No, Sterling does not have an in-house full time repair facility. If a cue comes in that has an issue then it is either repaired or replaced at our discretion. The repair is done by qualified cue repair people around Charlotte. We also sometimes contract out with repair people around the country to repair our cues so that the customer can take their cue to their local repairman and we pay for it. Similar to what automakers do for PRIVATELY owned authorized repair shops.
So I don't really know what your point is here. Who cares how the customer gets serviced? If you send a cue back to Viking and they elect to replace it rather than repair it what's the difference?
John, first let me say thanks for your response, it was certainly civil, and next thanks for being honest. If Sterling is not doing repairs, and the customer can take the cue to local repairman their are also not getting a clear picture what caused the problem and what is necessary to correct it in the future. John, I have never said that you are no an intelligent man, but your area of experience is mainly centered around cases. It is obvious by your posts alone your knowledge of cues is limited.
So you see John you answer a question, and I answer your question. You see John the question you were asking is directly linked to the response you gave.
I hope that clears things up for you, and please continue to be civil.
You thanking me for being honest is like Hitler presenting a peace medal.
So, let me get this straight: Pay attention because we are going on a logic ride here that might be a little deep.
You started all this by claiming that you know how all Chinese cues are made based on your "extensive experience" repairing "vast amounts" of import cues. So as a repairman and as a cue maker you claim to be able to see and define all the problems with Chinese cue making just by the fact that you repair some imported cues.
But, then you turn around and tell me that we can't identify a problem by sending it to a cue repairman?
Do you think that we have some sort of communication problem? Do we not speak the same language as the local cue repair guy? I mean if we call him up or gosh, even drive over there and talk to him while he is fixing the cues, do you think that we are so stupid as to not be able to understand what he is doing and explaining to us?
I mean geez, cues aren't exactly rocket science Craig. They are made of tapered pieces of wood attached to metal and plastic parts. There are plenty of tricks and techniques that have been discovered and invented to make all those parts play nice with each other but it's not like it's particle beam physics or anything.
So doesn't it seem obvious to you that if a problem is recurring then it's important for the importer to get it fixed if that problem is significant enough that it's eating a lot of time and money and reputation?
Doesn't it seem obvious that the manufacturer would want to know about and fix these problems so that he can continue to keep the customers he has and attract new ones?
You're right, my expertise is in cases. I have never claimed to be a cue maker.
But I have been a cue dealer for 20 years. In those 20 years I have spent enough time in cue maker's shops to have picked up a fair amount of knowledge of how the process works.
But beyond that I am a player as well who knows how to assess a good cue.
As a cue dealer I have traveled the world selling cues face to face. People I sell cues to are people that I have to see again the next month and next year and the years after that. So it's a huge concern for me that I sell them something that they can depend on.
I would venture to say that I probably have more experience with more brands of cues that you do and that's not including all the factory brands. I am talking about cues made by small cue makers in the USA, Germany, Belgium, and Taiwan. This experience more than qualifies me to be in this discussion.
In addition I am in the cue factory a few days a week and can see the production first hand at every stage in the process.
So while I don't spin the wood I'd say that I probably know about as much as you do about how to assemble a cue and possibly more due to my firsthand experience in the shops of many cue makers.
And if there is something that I do say about building cues that is in error I expect to be corrected. And if that something is a process that we are doing wrong then I will be sure it's addressed and taken care of.
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