we run the recknagel and roedale sako picatinny rails off the same machine. same quality. basicaly same product, joint venture design joint manufacture.
the difference is that the roedale ones are available in all steel, alloy rail/steel base and soon in all stainless and have all 20MOA incline and are engraved with roedale.
we manufacture the rails in batches of 50 and occasionaly get sold out when some one buys 25 in one go, meaning there is a bit of a wait occasionaly until machine time is free.
and ref our contactability and customer service, im the 1st to admit its not and never has been what it should be.
the many personal issues ive had over the last 3 years (or 12 to be honest, damn women !!)
plus the general apathy in the firearms industry made the job a bit of a nightmare, and ive not met many blokes who have been as unlucky as me in the last years, problem wife,elderly parents, and kids into the mix and we have the end result, trying times indeed.
Its been difficult to manage the numbers of new products that we've introduced, the R&D, testing,marketing,sales etc with such a small team and we've not achieved 100% in all areas as well as having been let down badly by outsorce suppliers. >The buck stops with me and ive learned to say sorry.
We / I have however learned from past mistakes and have been trying to implement improvement measures for a while,
the biggest problem bieng time management and finding the right staff. If i'm on the phone, i'm not machining, if im machining i'm not answering emails etc. only 24hrs in 1 day and only 7 days in 1 week. Finding staff who are:
Motivated, trustworthy, capable, fluent in English & German, willing and available, interested in the products and with some background knowledge, the right qualifications and affordable are not exactly abundant qualities on the German unemployed market.
It would be simple to employ an out of work shoe sales person or checkout girl, but that would bring no real improvement.
I hope to heck that my luck has changed now !! (touch wood)
Ive just before the IWA been lucky enough to employ an office manager, Heike. she is married to an ex REME VM/A who now works for the UN in Africa. she after 22years as an army wife she knows her nuts and bolt and which end is which of a rifle. she is also trained in office managment and sales as well as call centre procedures and speaks fluent English and German. anyhow, she is most likely the person that will be on the end of the phone when anyone calls and will imporve our contactability and customer service no end.. I even had her assembling moderators the other day and she isn't afraid to get her hands mucky, so i figure we've got a round peg in a round hole.
further to that we've got an ex Brit soldier starting work here after the summer. also an Ex REME VM. Scott is a life long hunter,shooter and stalker and will help with assembly, store management and general customer service and getting kit out on time and replacement back on shelf on time.
so bear with us folks, we've a lot to offer and are on the right track.
best regards Pete