An Unfortunate Incident Involving J&D (Jim Lee) Cues

Gentlemen,

I feel the need to share with the AZb community my personal experience with Jim Lee Cues so all of you can make an informed decision before dealing with him. Jim received a Scruggs and another cue from me for a refinish and leather wrap on December 13, 2010. The communication from Jim dropped off in late January and has been very sporadic since and I only get responses when prompted for them. As the originator of this thread has stated the excuses have been all over the board but in no way excuse the lack of completion of work or refusal to return customers property. My last communication with Jim was on 5/14/2011 when I respectfully asked for pictures of my cues for piece of mind considering the circumstances. Jim responded he would send them in the morning and did not take offense to my request. Well here we are today with no pictures sent and no communication roughly 23 weeks after taking possession of my cues. At this point I have written off the cues (as I do not think they will be returned) and I am in the process of filing a police report. I will just take the tax write off and chalk this up to being a lesson learned but feel sickened at the thought of people sending him their only cue and getting taken for a ride. So here I am publicly airing my grievance for all to see in hopes that it will either prompt Jim to come back to reality and send folks their cues, or at least prevent someone else from having the same experience.

Best regards,

Jerry
 
TX Poolnut said:
I need the other side of the argument before I post an opinion. So far, it sounds like you're getting the run around but there are usually three sides to a story. This constitutes one.
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No other side is needed in this issue. If unfortunately he is in poor health he should send you the cue and your money if he physically cannot perform the work. ANYTHING else is absolutely unacceptable and is tantamount to theft in any court in the states. He certainly wasn't sick enough to cash your check and send you emails with excuses. I would make copies of all correspondence and file a police report to get the cue and $ returned and then I would contact the Better Business Bureau in his jurisdiction. This is absolute theft..illness or not.

This is why a local Cue maker is best...so you can pay him a visit if things get a bit strange..or a cue maker listed in the Blue Book of cues that has done work for 10-20+ years with nothing but positive feedback. If this happened in NYC or Philly this guy would end up with a second illness.

Don't back off this and AZers should know who the thieves are. Just cause he did good work for someone else at another time means nothing. If he is ill wish him a speedy recovery and tell him to put your cue in a box and send it back and refund your money..anything else is stealing. Sounds like this will go on indefinitely if you don't take action immediately. This is unbelievable and he should not go unpunished or hidden from the Billiard community. I'm glad you told what happened and he should never see a cue again.
 
I'd report this to the State Attorney or local interested agency. I'm sorry the man is ill....but his problem is not the customers problem.

A phone call, explanation, a "Real Time" commitment would have smoothened everything out.
 
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GoldCrown said:
I'd report this to the State Attorney or local interested agency. I'm sorry the man is ill....but his problem is not the customers problem.
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I agree to an extent...that can obviously cause some delay, but the communication and lack of pictures seems pretty bad.

Strange...he has time to let other cuemakers use his "wrap fixture" and to supervise/help out with that, but not time to do the wrapping and refinishing himself from a December order?

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=232797
 
Spimp13 said:
I agree to an extent...that can obviously cause some delay, but the communication and lack of pictures seems pretty bad.

Strange...he has time to let other cuemakers use his "wrap fixture" and to supervise/help out with that, but not time to do the wrapping and refinishing himself from a December order?

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=232797
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i usually keep out of this kind of crap,
but now that you brought me into it indirectly,

let me just say,
that jimmy unlocking the shop door and flipping on the light for me
and watching me wrestle (all thumbs) with a wrap really has no bearing on this thread at all
so please dont misconstrue that jimmy "worked" on my cue
jimmy has helped me in the past and i've helped him in the past
that's between me and him only
if i could help him now i would gladly do so
 
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I've chatted with Jim and his health I dont think is an issue right now. I could be wrong but around the first of the year last year is when he had his episode, but I might have the year mixed up. Once again I'm not taking sides as I know Jim is too swamped on one hand, and customers are waiting too long for simple work. I'm in no way taking one side or another as I'm waiting for a cue as well. When will I get it? I have no idea either. Hopefully soon as everyone in the family thinks I'm crazy when I talk about this great "custom cue" I have on the way when its finished. I've been talking about it since November when I got the first pics of the butt. I dont talk to Jim over the phone like we used to as I dont want to call and bug him for hours as when we would talk we'd talk 3-4 hours and talk about any and everything. I simply think he just got way too deep in work and is trying to dig his way out. I just refuse to think Jim would keep cues and money and burn people flat out (I'm not saying to those you are lying, I'm just saying I believe he still has your cue and is trying to figure out where to start and get out from under everything). I might be wrong in the future or I might be right but I also know Jim and I dont think he would intentionally scam someone and take their money AND cue and never give either back. I hope this works out for everyone and in quick time.
 
