A story about a Quest and awesome customer service

[madness522]

This is the new riser I received this week:
 

This story begins in March when I bought a Brackenbury Quest from another member here.  At the time this was the only trad bow I owned. I was shooting the Quest everyday until dark and was starting to get really good with it.  Then one day I pulled it back and blamo the riser cracks down the length of the limb pad, smack in the middle of the upper limb bolt.  There was the most deafening silence you never heard and time seemed to stand still.  I was standing there looking at the ground with my beautiful bow in several pieces.  

Being the shooter it was I knew I had to get the bow fixed so I send Bill at Brackenbury an email laying out the scenario of what happened and asking him how much to build me a new riser.  So I get his reply to call him which I promptly did.  We talked for a few minutes about the Quest and then another hour about bows, hunting and a bunch of other stuff.  

I knew I wasn't the original owner and never expected him do do anything besides build me a new riser and charge me for it.  The original riser was made of dymondwood (or maybe it was action wood, either way it was laminated).  He calls me about a week later and tells me it looked like there was a weak spot in the way the laminations were glued up and that he would build me a new riser and it would be covered under warrenty.  WOW! How is that for first class customer service?!!!!

Bill is a first class guy and builds some of the best shooting bows out there today.  He actions show that he and Brackenbury Bows are a wonderful example of excellent customer service.  I can highly recommend anyone wanting a new bow to consider owning a Brackenbury.

Since march I did trade for a Shrew Scout so I could have a recurve on the rack with all the long bows.  But after a coule shooting sessions with the Quest you can rest assured that it will be part of my collection for a long, long time.  

Here are a couple additional pics of the Quest.

 

 

 

[T.J.]

Great looking bow and thumbs up to Bill! Sounds like a first class operation to me.

[LONGHORN]

Yes, Bill is on top of my list.
Serge

[Jeff U]

Beautiful bow!  What wood is this new riser?

Was the limb also damaged or just the riser?

[TaterHill Archer]

Great to hear.  I have a bow on order from Bill.  I saw some of the limbs he has put out lately (namely Pinecone's) and emailed to see if he could change my ordedr to get the "footed" limbs.  Absolute yes, right away.  I've dealt with other bowyers that have said no.  Can't wait for my non-typical to get here.

[Cutty47]

Great story.  It's pretty clear that Bill is first rate!

[Bill Howland]

Awesome customer service? Nah, just doing what was right. The riser split in the upper limb pad and Barry didn't do anything wrong. So it did not seem fair to charge him for a new riser.

Barry's old riser was Dymondwood. I sent a picture and questions to Rutland Plywood, the folks that make the stuff and got no reply.    So I contacted an other Bowyer that has been using this material for a long time and asked if he had seen this before. He said no, and gave me some insight on this material. Now you all know that the Drifter has been around forever and there are literally hundreds of them out there. But they are made with old stock Maple Actionwood. And I've never seen or heard of one breaking in the limb pads like this. So my thought of why it broke is because of vibration. Dymondwood is an impregnated  material which makes it a harder material than natural wood. When I make these risers I do not force the limb fitting components into the riser. They are all glued in and little if any wedging effect is occurring.

Now the last blocks that I received, has had a thermocouple in the end of the block. Where the blocks that I had gotten in the past did not have a thermocouple in them. So hopefully the manufacturer has taken steps to control the cook time and temp of this product.

But, because of this "One" break I've been forced to drop the Drifter and Quest Hunter from my line of bows. I've re-introduced the Shadow taking the place of the Drifter and the new standard Quest has an accent strip that is strategically placed along with a glass overlay that goes tip to tip of the riser.  
This will strengthen the riser so the riser will not break in the same manner.

So hobby bowyers, please re-enforce your Yellow Birch Actionwood and Dymondwood, I'd hate to see any of you guys getting hurt!

Jeff U:"What wood is this new riser?" Still Dymondwood, but with a Shedua accent strip flanked with clear maple strips. Note in the picture I posted of the new standard Quest it has a glass overlay on the back of the riser, extending through the limb pads.
"Was the limb also damaged or just the riser?" The limbs were not damaged at all.

If anyone has any questions concerning this let me know!

Thank you and be safe!
Bill Howland

[LONGHORN]

U DA MAN BILL        
Serge

[Pinecone]

Bill is a top notch guy.  I'm not at all surprised that he took care of your bow.  His ethics are one of the many reason some of us have several of his "babies" in the family.

Claudia

[Over&Under]

[hormoan]

One word SUPER    

                BRENT

[madness522]

Bill asked if I was happy with the service he provided.  And I have to be honest and say that happy is a good place to start.  You're happy when you find a nickle on the side walk.  Well I'm as thrilled as if I had found a hundred dollars on the sidewalk.  Bill, you are first class! Thank you very much!!

[Bill Howland]

Barry, As I said to you earlier....That's all that matters to me! Your happiness with the service and your bow! I'll get to working on your Non-typical a soon as I can.

Ya'll take care, be safe & have fun!

Bill

[vermonster13]

Good on you Bill!

[Jeff U]

I'm not surprised.

Bill is great to work with and stands behind his work!

A very happy Quest owner!

Jeff

[WildmanSC]

I just bought a used Quest in an auction for a the family of a little boy that was born with some serious health issues.  I've already contacted Bill and I'll be shipping the bow to him after I receive it to have him do a draw weight reduction and refinish the bow.

I like what he said about his manner of dropping the draw weight.  He said "I'll take it off of the sides, I don't like taking it off the faces of the glass as that weakens the limbs."

Bill

[Danny Rowan]

Yep, Bill is first class all the way. I know he will get more business from me!

Danny

[WildmanSC]

Danny,

I can see a Non-Typical in my future.  I've been salivating over those bows since they first came out!

Bill

[Danny Rowan]

Thinking the same thing Bill, maybe something to match my new Quest that I got a few days ago.

Danny

[BillW]

What a refreshing thread.

Bill I have been eyeing a Quest for a long time. They look like great bows. Your explaination and actually posting pictures was a demonstration in honesty that we here really appreciate. With the exception of TradGang and many in our small Trad community this kind of honesty is tough to find out there.

Good for you!
Even better for your customers.

Regards,
Bill Wright