Complaint Review: Joe Regal Taxidermy- NEVER AGAIN - Odendaalsrus Other

I had my African Trophies mounted by Joe Regal Taxidermy. The work was excellent, the trophies were mounted very quicly and expertly crated and arrived in great condition. The price was very reasonable and they created two special mounts for me .I would recommend them to anyone who wants great work at a reasonable price.

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I too hunted with Lategan Safaris and used Regal Taxicdermy and could not be more please with the professionalism and workmanship of both organizations.  No trip half way across the planet is going to go off without a hitch and mine was no different but all in all both parties did their very best before, during and after the hunt to meet my every need.

I have no idea why PTE got into this other than the fact that I would not do business them. I guess as pay back. Here is part ofa reply from Bill Smith received today.

From: William Smith <[email protected]>
To: nick
Sent: Tue, August 10, 2010 11:52:58 AM
Subject: Re: Rip off. com
Nick, 

I have not idea where PTE got that information about the hotel. 

First off Bill Smith DID NOT pay for a single thing towards my mother's trip. The springbuck mount was part of the package deal that we paid for in advance. My brother never made the comments that you suggest. He is fuming over his mounts. Lategan advertised that the pick up was included in the package. According to Lategan, he stopped doing business with Regal as well. The shipper that I used to export the trophies had nothing brought problems with them. He insisted on using his exporting service rather than the one that we picked that was a lot cheaper & very good to do business with. Use him at your own risk.

Mr. Nick Giammichele - NEVER AGAIN !!!

You were treated as a King by Lategaan Safaris, but shortly your hunt, everything seemed to turn out to be a problem for you.

After your hunt, your trophies were collected from the farm which is about 4 hours drive from Joe Regal Taxidermy and you were not prepared to even pay US$ 40.00 for this extensive trip to collect your trophies.  Gas prices at the time were sky high and Joe Regal actually wrote off his transport costs, just to accommodate you.

Since the 19th of March 2007 through to 18th of March 2008, you requested several quotes, first from a different Taxidermies and then from different shipping agents in South Africa.  Professional Trophy Exports Pty Ltd, is the nominated freight forwarder for Joe Regal Taxidermy and was one of the agents that sent you several quotes between these dates.  Each and every time there was either a complaint about one thing or another, not understanding our quote, then not understanding that the sizes were only based on guestimated crate sizes and weight, because the trophies had not been completed and the actual weight and dimensions of the crate could not be determined.

Your trophies were collected and mounted within the 9 month period as you were promised, which is a time frame that most other SA Taxidermists do not have, as they are running between 10 months and 17 months to process and mount trophies.

There is also no mention of the Springbuck Shouldermount, which was done for free and paid for by Bennie Lategaan himself, as a sign of good will and to express to you that the client is always of the utmost importance.

Even your brother admitted during a telephonic conversation with Joe, that you were a very difficult person to do business with and that you can't seem to be satisfied on any level.

Your trophies were packed by Joe Regal Taxidermy's nominated freight forwarder, Professional Trophy Exports, transported to Johannesburg and handed over to your nominated shipping agent at no cost what so ever, simply as a sign of good faith and to ensure that your trophies were handled with the utmost care and consideration when it left Joe Regal Taxidermy through to Johannesburg and then to your shipping agent.  No costs were charged for the well built crate you talk about nor the transport from Joe, about 4 hours drive from Johannesburg, or even the Nature Conservation Export Permits and Veterinary Certificates, which was applied for, paid for and never charged for.  We bet however, that your shipping agent did levy these charges to you, even it was given to them at no cost. 

Everyone down the line, from arriving at the airport, through to finally handing your trophies over to your shipping agent, had to write off some kind of money somewhere, just to accommodate you in some way or another.  

Joe Regal Taxidermy is a very highly recommended South African Taxidermy and has always received compliments from their clients about their excellence in the mounting of hunted trophies.  They even have a client base of hunters as far as the USA, that take the time and money to ship their US hunted animals to South Africa for Joe Regal to mount and to ship back to them, this alone speaks for itself.

There is just no satisfying some clients ..........

Yours Sincerely,

Ms. Roelien Vermaak
Director

Professional Trophy Exports Pty Ltd.
Unit 17, Tulbach Road,
Pomona, Kempton Park 1619,
Gauteng
P.O. Box 13084
Northmead, Benoni 1511,
Gauteng, South Africa
TEL # + 27 11 979 4036
FAX # + 27 11 979 2810
E-mail :  [email protected]
Web Site :  www.pte.co.za

Dear Mr. Giammichele,

We are in receipt of a copy of your "Rippoff Report" notes and would like to file a rebuttal and repair our reputation with the following comments :-

Mr. Nick Giammichele - NEVER AGAIN !!!

You were treated as a King by Lategaan Safaris, but shortly your hunt, everything seemed to turn out to be a problem for you.

