Dealing with impatient customers

[sengkun108]

Not so long ago, i order a cue from a cuemaker her in az. he told me and promise me that he would finish my cue and deliver it for 4/5 month. After 2 or 3 month, i ask him some pix of the cue, he "ducking" me and told me some bullshit reason about his problem and ask for me to patient. i already got a feeling that he is not an honest person (not say that he is rob my money and just run away (I pay 95% upfront for his job)) but this man is always told me to a little bit patient with his work and ask me to understand his problem and bla..bla..bla....I wait until the deadline of his work, and my feeling was right, he can not deliver my cue on the time he promise. He did sent me the cue after 10 month (So, he late for another 5 month) . Now, am i an impatient customer?. After he sent me the cue, i check it and he put a wrong joint pin to my cue, and the shaft is lighter than my order. The positive thing he gave me just a free 2x4 case and a change wood from ash wood to bocote.. Now, any body, do he deserve a bad i trader from me?

Just for you all to know, i live in Indonesia. It's gonna cost me alot to send my cue back to the cuemaker and ask him refinish his mistake.

Best
Dedy

 

[manwon]

Not so long ago, i order a cue from a cuemaker her in az. he told me and promise me that he would finish my cue and deliver it for 4/5 month. After 2 or 3 month, i ask him some pix of the cue, he "ducking" me and told me some bullshit reason about his problem and ask for me to patient. i already got a feeling that he is not an honest person (not say that he is rob my money and just run away (I pay 95% upfront for his job)) but this man is always told me to a little bit patient with his work and ask me to understand his problem and bla..bla..bla....I wait until the deadline of his work, and my feeling was right, he can not deliver my cue on the time he promise. He did sent me the cue after 10 month (So, he late for another 5 month) . Now, am i an impatient customer?. After he sent me the cue, i check it and he put a wrong joint pin to my cue, and the shaft is lighter than my order. The positive thing he gave me just a free 2x4 case and a change wood from ash wood to bocote.. Now, any body, do he deserve a bad i trader from me?

Just for you all to know, i live in Indonesia. It's gonna cost me alot to send my cue back to the cuemaker and ask him refinish his mistake.

Best
Dedy

Dedy that is a bunch of Bullshit and totally wrong, I completely understand your side of things. But bad Itrader is not always the way to deal with these problems, first many may not see it, and second it may serve no purpose at all if the guy is well liked on the forum.

I would wait and get the problems fixed before you do anything, that way at least the problem is corrected, because some people may take advantage of the situation even further or they may refuse to do the repair.

Let cooler heads prevail and then do what ever you think is right.

Sorry to here about your trouble, if I can help please let me know.

Craig

 

[LPCUSTOMCUES]

Not so long ago, i order a cue from a cuemaker her in az. he told me and promise me that he would finish my cue and deliver it for 4/5 month. After 2 or 3 month, i ask him some pix of the cue, he "ducking" me and told me some bullshit reason about his problem and ask for me to patient. i already got a feeling that he is not an honest person (not say that he is rob my money and just run away (I pay 95% upfront for his job)) but this man is always told me to a little bit patient with his work and ask me to understand his problem and bla..bla..bla....I wait until the deadline of his work, and my feeling was right, he can not deliver my cue on the time he promise. He did sent me the cue after 10 month (So, he late for another 5 month) . Now, am i an impatient customer?. After he sent me the cue, i check it and he put a wrong joint pin to my cue, and the shaft is lighter than my order. The positive thing he gave me just a free 2x4 case and a change wood from ash wood to bocote.. Now, any body, do he deserve a bad i trader from me?

Just for you all to know, i live in Indonesia. It's gonna cost me alot to send my cue back to the cuemaker and ask him refinish his mistake.

Best
Dedy

I will first start by saying the cuemaker he is referring to isn't me.

My opinion is... getting this upset over it isn't helping any part of the situation. Cuemakers are human, things come up. It seems he was communicating with you. I think getting this emotional over a cue being late is a certain type of impatience. It's obvious you are still upset about it by the way you are cursing.
I just think private issues should be dealt with in private and not brought out as dirty laundry. If the cuemaker blows you off, that's a different story.
The best solution is to contact the maker and resolve your problem with him.