I took some time to read through every single post, and I noticed, not only did the cuemaker in question seriously lack in communication throughout the whole deal, but he also lied in his responses to the OP (compare and contrast his 2 posts in this thread). Of course, that could certainly be another side of the story. Since the cuemaker has very well been given with plenty of time to response publicly, chosen not to do so reveals his character.

I have never sent my cues out for repair unless the person I'm sending the cues to is someone I trust wholeheartedly. I'm glad Mike Webb is only miles away from me.

Good luck to those who are still waiting for their properties to be returned.
 
BHQ said:
i usually keep out of this kind of crap,
but now that you brought me into it indirectly,

let me just say,
that jimmy unlocking the shop door and flipping on the light for me
and watching me wrestle (all thumbs) with a wrap really has no bearing on this thread at all
so please dont misconstrue that jimmy "worked" on my cue
jimmy has helped me in the past and i've helped him in the past
that's between me and him only
if i could help him now i would gladly do so
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This kind of crap? Have you not read the thread at all? Do I need to post all of my friends details (with his permission) to add yet another person to the list here. My point was purely from your phrase in that thread "for the use of his wrap fixture" which I thought was some sort of tool used to put on a wrap...Yes I am probably clueless on this as it is probably nothing related to him needing that fixture to do the wrapping. My only apology to you is if you thought I was insuating that. I never said Jim worked on your cue though from my last post. I apologize if you thought that. However since he is not responding to his customers or even this thread it's about to the point where at least my friend is going to say f*$% it. I know he doesn't want to respond to this thread and that is fine...however his communication with the customers with cues on order including even sending pictures is absolutely horrible.
 
Spimp13 said:
This kind of crap? Have you not read the thread at all? Do I need to post all of my friends details (with his permission) to add yet another person to the list here. My point was purely from your phrase in that thread "for the use of his wrap fixture" which I thought was some sort of tool used to put on a wrap...Yes I am probably clueless on this as it is probably nothing related to him needing that fixture to do the wrapping. My only apology to you is if you thought I was insuating that. I never said Jim worked on your cue though from my last post. I apologize if you thought that. However since he is not responding to his customers or even this thread it's about to the point where at least my friend is going to say f*$% it. I know he doesn't want to respond to this thread and that is fine...however his communication with the customers with cues on order including even sending pictures is absolutely horrible.
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well, maybe crap was the wrong word
perhaps stuff would have been more appropriate
but folks that know me, know crap is one of my favorite words :thumbup:
crap to me means things that arent any of my business :wink:
 
Here is my reply on this thread.

In no way is any one's cue that has been sent to my shop missing, been sold, or being held against the owner's will for randsome.
I am behind in my work due to issues I will not explain to an open forum of people who just seem to love drama.
The words stolen,theif,crook, scumbag are very serious statements from many that I do not appreciate. In no way am I any of these in any way.
I have been in contact with the original poster and he knows what is going on with our deal.
As far as you Jerry, I remember several emails and pm's saying take your time , I am in no hurry at all. And your cue being a Scruggs, I did just that, took my time for a cue well worth the quality I am doing.
Yes I have stated dates of shipping and have missed them, that is on me. But you name me a cue maker that is busy and reputable that hasn't been at 1 point or another in his career.
Let's get real gentleman, I have a great rep for doing nice work at a great price and have for years. Just because I am a little behind doesn't mean you get to go on a headhunting rant and call people thieves and scumbags. It's sad, most of you stirring the pot in this and many threads do not or have not ever done business with me or the cue maker's in question. You just love to start rumors and see the drama it creates.

Bottom line, cues are here, being worked on to get them back to their owners with the quality I always produce. So I hope all involved will be happy to know this.
Jim Lee
 
J&D CUSTOMS said:
Here is my reply on this thread.

In no way is any one's cue that has been sent to my shop missing, been sold, or being held against the owner's will for randsome.
I am behind in my work due to issues I will not explain to an open forum of people who just seem to love drama.
The words stolen,theif,crook, scumbag are very serious statements from many that I do not appreciate. In no way am I any of these in any way.
I have been in contact with the original poster and he knows what is going on with our deal.
As far as you Jerry, I remember several emails and pm's saying take your time , I am in no hurry at all. And your cue being a Scruggs, I did just that, took my time for a cue well worth the quality I am doing.
Yes I have stated dates of shipping and have missed them, that is on me. But you name me a cue maker that is busy and reputable that hasn't been at 1 point or another in his career.
Let's get real gentleman, I have a great rep for doing nice work at a great price and have for years. Just because I am a little behind doesn't mean you get to go on a headhunting rant and call people thieves and scumbags. It's sad, most of you stirring the pot in this and many threads do not or have not ever done business with me or the cue maker's in question. You just love to start rumors and see the drama it creates.

