Previewing a table mechanics work before hiring, is that important to you?

[btoneill]

Right.........the average guy can not tell when the table is out of level or when the cloth comes loose or etc....

If you think that is all there is to tell about if a job was done properly you have a lot to learn...

How many players can tell if Simonis was stretched properly? Can tell if the cloth on the rails was over stretched? Can tell if the pocket folds were done properly? Can tell if pocket folds even needed to be done on every pocket they were done on? Can tell if the person does proper staple patterns? Many people have been known to install Simonis wrong side up and the customer had no clue!

Brian

 

[n10spool]

true true there buddy

 

[gunzby]

I voted yes, but it does depend. If someone that I know that is as particular as I am about things says that someone does a great job I will take their word for it.

 

[chevybob20]

I think the table owners should post work done to their tables on here too(Not just the Mech's). Some guys don't like too toot their own horn. I don't have a problem with it. If you're satisfied then post up.

By the way, Mark's work on my Centennial will be posted when the job is complete. It's taken me a little longer than planned to finish the aluminum.
The rail work he has done is gorgeous.

Mark believes that word of mouth about the quality of work he does will get him by. I kind of agree, but good customer reviews on here will definitely help.

Bob Piz

 

[Majic]

There's no story line being changed here Majic...you always seem to have some kind of axe to grind with me....why, I have no idea. I'm not here rating the work done by others, this thread is to give others a chance to showcase their work so that others might have a chance to see that there is OTHER qualified table mechanics around the country that they may some day decide to call upon. But, if someone were to post some out of line pictures of work that is NOT recommendable...in the hopes of using this thread to promote their business....yeah, I might have something to say about that....but, I don't really think thats going to happen....at least not in front of a bunch of OTHER mechanics that can call BS on the same pic's that I can. See...hacks don't really want to post pictures of their work....they're only in it for the money, and not the quality of work. I on the other hand, tell everyone to pay attention to the quality of the work they do...and the money will take care of itself in time

This thread Majic is not about me promoting more work for myself....if you knew anything about me....then at the LEAST....you'd know, I don't suffer from the lack of work because the work in my area has slowed down....or that I have to compete with hacks doing what I do for less money....undercutting me in price just to get to the jobs before I do.

This thread is about all the other hard working table mechanics that make a full time living working on pool tables....and a chance to give them some space on AZ in the MAIN forum...in the hopes that maybe they'll be a little more recognizable the next time someone in their area decides to have some work done on a pool table....so that they might just say..."hey, I know of a great table mechanic in my area that I can call to work on my pool table....so, I don't have to wait for RKC to get here!

Glen

Actually I could care less about you since you bring it up !!! If you don't understand the point I am trying to make about what the customer wants vs want you want to see then your ego is in the way. If you think this is personal, you are wrong. If you think everyone should think like you then you need help !!!

Carry On

 

[Majic]

If you think that is all there is to tell about if a job was done properly you have a lot to learn...

How many players can tell if Simonis was stretched properly? Can tell if the cloth on the rails was over stretched? Can tell if the pocket folds were done properly? Can tell if pocket folds even needed to be done on every pocket they were done on? Can tell if the person does proper staple patterns? Many people have been known to install Simonis wrong side up and the customer had no clue!

Brian

Are you another groupie??? :wink:

 

[realkingcobra]

Actually I could care less about you since you bring it up !!! If you don't understand the point I am trying to make about what the customer wants vs want you want to see then your ego is in the way. If you think this is personal, you are wrong. If you think everyone should think like you then you need help !!!

Carry On

Majic, improving this industry starts with the customers, not the table mechanics. Pictures are worth a 1,000 words, or 88% of the people polled so far wouldn't have said, "yes...I'd like to see pictures of their work first"

I"m not disputing that reputation don't play a roll in hiring a good table mechanic as well, and at times can mean just as much as the pictures, if not even more. But, with that being said...there are many different kinds of mechanic's on the market today. If you're looking to have your rails extended and pockets tightened, and cushions replaced....because someone said so-n so did a great job setting my table up...you should hire him to do the work on your table....that don't mean that mechanic can do the job right on the next table.

As table mechanic's, we all have different levels of skills, different reps, and different kinds of clientle....so to group us all in the same category is wrong....and I'm not saying you are, I"m just saying.

You're right, most home owners for the most part...wouldn't know if a good job was done on their pool table or not....so, is that the customer you want to hear job references from?...that's my point about asking for references of more than a year ago....because I know there's a lot of table mechanics that have different levels of work quality....a customer that for sure knows nothing....just gets the job done. But now the customer that IS a player, that knows how a table should play, and how it should look when it's done....don't hire a hack to do the job...because they DO care about the final product.

I feel that in order to create change in this industry...it's important to see what the work looks like from many different mechanic's...from many different regions of this country...so that they can see for themselves that this or that is not just a California thing...or an East Coast thing. When people start seeing the work of many different table mechanics...they can start putting the pictures together for themselves as to how a pool table should look...what the pockets should look like when they've been finished of right, what rails are suppose to look like when they're done right....and not with all the puckers under them, or the nose of the cushions pulled down everywhere.

