No way to treat a Customer ..

Poolshootindon

Poolshootindon

Registered Pool Offender
Silver Member
I would like to start this off with saying i do not think all cue builders fall into this category..I know that some of you on here are very protective of cue makers...Now having said that let me explain what has gone on in the past and what is currently happening now...

I own a real nice Mike Bender cue...I bought the cue from Erik Lee new in 2005...There was a ticking sound in one of the shafts so i sent the cue to Mr Bender to have him look at the cue..Sent it 2nd day Fedex..The cue sat at the holding center for a week before Mr Bender picked up the cue..I had informed him that the cue was at his holding center and he said he would get the cue..

No word from him for about a week..I call him and he tells me he hasnt had time to look at my cue because his son has a "bear" rug on his table...Finally he emails me and says he can see nothing wrong with the cue..But he did make a comment about the tips on the cue being installed poorly..For those of you who are in the NW you probably know Greg Sowder..Does great work..He did the tip installs for me..Great work..

That episode took over a month to complete..Here is the latest...I had my Bender for sale and one of our fellow AZer's came by my house to look at the cue...Bob broke the cue down and rolled the butt of the cue on my table and you could see the joint collar lift of the table..When the collar lifted so did the pin..Shafts roll dead straight and the cue is dead straight when put together..So after getting a few ideas of what might be the problem from fellow AZer's (thanks to all who gave me info) i decided to send the cue to Mr Bender for inspection..

I shipped the cue to him on Fed 5th,2008 and the cue arrived in Anchorage on the 8th...Mike sent me an email saying he picked up the cue on the Feb 11th...His words were that he would look at the cue this week (week of the 11th).I sent 3 emails asking if he had had a chance to look at the cue..Finally on the 26th i get a return email from Mike..These are his words.."Don, I have checked your cue out and have found no warp at all. The pin runs dead nuts and the shafts are all straight, so is the butt. I faced off the shafts and the butt as the joint faces looked a bit damaged. The cue is ready to return. I would strongly advise using joint protectors to protect the faces. -Mike"..

Now i have never had a cue that did not have joint protectors..The damn things were on the cue when he got it..WTF..So after a few emails explaining my side of the story i said just give me a bill for shipping and work and send the cue back to me..Now if you notice he said the cue is ready to return..He said i either need to send him a check or give him my Fedex account #..I gave him the Fedex #...No reply from him...

How hard is it to spend 2 minutes and let someone know the situation..Hell, i work for Fedex and i get 30 emails a day and not only to i have time to answer all of them i am able to fill there requests or give them a followup..I will never do business with Mr Bender again...Very poor personal skills...

Go ahead and say what you want about this post, but man this is not a way to run a business...I will let you know when and if i get my cue back...Don Iverson :confused:
 
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I tried to make it through your post but I couldn't do it. If you want people to take your complaints about a master cue builder with a fantastic reputation seriously I would suggest putting them in a coherent format.
 
so if I understand right, your brought the cue from a dealer. Something was ticking (probably a tip or a ferrule if I had to guess), you send it to Mike. Mike looks at it, doesn't like the tips. You disagree about the tips. Cue gets sent back to you.

You notice something not rolling right, though together it rolls straight. You send the cue back, Mike can't find anything wrong. This upsets you.

Now he has had your cue for a extra week or two, and hasn't responded to a email. You haven't picked up the phone yet and called him in any of this.

So you then come on here and post this, not knowing if the emails arrived, if they were read, if they were lost in a spam filter, if hes even home to read them.

Interesting...
 
pwd72s said:
I would suggest trying to telephone...emails aren't always reliable.
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goodpost.gif
, and a great idea. :)
 
For some reason people think email is a way to speak to people. We had a situation of ordering airline tickets. I was told that we would get a confirmation email. Well we never got it. I phoned them , get teh run around about email. They forward the thing agian,then 2 emails arrive, the orig and the forward one. Only 2 weeks apart. If anything is important, or a timely reply is required, phone or post seems to be the only reliable way.If it were me,I would have called. As you said , he may have been out of town or simply did not get the email.
As it turned out , for our airtickets, they were called penciled in but not confirmed. After talking got it all sorted out.
It pays to see if you are on the same page sometimes.
 
