When ever someone posts pictures of their finished work, like "look at my finished work" and says things like "my customers are always happy when I'm done"....you're NOT looking at the RIGHT pictures of their work, or asking the right questions!!!
Questions to ask!!!
- Thread starter realkingcobra
- Start date
How many of you was happy with the work done on YOUR pool table, until later when you no longer was? Bad work don't show up in the first 5 minutes after the jobs done, the wrinkles under the rails, the puckers in the pockets, the loose bed cloth, rail bolts falling out, that all takes time to be exposed!
Which is why I always tell you to ask for pictures of the mechanic's work done over a year ago, because you can't hide the shit then! And again, I don't mean the finished table pictures! The pictures of the work the mechanic's DON'T show you, the pictures of their actual work setting the table up! THOSE pictures tell the truth about who you're dealing with!!!
Which is why I always tell you to ask for pictures of the mechanic's work done over a year ago, because you can't hide the shit then! And again, I don't mean the finished table pictures! The pictures of the work the mechanic's DON'T show you, the pictures of their actual work setting the table up! THOSE pictures tell the truth about who you're dealing with!!!
Know the answers to the questions BEFORE you ask them! If you have a Gold Crown, and doing your research, you have found out they take the K55 profile cushions, and you ask the mechanic you're talking to, what cushions do they recommend for your rails, should you need them replaced, and they respond with Acufast K66 cushions, because they're the best!! Hang up the phone, you just talked to an idiot! Do you really want to hire that person???
Ask them to break down the cost of the job, how much $$ for cloth, how much $$ for labor! If they tell you cloth is $400 and labor is $250, then question them again, if YOU already have the cloth, is the LABOR STILL $250? You'll find out they WON'T do the job if they have to use YOUR cloth, even if it's the SAME cloth they're offering, why is that????
If they quote you $400 labor, ASK what does that cover? Does that include leveling your 3 piece slate as well, should it need to be done? Or is that extra?
Absolutely!!!!
Just make sure the reference customer is over a year old, and at least 3 of them!!
I did my homework. Selected who I thought
I’d get a tournament grade set w/a proper Simonis installation and got the worst of jobs. The company owner does not install anymore. And the principal cloth guy was out that day. Before I bought the table I told the company what I expected. What I was looking for. Sadly they checked out prior to ordering. There are a handful of mechanics that are the masters. Not enough of them. Their name is the reference.
Diamond does not check out their installers. My Diamond set up was the worst of any service I ever had. And the optional White Glove offering means they’ll gladly come back 100 times to do the same job again.
I’d get a tournament grade set w/a proper Simonis installation and got the worst of jobs. The company owner does not install anymore. And the principal cloth guy was out that day. Before I bought the table I told the company what I expected. What I was looking for. Sadly they checked out prior to ordering. There are a handful of mechanics that are the masters. Not enough of them. Their name is the reference.
Diamond does not check out their installers. My Diamond set up was the worst of any service I ever had. And the optional White Glove offering means they’ll gladly come back 100 times to do the same job again.
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I'm very happy with the setup of my Gold Crown I by Steve Leistikow two years ago. I did the cosmetic restoration. Steve extended and calibrated the sub rails, installed new Diamond Black cushions and per my specs, cut the corners to 4.125" and the sides to 4.875". He also modified the frame to accommodate the Gold Crown IV drop pockets. He also helped me source the ball return tracks when I decided to convert the table to ball return. It's the best playing table I've ever played on. IMO, Steve is the best mechanic in CA and possibly the West Coast. His services are in demand so it took a while to get him out to finish everything up but just like anything great, his services are well worth the wait. He knows his stuff and is a good guy too.
I got a kick out of working on the pool tables at the Pocket in Boise because believe it or not, while WORKING on a Diamond 7ft, recovering it, on two separate occasions two pairs of beginner table mechanics come in to talk to the owners about giving them a shot at recovering the 20 pool tables they have, while I'm WORKING on them
they didn't even see me, didn't walk around the pool room to even check out the general condition of the pool tables, nope, went straight to the manager and owners to try selling their services, at $400 per table labor, and the pool room buys the cloth!
Of course the manager directed both of them to come see me, working on the table in the far corner, after asking both teams if they had heard of Real King Cobra before, and yes they had, she asked them if they'd like to meet me, yes, of course, so over they came.
