, he did not return emails or voice mails over the next several months regarding the project we were supposed to be doing or finalizing a date. When he did finally get in touch a few days before we were supposed to start, I told him that since he never got back to us, we had made other plans. To his credit, he did apologize .
Fast forward to this spring when I signed up to do a Maloof style rocking chair at his shop. My only issue was that as a small business owner it is really hard for me, from a financial and time perspective, to take a full week off of work (the class went from Monday to Saturday). I called and emailed Greg, explained the situation, and was glad to hear he was amendable to me coming up earlier to do the first day of the course sometime in the July-October range, then join the scheduled class on Tuesday for the rest of the week. This would have allowed me to work that Monday and take the rest of the week off.
After talking with Greg in June, confirming I was enrolled in the class, and being promised a list of dates, I never heard back from him again. I sent multiple emails every 3-4 weeks and left voice mails with no response. That's 5 months without hearing back from him.
Why am I writing this? I am disappointed as to how it was handled and honestly, just want to vent. I was really looking forward to the class. I've also now burned 4 vacation days this week. It may not seem like much, but I rarely take off 4 days in a row due to work. The last time I took a full week off was over two years ago to take the Morris chair class. Greg is a nice guy and a good instructor, but he really dropped the ball. Again. Hope the folks taking the class enjoy it, that rocking chair looks really cool.
Thanks for reading, I feel better getting it off my chest. Now I need to go find something to do this week. I've got a honey do list a mile long I'm trying to avoid!