What you have to understand is that MIke lives in Alaska. I am sure that he does not make a trip to the holding center every day. Doesn't Fed Ex do door delivery?

The other is you are not the original purchaser. Too many things may have happened since it changed hands a few times. Mike has does not have a lifetime warrantee against abuse or for other peoples work.

The other is if there was something noticeable wrong with the cue when you bought it you should have sent it back to Eric. Why would you buy a cue that was defective?

If the cue was new why was the tip put on by Greg Sowder?

Too many issues that don't add up.

I called Mike a year ago to inquire about a cue on the market. He took the time to answer my questions even though he wasn't making anything off of it. I told him that I had sent a Email and he said the best way is by phone since he doesn't look at his Emails that often.
 
The 'tink' sound could very well be the tip... if not, probably the ferrule. I'd get another opinion from someone else, other than Bender. Actually, I'd change the tip first and see if that corrected the problem.

If the cue is dead straight when together, I wouldn't worry about it being warped. Benders sometimes have a taper roll when the butt is rolled by itself.
 
Its easy to get upset over a cue no doubt, and I will agree the best way to contact somone is by phone... E-mails, are easily overlooked, I have been known to delete a bunch of important e-mails because there was simply sooo many.. page after page...its hard trying to go through several hundred E-mails.. Thats why I also give my phone number, home and even my cell number just in case I do miss an E-mail..

I can imagine Mr. Bender gets alot of E-mails, and Im sure it does take time to go through them all and sort out all the junk mail.....

Give him a call...


Email,email,email,email,email..Geez I sound like a broken record........



SPINDOKTOR
 
Hornets nest..

I figured that i would get a bashing from a few on here..No problem...Book...read the post a little better next time...I bought the cue "New" from Erik Lee...Not used...New...

I had the tips changed by Greg Sowder for 2 reasons...I wanted a softer tip and i was hoping that maybe changing the tip would help...

Erik Lee was the seller of the cue...Not the man who made it..JCIN...Just maybe if you took some time to read my message you will see the frustration i have had dealing with Mike...

Just because he is a master cue builder does not mean he has people skills...This is not the first nor will it be the last time someone complains on here about something...

I know a lot of you wheel and deal cues all the time..Maybe your used to waiting a month or so to get a deal reslolved..I am not..I have just 1 playing cue and that is all i need....Just send the damn thing back....Done ...Fini..Thats all folks...Don
 
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Shafts roll dead straight and the cue is dead straight when put together..
OK, so where's the problem?
IF that joint screw or collar were crooked, how do you explain the cue rolling straight when joined together?
 
Poolshootindon said:
JCIN...Just maybe if you took some time to read my message you will see the frustration i have had dealing with Mike...Just because he is a master cue builder does no mean he has people skills..
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The point JCIN was making was that he tried to read your post but couldn't. A long post with no line breaks is extremely difficult for anyone to read, even those of us lucky enough to have great eye sight.

Generally I won't bother trying to read a post that doesn't have breaks in the lines. It has to really interest me to try it and the fact that the post was about a "master cue builder" I decided to try it.

A little trick that I use is to highlight the first line and continue highlighting each line as I read down. It doesn't require a lot of work but its still more work than most want to do. For those that never thought about it, the idea might come in handy the next time you come across a post without breaks that you would really like to read.

Mr. Iverson I'm going to take the liberty of reposting your original post with line breaks. If you compare it to your original post, you'll see how much easier it is to read and you might be a little more understanding of JCIN and the others that find your original post difficult to read.

Poolshootindon said:
I would like to start this off with saying i do not think all cue builders fall into this category..I know that some of you on here are very protective of cue makers...Now having said that let me explain what has gone on in the past and what is currently happening now...

