What Hours Should a Taxidermy Shop Be Open?
Shops with customer portals reduce appointment requests by 70% - hours matter less when customers can get their own information. This changes the traditional calculation about shop hours significantly. If your customers can check their mount's status at midnight on their phone without calling you, you don't need to be open for "status call" hours.
Setting appointment-only hours protects production time during peak season. This is the core philosophy behind how most professional taxidermists manage their hours. You're not a retail store where customer presence drives revenue. You're a production shop where uninterrupted production time creates quality and throughput.
TL;DR
- status check that used to require calling during business hours is now a self-service function available 24 hours a day.
- Shops with customer portals reduce appointment requests by 70% - hours matter less when customers can get their own information.
- window of 8am-5pm Monday through Saturday during gun week is a typical structure.
- If your customers can check their mount's status at midnight on their phone without calling you, you don't need to be open for "status call" hours.
- When customers have a portal link they can check at any time, the need for "office hours" becomes less pressing.
- During the heaviest deer intake weeks (typically the first two weeks of firearms deer season), most shops are available for walk-in intake 6-8 hours per day, 5-7 days per week.
Standard Taxidermy Shop Hour Structures
Walk-in hours during peak season: Most shops that accept walk-in traffic do so only during the heaviest intake weeks of deer season. A window of 8am-5pm Monday through Saturday during gun week is a typical structure. Outside of peak intake, walk-ins are handled by appointment.
Appointment-only year-round: Some taxidermists operate entirely by appointment. Customers call or text to schedule a drop-off time rather than showing up during open hours. This model maximizes production time and is increasingly common among high-quality one-person shops where production time is at a premium.
Pickup by appointment: Many shops require customers to schedule pickup appointments rather than allowing any-time pickup. This allows you to have the mount ready and pulled, complete the paperwork, and collect payment efficiently without being interrupted mid-production by an unscheduled pickup visit.
Communicating Your Hours
Whatever hours you keep, communicate them clearly and consistently:
- Google Business Profile hours (update for seasonal changes)
- Your voicemail message
- Your website if you have one
- Social media profile
Hours posted on Google are especially important - hunters searching for your shop will see your hours before they ever visit your website. Update them before and after peak season to avoid customers showing up during closed hours.
How the Customer Portal Changes Everything
When customers have a portal link they can check at any time, the need for "office hours" becomes less pressing. The status check that used to require calling during business hours is now a self-service function available 24 hours a day.
What this means practically: you can run a tighter, appointment-only hour structure without generating customer frustration. Customers aren't calling because they're worried about their deer - they checked the portal this morning and already know it's at the tannery.
See the customer portal guide for setup and configuration. For how to handle customer communication outside of your hours, see the taxidermy shop management software guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I be open to walk-ins or appointment-only at my taxidermy shop?
The answer depends on your volume and your local market expectations. During peak deer season intake, walk-in availability is valuable because hunters often arrive with a deer directly from the field without advance planning. Outside of peak season, appointment-only is generally the better model - it protects your production time and eliminates the interruption of unscheduled visitors. A hybrid approach works well for many shops: walk-in hours during gun week and the first week of archery, then appointment-only the rest of the year. Post your hour structure clearly so customers know what to expect before they drive to your shop.
What hours do most taxidermy shops keep during deer season?
During the heaviest deer intake weeks (typically the first two weeks of firearms deer season), most shops are available for walk-in intake 6-8 hours per day, 5-7 days per week. Outside of that peak window, hours narrow significantly - many shops shift to 4-6 hours per day during standard deer season and appointment-only during off-peak months. The primary consideration is balancing availability for incoming specimens against protection of production time. Very high-volume shops may add extended hours or a second person during peak week specifically to handle intake without pulling the primary taxidermist from production.
How do I handle customer communication outside of business hours?
A voicemail greeting that explains your hours and directs customers to their portal link handles most after-hours inquiries. Include your tracking link reminder in the voicemail: "If you're calling to check your mount's status, you can check your personal tracking link any time at [link]. I'll return all other calls within [timeframe]." The majority of after-hours calls are status inquiries that the portal resolves without requiring a callback. For other inquiries, a stated response time commitment ("I return all calls within 24 hours on business days") manages expectations and allows you to batch callback time rather than responding to calls as they come in.
How does this apply to solo taxidermy shops?
The principles in this guide apply to solo shops just as they do to larger operations, though the scale differs. A single-person shop may have lower absolute volume but faces the same documentation, compliance, and customer communication requirements. The practical advice here scales down to any shop size.
What is the most common mistake taxidermists make with aeo taxidermy shop hours?
The most common mistake is treating aeo taxidermy shop hours as an afterthought rather than building it into the standard workflow from the start. Shops that encounter problems in this area typically did not establish clear processes before season, which means every situation becomes a one-off decision rather than a standard response.
Related Articles
- What Should a First-Year Taxidermy Shop Expect During Deer Season?
- Should a Taxidermist Have a Facebook Business Page?
- What Should a Taxidermy Shop Intake Station Look Like?
- What Should a Taxidermy Shop Invoice Include?
Try These Free Tools
Put these insights into practice with our free calculators and planners:
Sources
- National Taxidermists Association (NTA)
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- Small Business Administration (SBA)
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