Colin Dipper - Honourable Tradesman

[JimLucas]

Recently, concertina maker Colin Dipper has been slandered in this Forum by an individual claiming dissatisfaction as a customer. I wish to set the record straight. I do not claim to speak for Colin, but I speak of Colin, as I know him.

 

Colin is an honourable individual, tradesman, and businessman... more honourable than most I have met. He is also a maker of superb musical instruments, and his work is in great demand... so great that he is incapable of meeting it all. This can result in significant waiting times -- times measured in years -- and continual reordering of priorities. That is not a character fault; it is simply a fact.

 

There are physical limits to what a man can do. Colin doesn't run a factory with a work force of employees -- like Martin and Gibson, for guitars and mandolins, -- nor is there even a pool of skilled workers he could.hire, if he had the resources to do so. If he is able to make about 20 instruments a year, but has "orders" for 100 or more (I don't know the true number; this is just for illustration), then one might expect to wait at least 5 years for a new instrument.

 

I say "at least", because Colin doesn't run a first in-first-out queue. He sets -- and continually readjusts -- his priorities according to what he perceives as important. I, for one, consider this flexibility to be a virtue, not a vice. "Special" instruments get lower priority than "standards", because they take more time and effort to produce, which means filling fewer "orders" overall. And for Colin, even a standard English-system concertina is a "special", because he makes so few in comparison to his production of anglos. Of course, if he did all the "standards" before any of the "specials", he would never do a special. So -- in my opinion -- anyone who ever gets a special from Colin should consider themself privileged, since Colin has placed their benefit above his simple financial gain. Of course, he does that even with his standard models, by not compromising quality.

 

There are, of course, other factors. Repair work often takes priority. It makes sense that someone who has been doing without a particular instrument up till now can survive a further delay, while someone whose livelihood depends on an instrument that has suddenly stopped working has a more urgent need.

 

A person who isn't willing to accept a long wait -- and the uncertainty over how long it will be -- shouldn't order a Dipper. If they also feel that only a Dipper will do, then they -- not Colin -- have placed themselves in an untenable position.

 

But there's still the question of honesty. Colin's attacker said that he was "systematically lied to over delivery dates," and he emphasizes the word "promise". Frankly, I don't believe it. My experience -- and understanding from others -- is that Colin never "promises" delivery dates. At most, he makes estimates and says, "I'll try," even when the projected date is only two weeks in the future. (Two weeks would never be the case for a new instrument, but might be for a repair job.) My suspicion is that Oddball (the name the attacker used), frustrated by repeatedly revised estimates, convinced himself that they had the definiteness that he desired, rather than the indefiniteness that Colin knows is necessary. Certainly, what little "evidence" Oddball provided -- tiny, selected excerpts of emails apparently from Colin -- did not, as far as I could see, support his claims of either "promises" or "lies".

 

Meanwhile, how "honest" is it that he used an anonymous "handle", and failed to reveal his real name, even when asked directly?

 

One problem, quite likely contributing to Oddball's frustration, is that a wait which is estimated in years is necessarily more uncertain than one amounting only to weeks or even months. If an expected 5-day wait expands to 10 days, that's annoying, but rarely evokes massive frustration. But if an estimated 5-year wait expands to 10 years, a great deal of frustration can build up over the second 5 years, even though the proportional delay is the same. But there is so much more that can happen to affect production over 5-10 years than over 5-10 days, and it's never possible to predict the details or their impact. One thing that has happened is that the demand for concertinas in Irish music has mushroomed in the last 10 years. I don't know the true figure, but I'm sure the demand has at least doubled in that time, and it wouldn't surprise me if it has actually increased by a factor of 10 or more. And as evidenced by activity on eBay, the demand for Englishes and even duets has also increased in recent years.

 

The main thing to remember if you want an instrument by Colin Dipper today is that you won't get it today, and possibly never. After all, one or the other of you could die before he gets to your order. (How about the tsunami? Be glad that Colin wasn't on holiday in Sri Lanka.) Colin doesn't claim otherwise. If you can accept that, fine. If not, it's not his fault.

 

I accept it. I have placed my own new-instrument request with Colin. Contrary to what Oddball implied, I'm certain that if and when I get my new Dipper, he (Oddball) will have gotten his many years before me. But if and when I do get it, it will have been worth the wait.

 

Oddball mentioned a "deposit". Another term for that is "earnest money", in effect a proof by the customer that he is earnest in placing his order. It also helps compensate the maker for the trouble of keeping track of the order/request over time, time which can indeed be years. It does not purchase a commitment to a particular delivery date, and Colin is always quite clear about that.

 

One final point: Oddball seems to feel that the Colin is obliged to run his business according to what Oddball dictates. Why Oddball? Why not according to the dictates of some other customer, who has different standards or priorities? The fact is that Colin is not a slave, servant, or even employee of any of his customers. He is sole proprietor of his business, and it is his right and responsibility to run it as he sees fit. (I don't include the right to break the law or even to lie, but as I indicated above, I find it far more believable that Oddball in his frustration misled himself about what Colin said than that Colin actually "promised" and "lied".)