I own a real nice Mike Bender cue...I bought the cue from Erik Lee new in 2005...There was a ticking sound in one of the shafts so i sent the cue to Mr Bender to have him look at the cue..Sent it 2nd day Fedex..The cue sat at the holding center for a week before Mr Bender picked up the cue..I had informed him that the cue was at his holding center and he said he would get the cue..

No word from him for about a week..I call him and he tells me he hasnt had time to look at my cue because his son has a "bear" rug on his table...Finally he emails me and says he can see nothing wrong with the cue..But he did make a comment about the tips on the cue being installed poorly..For those of you who are in the NW you probably know Greg Sowder..Does great work..He did the tip installs for me..Great work..

That episode took over a month to complete..Here is the latest...I had my Bender for sale and one of our fellow AZer's came by my house to look at the cue...Bob broke the cue down and rolled the butt of the shaft on my table and you could see the joint collar lift of the table..When the collar lifted so did the pin..Shafts roll dead straight and the cue is dead straight when put together..So after getting a few ideas of what might be the problem from fellow AZer's (thanks to all who gave me info) i decided to send the cue to Mr Bender for inspection..

I shipped the cue to him on Fed 5th,2008 and the cue arrived in Anchorage on the 8th...Mike sent me an email saying he picked up the cue on the Feb 11th...His words were that he would look at the cue this week (week of the 11th).I sent 3 emails asking if he had had a chance to look at the cue..Finally on the 26th i get a return email from Mike..These are his words.."Don, I have checked your cue out and have found no warp at all. The pin runs dead nuts and the shafts are all straight, so is the butt. I faced off the shafts and the butt as the joint faces looked a bit damaged. The cue is ready to return. I would strongly advise using joint protectors to protect the faces. -Mike"..

Now i have never had a cue that did not have joint protectors..The damn things were on the cue when he got it..WTF..So after a few emails explaining my side of the story i said just give me a bill for shipping and work and send the cue back to me..Now if you notice he said the cue is ready to return..He said i either need to send him a check or give him my Fedex account #..I gave him the Fedex #...No reply from him...

How hard is it to spend 2 minutes and let someone know the situation..Hell, i work for Fedex and i get 30 emails a day and not only to i have time to answer all of them i am able to fill there requests or give them a followup..

I will never do business with Mr Bender again...Very poor personal skills...Go ahead and say what you want about this post, but man this is not a way to run a business...I will let you know when and if i get my cue back...Don Iverson :confused:
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I am in full agreement.

