Mike Lambros Cues - Baltimore, MD
5 reviews of MIKE LAMBROS CUES "Best cue I have ever owned. Hits like a dream. I would highly recommend him to anyone who could afford his work."
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My experience dealing with a well known cue maker
- Thread starter LACthe3rd
- Start date
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I know this may sound odd, but I have found thru life's travels it holds true.....
Why are you sending cue repair work to a top-notch cue builder??
Do ppl get Alan Dershowitz for traffic tickets?
A top line rock band for a weekend bar gig?
His prevue is making stellar cues for good money. Cue repair is just patch-work for his bottom line.
Honestly, I am looking for a decent regional guy who's majority work is REPAIRS.
TRUE,... he should not have taken the work, OR at least sent it back to you stating he had no time.
After the 2nd delay, I would have told him to send the cue back.
Why are you sending cue repair work to a top-notch cue builder??
Do ppl get Alan Dershowitz for traffic tickets?
A top line rock band for a weekend bar gig?
His prevue is making stellar cues for good money. Cue repair is just patch-work for his bottom line.
Honestly, I am looking for a decent regional guy who's majority work is REPAIRS.
TRUE,... he should not have taken the work, OR at least sent it back to you stating he had no time.
After the 2nd delay, I would have told him to send the cue back.
smiling_Hans
Well-known member
Well i want to get a refinish on a shaft and get a new tip put on by Thomas Wayne.
If you guys don’t know him he is a top notch guy. Call him.
If you guys don’t know him he is a top notch guy. Call him.
Thanks for updating your original post with the identity details. You described awful, intolerable behavior by a business person. After all, that is what cue makers are. Cue making is their business; part and parcel of that are repairs & shafts.
There isn’t any reason that excuses or reasonably explains such abysmal behavior. Who the _uck do some people think they are that they can piss on other people’s footwear and tell them it’s just rain. The same goes for Searing and every other jerkoff cue maker that fails to recognize why LL Bean is so successful. There are two golden LL Bean rules.
No. 1) The customer is “always” right.
No.2) When in doubt, reread Rule No. 1
The victim of this disaster is not only the cue owner but ultimately Mike Bender. The difference is the cue owner was
taken advantage of, lied to, outright deceived, and did not get what he paid for. It’s pretty obvious he’s a victim of
Mike Bender’s condemnable actions. Then how is Mike ultimately a victim too? His self inflicted loss of business.
Well, anyone that learns of this incident and still does business with Bender deserves all the crap and heartache they
may experience with him. I don’t know this story to be 100% accurate but LAC has impressed me as a straight shooter.
And where the heck is Bender answering his accuser? If there’s any others that got disrespected by Bender, now is the time to come forth and share the details. Listen folks, when we as a community tolerate unprofessional behavior, it is imperative the perpetrator(s) feel the pain of rejection, criticism, loss of business and publicly repent for their actions. If and when we fail to do this, these culprits become more empowered and unaccountable to anyone but their own consciences….Duh?
There isn’t any reason that excuses or reasonably explains such abysmal behavior. Who the _uck do some people think they are that they can piss on other people’s footwear and tell them it’s just rain. The same goes for Searing and every other jerkoff cue maker that fails to recognize why LL Bean is so successful. There are two golden LL Bean rules.
No. 1) The customer is “always” right.
No.2) When in doubt, reread Rule No. 1
The victim of this disaster is not only the cue owner but ultimately Mike Bender. The difference is the cue owner was
taken advantage of, lied to, outright deceived, and did not get what he paid for. It’s pretty obvious he’s a victim of
Mike Bender’s condemnable actions. Then how is Mike ultimately a victim too? His self inflicted loss of business.
Well, anyone that learns of this incident and still does business with Bender deserves all the crap and heartache they
may experience with him. I don’t know this story to be 100% accurate but LAC has impressed me as a straight shooter.
And where the heck is Bender answering his accuser? If there’s any others that got disrespected by Bender, now is the time to come forth and share the details. Listen folks, when we as a community tolerate unprofessional behavior, it is imperative the perpetrator(s) feel the pain of rejection, criticism, loss of business and publicly repent for their actions. If and when we fail to do this, these culprits become more empowered and unaccountable to anyone but their own consciences….Duh?
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smiling_Hans
Well-known member
Sadly we are pool players and love our cues. I don’t think anyone is going to cancel their order because of this or stop them from getting on a waiting list.
It’s a dog eat dog world. The mentality is better him than me.
If someone had a problem with my cue maker that caused 5 people to get off the list and I had the opportunity to get on it then I probably would.
As for cue makers coming to defend themselves? We have seen the mob go after them for it. It’s better to stay silent.
There are two sides to every story and he makes a damn nice cue, is the excuse with many.