Lee
LP Custom Cues

 

[tattoo]

Not so long ago, i order a cue from a cuemaker her in az. he told me and promise me that he would finish my cue and deliver it for 4/5 month. After 2 or 3 month, i ask him some pix of the cue, he "ducking" me and told me some bullshit reason about his problem and ask for me to patient. i already got a feeling that he is not an honest person (not say that he is rob my money and just run away (I pay 95% upfront for his job)) but this man is always told me to a little bit patient with his work and ask me to understand his problem and bla..bla..bla....I wait until the deadline of his work, and my feeling was right, he can not deliver my cue on the time he promise. He did sent me the cue after 10 month (So, he late for another 5 month) . Now, am i an impatient customer?. After he sent me the cue, i check it and he put a wrong joint pin to my cue, and the shaft is lighter than my order. The positive thing he gave me just a free 2x4 case and a change wood from ash wood to bocote.. Now, any body, do he deserve a bad i trader from me?

Just for you all to know, i live in Indonesia. It's gonna cost me alot to send my cue back to the cuemaker and ask him refinish his mistake.

Best
Dedy

sorry to hear it...i have had it happen to me before to were i wasnt happy with the finished product....i was pissed for a long time about it and wanted to bash online....however i didnt i had it out with the maker and finally i had just had enough...the best thing for me to do at this point was to just sell the cue and forget about it...i really didnt deal with things the best way and the maker tried to make it right but at that point i just didnt want to deal with him at all...i will tell you this that time will go by and you will just not care that much anymore...it takes a while for this to happen and we dont understand that all goes into making a cue and the things that come up while making it and the problems that can happpen....plus they are artist and they just think diffrent than most....that is not bad or good just the way it is....trying pinning down a painter on a deadline....it will take twice as long and really by the end you can either wait or find someone else to do it.....a cuemaker that works on a deadline is very rare and in the end i think they are just trying to please us by giving us a realistic delivery date....although we know that alot of the times it just doesnt work out that way...so my suggestion is to be patient or just ask for a refund any reputable cue maker will give you your money back and most likely be happy to do it....we tend to bigger pains than we realize....yes we are the customer but it isnt like walmart they are working on a one of a kind piece that we just cant go pick of the shelf...anyways gl i hope it works out well....mickey

 

[Underclocked]

I've emailed Lee a couple or six times about my cue build. Couple of my questions were probably borderline dumbass, but he has always handled my questions very professionally.

I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning!

 

[sengkun108]

Dedy that is a bunch of Bullshit and totally wrong, I completely understand your side of things. But bad Itrader is not always the way to deal with these problems, first many may not see it, and second it may serve no purpose at all if the guy is well liked on the forum.

I would wait and get the problems fixed before you do anything, that way at least the problem is corrected, because some people may take advantage of the situation even further or they may refuse to do the repair.

Let cooler heads prevail and then do what ever you think is right.

Sorry to here about your trouble, if I can help please let me know.

Craig

I already solve it sir, i trade with someone here. I told him my story and give him a chance to hit my that cue and he seem okay with the performance.

I will first start by saying the cuemaker he is referring to isn't me.

My opinion is... getting this upset over it isn't helping any part of the situation. Cuemakers are human, things come up. It seems he was communicating with you. I think getting this emotional over a cue being late is a certain type of impatience. It's obvious you are still upset about it by the way you are cursing.
I just think private issues should be dealt with in private and not brought out as dirty laundry. If the cuemaker blows you off, that's a different story.
The best solution is to contact the maker and resolve your problem with him.

Lee
LP Custom Cues

Offcourse it's not you...LOL

By the way, Sir I don't start this thread. I just want to all of the cuemaker here know that sometime the customer have a good reason to asking a pic or asking about the process of his cue. $ 500-$ 1000 is alot of money here in Indonesia. A little Family can live for 4-5 month with that amount of money.
Actually i ordering this cue with the representative (i hope you all know what i mean, damn my english is awfull) of the cue maker. This cuemaker, from my opinion is never dealt with a customer privately.
After he sent me the cue, I did contact him (The representative) and ask him about the problem and guess what, he ignore my mail.
and finally, i already let this story behind me. I take a good lesson and experience from this situation. Trade it with somebody with my big loss offcourse and life goes on.

