Mr Varney a refund please.

one comment

I have been in business most of my life and one bit of advice to Kevin and all cue makers, if you are often missing your estimated completion dates, add more time! Customers are happy campers if you tell them it will be a year and they get it in nine months. They are often PO'ed and bad mouthing you if you tell them nine months and it takes eighteen.

Wood is wood with all it's quirks but we all should know that by now. I am cutting a snooker diameter shaft for someone right now. Going finish it today in fact. With all of the extra wood coming off from my normal break and playing shaft sizes, I started three blanks coming down. I have lost one to warpage despite using Resolute and taking all precautions. One is shaky and I won't actually deliver it, I'll keep it a few years. The third one has held true through many turnings and rests and that one goes to the customer.

Some customers have unrealistic expectations but quite a few cue makers are a bit too casual about making promises that they don't deliver on too. Not saying that happened in this case, I have no idea. However, it happens all to often. If cue making is a business, run it as a business. If it is a hobby be sure your customers understand it is a hobby and you only do it when you are in the mood.

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
I have been in business most of my life and one bit of advice to Kevin and all cue makers, if you are often missing your estimated completion dates, add more time! Customers are happy campers if you tell them it will be a year and they get it in nine months. They are often PO'ed and bad mouthing you if you tell them nine months and it takes eighteen.

Wood is wood with all it's quirks but we all should know that by now. I am cutting a snooker diameter shaft for someone right now. Going finish it today in fact. With all of the extra wood coming off from my normal break and playing shaft sizes, I started three blanks coming down. I have lost one to warpage despite using Resolute and taking all precautions. One is shaky and I won't actually deliver it, I'll keep it a few years. The third one has held true through many turnings and rests and that one goes to the customer.

Some customers have unrealistic expectations but quite a few cue makers are a bit too casual about making promises that they don't deliver on too. Not saying that happened in this case, I have no idea. However, it happens all to often. If cue making is a business, run it as a business. If it is a hobby be sure your customers understand it is a hobby and you only do it when you are in the mood.

Hu
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True dat.
Underpromise, over deliver . No promises over another undelivered promise.
I know one local custom knife maker. He is 3 years behind.:eek:
 
Just a thought on the other side of cue making! I have ordered several different cues, Richard Black, Mike Capone, Ned Morris, Searing, Hercek, SouthWest (1 more year to go) and Jerry Rauenzahn (-R- just ordered, I'm so excited :D). With each cue I know it's going to take time to make. The whole deposit thing is wired; I have never once had a cue maker ask for a deposit. I just offer it up; I know they need something to get started! Some have said wait till the cue is started, then send me money (waiting list). Its just common sense, I know for if some reason I don?t want the cue, I loose my money! Again Common Sense! A custom engine builder is not going to refund money for something I wanted and designed just because I don?t want to wait (can?t wait for the car either :D)!

Just my .02$

Cue Makers; Keep doing what you guys do! I love to ogle over cues, some are just amazing! Keep up the good work!

***Mr. Varney, I hope all is well with your family! God Bless!
 
Waiting

qbilder said:
This is a prime example of why I prefer NOT to accept any payment before the cue is complete. If I have somebody's money, they own my time. I'm slow, and often bust my TOC by a very long time. There's no secret that i'm in no particular hurry to get a cue done. All I can do is give an estimated time of when things "should" be done. However, I have absolutely no idea, honestly. It's wood, I have a life away from my lathe, and sometimes I just get so sick of seeing cues that I quit for a little while.

If I have a choice between polishing a cue & taking my wife out to dinner, the cue waits. If the next morning my kids want to play, the cue waits. If we, as a family, want to make it movie & pizza night, then the cue waits again. If the buyer of the cue can't wait then he can find another builder. I'm NEVER going to give up my free time in life to build a cue so that somebody else can enjoy their free time, for any amount of money. I work when I want to, when it's enjoyable for me. How often is that? Pretty often but nothing is set on a calender.

My guess is that many cuemakers are like this. Then there are those who go at it like it's a career & dedicate their lives to it. We all have our ways. But in the end there are always misunderstandings. It's the human way.
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As i like your family values,I think you still have to deliver the cue in a timely manner.If you can't then you need a new line of work.Mr Varney had some unique circumstances and people should understand this,and support him in his choices as I did.As business goes if you were buying your supplies from a peticulair person and say [wood blanks] and he didn't feel like acquiring wood for you cause he wanted to do something else .You would need to go else ware for your supplies to keep business going.I'm not trying to argue with you,family is important but the business pays the bills unless you build cues as a hobby.
 