Poolshootindon said:
I would like to start this off with saying i do not think all cue builders fall into this category..I know that some of you on here are very protective of cue makers...Now having said that let me explain what has gone on in the past and what is currently happening now...I own a real nice Mike Bender cue...I bought the cue from Erik Lee new in 2005...There was a ticking sound in one of the shafts so i sent the cue to Mr Bender to have him look at the cue..Sent it 2nd day Fedex..The cue sat at the holding center for a week before Mr Bender picked up the cue..I had informed him that the cue was at his holding center and he said he would get the cue..No word from him for about a week..I call him and he tells me he hasnt had time to look at my cue because his son has a "bear" rug on his table...Finally he emails me and says he can see nothing wrong with the cue..But he did make a comment about the tips on the cue being installed poorly..For those of you who are in the NW you probably know Greg Sowder..Does great work..He did the tip installs for me..Great work..That episode took over a month to complete..Here is the latest...I had my Bender for sale and one of our fellow AZer's came by my house to look at the cue...Bob broke the cue down and rolled the butt of the shaft on my table and you could see the joint collar lift of the table..When the collar lifted so did the pin..Shafts roll dead straight and the cue is dead straight when put together..So after getting a few ideas of what might be the problem from fellow AZer's (thanks to all who gave me info) i decided to send the cue to Mr Bender for inspection..I shipped the cue to him on Fed 5th,2008 and the cue arrived in Anchorage on the 8th...Mike sent me an email saying he picked up the cue on the Feb 11th...His words were that he would look at the cue this week (week of the 11th).I sent 3 emails asking if he had had a chance to look at the cue..Finally on the 26th i get a return email from Mike..These are his words.."Don, I have checked your cue out and have found no warp at all. The pin runs dead nuts and the shafts are all straight, so is the butt. I faced off the shafts and the butt as the joint faces looked a bit damaged. The cue is ready to return. I would strongly advise using joint protectors to protect the faces. -Mike"..Now i have never had a cue that did not have joint protectors..The damn things were on the cue when he got it..WTF..So after a few emails explaining my side of the story i said just give me a bill for shipping and work and send the cue back to me..Now if you notice he said the cue is ready to return..He said i either need to send him a check or give him my Fedex account #..I gave him the Fedex #...No reply from him...How hard is it to spend 2 minutes and let someone know the situation..Hell, i work for Fedex and i get 30 emails a day and not only to i have time to answer all of them i am able to fill there requests or give them a followup..I will never do business with Mr Bender again...Very poor personal skills...Go ahead and say what you want about this post, but man this is not a way to run a business...I will let you know when and if i get my cue back...Don Iverson :confused:
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This is a good example of just how easy it is to please customers or make them unhappy. I own my own company and ALWAYS go out of my way to make my customers feel important and hopefully like a friend. It would have been very easy for Bender to make Don Iverson feel like he was dealing with a business owner that at least cared about his reputation and had pride in his work, but chose not to. How much effort would Bender have to give to have made Iverson happy? A couple minutes? Did Bender hit balls with the cue or did he just look at it? Bender should have done what he could have to make a customer happy. It sounds like he put very little effort into a very simple situation to fix. Bender should have offered to put different tips on free of charge but I know not all business owners care that much. How many Bender cues are Iverson going to buy in the future? If Bender reads this he should do the right thing and contact Iverson. Remember the golden rule.
 
Poolshootindon said:
Book...read the post a little better next time......Just maybe if you took some time to read my message you will see the frustration i have had dealing with Mike.
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As JCIN suggested, it is an odious proposition to expect anyone to understand your frustration if they are not communicated in a clear, legible format.

ellipses are not a substitute for paragraph indentations. Learn to block your text.

White space allows the eye to follow and digest much more easily.

Just a thought,

R.S.
 
Don, I know this can be very frustrating...But I don't think that Mr Bender would purposely 'dink' you around.

Also...please note that Mr Bender does not actually live in Anchorage, but Delta Junction...and it is winter up there. It's not exactly like he can just jump on the freeway and make a quick trip to Anchorage. I am not necessarily trying to defend him...but folks in Alaska look at life in a completely different way...it's kinda like, they'll get around to it, when they get around to it....very, very laid-back lifestyle up there.

Additionally...it is my understanding that Mr Bender's cues are very much like SW cues...they tend to roll a bit funky, due to the tapering of both the shaft and butt sections. Add to that, while we are very "wet' (humid) here, it's pretty dry up there. What that means is, where you may have a slight roll in Oregon...the cue may well roll perfect in the drier climes of the Alaskan winter...and so Mr Bender may not ever see what you are experiencing.

As to the tips causing the ticking sound....even the best cue repairman/tip guy can have tips pop off on them. Some tips are a bigger PITA to work with than others...all you need to do is to get a slight air pocket between the tip and ferrule, and at some point, that sucker is either going to make noise on ya, or just pop off....it happens to even the best of them.

I am not trying to make any excuses for Mr Bender...or anyone else for that matter....just trying to offer you a bit of the 'bigger' picture that you may be dealing with. And I understand that it is doing nothing to alleviate your frustration level...and for that, I am sorry.