Best
Dedy

 

[sengkun108]

sorry to hear it...i have had it happen to me before to were i wasnt happy with the finished product....i was pissed for a long time about it and wanted to bash online....however i didnt i had it out with the maker and finally i had just had enough...the best thing for me to do at this point was to just sell the cue and forget about it...i really didnt deal with things the best way and the maker tried to make it right but at that point i just didnt want to deal with him at all...i will tell you this that time will go by and you will just not care that much anymore...it takes a while for this to happen and we dont understand that all goes into making a cue and the things that come up while making it and the problems that can happpen....plus they are artist and they just think diffrent than most....that is not bad or good just the way it is....trying pinning down a painter on a deadline....it will take twice as long and really by the end you can either wait or find someone else to do it.....a cuemaker that works on a deadline is very rare and in the end i think they are just trying to please us by giving us a realistic delivery date....although we know that alot of the times it just doesnt work out that way...so my suggestion is to be patient or just ask for a refund any reputable cue maker will give you your money back and most likely be happy to do it....we tend to bigger pains than we realize....yes we are the customer but it isnt like walmart they are working on a one of a kind piece that we just cant go pick of the shelf...anyways gl i hope it works out well....mickey

Actually i don't want to take it to the forum/online. I just reply this thread. The story actually is not over yet.
After i decide to sell/trade this cue. The bad situation is not over yet. This cuemaker joint pin is uncommon, i tried to sell it locally and nobody seem like it. So i decide to sell/trade it here. I know it's gonna cost me alot to sent it "worldwide", but it's not the problem. The problem is my heart keep told me that i am a cheater who try to sell/trade a piece of junk to other member. a member here was "trap" and decide to trade his perry weston to my cue + money offcourse. I sent him the cue and finally i can not lie to my heart. ( I told him my story, ask him to try this cue performance and thanks god, he seem okay with the cue, just imagine if he don't like with the performance (what i suppose to do?)). So, its not just that simple matter to build a cue for your customer.

 

[blackpearlmaker]

Sorry to hear your situations Dedy, I'm just hoping that everything will be ok, and hoping that the cuemaker will stand this problem, and lets move on.

 

[sengkun108]

Sorry to hear your situations Dedy, I'm just hoping that everything will be ok, and hoping that the cuemaker will stand this problem, and lets move on.

a couple of month ago, jeff de luna come to my home town, i talk to him and asking about Filipino cue maker and he point to you as one of the best. He told me that i can get a big discount from you if i order with his name. just joking sir....
Jeff really a good player, he match with SVB here is amazing match. score 1-1. But i enjoy the match.

 

[blackpearlmaker]

a couple of month ago, jeff de luna come to my home town, i talk to him and asking about Filipino cue maker and he point to you as one of the best. He told me that i can get a big discount from you if i order with his name. just joking sir....
Jeff really a good player, he match with SVB here is amazing match. score 1-1. But i enjoy the match.

Well after he came from your place, he came to my shop, change the wrap of his playing cue likewise to his powerbreak to lizards skin, and he tell me those adventures happen in your country also about you..Jeff is really a good player, no doubt..

 

[BlowFish]

Thanx Brent, I do my best to be very patient. The less I bother the CM, the more he has time to work on cues. I hope I don't get screwed again, as it has happened. I just chalk it up to experience.

By and large, it's been a very good experience. There are still very good people in this forum. :thumbup:

Thanx,

i saw this early this morning,
but didnt really have an answer
i still dont :wink:

i have been the luckiest guy on the planet when it comes to customers and thier expectations
at this moment, i'm a good six months behind on one guys cue, and not only is he NOTcomplaining ,
he even wanted to send me more money,
that i turned down

i just finished up one for blowfish, it was probably 3, 4 or 5 months late too
he never bugs me about it, he just let's me go at my own speed
you just cant ask for better people than that

 

[sengkun108]

bump ..................

