A regretful situation

[CreeDo]

Totally off-topic:

Being someone who's really into the "indian not the arrow" theory I don't know a lot about cues. I'd always thought a "sneaky pete" meant a cue that most people would mistake for a house stick. Almost always a plain light-colored wood with dark brown points, no decorations at all, no wrap, almost invisible joint, black butt cap and white ferrule (or black ferrule for that extra cheap housey look). If you stretch it, it could be a plain-looking cue that looks like a cheap mass-manufactured everyday brand.

How's a custom cue with various colors and inlays and wraps and the cuemaker's logo on the butt "sneaky"? Did I misunderstand the meaning?

 

[ribdoner]

Totally off-topic:

Being someone who's really into the "indian not the arrow" theory I don't know a lot about cues. I'd always thought a "sneaky pete" meant a cue that most people would mistake for a house stick. Almost always a plain light-colored wood with dark brown points, no decorations at all, no wrap, almost invisible joint, black butt cap and white ferrule (or black ferrule for that extra cheap housey look). If you stretch it, it could be a plain-looking cue that looks like a cheap mass-manufactured everyday brand.

How's a custom cue with various colors and inlays and wraps and the cuemaker's logo on the butt "sneaky"? Did I misunderstand the meaning?

The only sneaky thing about this cue is the price...

 

[pwd72s]

Yea, 725 for a sneaky ( he like most probably dont even make his own blanks ) not in my llifetime... And when did sneaky petes start coming with a wrap. whats so sneaky about joint rings and lizard wraps ??? Just saying..

All the threads about cuemakers Ive scene on here sure make me happy JACK MADDEN is my cue maker.:thumbup: Not only does he make as good a cue as anybody , . If you order a Sneaky He makes the splice himself it is a true custom...Heressome JACK MADDEN service for ya. The first cue I bought from him was a 6 pointer (up and down) wrapless 1200$... He put a ring on it I did not order ( A bit on the large side we'll say ) I opened the box with him on the phone ( I was home waiting for the UPS truck ) looked at the cue was not happy ( neither was he I might ad ) with out hitting a ball with it I took it back to the UPS store sent it back ( like Bev said to do, She really runs the operation ) 6 months later got my new cue just the way I ordered it. JACK MADDEN is one of my BESTEST BUDS to this day...

Sorry about your deal, I would just say she should have called JACK MADDEN

I have never read a negative comment about Jack...only praise. So, just gave you a greenie! Another cue maker I've heard only good about is Keith Josey. I'm sure there are more...(edit) I have a Josey...but wasn't paid to write this.

 

[ForumGhost516]

Documentation

Hey guys Im sorry I finally am getting around to doing this now but I was asked by Kevin Lindstrom to provide proof of this incredibly overpriced cue on paper.

Here it is.

These are the two sheets that came with the 80 dollar check in the mail.

I hope this sheds some light on the kind of person that Bob Frey is that he would do this to an unsuspecting customer.

Oh and for the record Mr. Frey told my girlfriend specifically that he did not have email capabilities. I didnt believe that one either.

 

[ForumGhost516]

im shocked no response to this.

 

[Sweet Marissa]

Well, I know never to buy a cue from him.

 

[jay helfert]

Hey guys Im sorry I finally am getting around to doing this now but I was asked by Kevin Lindstrom to provide proof of this incredibly overpriced cue on paper.

Here it is.

These are the two sheets that came with the 80 dollar check in the mail.

I hope this sheds some light on the kind of person that Bob Frey is that he would do this to an unsuspecting customer.

Oh and for the record Mr. Frey told my girlfriend specifically that he did not have email capabilities. I didnt believe that one either.


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I wouldn't exactly call that cue a Sneaky Pete. Maybe I use a different definition for that word. I always thought of a Sneaky as a very plain maple cue with little if any joint work. Usually has a plain face to face joint, often with no joint rings of any kind. No wrap and definitely no points. That's my idea of a Sneaky. For what I see here, this price is not out of line.

 

[ForumGhost516]

I agree with you completely however that is what he called it because and I quote it was a "variation" on a sneaky.

