Pool mechanic etiquette - guy's coming to back to fix an uneven table a few months later since he guarantees his work - do I tip?

logical

Loose Rack
Silver Member
Recovering alcoholics-

In my experience if you were around them more than an hour on the first visit they would have brought that up...they all do. Only thing worse is bicyclists and maybe HAM radio guys.

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9andout

Gunnin' for a 3 pack!!
Silver Member
tend not to tip the owner of the business but the worker. someone that contracts for a set price is the price you pay.
no different if someone sells you a cue for a price you dont tip him. but someone who works for a business that puts tips on, you do. but not the owner. he already got all the money for the job.
Exactly.
 

HNTFSH

Birds, Bass & Bottoms
Silver Member
I normally tend to agree but there are exceptions. Charter boat captains, hunting guides and some specialty labor. I had a cedar fence and deck done this year and due to COVID the owner did 98% of the job alone. The work was absolutely excellent, in fact perfect, along with following through with everything he'd promised including arrival times each morning for weeks. His only helper was a stand-behind hydraulic machine that doubled as a post hole digger and front loader. One day two helpers cleaned up the old deck 2nd level they brought down.

Dude was just fantastic and a perfectionist.

I tipped him $500.00 and still felt guilty.

I threw $200 each to the two table mechanics that delivered and set up my GC1. Two young guys with kids, one was partial owner via family. Did an excellent job - I try to recognize great work. Sometimes my money gets to me easy, it's worth making that so for others sometimes.
 

HNTFSH

Birds, Bass & Bottoms
Silver Member
I am guessing a him.
Let me rephrase. Are you expecting the "Rep" who sold you the table to show up and install it by himself, with helpers, or will it just be the helpers?

Was installation a line item on the total bill?
 

Z-Nole

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My guy just picked up my rails to fix ‘em up and put new carpet down. I would stiff the son of a bitch but he’s to damn efficient and reliable. Dude got pretty jacked during Covid so I gotta consider that too.
 

Mike Porter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just a few questions.
- Does the rug that is shown extend underneath the legs? Carpet might have settled.
- I can’t tell if you are testing one side of the table from different ends. Does the other side of the table run true?
If just one side of the table is off you can raise it (slightly) and shim under the legs.
 

magnetardo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
But what the OP seems to be reporting is that roughly the foot of slate near the left long rail slopes down towards the rail like the crown of the road towards a gutter and the rest of the table plays level. Or maybe I misunderstood the description. I suppose that could happen if you pulled the feet of the table together and bent the frame. Or maybe something else is going on.

Since we're creating wild scenarios.... Maybe the installer used shims under the slate to get it flat and somehow one side ended up unsupported and was just hanging out in the air, and the slate was flat like that. Or maybe just lightly supported. Then over time that side relaxed down. I have no idea whether this is even possible. Where's RKC when you need him? :giggle: :poop:
It's impossible to diagnose without looking at the table, maybe he used angle shims instead of flat shims and one slid out.
 

Island Drive

Otto/Dads College Roommate/Cleveland Browns
Silver Member
Paid a mechanic $500 to install my table a few months ago (no move, just install/level). He said he does a one-year guarantee on the level. A few months later there are some areas where the table is definitely not level. Probably floor settling a bit.

We are scheduling time for him to come back and take a look/level it.

Do I tip him when he comes back? Is this just part of what I paid for originally so no need to tip/pay again? Just trying to get a sense of what is considered the standard thing to do in this situation. It is my first table and first time getting it re-leveled so I have no idea what is normal.

Thanks
Nope, be liked getting your tires balanced and then there's still a wobble.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
Paid a mechanic $500 to install my table a few months ago (no move, just install/level). He said he does a one-year guarantee on the level. A few months later there are some areas where the table is definitely not level. Probably floor settling a bit.

We are scheduling time for him to come back and take a look/level it.

Do I tip him when he comes back? Is this just part of what I paid for originally so no need to tip/pay again? Just trying to get a sense of what is considered the standard thing to do in this situation. It is my first table and first time getting it re-leveled so I have no idea what is normal.

Thanks
You answered your own question when you said "probably the floor settling a bit." And this is months later, so your table must have played okay for some time now before you noticed the roll off. This mechanic could charge for coming back, even with the guarantee, because of that. The floor settling is something completely out of his control. My opinion is that I would be grateful that he is willing to come back out, no questions asked and relevel my table. I would damn sure tip him if he gets the table playing good again. But that's just me. You do what feels right to you.
 

Baby Huey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Be kind, give the guy a tip. If you trust his work, you may need him in the future and a small tip is a nice gesture.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Be kind, give the guy a tip. If you trust his work, you may need him in the future and a small tip is a nice gesture.
The table mechanic never showed up and went incommunicado which made tipping a moot point.

It seems that the OP is still looking for a replacement mechanic in the NYC area.
 
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