After your hunt, your trophies were collected from the farm which is about 4 hours drive from Joe Regal Taxidermy and you were not prepared to even pay US$ 40.00 for this extensive trip to collect your trophies.  Gas prices at the time were sky high and Joe Regal actually wrote off his transport costs, just to accommodate you.

Since the 19th of March 2007 through to 18th of March 2008, you requested several quotes, first from a different Taxidermies and then from different shipping agents in South Africa.  Professional Trophy Exports Pty Ltd, is the nominated freight forwarder for Joe Regal Taxidermy and was one of the agents that sent you several quotes between these dates.  Each and every time there was either a complaint about one thing or another, not understanding our quote, then not understanding that the sizes were only based on guestimated crate sizes and weight, because the trophies had not been completed and the actual weight and dimensions of the crate could not be determined.

Your trophies were collected and mounted within the 9 month period as you were promised, which is a time frame that most other SA Taxidermists do not have, as they are running between 10 months and 17 months to process and mount trophies.

There is also no mention of the Springbuck Shouldermount, which was done for free and paid for by Bennie Lategaan himself, as a sign of good will and to express to you that the client is always of the utmost importance.

Even your brother admitted during a telephonic conversation with Joe, that you were a very difficult person to do business with and that you can't seem to be satisfied on any level.

Your trophies were packed by Joe Regal Taxidermy's nominated freight forwarder, Professional Trophy Exports, transported to Johannesburg and handed over to your nominated shipping agent at no cost what so ever, simply as a sign of good faith and to ensure that your trophies were handled with the utmost care and consideration when it left Joe Regal Taxidermy through to Johannesburg and then to your shipping agent.  No costs were charged for the well built crate you talk about nor the transport from Joe, about 4 hours drive from Johannesburg, or even the Nature Conservation Export Permits and Veterinary Certificates, which was applied for, paid for and never charged for.  We bet however, that your shipping agent did levy these charges to you, even it was given to them at no cost. 

Everyone down the line, from arriving at the airport, through to finally handing your trophies over to your shipping agent, had to write off some kind of money somewhere, just to accommodate you in some way or another.  

Joe Regal Taxidermy is a very highly recommended South African Taxidermy and has always received compliments from their clients about their excellence in the mounting of hunted trophies.  They even have a client base of hunters as far as the USA, that take the time and money to ship their US hunted animals to South Africa for Joe Regal to mount and to ship back to them, this alone speaks for itself.

There is just no satisfying some clients ..........

Yours Sincerely,

Ms. Roelien Vermaak
Director

Professional Trophy Exports Pty Ltd.
Unit 17, Tulbach Road,
Pomona, Kempton Park 1619,
Gauteng
P.O. Box 13084
Northmead, Benoni 1511,
Gauteng, South Africa
TEL # + 27 11 979 4036
FAX # + 27 11 979 2810
E-mail :  [email protected]
Web Site :  www.pte.co.za

I also have hunted with Lategan Safaris in 2002 and 2007. And I also followed Lategan's recommendation to use Joe Regal Taxidermy. I could not be more pleased with Joe Regal's work.

In 2002, Joe mounted 6 animals for me. I instructed Joe to use his best judgment on these 6 because they were my first animals. Joe did a fantastic job. Most mounts were turned to show each animals trophy qualities and were a wonderful beginning to my trophy room.

In 2007, Joe did about 13 animals for me. Including a kudu, eland, and buffalo. Before Joe started to work on these animals, he phoned me to ask for photographs of my trophy room, so he could see what animals I had and how they looked in my room. Joe also stated he had a new mounting form for a kudu. Adding that he would like for me to be the first to use this new form. HOW EXCITING!

My daugher also took a female impala in '07. Joe mounted it beautifully. The impala's head ended up being nestled into the neck of my ram from '02 based on the photographs of the existing mounts.

I shot two wildebeest for rugs. I was surprised to learn that Joe had kindly mounted the wildebeest skulls to a wooden plaque! The plaques look great on the wall!

As far as communicating with Joe Regal, he or his wife have always answered their telephone. You must remember the time difference is +8 hrs. Not once did I have to leave a message for Joe. Joe was always pleasant. His telephone number can be found on his website. Call him now if you like!

Joe always quoted prices in South African Rand. Joe does not use US$ in his brochures or online. So, I am not sure how Mr. Nick could have a $600US overcharge.

Mr. Nick received his trophies, as stated in his complaint, in 13 months. This is a very fast turn around! To have that kind of turnaround at the end of the season (OCT), that is incredibly fast! Especially with hunting trophies taking low priority during peak harvest time for produce in South Africa occurring in December in that part of the world. Ask any hunter, professional or otherwise about the turnaround time, most will agree 13 months is FAST!!

I could not be more pleased with Joe's work and will use him again this summer.

Y'all come on down to Dallas and look me up. I will show you some of Joe's excellent artistry and superb craftsmanship. And I will challenge you to find any bullet holes or any other flaws  in his work!