terrible workmanship

tikkler

tikkler

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If I were to buy a cue from one of you and the workmanship was terrible....I mean inlays out of line, terrible finish, lousy inlay work etc........ What do you think is the best way to handle that. It seems to me that there are 2 options that make sense.

first would be to send it back and tell whoever made it, that it has all these problems. And expect to get it back as soon as possible, completely fixed. whatever it takes. That seems to me to be the best for everyone, but it also may not be the right thing.

The second choice is to assume that a cuemaker knows damn well what he is sending out, and doesnt have enough self esteem or integrity to realize that this cue is representing HIS ability. So where the first choice is the kinder, easier way to correct the problem. The second might be more of what he deserves for not caring enough............

What do you guys think of this.....not trying to start any fights. just wondering what you think
Steve
 
tikkler said:
If I were to buy a cue from one of you and the workmanship was terrible....I mean inlays out of line, terrible finish, lousy inlay work etc........ What do you think is the best way to handle that. It seems to me that there are 2 options that make sense.

first would be to send it back and tell whoever made it, that it has all these problems. And expect to get it back as soon as possible, completely fixed. whatever it takes. That seems to me to be the best for everyone, but it also may not be the right thing.

The second choice is to assume that a cuemaker knows damn well what he is sending out, and doesnt have enough self esteem or integrity to realize that this cue is representing HIS ability. So where the first choice is the kinder, easier way to correct the problem. The second might be more of what he deserves for not caring enough............

What do you guys think of this.....not trying to start any fights. just wondering what you think
Steve
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Answer #2 is correct.
 
Hey

BLACKHEARTCUES said:
Can I ask what prompted this question?...JER
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what prompted this question is athat it
has happened to me 2 times, and both times I worked it out with the cuemaker. I just think that maybe that was a mistake. I think that by sending me that cue he was well aware of every problem and was hoping that I would just let it go by...I dont see any other reason. That seems to me to be sort of a slap in my face at the end of the day. Was just thinkiong about it and was wondering what your opinions were on something like this
Steve
 
tikkler said:
The second choice is to assume that a cuemaker knows damn well what he is sending out, and doesnt have enough self esteem or integrity to realize that this cue is representing HIS ability. So where the first choice is the kinder, easier way to correct the problem. The second might be more of what he deserves for not caring enough............
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you don't state what 'he deserves' in option number two!?
how the heck did you figure out it was "correct" tommy? : )
 
icon2 said:
you don't state what 'he deserves' in option number two!?
how the heck did you figure out it was "correct" tommy? : )
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I guess I would have to say that in option one I get it fixed and keep it all quite so as to not try to hammer this one guy.....thats my problem. If he sent me a cue like that he deserves to be hammered
 
icon2 said:
you don't state what 'he deserves' in option number two!?
how the heck did you figure out it was "correct" tommy? : )
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It implied he deserved no more business from the collector. That is what I garnered from the second choice. A "hit 'em where it hurts" option.
 
hangemhigh said:
It implied he deserved no more business from the collector. That is what I garnered from the second choice. A "hit 'em where it hurts" option.
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or bring it up omn AZ so everbody can see the shoddy work that he is willing to send out.....kinda cruel, but it is sort of what you would deserve by nailing out a substandard cue and knowing it is before it went out
 
Hi Steve, I would say also Number 2#, only send out in 125% Shape in all ways is okay.
I had many Cues in my Live, some was terrible work and some can not beat(so perfekt my McDaniels or what came out from this Shop):yes::yes:
Some not understand, how much Money/Time we spend for our love:frown: and make it not correct.
Ralf:grin:
 
The worst thing you can do is insult your client with your work.

I sweated every detail on the cues for you and Steve. I put myself in your shoes, so to speak, making sure nothing was overlooked and everything exceeded expectations. In short, I sent out the kind of work I would expect to receive, and that works well.
 
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option 2

ok tommy and ralf!?
you guys are advising steve to go the option no. 2 route.
steve states option no. 2 is either "hammering" the cue maker (guessing stern talking to!?), or exposing the "terrible workmanship" visually on the forum.
so exactly what kind of action are you two advising?

my advice would be a semi-stern talking to, followed by working it out!
this is the "cue maker" section after all!

btw tommy . . . vols are going down! ; )
 
icon2 said:
ok tommy and ralf!?
you guys are advising steve to go the option no. 2 route.
steve states option no. 2 is either "hammering" the cue maker (guessing stern talking to!?), or exposing the "terrible workmanship" visually on the forum.
so exactly what kind of action are you two advising?

my advice would be a semi-stern talking to, followed by working it out!
this is the "cue maker" section after all!

btw tommy . . . vols are going down! ; )
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Working it out is best, I don't see it as wrong to publicly show what you were sent. If it was thought to be good enough for you, then it will be what everybody else can expect too.

I think Crompton just threw an interception while I was typing, LOL
 
MR. Steve if it was me i would not hammer the maker i would just send it back and get your refund....that's just my opinion good Luck either way!!!!:thumbup:
 
We not want a Name

We not want a Name or want hammered the Cuemaker publicity.
Just my opinion, that the Cuemaker have to check what they send out, not more:wink:
Ralf
 
Cues

Since this thread is about opinions, my feeling from what I can tell is that you seem to be more than willing to spread things around and not just concentrate on the Joel Herceks and Black Boars of the world.

