Rocket354 said:
Well said, and here I am as well waiting somewhat in the dark. Just hope I get an update soon.
Kevin Varney Status
- Thread starter longmao
- Start date
Well said, and here I am as well waiting somewhat in the dark. Just hope I get an update soon.
ribdoner said:
Fair enough. I've paid in full to show good faith and to hope the cuemaker would return in kind. Also, it's easier just to have paid and not worry about making sure I have $x set aside for some cue some months down the road.
But I've found that a lot of people's commitment to customer service falls off dramatically once they have money in their hands, especially people I've dealt with through AZB. Instead of feeling that they need to live up to the faith the customer showed in them and the money said customer is paying, they more feel like their job is done, and anything they do after that point is an annoyance. Clearly I need to overhaul how I do deals.
It is a tangent, but I would like to take this time to look on the positive side for a minute and point out one guy who had extraordinary customer service, even after our transaction was complete and he had money well in hand: Shinobi.
well he did to a certain extent address these problems. he explained the situation in some of the threads here so its not like he just ignored everything. my cue is about 3 months late too but considering everything thats happened its understandable. a tragedy, then a new child, then being admitted to the hospital can really put u behind by quite a bit. he admitted he was behind on the cues and was working to get them done asap i dont think he has time to address every individual since he has a lot of cues being made right now so he just made one big public announcement in the other thread.
If was having these problems, I would contact Kevins freind Irish634 he has been acting as Kevin s go between on the forum. Every other post concerning Kevin he has stated this, he really may be able to get the answers you all need, I would send the guy a PM.
Good Luck to all, I think things will work themselves out and according to Irish634 he would be glad to help if he can!!!!
Good Luck to all, I think things will work themselves out and according to Irish634 he would be glad to help if he can!!!!
i know kevin from other boards as well ,consider him a friend and i will stand up for the man , shit happens he is working on a cue for me as well i have not heard alot from him but im not worried at all . the guy is a stand up guy period and i think *****ing and moaning is not gonna get your cue made any faster .
ericdraven said:
First let me say I'm sorry for any problems Mr. Varney may be having and I wish him the best with his new child and his personal problems.
That being said, a person can conduct his business any way he chooses but having read this thread I would certainly not order a cue from Mr. Varney and if I wanted one I would buy one in the secondary market.
I think ANYONE that takes money, be it deposits or payment in full takes a responsibility along with it. Problems happen, sh*t happens, but if you "promise" a cue by a certain time and take money in exchange for that promise, failing is a broken promise. This combined with poor communication to those you have failed is inexcusable. Estimating a completion date is one thing, promising is something else.
I don't think a cuemaker has any less obligation in this regard than any other business. The "don't rush an artist" arguments don't work for me. If you create art and THEN sell it then by all means work as "creatively" as you choose, but if you represent yourself as a business rather than an artistic endeavor than conduct yourself as a business, deadlines, consequences, all the things most businesses deal with every day.
I ordered a custom cue from Ernie (Ginacue) and he was a great example of how it SHOULD be. We collaborated on the design and he even took the time to glue up some veneers so we were sure about the colors and design before one cent changed hands. I gave him a small deposit (less than 10% of the total price) and in return got an ESTIMATED date from him which was satisfactory. He welcomed my visits to his shop to see the progress and guess what....my cue was done WAAAAAYYYY before the estimated date. A classic case of "under-promise, over-deliver". Perhaps this sort of professionalism is what allows him to get 10K of my money and nothing but praise for his work ethic, his communication and his final product.
I understand cuemakers often take deposits to cover materials and time but if they fall short of their promises for whatever reason, I think a no questions asked offer of a refund is both appropriate and good business.
once again, my wishes all goes well for Mr. Varney and his family.
my $0.02 and prob'ly overpriced at that.
Kinda like what happened with X-breaker.
Then again this is a different kind of business where the cuemaker is the only person who doubles as the sales person cum manufacturer cum salesman cum pr.
Something happens to the man and productions stops completely. There is no substitutes.
Hopefully all things would turn out well.
Then again this is a different kind of business where the cuemaker is the only person who doubles as the sales person cum manufacturer cum salesman cum pr.
Something happens to the man and productions stops completely. There is no substitutes.
Hopefully all things would turn out well.
having a debate with your wife!
this thread reminds me of argueing with my wife. On the one side we have some unsatisfied customers stating some heavy facts (several unfullfilled deadlines, full deposit, no conversation, etc). Sounds like my facts at home (dinner not ready, gave her my Golden Amex, headaches at inappropriate times). On the other side we have a business man and his brothers-in-arms coming up with emotional arguments ( stand up guy, private problems, new born, etc). Sounds like my wife telling me that dinner is not ready yet because she was so busy all day squeezing my Amex. And when it is payback time, she is having headache from talking 4 hours at the cell phone with her friends. Why do I take this calmly? Because I love my wife.