Edited February 16, 2005 by JimLucas

[Animaterra]

Thanks, Jim. I've made a decision not to click on the other thread any more (which is hard when we have the "next oldest" button feature!) to try to do my part to limit the hits on it.

 

I have nothing good or bad to say about Colin Dipper other than the fact that I'm glad that there are still folks who take pride and time in their work and do it by hand, painstakingly and with a commitment to quality.

[A.D. Homan]

Regardless of the negative comments from Oddball that Colin Dipper received in the other thread, I for one still dream of acquiring one of his instruments -- the Franglo, which, I am guessing, is a "special," unfortunately. So the one important thing I learned from these threads is: I better get my *ss on the waiting list, today, if I ever want to play one of these! Life is too short to delay getting on that list!

-Andy

[Samantha]

As far as my experience goes I second Jim's comments. I have had a Jeffries refurbished by Colin Dipper within a reasonable timescale and at a ridiculously cheap cost (I thought). I am on the waiting list and, until these threads reared their ugly heads, I had virtually forgotten about that. I'll try to go back to that blissfully ignorant state again now, until I get The Call ...

Samantha

(edited to give CD's full name)

Edited February 16, 2005 by Samantha

[Robert Booth]

Thanks, Jim. While The Commentator may have had some valid questions, his choice of how to present those questions showed, at the very least, bad manners. To choose to be strident and demanding rather than courteous and calm is an unseemly display of adolescent attention seeking, and should not be worthy of further consideration.

[Chris Timson]

My thanks too, Jim. I count the Dippers as friends (which probably rules me out as an impartial judge of their actions) but if even I don't get any favours then I think we can safely assume they don't do favours, just deal fairly according to their judgement of what is fair. I've learnt an awful lot fom them, and the Concertina FAQ wouldn't be half the document it is without a lot of advice from Colin in the early days. Good on 'em both.

 

Chris

[JimLucas]

...I count the Dippers as friends (which probably rules me out as an impartial judge of their actions)...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wouldn't assume that.

I have many friends whom I trust and admire, but we became friends because I found I could trust and admire them, not the other way around.

[Rhomylly]

Dang, I better get on Colin's list! At least I know I'll have 10 years to come up with the $$...

[s2maur]

I also have an order and eaenest money in for a special pro model anglo. Colin also did some maintenance on a "Merlin" model 34b wooden ended anglo that I bought 2nd hand that is

ca. 1989. It took 18 mos but was well worth the wait and price was more than fair.

I will say this in Colin's, his families and his employees behalf, they are all artists. And being a lifelong artist myself I greatly admire their talents and their instruments. Any of us that right brained know that if everyone at Dipper Concertinas were more left brained business persons they would be mass producing much less desirable instruments instead of the beautiful sounding and pkayable works of art that so many of us desire.

If it's fast food that one wants then find a diner with a short order cook. If it's fine dining that one wants then find a restaurant with a chef and be content to wait.

 

Steven Maurice

[ucyljad]

Having bought a couple of battered old anglos which among other things needed new straps. I rang Colin to buy new straps and asked about the springs, buttons etc.

 

Talking to him, I realised I would have to open the instruments up to investigate exactly what I needed so said I would ring back in a few days for the internals.

 

Through his vast knowledge and experience, be must have intuitively known what I was likely to need as, along with the straps I bought, he very thoughtfully sent me various bits for the internal workings including two different sizes of two missing buttons.

 

He would not accept any payment for these extras, but what I valued most was the advice.

 

I would say we are lucky to have him around.

 

 

Andy

[Wrigglefingers]

Thanks Jim for setting the record straight. I've watched the debate in some distress and annoyance to the extent that I've stayed away from the board and gone to melodeon.net instead. But it's time to be counted (literally) so......

 

I've always been impressed by Colin and Rosalies' attention to their customers. It's always been a deep pleasure to listen and talk to them and it was due to Colin spending a long time explaining and encouraging me to take up the concertina that I bought mine. When it decided to start de-constructing itself last year (central heating curse), Colin and Rosalie sorted it out in exemplary fashion. In the meantime, I borrowed a number of different boxes from other forum members as I only have one concertina (another pleasure). I use my concertina most days at school; not having it could have prevented me from doing my job successfully and so I was very grateful for the attention I received. Colin and Rosalie knew this and that's why mine was repaired and returned very quickly. If I had another box I would have expected to wait for it for longer, because other repairs would have taken precedence. This is fair and reasonable. Colin and Rosalie are uniquely skilled craftpeople who run their business according to their own standards and no amount of complaining and sulking will change this. If the rest of us operated on similar standards we might be living in a fairer, more pleasant world. We should be celebrating not defaming such people.

 

Jill Shepherd (not hiding behind a username - just accidently mis-named myself when joining!)

[JimLucas]

I use my concertina most days at school; not having it could have prevented me from doing my job successfully and so I was very grateful for the attention I received.  Colin and Rosalie knew this and that's why mine was repaired and returned very quickly.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep. My own repair job was one of those postponed to get yours done. I think they did the right thing.

