A Question of Etiquette

GBCues

GBCues

Damn, still .002 TIR!
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So my friend/pool mentor comes to me and says "Hey, you know that old Mali butte that I have? I had a shaft made for it (cost me $200) but it doesn't fit right. It has a small wobble. Can you fix it?"

I've replaced a few pins, 3/8-10 so not particularly difficult so I said "Sure".

I took the butte and shaft home, I chuck up and true the butte in my lathe so I can see how much off the pin-set is. I can't see ANY wobble! There's no flat spot on the end of the pin, so there's really no place to indicate it, but if it is off .001 or .002 that is all.

So then I chuck up and true the shaft, put a bare pin in it and WOBBLE WOBBLE WOBBLE. It's not off by a few thou, it's more like off by a few .01's! It's an easy mistake to make, but should have been checked before it left the shop.

Yes I can fix that too, but here's my question:

I believe that most of you would prefer the customer bring the shaft back to you so you can fix your mistake and not have a customer walking around bad-mouthing you. Especially on a $200 shaft.

Or I could get the maker's number and call him and ask what he wants to do - I don't know who it is and don't really need to know (except for making another cuemaker acquaintance locally).

Or, I can let my friend/customer decide what he wants to do. If he decides to send it back to the orignal maker, I'm going to make him a shaft for free to show him what a good shaft should look like. His has a taper wobble in it - I'd guess the CM used sandpaper to shape the taper, not a taper bar, because it is not round. I will do the repair for free as well if that is what he wants.

Your opinions?

Thanks

Gary
 
I would show the customer the problem and ask him how he wants to handle it.
 
With two major problems the shaft should be sent back to the maker.

You can make him a shaft but I wouldn't touch the one with the problems.
 
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GEBrown said:
Or, I can let my friend/customer decide what he wants to do. If he decides to send it back to the orignal maker, I'm going to make him a shaft for free to show him what a good shaft should look like. His has a taper wobble in it - I'd guess the CM used sandpaper to shape the taper, not a taper bar, because it is not round. I will do the repair for free as well if that is what he wants.

Your opinions?

Thanks

Gary
Click to expand...

Now why would you make a shaft for free??
Why didn't he ask you to make the shaft to begin with? Especially if he's a friend.
You could call the maker but your friend didn't bring it to your attention til he got it and wasn't satisfied, Let him call the maker or make him a shaft and charge for it. Free gets you a nice pat on the back for about 2 seconds but it doesn't put food in your belly.
 
Your buddy got bent over.... Assuming the shaft has not been modified by anyone, the shaft builder passed off sub-standard work at an inflated price.
Tell him to contact the person that did the work, and ask for a shaft built right, or for his money back.
 
Michael Webb said:
Now why would you make a shaft for free??
Why didn't he ask you to make the shaft to begin with? Especially if he's a friend.
You could call the maker but your friend didn't bring it to your attention til he got it and wasn't satisfied, Let him call the maker or make him a shaft and charge for it. Free gets you a nice pat on the back for about 2 seconds but it doesn't put food in your belly.
Click to expand...

This is a very had lesson for some of us (me) to learn.
I have given away a few cues and other work.
I can not say it has benefited me one bit other than some thinking I am a nice guy.
If your work has value then charge for it.
People that pay a fair price will think more of your work than people that get it free.
If it is free they think that is what it is worth.
Your friend did not think your work was a good as the other cue makers work but now he wants you to correct a problem.

It has taken me a long time to realize that fact.
 
Man we could blow up all these sayings and make stickers for our shops lmfao....b/c it is sad but the honest truth.....
 
WilleeCue said:
People that pay a fair price will think more of your work than people that get it free.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

My advice would be give the cue back to him & make sure he understands what the problem was. No need to indicate that the other builder is doing anything wrong. He can make that assumption by himself. Just make sure he comes to that conclusion without you influencing it. Most likely he'll want a new shaft & you can then let your light shine and he'll be glad about the money he spent. He'll also be upset about the money he spent for the other. What he tells everybody will reflect well on you & make you much more money in the long run, as well as expose & hopefully cure a problem in your competition.

Stories like this leave me scratching my head. I don't even charge $200 for a shaft & my shafts are pretty darn good stuff. Am I missing something? What's everybody else charging?
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys!!:thumbup:

I was kind of surprised at the range of responses, but that's the nature of a forum.

To answer why I'd make a cue or do a repair for free - My friend has taught me a LOT about playing pool over the years, so this is one way to repay him for that. And he's a pretty well-known player in this area, so if I can do good work for him, he will tell others about me and my reputation will grow - as long as I continue to do good work.

But again, thanks for all the replies - everyone here is so generous with their time and experience. It's a great place to be!

Gary
 
My advice to you, don't give anything for free. You can give him a discount, but don't do it for free. I have a few players that get a discount, but they are still paying to cover materials and some labor. They feel good that they are getting a discount, and promote my business. Giving it out for free makes it seem like your work isn't that good or that you are hurting to get your product out in the marketplace. Just my opinion.
 
Ooo ... you're giving stuff away for free? Awesome. Yeah see, I have to get some ivory inlays for my new cue and you'd be saving me a lot of trouble if you could just "show me how inlays are made properly"... You don't have to make the cue, I've already got someone for that, but the inlays ... free, I mean, "properly made" inlays would be great. :rolleyes:

Even if someone made me a replacement shaft for free I'd still give them the cash. Why? It's how they make their living, that's why.
 
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