John Barton Thread

D

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
yesterday John and his family came over for pool and fun,he brought his lovely wife and 2 cute daughters,my wife visited with the girls and ended up giving her the best program in the world for leaning to read called "Pure Phonics"

I played one pocket with John and he sold a few cases on the phone

All in all it was a great day,after they left my wife said "Such a wonderful family,John
is such a loving husband"

But that is not the image that Az people seem to have,of course we know how cranky pool players can be,


What I thought would be fun is to post positive stories about John here today

I will send a free 1x2 pool case to the winner of the best thread.

Remember ,only positive things about John and his cases.

For example over breakfast yesterday I sowed John a Steve Price case and asked if it was as good as his cases,

He replied,"Every bit as good,I like Steve's work,it is really nice"

I thought ,what a quality guy,I was also glad to hear how nice my Price case was from an expert

So,with no further ado,let the praise begin>
 
I don't have a personal story to share, but I'm really glad to see you doing this.

I've enjoyed John's posting here since I joined...most of the time. The times that I don't is when he lets people here make him a bit crazy, which he readily admits. (And that is part of his charm, methinks.) The way he shares his experiences on or around the table, and in the industry are great to read. And as you pointed out in your original post, he readily acknowledges others who do great work in his field, a field where he is considered one of the best. That's very cool.

Sounds like your visit with him was great. I'm not surprised.
 
Well I dont know John other than he has a reputation for making good solid cases that look good.

You may send my case at your leisure. I prefer burgundy.

Regards,

Lesh
 
Well, I only met John briefly at SBE last year. Some careless attendee knocked over a beer on his display table and he asked if I would watch his booth while be ran for paper towels. He thanked me profusely, and didn't have a pissy attitude about the accident at all. He never even scowled at the guy like I would have, so he's maybe a better man than me.

I was very impressed with the enthusiasm he had for his product after all these years. He took the time to show me several case designs, even though I told him I wasn't in the market for a custom case for my Players cue. Lol He seemed to just enjoy talking about them. He spent so much time juggling his conversation with me and inquiries from other (real) customers that I left his booth so he could concentrate on guys with dough to spend.

I don't get the anti-Barton sentiment that goes on here. He has always struck me as a highly intelligent and knowledgeable person, and he writes better that 99.9% of the membership here. I read almost everything he writes, because it's always either informative, amusing, or just plain passionate.

Their ain't enough passion left in the world IMHO. We need more guys like John. :)
 
I don't know John personally but here is my take on him. When I first came to this forum several years ago I thought of John as outspoken, very opinionated and somewhat jaded. But his posts had some good substance. Once I decided to look deeper I realized that John prefers a unvarnished opinion, he tells it like he sees it and I like that. I don't always find myself on the same side of the line as John but even when we differ in opinion I respect his view and the way he passionately defends it. Is he the perfect person? Nope! But he is the exact type of person that a successful forum needs to thrive.

If you chose my post I would rather see the prize be given to the Lindenwood Collegiate Billiards program (Lindenwood Lions) I got a case and have little need for another one and maybe some young pool enthusiast could use it.
 
The written word is a funny thing. What you get out of someone's words and what you get when meeting and getting to know someone good,are two different people most of the time. John is a skilled casemaker, good salesman, hardcore pool player, and I believe he has a very high IQ. That right there is a super perfector right there. Hard to judge this kind of combo W/O meeting them. There are some on here that never argue, never disagree with anyone, and seem like an all around nice guy...until you meet them in person. I've wanted to jump through the screen at John a few times myself and I've also read between the cracks that he could be a real friend and stand up guys you'll ever meet. Please don't put me in the running for the case as I don't need another. Johnnyt
 
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John has a heart of gold....and there is very little anyone could say to me to convince me otherwise.

When Chas Clements could not honor his obligations due to a debilitating hand injury....John made every attempt to make those customers whole, to the best of his ability. Who else does that?!

If there is a solidly good cause out there, and if he has the ability, John is going to do what he can to help it.

When my life had, what I consider, a polar shift....he rallied behind the scenes support for both my step-daughter and myself. It was the difference between losing everything...and a foothold to making a comeback. His, and other's generosity and support here, will never, ever be forgotten!!

Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk
 
John can win a debate with most anyone even if he is 100% wrong!! He is very smart-top 2% here and the fact that some DICK thinks he is dumb, tells me all i need to know about that DICK!

Im pretty sure he founded and later sold Instroke Cases. Did he not have a jump cue company he did the same with? Anyway he is a volatile and passionate guy who sometimes overreacts but no denying he is a genius in a few ways. How many guys have started 2-3 very successful companies in pool?
 
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John Barton is truly a unique individual, one of a kind, an adventurer and searcher. The world is a better place because he's on the planet. He's one of those guys.
:p
 
I remember reading a story about a soldier who missed out on a particular model of cue.
So being the bad ass group of people here on AZB that they are, they found a new model of the cue and donated it along with other stuff to him.
I know john's cases aren't cheap, and he gave the guy a voucher for a free case in the care package. Class move.
 
John is very generous with his advice. For example:

I was so confused about CTE that my head was spinning.

Then I watched John's youtube video about CTE aiming.