My only knowledge of Mike Bender is a heirloom cue a friend had him build. Fantastic one of a kind. I slobber all over that cue every time I see it! Beautiful work of art that hits fantastic. That has been some years ago though.
The problem with a small or one man shop is every customer tends to think it is OK to call once every few weeks and talk thirty minutes or so. Local customers think it is fine to drop by and visit an hour or two. Every minute communicating with customers is that much time lost off of working hours.
This was dealing with charities rather than customers but I had a booming 7/24 business. I was giving ten or twelve thousand a year to various charities. Problem was, every charity insisted on talking to me personally. I clocked time, I lost ten hours a week dealing with charities. I asked them nicely for three months then cut off all but two that were special to me. Ten hours could be much better spent with my children. They got the exact same thing when my manager asked me and I gave a less than one minute answer that they got when I interrupted my day and went and talked to them in person or on the phone.
Consider a shop has a modest 40-60 projects underway. Each customer averages twenty minutes once a month.(Many are far worse) Two days a month lost to the telephone and other communications. Often other communications are required to answer questions too.
I have ran one man and small shops. If I were ever to do it again I would designate thirty minutes before lunch and one hour at the end of the day for communications, period!
A point somebody else made, sometimes your head isn't in the right place for delicate work. My child has been sick three days, my wife hasn't slept for those same three days, It isn't time to be spraying finish or doing precision work! People used to ask why I sometimes stopped a job a few hours from completion. "To save myself several days work!"
I hate to hear of a customer having problems with Bender. I skipped a few pages and don't know how common that is. My experience dealing with other shops is that the issue is usually good intentions and issues with time management. Honestly, nine times out of ten the time management issues are usually customers not valuing the builder's time. I stuck up a sign for awhile, Shop rates, $65 an hour, Phone rates, $50 an hour. It was amazing how phone calls dropped off, and people wanted to know if they were on the clock!
An older sign based phone rates on what the call was about and who from. Fishing buddies got considerably better rates than customers that called three times a day! I had one that really called every two hours and demanded to talk to me each time. I told them their time critical job would sit in the corner two weeks if they called me again. Leave me the hell alone and I would deliver that evening.
Things are damned hard to keep under control in a small or one person shop. No excuse for what I read if the first few pages are accurate but I also know that sometimes strange things happen, especially with finishes. A finish works great for years, then you get a bad batch. Looks great when first applied, goes to crap a year or two down the line and all of a sudden you have unhappy customers by the handful. These days, I cut every bit of the finish off and start over. Earlier I would have tried to do repairs on the damaged area and well out from it then have other areas give trouble months or a few years later.
I have everything to build cues. I decided if I ever built any I would build first then offer them for sale, no orders! Lost my eight year old river of wood to a hurricane along with my shop so I am officially tired and retired!
Hu
The problem with a small or one man shop is every customer tends to think it is OK to call once every few weeks and talk thirty minutes or so. Local customers think it is fine to drop by and visit an hour or two. Every minute communicating with customers is that much time lost off of working hours.
This was dealing with charities rather than customers but I had a booming 7/24 business. I was giving ten or twelve thousand a year to various charities. Problem was, every charity insisted on talking to me personally. I clocked time, I lost ten hours a week dealing with charities. I asked them nicely for three months then cut off all but two that were special to me. Ten hours could be much better spent with my children. They got the exact same thing when my manager asked me and I gave a less than one minute answer that they got when I interrupted my day and went and talked to them in person or on the phone.
Consider a shop has a modest 40-60 projects underway. Each customer averages twenty minutes once a month.(Many are far worse) Two days a month lost to the telephone and other communications. Often other communications are required to answer questions too.
I have ran one man and small shops. If I were ever to do it again I would designate thirty minutes before lunch and one hour at the end of the day for communications, period!
A point somebody else made, sometimes your head isn't in the right place for delicate work. My child has been sick three days, my wife hasn't slept for those same three days, It isn't time to be spraying finish or doing precision work! People used to ask why I sometimes stopped a job a few hours from completion. "To save myself several days work!"
I hate to hear of a customer having problems with Bender. I skipped a few pages and don't know how common that is. My experience dealing with other shops is that the issue is usually good intentions and issues with time management. Honestly, nine times out of ten the time management issues are usually customers not valuing the builder's time. I stuck up a sign for awhile, Shop rates, $65 an hour, Phone rates, $50 an hour. It was amazing how phone calls dropped off, and people wanted to know if they were on the clock!
An older sign based phone rates on what the call was about and who from. Fishing buddies got considerably better rates than customers that called three times a day! I had one that really called every two hours and demanded to talk to me each time. I told them their time critical job would sit in the corner two weeks if they called me again. Leave me the hell alone and I would deliver that evening.