 

Colin and Rosalie are uniquely skilled craftpeople who run their business according to their own standards....

As they should.

 

10 years is still a long wait, even if you were already expecting to wait 5 years, more or less. (Why do we get upset at the more, but not at the less? ) But the problem -- easy to state, but apparently impossible to solve -- is that there just aren't enough Dippers to go around. Not the instruments, though that's true enough, but not enough Dipper -- or Dipper-quality -- craftspeople.

[Theo]

Several years ago my son expressed interest in learning the concertina. Knowing nothing about them I bought an old one secondhand, and was fortunate that a friend recommended the Dippers as the best place to get it fettled. As the months went by I started to get frustrated, but every time I phoned, Colin and Rosalie were always patient and understanding. As well as their skill in handling concertinas they should also me commended for their skill in handling people!

 

When the concertina eventually came back it was hard to recognise it as the same instrument. Sadly the offspring now seems more interested in his bass guitar, but he still has the concertina.

 

Theo Gibb

[John Nixon]

Hi Friends,

I am very pleased that there is an overwhelming support for Colin AND Rosemary.

They are both real people, a rare thing these days, and when I paid a visit to their home some years ago, they made my wife & I very welcome, played both my Aeolas, Treble & Baritone, and even quoted a price for a remake COPY of the Baritone should I ever need one. The Baritone was in need of simple work and the instrument was sent backto me , carefully packaged and at a very fair price.

Best Wishes, JOHN NIXON.

[Mark Evans]

Have just googled Mr. Dipper (still don't sound right). The unpleasantness is now not listed in the first three pages (cared not to look further). There are numerous other C. Net listing however, all rightly glowing (some from before our present forum format). Seems Google is not a static engine.

[jmyersgoucheredu]

Recently, concertina maker Colin Dipper has been slandered in this Forum by an individual claiming dissatisfaction as a customer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Good grief! Someone's been waiting for an instrument for 10 years, growing older all the time, gets a little frustrated and says a few things on this list. Suddenly, some people act like he accused Mother Teresa (sp?) of child molestation. I sympathize with the wonderful work for little reward that all of the instrument makers do for all of us. But I also sympathize with a guy who sees his musical life passing by as he waits and waits. The truth is that none of us knows the facts in this particular case. And accusing someone of slander without knowing those facts sounds dangerously close to slander itself to me.

 

Jeff Myers

[JimLucas]

Recently, concertina maker Colin Dipper has been slandered in this Forum by an individual claiming dissatisfaction as a customer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good grief! Someone's been waiting for an instrument for 10 years, growing older all the time, gets a little frustrated and says a few things on this list. ... The truth is that none of us knows the facts in this particular case. And accusing someone of slander without knowing those facts sounds dangerously close to slander itself to me.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"The truth is", Jeff, that you don't know what facts I might know that haven't been made public in the Forum, but I feel quite secure in claiming that a charge that Colin "sytematically lied" to Oddbal is false, and therefore is slander. Also false is Oddball's claim that he is "at the back of the queue". He may not be Colin's first priority at the moment, but I know he's not the last, and that in fact he can expect to get his instrument several years before either myself or various of my friends. Making false statements about someone's behavior -- whether personal or business behavior -- is slander. Even true statements which portray legal behavior as illegal or unethical can be considered slander. And that covers several of the "questions" Oddball "asked" in his second Topic, which imply that Colin is obliged to follow certain business practices which are in fact not required.

 

Meanwhile, the accuser has failed to identify himself, in spite of requests by various C.net members to do so. That's a separate issue, and not in itself illegal, as far as I know, though I personally consider it unethical to make accusations without either identifying yourself or providing solid supporting evidence. In any case, I doubt that I could be charged with injuring the reputation of someone if they haven't been identified.

 

I, too, sympathize with Oddball's frustration, by I consider his behavior in expressing that frustration to be reprehensible. His only action as a member of Concertina.net was an attempt to harm Colin's reputation, while hiding behind anonymity. Even his first post, an apparent request for sympathy, was given a subject line of "Promises, promises, promises," implying that many promises had been made and broken, while my own experience with Colin -- and invariably that of others who have spoken to me about it -- is that Colin is careful to never "promise", not even (or maybe especially) to someone who insists on a firmer commitment. I find that Oddball, in the guise of asking/demanding "fair" treatment, is actually demanding preferential treatment, i.e., that he be given preference according to his standard, rather than the standards Colin applies to everyone else.

 

As for the age factor, I find it difficult to feel that that should necessarily give someone priority. I'm approximately 10 years older than Oddball claims to be, and I expect to get my own "special" Dipper many years after he gets his. While I would love to get mine next year -- and would actually like several, since I play more than one system -- I will not blame or criticize Colin if I never get it. If we are both still alive on my 101st birthday, he will certainly be invited to the party, whether or not I have a Dipper concertina to play, though if I do I will certainly be playing it as part of the celebration.

[shipcmo]

Now that is an interesting concept; playing my Dipper on my 101st Birthday! I just might make it! One Greatgrandmother lived to 98, the other to 102.

Cheers everyone!

Geo