For those who have not got the point yet. Customers should not be treated like that, and complaints should be taken seriously. Conversation is a part of it. I am a business man too, and my customers hardly accept any delay.
... but for those who love Mr. Varney s cues: Just be patient.
this thread reminds me of argueing with my wife. On the one side we have some unsatisfied customers stating some heavy facts (several unfullfilled deadlines, full deposit, no conversation, etc). Sounds like my facts at home (dinner not ready, gave her my Golden Amex, headaches at inappropriate times). On the other side we have a business man and his brothers-in-arms coming up with emotional arguments ( stand up guy, private problems, new born, etc). Sounds like my wife telling me that dinner is not ready yet because she was so busy all day squeezing my Amex. And when it is payback time, she is having headache from talking 4 hours at the cell phone with her friends. Why do I take this calmly? Because I love my wife.
For those who have not got the point yet. Customers should not be treated like that, and complaints should be taken seriously. Conversation is a part of it. I am a business man too, and my customers hardly accept any delay.
... but for those who love Mr. Varney s cues: Just be patient.
Lucky#Nine said:this thread reminds me of argueing with my wife. On the one side we have some unsatisfied customers stating some heavy facts (several unfullfilled deadlines, full deposit, no conversation, etc). Sounds like my facts at home (dinner not ready, gave her my Golden Amex, headaches at inappropriate times). On the other side we have a business man and his brothers-in-arms coming up with emotional arguments ( stand up guy, private problems, new born, etc). Sounds like my wife telling me that dinner is not ready yet because she was so busy all day squeezing my Amex. And when it is payback time, she is having headache from talking 4 hours at the cell phone with her friends. Why do I take this calmly? Because I love my wife.
For those who have not got the point yet. Customers should not be treated like that, and complaints should be taken seriously. Conversation is a part of it. I am a business man too, and my customers hardly accept any delay.
... but for those who love Mr. Varney s cues: Just be patient.
Hahaha, I agree completely but I don't think everyone who gave Mr. Varney money took an oath....
I have nothing for or against Kevin Varney. I've never dealt with him and after reading these posts I never will. If cuemakers such as Mottey and Scruggs can give good communication and consistently deliver on time... Varner should be able to do it to. After all, he is not in their league. In the past there have been so many threads and posts about his service and the quality of his work it's a wonder he has a back log at all.
Usually after getting beat down in these type threads he comes on here with a real kick-ass attitude and makes threats, and then the threads get deleted. I hope this thread doesn't get pulled... that way his future customers will know exactly what to expect when they choose to deal with him. All of this is IMHO, of course.
Usually after getting beat down in these type threads he comes on here with a real kick-ass attitude and makes threats, and then the threads get deleted. I hope this thread doesn't get pulled... that way his future customers will know exactly what to expect when they choose to deal with him. All of this is IMHO, of course.
manwon said:If was having these problems, I would contact Kevins freind Irish634 he has been acting as Kevin s go between on the forum. Every other post concerning Kevin he has stated this, he really may be able to get the answers you all need, I would send the guy a PM.
Good Luck to all, I think things will work themselves out and according to Irish634 he would be glad to help if he can!!!!
Hello everyone,
I did speak with Kevin by phone on Friday evening. I relayed all of the pm's, questions, & comments to him. I am expecting to hear back from him anytime and hope to have information for all that have questions, cues, etc.
Many of you have some very valid questions/comments and I know it bothers Kevin to be so far behind.
My apologies for keeping everyone waiting, I'll post as soon as I get a phone call from him.
Regards,
Craig
grc said:
The deposit i paid was paid 14 months ago. i was wondering why eveyone jumped on my case in the thread i started when apparently there were a lot of us in the same boat. i figured that iwasnt the only one with this problem. why is it nobody else came foward before this?
1pRoscoe said:
Take the deposit the there is an implied contract. One, the buyer will pay in full when the cue is done, the other, the cue maker will build the cue as promised regarding both time frame and quality. As a business person there is no getting around that fact, like it or not. That is why I believe building cues and offering them for sale is a good way to do business. Even for the customer wanting to order a cue, if there are cues around in various stages of completion it can be completed for them to their specs if possible in a very reasonable length of time.
A good cue maker will sell every cue they build regardless weather they take custom orders or not and won't have live with the constraints of outstanding orders and unhappy customers. The fact is, it is inevitable as a cue maker becomes popular if they just wright orders will-nilly, they are going to hit a wall at some point. Unfortunately the same people who shouted your praise, will also be the first to turn on you and come after you with torches if they are disappointed.
Thank you LoGIC...I can't express it any better than that!LoGiC said:
I have a new thread in the main the will be of interest to many of you.
Thank you.