Things are damned hard to keep under control in a small or one person shop. No excuse for what I read if the first few pages are accurate but I also know that sometimes strange things happen, especially with finishes. A finish works great for years, then you get a bad batch. Looks great when first applied, goes to crap a year or two down the line and all of a sudden you have unhappy customers by the handful. These days, I cut every bit of the finish off and start over. Earlier I would have tried to do repairs on the damaged area and well out from it then have other areas give trouble months or a few years later.
I have everything to build cues. I decided if I ever built any I would build first then offer them for sale, no orders! Lost my eight year old river of wood to a hurricane along with my shop so I am officially tired and retired!
Hu
smiling_Hans
Well-known member
Hated reading the last paragraph.
There are many one man cue making operations that get along fine. There are also many that can't seem to get out of their own way. The good ones all found ways to manage their time and finances without hurting anyone. Dave Kikel has his own unique way. He does not run his business online at all. You call and leave a voicemail then he calls you back when he has time to chat. No drama, no bs just his way of doing business.
I own a beautiful Bender (btw) with five shafts and a matching J/B. When I called him several times with no response I dropped any thoughts of doing any business with him in the future and I am glad I did. Not gloating and am sorry the OP is having issues with him. I do hope he gets some satisfaction in the end.
I own a beautiful Bender (btw) with five shafts and a matching J/B. When I called him several times with no response I dropped any thoughts of doing any business with him in the future and I am glad I did. Not gloating and am sorry the OP is having issues with him. I do hope he gets some satisfaction in the end.
smiling_Hans
Well-known member
I'm an idiot and not that creative of a guy. When I order something it is not fully custom. I have them make me their signature style cue. Whatever that may be.
I commend you for telling your story and there have been some good points bought up, albeit sad ones, in this thread.
I have participated in the cue industry for 30+ years and all I say when people ask me to sum it up....
Cue person XXX is bad, kept my money scumbag etc.. etc... saw and commented by 1000 people, I agree, what a jerk etc....
Cue person XXX says.. I have a Southwest for 2500.... the same 1000 people can't get to their PayPal fast enough.
This is all you need to know.
JV
I have participated in the cue industry for 30+ years and all I say when people ask me to sum it up....
Cue person XXX is bad, kept my money scumbag etc.. etc... saw and commented by 1000 people, I agree, what a jerk etc....
Cue person XXX says.. I have a Southwest for 2500.... the same 1000 people can't get to their PayPal fast enough.
This is all you need to know.
JV
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It's all crazy anyway. Last I knew some people didn't want NC work on their cue so they deal with someone that doesn't do NC. The shop has a pantagraph and traces stencils to cut inlays and pockets. Almost all of those stencils are cut on NC now. Same results if you are lucky, multiple times the shop time to run a pantagraph instead of NC. Years ago I saw a cue with over three hundred hours of pantagraph work in it. Counting set up and everything, maybe three hours NC for the same result.
A genuinely hand cut butt with pockets and inlays, no NC or pantagraph, has extra value to me. It might not be quite as perfect but I'm paying for the human factor.
With the toys and software I once had I could have copied the Ginacue in maybe a day, flaws and all! There would be decimal points difference in value!
It's a strange world, getting stranger by the day!
Hu
I can see that, I have read a few threads here on az about bad experiences. Tonkin comes to mind, But i think you are right most of those people would still buy one already made and be proud to have it.
I am not condoning Bad service of course, I have been in customer service my whole working life. I was in a sales class when i was younger and was taught that it takes 10 happy customers before 1 speaks out but it only takes 1 angry customer to tell 10 people.
The bad press may not have as much of an effect on the cue builders as it does in most businesses because of the way custom orders are taken.
With most having long waitlists there will still be people to fill the gaps, but it could dry up with word of mouth.
Think of the names you suggest to people when they are looking for someone. those builders will have customers for a long time.
Dan
For the record, if everything is true and there was no prior animosity between the 2 of you, I firmly believe you were right to name him. There is absolutely no excuse for his dealings with you. He may or may not be a good cue maker, but he is also either an incompetent businessman or dishonest. Every time we read about these things it helps all the members decide whether to deal with the cue maker in question, and while you were trying to err on the side of caution you had no reason to hesitate to name Mike Bender as the guy who repeatedly screwed you over.
LACthe3rd
Member
Part of what wasn’t included was that I had a small conversation of whether the cue I had repaired was his or not. He told me that his brother produced it in the shop in the late 90s. So I figured I would send a Kew. He made back to him to be repaired. I found out later that it was not his cue. It was made by Bryan Mordt and had very similar ringwork and aesthetics to the cues he makes.
LACthe3rd
Member
I doubt he even has an account on here. It would probably cause him more trouble than good to be available online to people who would not condone his actions.