 

[Charlie Edwards]

I'm not a cuemaker, just someone who has bought a boatload of custom cues from makers. I've had the very best experiences and the very worst... and everything in between. I'm in a service business that's not related to pool that requires a fast turnaround.

Now with that said, I truly believe the reason that a large percentage of cuemakers can't meet their promised delivery times is because they simply are not good businessmen. The ones that are sometimes late are the same ones that are nearly always late.

When makers like Richard Black, Mottey, Scruggs, and a lot of others are mostly on time with their delivers, the question becomes ''why can't the others''.

I am aware this will not be a popular post with some, but it is completely true, IMO.

I've been self employed for over 35 years and I've seen a lot of others in my type of business come and go. Long ago I came to the conclusion that some people just can't work for themselves. Constantly giving excuses just simply won't cut it in the real world.

Sure things can go wrong when building cues... but those things should be the exception, not the rule.

 

[Bob Farr]

I don't think there is a such thing as an impatient customer, I think in most cases inpatients is confused with poor communication. In my opinion customers are just like us, they want to be kept informed, they want to know the details of the transaction, and they must be kept updated with current information on the project good or bad. In my opinion if I do my job and keep my customers informed and up to date on the progress of their cue there is no impatience even those few times that the project has had to go past it's scheduled completion times frame.

JIMO

Once again Manwon is right on. And Leon Sly also. These two actually realize that we are the customers. This is called being a good Business Man.
When you hire a Cuemaker and he requires a 25-50% deposit up front to start and you ask him if its ok to check in with him once a month and he says "no problem" then you should be able to check on your cue once a month or so without him treating you like you are a pain in the rear. Part of the fun of having someone build you a cue is interaction with the Cuemaker and 19 out of 20 of the Cuemakers are great and a lot of fun to deal with and the other one "STINKS".
I have a basic cue on order now that I put 45% down on (he required) that was supposed to be done in 5 - 6 months (by the end of September). 4 months ago he told me that my cue was coming right along and was real close to being assembled and he would send me a picture when he put the joint on. Well guess what? That's the last I heard from him. I e-mailed him when September came and went and asked if he could give me a new estimated delivery date and he responded by saying that he couldn't give me a date, "I'm a few months behind". That's just not right. Difficult and Impatient? I don't think so. JMHO

 

[xianmacx]

I'm not a cuemaker, just someone who has bought a boatload of custom cues from makers. I've had the very best experiences and the very worst... and everything in between. I'm in a service business that's not related to pool that requires a fast turnaround.

Now with that said, I truly believe the reason that a large percentage of cuemakers can't meet their promised delivery times is because they simply are not good businessmen. The ones that are sometimes late are the same ones that are nearly always late.

When makers like Richard Black, Mottey, Scruggs, and a lot of others are mostly on time with their delivers, the question becomes ''why can't the others''.

I am aware this will not be a popular post with some, but it is completely true, IMO.

I've been self employed for over 35 years and I've seen a lot of others in my type of business come and go. Long ago I came to the conclusion that some people just can't work for themselves. Constantly giving excuses just simply won't cut it in the real world.

Sure things can go wrong when building cues... but those things should be the exception, not the rule.

Great post Charlie...

JMW has built me 2 cues with a 6 mo finish time and a 1 year finish time. One was delivered exactly when promised and the other was a week early. The Tascarellas also got my cue completed exactly as promised, 4 years. If these top tier guys can do it, what is slowing others down?

 

[rayjay]

I don't think there is a such thing as an impatient customer, I think in most cases inpatients is confused with poor communication. In my opinion customers are just like us, they want to be kept informed, they want to know the details of the transaction, and they must be kept updated with current information on the project good or bad. In my opinion if I do my job and keep my customers informed and up to date on the progress of their cue there is no impatience even those few times that the project has had to go past it's scheduled completion times frame.

JIMO

Exactly, thanks for putting words to it, Craig. I have one being made now (I hope) by a reputable cuemaker with a 50% deposit that was estimated at 5-6 months and is now 6 months overdue. I don't want to be a pain in the ass, but I really would like my questions and emails answered honestly without having to hound him by calling during his work hours. I last called two months ago and sent an email last week with no response so far.