Lastly...not all cuemakers make for great business people....some flat out suck at it! Live and learn...and once you get your cue back, move on. Next time you'll just pick a different cuemaker is all. Working at FedEx, as I once did, I am sure you have had to deal with more than your fair share of 'difficult' people, as I did. Sometimes all you can do is the best you can to stay positive and pleasant, until the task at hand is done...and then you hope to never have to deal with that individual again.

I wish you all the best in getting this issue resolved in a somewhat satisfactory manner to you. :)

Lisa
 
I am curious as to what Mr. Bender's backlog is. I am wonder how his customers on that backlog would feel if he kept dropping everything each time someone asked/shipped/e-mailed/called about something. At some point people need to remember that Bender cues is a 2 person operation that produces a high quality, labor intensive product that is in high demand. One of the side effects is that sometimes things take longer and deadlines get missed.

Send your cue with a mystery tink to similar level makers: South West, Schick etc. I suspect that if you expect instant service with total attention you are going to be dissapointed, but if you are patient and polite you will receive great service.

I would like to hear the other side of this story.

I have owned Bender cues and have had the pleasure of meeting Mike , both were very good experiences that I hope to repeat. Sometimes things just get crossed up. Like another poster said, just chalk it up to experience and move on. I do think if you expect Fed Ex or Wal Mart or any other type of big business customer service from a 1 or 2 man shop with a long backlog you are setting yourself up for dissapointment. They call it cuemaker time for a reason.
 
JCIN said:
I am curious as to what Mr. Bender's backlog is. I am wonder how his customers on that backlog would feel if he kept dropping everything each time someone asked/shipped/e-mailed/called about something. At some point people need to remember that Bender cues is a 2 person operation that produces a high quality, labor intensive product that is in high demand. One of the side effects is that sometimes things take longer and deadlines get missed.

Send your cue with a mystery tink to similar level makers: South West, Schick etc. I suspect that if you expect instant service with total attention you are going to be dissapointed, but if you are patient and polite you will receive great service.

I would like to hear the other side of this story.

I have owned Bender cues and have had the pleasure of meeting Mike , both were very good experiences that I hope to repeat. Sometimes things just get crossed up. Like another poster said, just chalk it up to experience and move on. I do think if you expect Fed Ex or Wal Mart or any other type of big business customer service from a 1 or 2 man shop with a long backlog you are setting yourself up for dissapointment. They call it cuemaker time for a reason.
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JCIN...it is my understanding that, like so many other fine cuemakers these days,Mr Bender is no longer taking orders...so I suspect he is and his wife are busy, to be sure.

I have quite a few friends who are either from Alaska, or are currently in Alaska...and they hurry for no one...they live by their own timeline.

Also, with a lot of cuemakers these days, patience is a requirement...which I will admit, is not always very easy on the person being required to be patient...I think we all can agree, it can be hard waiting on a cue. :)

Lisa
 
JoeyInCali said:
Shafts roll dead straight and the cue is dead straight when put together..
OK, so where's the problem?
IF that joint screw or collar were crooked, how do you explain the cue rolling straight when joined together?
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Joey, I can explain it, the cue has a Parabolic Taper, and when not assembled the butt has a wobble when rolled, like we have talked about in many other threads. Now, if I can fix a cue like this, by adjusting the facing I am certain that anyone can.

While we also know that this so called taper roll will not effect the playability of the cue, we also no that it will hurt resale of any cue with this problem. I think with that in mind cues that have this roll should not be marketed at the full price that would be charged for one without it.

This is not dig at any cue maker, but perfect is just that perfect, and anything else less than that is visually obvious to anyone should be sold at a discount. This way the customer will not get screwed later if they chose to sell the cue.

Just my thoughts, no disrespect to anyone, Mr. Bender included!!!!!
 
Now, if I can fix a cue like this, by adjusting the facing I am certain that anyone can.

But, why would you touch the facing?
The cue is dead straight when joined.

Bender does not sell discounted cues. You think anyone who buys his discounted cues will tell it's a second?
 
Thanks for all the replys...

Thanks for editing my post..Does look a whole lot better...Damn..there i go again..Don
 
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