"Madison" Bob Griffin Failure to honor his commitments to a client

snowmon34

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I started talking to Bob in the middle of May of 2007 on a sneaky pete..Bob quoted me a price of 375.00 for a conversion with 2 shafts.....I had a couple of buddies that were also interested so I asked Bob if there would be a break in price if I was to order 3 cues...His exact reply was 350.00 each under 2 conditions....the 1st condition was that I had to send him half down on the order...that sounded reasonable considering he was giving us 25.00 off per cue, and the 2nd condition was that I didn't tell anybody what I payed for the cues, again a simple request that I had no problem with. Well Bob quoted me a delivery time of 3 months once he received my down payment....I sent Bob a down payment of 525.00 (3 x 350.00 is 1050.00 half of course is 525.00 the balance of 525.00 + shipping would be paid on completion ) via usps on 6/01/07....I sent Bob an email about 5 days later asking if he had received my down payment....Bob replied back that he recieved it and would start on the cues right away....the funds cleared my account on 6/15/07. I figured great we should have 3 sneakies in 3 months....well we stay in contact about once a month from the time of order.....I called Bob on the end of the 3rd month (end of august) for a follow up on the cues.....they are not ready.......so another month goes by, no cues..I was patient knowing that Bob is sick....so I made another call in 30 days ( end of September ) still not ready...so this goes on until November and I ask Bob if he would send me some pics of the cues so I could keep the other partys happy (keep in mind it has been 5 months since the order was placed ) Bob sent me some pics in November of un completed cues, but atleast we knew that they were being worked on..

So this goes on until 1/01/08 I send Bob an email asking for an update on the cues....this is his exact reply and I quote " send the cash the cues are 7 to 10 days from being done. THANKS BOB ". I thought this reply was quite strange considering 3 months late on delivery...anyways I let the other parties know whats going on and that we need to send the balance owed. The other parties had read a thread about Bob and were concerned so they wanted to see the cues completed....Bob flips out because we wanted pics on completetion....he stated that we had trust issues and just rips into me like a child ( I didnt think it was right of him to rip into me beings that he was late on his commitment )...heres the thread that concerned the other parties.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=75626&highlight=madison

So I gave it 3 weeks called them back and Darlena Bob's wife said they would send me pics of the cue's on completion....she also stated that they lost the paper work on my deal and if I would email them a copy of the down payment...( again strange business practices)...well I told her I sent them 525.00 on 6/01/07 which was 50% down and the balanced owed was 525.00 + shipping well she wanted a copy of my check because they obviously didnt trust me....:rolleyes: . So I emailed them a receipt copy of my check no problem.... So she states that she needs to talk to Bob and see if he remembers what he quoted me and call me back.....well I didnt get a phone call, but they did send me an email on 2/04/07 telling me they found my quote :rolleyes: and the price quoted to me was 375.00 a cue heres the email......

DALE
MY RECORDS INDICATE $375.00 PER CUE AND A $20.00 SHIPPING FEE WHEN YOU TOLD ME BOB SAID $350.00 A CUE WITH 2 SHAFTS I NEW BETTER WE HAVE NEVER SOLD A SNEAKY PETE WITH 2 SHAFTS FOR $350.00 TO ANY ONE NOT EVEN DAVID HUGHES MY RECORDS EVEN SHOW HE QUOTED YOU $375.00 PER CUE WITH 2 SHAFTS AND A $20.00 SHIPPING CHARGE I WAS THE ONE WHO RECEIVED THE DOWN PAYMENT WHEN IT CAME IN AND I TOLD BOB THAT HALF SHOULD HAVE BEEN $562.50 BUT YOU ONLY SENT $525.00 SO THE TOTAL BALANCE DUE IS $620.00 AND SHIPPING IS INCLUDED IN THE REMAINING BALANCE. ALSO DALE I WOULD PREFER A MONEY ORDER.
THANK YOU DARLENA

So at this point I'm not happy....its 2/04/08 its been 7 months since I ordered the cues....Bob rips my ass because I wanted pictures and they are trying to get and extra 75.00 ....at this point I'm done I'm not used to doing business like this...I tell them keep the cues and send me my deposit back...no hard feelings lets just forget the whole deal...They flip out again, but tell me they will send me my deposit in one week...guess what no deposit.....so I make several phone calls and no answer....so I figured I'll email them......I sent them an email on 2/20/08 agreeing to take 2 of the cues at 375.00 a piece + shipping cod.....I have received no reply nor will they answer their phone......I could use some advice in this situation....

Thanks Dale
 
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Strange...

let us see if there is a response...worst case scenario you get your deposit money returned. Hopefully you have a receipt (money order / cancelled check)?
 
paulybatz said:
let us see if there is a response...worst case scenario you get your deposit money returned. Hopefully you have a receipt (money order / cancelled check)?

Yes Pauly heres a copy of the deposit......

lastscan.jpg
 
Well this sounds promising: where is my popcorn?

Dale, best of luck in getting your money back. Any cue maker who's willing to risk damaging his rep for $75 probably won't be a cue maker for much longer.
 
Absolutely disgusting.

I was going to order a cue from him at one time. Glad I did not. If worse comes to worse, sue the *astard.
 
I have also met with some difficulty getting work out of their shop. For months I tried to get someone to just answer the phone. Finally I got Bob's son Bobby to answer the phone. I told them that I needed to get some shafts made for a cue I already owned and possibly a refinish. He was very helpfull on the phone and implied that the work would only take a few weeks to complete. He told me to email all the details and he would reply with pricing and an "estimated" time frame for completetion. The next day I emailed some pics of my cue showing the ringwork that would be needed and the details of the work I was considering. Let's just say that Im glad I didnt box up my cue and send it off immediately. after the original conversation I called and emailed several times BUT I still have received NO RESPONSE !!! NOTHING !!

It's a shame too because my MB plays jam up, but the shaft is way to small, around 12.25. I have just retired the cue until I can decide what to do. I've considered other options but I really wanted to get the shafts from the man himself. I know his health has not been good but jeez . I would prefer them to just say "look I can't do it right now", rather than get the runaround
 
well

small claims make him come to where you live and im sure youll get your money in less that 10 days from setting up the court date....
 
turbo billards said:
small claims make him come to where you live and im sure youll get your money in less that 10 days from setting up the court date....

I don't think you can small claims him if they live in different states. It becomes a federal issue then.

BTW, I don't know where either of these guys live.
 
LoGiC said:
I don't think you can small claims him if they live in different states. It becomes a federal issue then.

BTW, I don't know where either of these guys live.

Bobs in Indiana

I'm in Colorado
 
snowmon34 said:
Bobs in Indiana

I'm in Colorado

Snowman. You could have had a Judd sneaky for that money! And he is in your state. You should contact him and Trudy. Great people, honest and a super sneaky pete with hot ringwork.
 
Dale I hope you get this resolved in a positive way. All of my dealings with Dale have been positive transactions. I have personally got to know Dale in the past year thru here and over the phone. I consider Dale a man of his word and a true friend. Good luck!
 
bob g cues

dale i been trying to contact dave h with no luck,i'll keep trying will touch base with you iam going to head to the pool hall again on 2/27/08 all call you if we could work something out dale pm me on what u want cue wise or $ thanks manny.
 
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