You are giving several people a chance to build you a cue which is supportive of many cue builders.
In light of your support, you should be getting what you want and if that isn't happening the cue should be sent back for a refund...JMO
 
I would talk to the person that made the cue and point out all the flaws. And if I paid a cpl K for the cue..it better be right.....Crap doesnt cost 2,000.00 If I wanted Crap, id give Eddie Wheat 1,000.00 and not ever expect a cue in return! Or a cue sharpied to the max
 
Just my two cents, first, one that collects cue would normally first research the work of said maker, then, if his work for others is acceptable to you, then commission him to do a cue. If not meeting expectations, or at least previous work performed, then take it up with cuemaker privately. If he refuses or does a bad job of correcting, then, and only then should it be a public matter. Sometimes things just happen, even though it shouldn't make it out of the shop, but it does and you call him on it quietly, and he makes good, then a post about how he handled it well, would be appropriate. If you deemed him worthy to build your cue to begin with, he should be shown some respect without dragging him down for an 'OOPs'. If he doesn't make good, or does a lousy job of fixing his mistake, then Nail his A$$. But to not go to him first and just go ahead and nail him, you can do him a lot of damage without giving him a chance to make good.
JMO
Dave
 
If a craftsman sells his work for profit... he should expect it to be available for public scrutiny. I don't see why cuemakers should be any different.

If a cuemaker sells a cue, he should accept that cue being subject to public analysis/criticism... otherwise don't sell it. If showing his work publicly is "nailing" the cuemaker... then he shouldn't be selling his work at all.

If the customer and cuemaker agree the cue is substandard for some reason and could be fixed, I see no reason not to say so and publicly show the fixed cue together with the cue in original state.

If the substandard work is the result of a "mistake", then the cuemaker should be allowed to fix it. If it is the result of limited skills or lack of knowledge then it can hardly be fixed (not by that maker anyway).

I can hardly conceive why a cuemaker would consider public exposure of his work as being hammered or nailed. Shouldn't he be proud of all the work that left his shop?

...Honesty is sometimes the most powerful marketing tool. JMO.
 
hangemhigh said:
Answer #2 is correct.
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In general I agree, but without seeing the cue it's hard to say 100% for me.

When I was in the workforce, although I was never a cuemaker, I had a few situations that could cause this to rarely happen:

1 - The issue was in one particular thing, as in not multiple bad inlays in this case, that I somehow missed. In that situation it was clearly my responsibility. Although I wasn't owed a chance to make it right, I always thought it was fair that I would get one. Everyone makes mistakes. I would make it right by the customer and then add something extra to the deal for their trouble.

2 - I had trusted an employee to correct something which wasn't done to my satisfaction and then violated my own rule that I must inspect what I expect. Although I rarely did this, on occasion I did. Again, my fault and this is really a subset of situation #1.

3 - The customer had totally unrealistic expectations. I'm not saying this is what happened in the OP's case you must understand, and they don't come across certainly as that type personality, but it does happen. In that case I would do whatever was reasonably possible to make them happy and live with the fact they would probably bad mouth me no matter what happened. I would also price a "RMFPITA" premium into any future work they wanted done.

Now, if it were me and I had bought the cue, I would have been doing business either in person or on very sound referral from people I knew and trusted and had seen their work.

Under those circumstances I would feel it fair to contact them and peacefully demand, notice I didn't say request ... and I didn't say threaten to drive over and beat them with it either, a correction.

Assuming that they did so I would have no issue with referring them business. IMHO one of the best indications of someone's business ethics is how they handle their mistakes. We all make them.

If they complied but gave me grief about it I would just put them on my "DON'T F'N BOTHER WITH" list and go on with life.

If they refused, or gave a shoddy redo I would tell everyone I know ... including them ... what I felt about their practices. I have very seldom ever had to resort to this tactic, but sometimes it's truly fair to make someone feel the financial pain they have inflicted upon someone else.

LWW
 
leon sly said:
MR. Steve if it was me i would not hammer the maker i would just send it back and get your refund....that's just my opinion good Luck either way!!!!:thumbup:
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Here's why I feel that Leon's suggestion is the better way to go.
There could be a great deal of difference btwn. your expectations of a builder's work and his true abilities.
When the cue was ordered, it hadn't been built yet and your expectation may have been to receive a masterpiece. If at delivery time, it turns out to not be the masterpiece you expected, how would it be just to start slamming the builder?
Your expectations may have been too high and his abilities may have been too low. That's no reason to drill the CM into the ground. You're both at fault.

Any CM with a sense of customer satisfaction would gladly refund your money.
To attempt to end a man's career because he didn't satisfy your expectations doesn't seem justified at all. There are plenty of his clients that may have found his work to be quite acceptable.

If the CM refuses to hear your complaints and refuses a refund, then is when you bring it to the forum. That's when the builder's business practices should be brought to light. But certainly not because he didn't meet your expectatons.

I find it a little disturbing as of late that CMs are being looked upon as 'fair-game'. AZB is the largest, most popular billiards forum in the world and as such, it's posters realize that they are speaking to a very large audience. Their posts can carry heavy influence and they may feel a sense of power in posting. Sometimes it's like a 6 month old child with a loaded '45' in their hands. To compound the problem, every Tom, Dick & Harry with a keyboard now feels it's his obligation to run the CM into the ground, whether they've had any business with him or not. Enter the 'mob mentality'.

Bottom line is this. If you're not satisfied with what you ordered then request a refund. That's your right as a consumer. It's not your right to crucify the man because he didn't hit your mark.
 
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