 

[jay helfert]

I agree with you completely however that is what he called it because and I quote it was a "variation" on a sneaky.

That may well be, but there is considerable work in this cue. More than I expected to see. What I would really like to know is how does it play? If it has the good hit I've heard about from Frey cues, I would say it's a keeper. :wink:

 

[ForumGhost516]

Again i agree its a keeper just not for the price that it was sold for. JP Nusbaum even gave us a quote to compare and its just nowhere near it.

 

[THE FLASH]

charlie
i'm trying hard not to sound harsh. Really. You are an incredible....i dont' we can define what you are, but you are absolutely earnest. And honest. And in this world, that aint all that bad. So, after the molasses, its time for the sulphur.

Did i miss the fact that you didn't list lizard wrap in your post ? Point numba one....anyone can make a mistake.

Point numba two. Obviously, no one wants you to not get what you want, but we have an old portuguese saying around here....."you buy cheap, you buy twice!"

that's exactly why you should have gone through nusbaum. Because he's a stand up guy and he'd make sure you got what you ordered. That's his job. As well as his responsibility. Oh, btw, he happens to live right down the freakin road from bob, so he's got better eyes on this deal that you. But you just had to save a few bucks. So, what is the conclusion here ? So sorry to say, this one is on you charlie. For a $700 sneaky pete, you were saving a few bucks ???

Goodness knows that you lost about $400 as soon as you took possession anyway, because nobody buying this cue second hand would pay a premium for the ss joint, lizard wrap or the rest of the accutriments you put on this cue. Its a sneaky pete. Like a piece of $hit, you can wrap it in velvet and put perfume on it and it is still what it is.

Oh, one more! Your girlfriend paid a lot of cash for this cue. I learned long ago from the classiest lady i know( my wife) that when you get a gift, you take it and shut up! If you want a long and illustrious marriage someday, when she gives you a gift and its "wrong", you say thank you and hope it works out after time.


There, i've vented. At the end of the day, guys like me (old fogies) have been through a bit more life than you, so humor me and consider some of these points. Despite the fact you are a nut, at least you are earnest, honest pool nut. But you need to learn from this one.

Its all about karma. Fix this puppy and get yourself some.
Tim

you're a dickhead...

 

[JB Cases]

Not that it particularly applies in this situation but what fun would it be if I couldn't stick my worthless 2cts in.............

This is an excerpt from an article in the Atlantic Monthly about saddle making,

"The frustration is often compounded by the quirky nature of saddlemakers, who tend to be better artists than businessmen. Legend has it that one Sheridan saddlemaker used to take an order patiently, writing down everything a customer wanted — stirrup size, cantle angle, horn shape, and the like. Two years later he would deliver a saddle that he had made just the way he wanted. The punch line is that no one ever refused a saddle he delivered — it was too beautiful."

 

[ForumGhost516]

Please

you're a dickhead...

I really appreciate the comment but please dont get in trouble for name calling and foul language on here man it sux. They really dont like it.

Charlie

 

[ForumGhost516]

What?

Not that it particularly applies in this situation but what fun would it be if I couldn't stick my worthless 2cts in.............

This is an excerpt from an article in the Atlantic Monthly about saddle making,

"The frustration is often compounded by the quirky nature of saddlemakers, who tend to be better artists than businessmen. Legend has it that one Sheridan saddlemaker used to take an order patiently, writing down everything a customer wanted — stirrup size, cantle angle, horn shape, and the like. Two years later he would deliver a saddle that he had made just the way he wanted. The punch line is that no one ever refused a saddle he delivered — it was too beautiful."

Im sure this has some sort of relevance lol. I get what you're saying I just dont feel the ends justified the means on this one. Truthfully if it didnt mean so much to my gf i would have told mr frey where he could kindly shove his cue. I will let you use your imagination as to where.

 

[JB Cases]

Im sure this has some sort of relevance lol. I get what you're saying I just dont feel the ends justified the means on this one. Truthfully if it didnt mean so much to my gf i would have told mr frey where he could kindly shove his cue. I will let you use your imagination as to where.