As i like your family values,I think you still have to deliver the cue in a timely manner.If you can't then you need a new line of work.
Then SW should close shop. They are at least two years behind. Maybe three.
Of course SW and other makers who do not take downpayments can make it easier.
Just make cues and post them for sale. Or just sell deliver cues to dealers.
I believe Tad does it this way now.
 
There does have to be some type of time frame. Although they are in a business to make money, we are in a business to play pool. The reason they they run behind is a good reason it's why good cuemakers have a wait: DEMAND. When someone buys a custom cue I think there is a hidden rule of thumb...it's going to take way longer than expected. Just like in everyday life things some up, that too happens with cue making. If you order a cue and can't wait, then by knowing the time frame order a production cue plain and simple.
 
I agree, but stuff happens. On my first custom, I thought it would be delivered within the promised time frame, it never happened, I got a little impatient and e-mailed the maker with a fair degree of regularity. He informed me that with such a highly figured piece of cocobolo, it would take longer than expected to make sure the wood is completely stable so that it wouldn't turn into a pretzel 6mos after i received it, and offered to send a similar cue in it's place. I wanted the one that I ordered so I had to console myself with the fact that it would take more time to ensure that it's right. His communication was excellent and I truly respect that. Very stand-up, and accomadating. What I did do in the meantime, was buy a good used custom sneaky off this forum to tide me over until my cue was completed, which I can always re-sell later when my cue arrives, or keep it and add to the growing collection. It seems that the there is an age division among the sought after cuemakers, the older proven(health issues) or the newer young mavericks(new families and the like) so patience seems to be a must. I kinda went in blind, but have realized that things happen and life has to be dealt with as it comes...but good things will come.
 
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South West

JoeyInCali said:
As i like your family values,I think you still have to deliver the cue in a timely manner.If you can't then you need a new line of work.
Then SW should close shop. They are at least two years behind. Maybe three.
Of course SW and other makers who do not take downpayments can make it easier.
Just make cues and post them for sale. Or just sell deliver cues to dealers.
I believe Tad does it this way now.
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I think they have a wait list,this is an exception.What I mean is saying that if you say a year then unless due circumstances arrive about a year the wait should be.If the maker just decided to go on a hiatious then this is a little different.Vacations are exceptions and all,but to just stop making cues for an extended time I feel is wrong.Do you understand what I'm getting at.:confused:
 
Great point

ilovepool said:
There does have to be some type of time frame. Although they are in a business to make money, we are in a business to play pool. The reason they they run behind is a good reason it's why good cuemakers have a wait: DEMAND. When someone buys a custom cue I think there is a hidden rule of thumb...it's going to take way longer than expected. Just like in everyday life things some up, that too happens with cue making. If you order a cue and can't wait, then by knowing the time frame order a production cue plain and simple.
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This is why I am having a custom omen made and the reason I have been active in trading cues to try others out while I wait,I also have acquired a plain jane omen to play with.
 
I have had a bunch of cues made for me by a bunch of different cuemakers...never remember one being finished BEFORE it was scheduled to be. Some have taken much longer than anticipated, but that is the nature of the game.

I believe that some folks don't truly understand what is involved in cuemaking. Many believe that they pick out a design and the woods they want and the cuemaker goes to town cutting the wood and spinning it down to size. They don't realize that many, many passes must be made in small increments..then the wood has to sit to see if it is stable...then another little pass...and so on, etc, etc.

Even when they turn shafts, the shafts that you get with your cue have probably been in the turning stage for a year or longer...probably much more. It just takes time. Then, once the new cue is delivered and it proves to be the Holy Grail, all is forgiven...or then again......

Joe
 
Fatboy said:
There are some BIG cue makers here, they just dont have anything to say, but I know for a fact they are here, I will not sell them out by mentioning names.
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Yes, you and I probably know some of the same people then.

Stuff like this is why they won't participate....and who would blame them ??
 
JoeyInCali said:
True dat.
Underpromise, over deliver . No promises over another undelivered promise.
I know one local custom knife maker. He is 3 years behind.:eek:
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Joey, those are great words to remember, not just for anyone in business but all of us.
 
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I build homes, I only built top quality, If it takes longer for my level of quality so be it, I never rush or compramise quality for anyone at any price......... I build as if each home where my own...... That is the way Kevin builds cues......
 
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