Service with a smile

For customers, the appeal of the Edsall’s taxidermy has been their affordability and ease of access.

“They’re very competitive as far as the marketplace goes,” says Bill McConnaughey, a 42-year-old hunter from Streetsboro.

He came across the shop accidentally about eight years ago, he says. He was looking to get a deer he killed mounted, but he didn’t want to pay as much as other taxidermists were asking. For deer, the going rate for mounting can be $235 and up, he says.

McConnaughey has been hunting regularly since he was 12. During the past few years, he’s taken deer, mink, squirrels and a ram to the shop. And he’s never been disappointed.

“God made that bird. We can’t do what God did to make that.”

“I figured I’d take a chance,” on the shop, he says. “Ever since, pretty much anything I’m going to put on the wall, I take to them.”

The couple shoots straight, McConnaughey says. They are willing to work with financing, and they will give a fair estimation about potential projects.

“They’ll work with you,” he says. “They don’t snub you off like a corporation.”

Tom says he learned that sort of customer service while on the job at Swagelok. Since the beginning, all their business has been word of mouth. They don’t need to advertise.

On occasion, providing that kind of service is hard, though. Tom says hunters sometimes have expectations that are too high. Animals like birds are extremely difficult, especially after being shot.

“God made that bird,” Tom says. “We can’t do what God did to make that.”

next page ›› 1,2,3...5