I think that there are several forum members who have ordered cases from me who can testify to the lengths I go to rectify things when they are not satisfied. To me a customer who chooses to give me their money is sacred.

I might alienate "potential" customers on here with my comments but for each one of them there seems to be enough who like what I have to say and I do my best to live up to my philosophy.

Building great products in the internet age has two parts. 1. Build a great product 2. Treat your customers right.

If you do #1 then you will earn a great rep. and if you do #2 you will keep it.

So I know what I would have done were I in Mr. Frey's shoes. And that would have been everything possible to avoid a thread like this from ever appearing.

I do want to say in defense of the craftsman that anyone who is getting a lot of orders is juggling a lot of information. Sometimes now matter how well you have recorded the information you can still have a brain fart and do something wrong. I have looked right at a sheet where the special instructions are highlighted and completely forgotten to tell my people to do it and not been reminded until the customer says, "the case is nice but...."

I recommend that whoever is ordering anything should ask for confirmation by email, fax, recording the conversation, whatever just to be sure. This does two things, one it allows the customer to make sure they asked for everything that they want and two that the craftsman has understood everything as the customer wants.

I am always sad to see threads like this. All of the cue makers I know love their craft. Sometimes however the success of getting lots of orders is bittersweet when all you are doing is taking orders and everything you build becomes a blur of customer specified products. As a craftsman when you start out you are so thrilled to build things, try new things, build things that you want to build. When you start getting lots of orders then it begins to lose it's luster as you realize that your days of being able to build for your own gratification are over. Then it's just a matter of keeping up with everyone's demands. And if you make a mistake knowing that you have to redo something while all the time orders are piling up it's really frustrating and can cause a person to react in a less than professional way.

I hope everyone understands that the billiard industry is made up of a lot of small shops where the craftsman is also the accountant, purchasing agent, comptroller, customer service rep, and chief bottle washer. So please keep that in mind when something goes wrong and give a person a chance to correct it with the idea in mind that they may genuinely not realize that they made a mistake until they have had time to process all the information.

And now my balls hurt from sitting on the fence.

 

[Craig Fales]

Hey guys Im sorry I finally am getting around to doing this now but I was asked by Kevin Lindstrom to provide proof of this incredibly overpriced cue on paper.

Here it is.

These are the two sheets that came with the 80 dollar check in the mail.

I hope this sheds some light on the kind of person that Bob Frey is that he would do this to an unsuspecting customer.

Oh and for the record Mr. Frey told my girlfriend specifically that he did not have email capabilities. I didnt believe that one either.



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If you add all that up it comes to $2455.00. How could you tell just what was being charged and not.

 

[chuckpilegis]

If you add all that up it comes to $2455.00. How could you tell just what was being charged and not.

Im thinking go with the yellow highlights

 

[Craig Fales]

Im thinking go with the yellow highlights

No matter what that invoice is a mess. Why is all that on there that has nothing to do with the cue. It's no wonder mistakes were made.

 

[Tbeaux]

Using my handy dandy win xp calculator it looks like if you add the charges on the invoice the total should have been MORE than the $705 listed in the total. Some confusion as to if it should be $340 or $325 for the basic pete. Any way you look at it though the GF either got exactly what she paid for or got alitle better deal. NOW THAT IS BASED ON INVOICE PRICES.

If your point is that you could have got it cheaper through the dealer, your right, your GF could have got it for about $100 less maybe. HOWEVER,
that is ONLY because the dealer probably gets major discounts from the cuemaker which he then passes on to HIS customers. Your GF is not one of the dealers customers she is a one time customer of the cuemaker and is therefore NOT "entitled to some kind of discount or price matching".

Just my 2 cent understanding of this.
Terry

 

[Kevin Lindstrom]

Idea.

I for one am tired of hearing all of the crying about this cue and the supposed overprice of the cue. You have had issues with another Bob Frey cue in the past that had nothing to do with Bob.
If you are not happy with the cue that you got and the price you paid I would suggest next time you order your own cues and tell your girlfriend to buy you something she is more familiar and knowledgable about.

Kevin