Now my head is spinning in the opposite direction.

When I combine the two spins, they net each other out...
 
John has been very supportive and generous with the advice to up and coming case makers...but you would have to go to the leatherworkers forums to know that. Many have formed friendships with him as a result.

He also fairly recently did a fundraiser to gather funds for the OK Tornados Victims. He is always promoting other fundraising efforts as well.

The point I am trying to make is he is the most unselfish person I know...truly. Just another case of not judging the whole book by it's cover.

Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk
 
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A nice story...

Back a few years ago I ordered a custom case from John. When the cue arrived from China the lid was not fully carved like we had talked about. John asked me to ship it back to him and would pay for shipping also he sent a 2x4 case for me to use in the meantime with the promise to give it away to someone who needed a new case but perhaps couldn't see their way clear to buy one. IMO that was the best example of customer service and a pay it forward gesture I had ever seen.
 
TommyT said:
Back a few years ago I ordered a custom case from John. When the cue arrived from China the lid was not fully carved like we had talked about. John asked me to ship it back to him and would pay for shipping also he sent a 2x4 case for me to use in the meantime with the promise to give it away to someone who needed a new case but perhaps couldn't see their way clear to buy one. IMO that was the best example of customer service and a pay it forward gesture I had ever seen.
Click to expand...

Now that's exceptional service right there.

roadkill.jpg


^ Unlike this Armadillo, my love for that story will never die.
 
John can be the biggest pain in the a**, just like the rest of us, but I have to say he is the most giving poster I have seen here. I cannot list a "Good Guy John Barton" story because one would not be enough. So here are mine:

Story 1

John ran a give away contest for people to tell positive stories about why they played pool. To the winner he was to award a nice case. He of course followed through and went even above and beyond this generosity. Some of the other top stories were great and he ended up giving five cases. I was awarded one of those 5.

The contest itself was great for me as it reminded me why I started playing. My grandfather was always my hero growing up. He was small in stature but a giant in heart and ability. My two constant memories of my grand father are playing a daily game of "bang bang once, bang bang twice" which was a cowboy game where we tried to sneak up on each other. The other game was pool. I miss him dearly still today. My mother gave me a digitally enhanced photo of him for Christmas this year that I'll post tomorrow once I can scan it.

Story 2

My personal experience is of buying his first J Flowers tribute case. This was my first, and probably lifetime, nice case. He sent it out with a couple personalized touches at no extra charge despite already being a huge discount due to buying the "prototype". Then when I contacted him about a minor issue with the snaps, he sent me an entire strap with matching design. Nothing but positives to say about the case and his customer service.

Story 3

This one is probably my favorite because it brightens so many different people's day. A member here, and I am disappointed in myself for not remembering who, purchased a case from John. He contacted John about a very minor imperfection in his case. From the thread the original owner posted, John essentially demanded that he take a replacement case. The owner said that was much too generous but John would not take no for an answer.

The owner then decided to pass on the good deed. He asked AZ members to post about a young person who could use the case. I posted about a young man who I knew very well, almost a god-son to me despite only being 8 years younger than I am. He was a great kid but grew up with nothing. His parents would often drop him at the pool hall for a babysitter and a group of us grew to love the kid. The original owner selected my young friend.

He could not have been more excited. He still has the case to this day and will never get rid of it. So John made the original owner, me, and my young friend all exceptionally happy.
 

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deanoc said:
yesterday John and his family came over for pool and fun,he brought his lovely wife and 2 cute daughters,my wife visited with the girls and ended up giving her the best program in the world for leaning to read called "Pure Phonics"

I played one pocket with John and he sold a few cases on the phone

All in all it was a great day,after they left my wife said "Such a wonderful family,John
is such a loving husband"

But that is not the image that Az people seem to have,of course we know how cranky pool players can be,


What I thought would be fun is to post positive stories about John here today

I will send a free 1x2 pool case to the winner of the best thread.

Remember ,only positive things about John and his cases.

For example over breakfast yesterday I sowed John a Steve Price case and asked if it was as good as his cases,

He replied,"Every bit as good,I like Steve's work,it is really nice"

I thought ,what a quality guy,I was also glad to hear how nice my Price case was from an expert

So,with no further ado,let the praise begin>
Click to expand...

JB is a good man in my eyes!

Tells it like it is!

And no kissing asses no matter who you are or what you do!

If you need an answer, ask JB the question, you mite not like all his answers, but you can bank on them!
 
deanoc said:
What I thought would be fun is to post positive stories about John here today

I will send a free 1x2 pool case to the winner of the best thread.

Remember ,only positive things about John and his cases.

For example over breakfast yesterday I sowed John a Steve Price case and asked if it was as good as his cases,

He replied,"Every bit as good,I like Steve's work,it is really nice"

I thought ,what a quality guy,I was also glad to hear how nice my Price case was from an expert

So,with no further ado,let the praise begin>
Click to expand...

I don't know him personally but he must not be a very great since someone has to make a thread bribing members to speak good of a person by offering free prizes.

Even if we know him, I find it insulting to offer gifts in exchange for good words.

I don't know if people are telling legitimate stories or just wanting to win your prize.
 
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