Bottom line, cues are here, being worked on to get them back to their owners with the quality I always produce. So I hope all involved will be happy to know this.
Jim Lee
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Thank you Jim for the public acknowledgement of where you are and what is going on with my cues. That's what this thread was needing for some piece of mind to the folks who have cues with you. My apologies for being harsh in my post but felt that would be the best route for you to respond openly. Please give me a realistic date of completion for my cues so I can plan accordingly.
 
J&D CUSTOMS said:
Here is my reply on this thread.

In no way is any one's cue that has been sent to my shop missing, been sold, or being held against the owner's will for randsome.
I am behind in my work due to issues I will not explain to an open forum of people who just seem to love drama.
The words stolen,theif,crook, scumbag are very serious statements from many that I do not appreciate. In no way am I any of these in any way.
I have been in contact with the original poster and he knows what is going on with our deal.
As far as you Jerry, I remember several emails and pm's saying take your time , I am in no hurry at all. And your cue being a Scruggs, I did just that, took my time for a cue well worth the quality I am doing.
Yes I have stated dates of shipping and have missed them, that is on me. But you name me a cue maker that is busy and reputable that hasn't been at 1 point or another in his career.
Let's get real gentleman, I have a great rep for doing nice work at a great price and have for years. Just because I am a little behind doesn't mean you get to go on a headhunting rant and call people thieves and scumbags. It's sad, most of you stirring the pot in this and many threads do not or have not ever done business with me or the cue maker's in question. You just love to start rumors and see the drama it creates.

Bottom line, cues are here, being worked on to get them back to their owners with the quality I always produce. So I hope all involved will be happy to know this.
Jim Lee
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One word - PICTURES.
 
J&D CUSTOMS said:
Here is my reply on this thread.

In no way is any one's cue that has been sent to my shop missing, been sold, or being held against the owner's will for randsome.
I am behind in my work due to issues I will not explain to an open forum of people who just seem to love drama.
The words stolen,theif,crook, scumbag are very serious statements from many that I do not appreciate. In no way am I any of these in any way.
I have been in contact with the original poster and he knows what is going on with our deal.
As far as you Jerry, I remember several emails and pm's saying take your time , I am in no hurry at all. And your cue being a Scruggs, I did just that, took my time for a cue well worth the quality I am doing.
Yes I have stated dates of shipping and have missed them, that is on me. But you name me a cue maker that is busy and reputable that hasn't been at 1 point or another in his career.
Let's get real gentleman, I have a great rep for doing nice work at a great price and have for years. Just because I am a little behind doesn't mean you get to go on a headhunting rant and call people thieves and scumbags. It's sad, most of you stirring the pot in this and many threads do not or have not ever done business with me or the cue maker's in question. You just love to start rumors and see the drama it creates.

Bottom line, cues are here, being worked on to get them back to their owners with the quality I always produce. So I hope all involved will be happy to know this.
Jim Lee
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Well Mr. Lee has told his side of the story, and hopefully he is able to make those waiting happy, by doing what he said he would due!
 
communication is the key. as I see it a few email contacts could have nipped this in the bud a while ago.
 
Why would Jim need to send pictures. To prove that he still has the cues?

Look, Jim was terribly slow and didn't return emails promptly or not at all. The communication that should have been there wasn't.
But needing to see proof that he hasn't sold them. Thats not necessary, he isn't a thief and he gave his explanation in his thread.
 
Blue Hog ridr said:
Why would Jim need to send pictures. To prove that he still has the cues?

Look, Jim was terribly slow and didn't return emails promptly or not at all. The communication that should have been there wasn't.
But needing to see proof that he hasn't sold them. Thats not necessary, he isn't a thief and he gave his explanation in his thread.
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He does not have to post pictures, but I am sure the two people that have not seen their cues since sending them off for a refinish and rewrap almost six months would like to see the progress. Just a thought, not trying to rock the boat just stating my thoughts regarding the situation.

Take Care
-don
 
Blue Hog ridr said:
Why would Jim need to send pictures. To prove that he still has the cues?

Look, Jim was terribly slow and didn't return emails promptly or not at all. The communication that should have been there wasn't.
But needing to see proof that he hasn't sold them. Thats not necessary, he isn't a thief and he gave his explanation in his thread.
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Because he has been asked to by his customers to see the progress of the work being performed. Considering the circumstances and the few minutes it would take to do so I think it a valid request.
 
Then you are correct. If it is to see any progress then it is very understandable. If it is to prove that he still has them, then I think Jim's word should be good.

I fully understand what the owners went thru. I would have been freaking out just the same. I must have missed some of the posts. If the words thief and scum were used, thats pretty harsh. Thats all I meant to convey.

There have been guys around here that those words would have been quite fitting in the past, I just don't believe that those words fit Jim.
 
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