Mike
I remember the conversation. It wasn't easy, but sometimes what's right isn't easy.
And, for the record, we don't ever say that someone "abused" a cue or shaft. That's not our place to decide. What we do is determine the cause of the failure. If that turns out to be a defective product we take care of it hands down. If it turns out to be something completely outside our control or the normal use of the cue, then it won't be something we can replace under warranty.
Also, we do educate those who have us build a collarless shaft that it weaker at the joint without a collar. It's when the shaft is either purchased as a partial and built out by someone else, or we build it for a dealer that we don't ever speak directly to the customer.
Thanks
Royce
Hi Royce
I am not here to split hairs with you over this all over again.
But unfortunately your dealer didn't educate his customer about the inherent weakness of a collarless shaft.
This customer learned the hard way just like the OP of this thread is learning...
This is why I don't buy sale or make a collarless shaft because the collarless shaft is weak, it breaks very easy in some cases and 90% of the time the customer has no idea how fragile a collarless joint actually is.
And has no idea that no one will warranty collarless shaft split at the joint.
You do not say in your warranty policy you don't warranty collarless shafts but the person I talk to on the phone did say that....
Its unfair to customers not to inform them and to be 100% honest I was told by who ever answered the phone the first time I called that you don't warranty a cracked joint on a collarless shaft......
I argued this with shane I believe or who ever answered the phone the first time and I will not change my story just because you are a famous shaft maker.
Shane said he never said that so either I am lying or he is.
Because as per what you said either shane or you are the only ones who deal with customers on warranty issues
Your 3/8x10 pin and 3/8x 11 pin wood to wood jointed shafts have outward pressure being applied to the joint area by the pins snug fit.
Without a collar its a ticking time bomb yet you still sale them but don't warranty the joint and your dealer didn't inform the customer who sent me a OB shaft to be repaired because he no longer has faith in OB Cue.s
If your dealer didn't bore the pin hole 100% perfect it would of cracked the shaft just as it was on the one I tried to get warranty on............
I was told it was side ward pressure that broke the collarless shaft,
I say the pin hole was to tight for the laminated wood and it split it out.
My customer said he takes good care of his cues and I believe him because he has had no issues with the cue I sold him and one of the shafts was a non laminated LD shaft.
This was about a year ago, he also has two OB shafts that had failed in about a years time....
Same customer 2 OB shafts failed with in one year and the ld shaft I sold him hasn't failed....
And for ( any ) reason if the shaft I sold him failed I would make him another one for free because he is a honest and valued customer......
And Its not that big of a deal to make him another shaft , I rather make another shaft and take the loss then to every have to deal with unhappy customer like me.
Bob Danielson has had one LD laminated shaft that fail in 20 years..... ONE
The customer who sent me his OB classic now has two OB classic shafts sitting in his closet, both failed and one was repairable and it wasn't sent back to you for the repairs, it was sent to the OB dealer who made the Partial into a cue shaft and he didn't do anything to help his customer.
The customer got left with 2 failed OB shaft and the dealer wouldn't go to bat for him..
As you said above you never talk to the customers about the inherent weakness that a collarless shaft has.
Well that lack of a education or up front warning never made it to my customer and he got burned out a few hundred bucks.
But what the hell you got your money and your dealer got his money.
And the customer will never buy another OB shaft just like the op of this thread will never buy another Jacoby.