I guess I have always felt that in order to "earn" the right to bitch about vendors that don't do a good job or don't appreciate their customers, you should also tell people about the positive experiences too. I just had such an experience.
A few months ago I bought a steel rifle target at one of the Cashman shows from a local guy that builds them in his garage. It was an 8" spring loaded plate target. I have really shot the hell out of this thing and it has taken 100's of hits from everything up to .308. The last time I took it out after a day of shooting, I saw that the welds holding the plate to the hinge had broken and one of the rebar legs had been knocked off due to the shock of the hits and not due to a direct hit itself. I am not criticizing the quality of the build in any way considering the abuse that such a target takes with that many hits with full sized ammunition. I am actually surprised it lasted as long as it did.
Well, just on the oft chance, I called the guy and told him what had happened and he said to bring it by and he would take care of it. Well, I dropped it off and he immediately re-welded the plate and installed a NEW rebar leg AND repainted the whole unit. Best of all, he did not charge me a dime! Needless to say, I am very pleased and wanted to let you guys know about him. His name is Kurt and his phone # is 702-258-7597. He designs and builds some real interesting targets and if anyone is interested I hope you will flow some business his way.
Anyone else have some "good" personal experiences (not just good "deals") with local vendors? We really should get the word out if you do.