Give people credit...if you put the information out there in front of them....believe it or not....they WILL learn...and the more they learn...the more they're going to be looking for someone to do this work right...when it comes to working on their pool table at home. That means mechanic's are going to have to step up their skills if they're hacks....if they want to get paid....or they might find out there's less and less customers that they can steal money from....posing as a pool table mechanic

 

[mdavis]

If you think that is all there is to tell about if a job was done properly you have a lot to learn...

How many players can tell if Simonis was stretched properly? Can tell if the cloth on the rails was over stretched? Can tell if the pocket folds were done properly? Can tell if pocket folds even needed to be done on every pocket they were done on? Can tell if the person does proper staple patterns? Many people have been known to install Simonis wrong side up and the customer had no clue!

Brian

Thanks Brian; you've just outlined a number of things RKC or others can illustrate on this forum to educate the uninformed.

Will your video help Glen?

1. Proper stretching.
2. Pocket folds
3. Staple patterns..
4. Right vs. wrong side of Simonis.

That seems like 4 posts of useful information someone can take it upon themselves to illustrate.

Add 6,16,26 more items and that will provide a good checklist...a good frame of reference...A little education. Some useful information. Actual content that helps the customer.

 

[realkingcobra]

Thanks Brian; you've just outlined a number of things RKC or others can illustrate on this forum to educate the uninformed.

Will your video help Glen?

1. Proper stretching.
2. Pocket folds
3. Staple patterns..
4. Right vs. wrong side of Simonis.

That seems like 4 posts of useful information someone can take it upon themselves to illustrate.

Add 6,16,26 more items and that will provide a good checklist...a good frame of reference...A little education. Some useful information. Actual content that helps the customer.

Yes, the Simonis DVDs coming out show, and explain all that...and then some

 

[btoneill]

Are you another groupie??? :wink:

Nope. Just someone who deplores paying for something and getting a crappy job done. I actually learned most of what to look for in a table being "correct" by someone outside of this forum. I learned WHY it is "correct" by reading and asking questions on AZB.

Brian

 

[n10spool]

Majic i think I know what you are trying to say, Sometimes we overwelm the customer with to much info on what is needed to make it play okay for a family to enjoy not everyone wants 3-1/2" pockets $400 cloth $400 rubber and for it to last 20years they just want resonable cost to make it paly right for a while. Sometimes $60-100 rubber $150 cloth and $200 labor and a level table is all they want. Not all customer want a bmw at retail but try to get it buying bits and pieces Ie diamonizing a table is great in the long run but not all can afford it right now.

Maybe offer 3 levels of table work

1. "Diamonized" full on rebuilt best of everything.

2. "Cubic Zirconia" for all the luck in the world midrange but solid parts used

3. "glass" Cheapest of all low end parts highest profit margine and sometimes the hardest to work on SLATRON not slate, Craiglist special floor level only.

Picture's are a must for all trades. To many waanabees and hacks very few talk it at word value pictures gain alot more respect and confidence that it will be done right.

Craig

 

[realkingcobra]

Majic i think I know what you are trying to say, Sometimes we overwelm the customer with to much info on what is needed to make it play okay for a family to enjoy not everyone wants 3-1/2" pockets $400 cloth $400 rubber and for it to last 20years they just want resonable cost to make it paly right for a while. Sometimes $60-100 rubber $150 cloth and $200 labor and a level table is all they want. Not all customer want a bmw at retail but try to get it buying bits and pieces Ie diamonizing a table is great in the long run but not all can afford it right now.

Maybe offer 3 levels of table work

1. "Diamonized" full on rebuilt best of everything.

2. "Cubic Zirconia" for all the luck in the world midrange but solid parts used

3. "glass" Cheapest of all low end parts highest profit margine and sometimes the hardest to work on SLATRON not slate, Craiglist special floor level only.

Picture's are a must for all trades. To many waanabees and hacks very few talk it at word value pictures gain alot more respect and confidence that it will be done right.

Craig

Reguardless of pricing, or level of craftsmanship, the most important thing in this tread....is what does good work look like, and how important is it to be able to show'n tell as a good table mechanic.

 

[dave_k]

^^^^^^^lol^^^^^^^

 

[Falcon Eddie]

The reason I'm asking everyone this, is because there seems to be quite a few table mechanic friends of mine that don't feel that posting pictures of their work is very important here on AZ...because, well...it's AZ and I guess it's not the REAL world...in their backyard. So, their complaints are that....what good would it do. My comments to them are...hey, if you guys don't show what work is suppose to look like when it's done correctly...how is ANYONE else suppose to know what's right or wrong when they're looking to hire someone to work on their pool table(s)...so, would you take a second to cast a vote....so that they may start to understand the importance of what they do....and let them know that they're on the right track to helping this industry of ours become a better place to play pool.

Thank you, Glen

I am in the process of building another site for my table recovering business. You can see some of my work . www.falconeddie.com

 

[Cuebuddy]

I think the majority of players on this site are here because the love and some what understand the game and equipment. I for one was at a loss on what to do when my Diamond was ordered. Having called several mechanics in my area(100 mile radius) I began to get cold feet. One guy was asked are you familiar with Diamond tables and he said a table is a table it don't matter what the shape of the table is. Then he said square rectangle or diamond shape he could put it together

In fact on of my first threads was to ask the mechanics here if I could do it myself. Thank god I found help on AZ because thanks to this site I have one of the finest playing tables out here.