First thing they wanted to know from me is if they could work under my training, to which I responded, I saw you both when you came through the front door, the first mistake you made was in going straight to the manager and owners to try selling your services, the second mistake you made was in NOT walking throughout the pool room, looking at every table, so you could compare your skills to what was already being done on the tables, or not being done. Third mistake was coming over to see me and wanting me to teach you how to work on pool tables, which is a total afterthought coming through the front door, so I told both recovery teams looking for work, I'm not training someone to take care of the tables in this pool room, I'm in fact moving to Boise to take care of all the pool rooms, but maybe they could get some work in the bars instead, but they better hurry up and get on them!
they didn't even see me, didn't walk around the pool room to even check out the general condition of the pool tables, nope, went straight to the manager and owners to try selling their services, at $400 per table labor, and the pool room buys the cloth!Of course the manager directed both of them to come see me, working on the table in the far corner, after asking both teams if they had heard of Real King Cobra before, and yes they had, she asked them if they'd like to meet me, yes, of course, so over they came.
First thing they wanted to know from me is if they could work under my training, to which I responded, I saw you both when you came through the front door, the first mistake you made was in going straight to the manager and owners to try selling your services, the second mistake you made was in NOT walking throughout the pool room, looking at every table, so you could compare your skills to what was already being done on the tables, or not being done. Third mistake was coming over to see me and wanting me to teach you how to work on pool tables, which is a total afterthought coming through the front door, so I told both recovery teams looking for work, I'm not training someone to take care of the tables in this pool room, I'm in fact moving to Boise to take care of all the pool rooms, but maybe they could get some work in the bars instead, but they better hurry up and get on them!
Steve and I talk all the time, when ever he runs into a problem, I'm the first person he calls, and yes, he's the best in CA for sure, I've passed a lot of work to him because I just don't travel much anymore.
So it was a bad start but if they were sincere about learning from you and willing to pay you … why not. If they become qualified students of the Cobra you can certify them.I got a kick out of working on the pool tables at the Pocket in Boise because believe it or not, while WORKING on a Diamond 7ft, recovering it, on two separate occasions two pairs of beginner table mechanics come in to talk to the owners about giving them a shot at recovering the 20 pool tables they have, while I'm WORKING on them
Of course the manager directed both of them to come see me, working on the table in the far corner, after asking both teams if they had heard of Real King Cobra before, and yes they had, she asked them if they'd like to meet me, yes, of course, so over they came.
First thing they wanted to know from me is if they could work under my training, to which I responded, I saw you both when you came through the front door, the first mistake you made was in going straight to the manager and owners to try selling your services, the second mistake you made was in NOT walking throughout the pool room, looking at every table, so you could compare your skills to what was already being done on the tables, or not being done. Third mistake was coming over to see me and wanting me to teach you how to work on pool tables, which is a total afterthought coming through the front door, so I told both recovery teams looking for work, I'm not training someone to take care of the tables in this pool room, I'm in fact moving to Boise to take care of all the pool rooms, but maybe they could get some work in the bars instead, but they better hurry up and get on them!
Wrong DNA, I can spot it in the first 2 minutes talk to them.
When I ask someone who would like to learn under my teaching, I only ask them one question. What do you know about working on pool tables? When they start to explain, I tell them wrong answer, and ask again, What do you know about working on pool tables, the second time, again, wrong answer! When I ask the same question for the third time, and start getting another explanation of what they know, I'm done and not interested in working with them.
I asked Zach Jonas the same question when I wanted to learn from me, and he drove from Phoenix to Vegas to meet me. Twice he started to explain what he knew, but times i told him wrong answer.
The third time I asked him, he looked at Larurl, his GF, she gave him a hint, then he turned and answered my question, I don't know a damn thing about working on pool tables, to which I told him, that's the correct answer
They wanted to insist in telling me how they like working on pool tables their way!
Another question that needs asking of the person you might be thinking about hiring, is, "when you level slates, do you have a system you use, or do you mainly focus on the seams"?
When filling the seams, what do you use? Wrong answer, plaster! Wax, ok, bonds the best! Do you superglue the seams together before you fill them? If no, PASS!
Do you fill in the slate screw holes if they're not in the playing surface? If yes, pass!! Any slate screw hole within 4 1/2" id the edge of the slate is out of the playing surface! Makes it a bitch later having to did those screw holes out if ever moving the table.
If the seams to fit perfectly flush to both sides, how do you handle that?
I run a strap around the table and slate, put the strap over a bottle jack, centered on the high side of the seam, then as I raise the jack, it pushes the high side down flush to the low side, then I superglue the slates together right there. I don't feather out the bonds to make up for NOT KNOWING how to level slates, EVEN IT THEY'RE NOT PERFECT! I make them PERFECT by the time I'm done!
This is Clark using my strap system to flush the seams on a 9ft Diamond ProAm.
When filling the seams, what do you use? Wrong answer, plaster! Wax, ok, bonds the best! Do you superglue the seams together before you fill them? If no, PASS!
Do you fill in the slate screw holes if they're not in the playing surface? If yes, pass!! Any slate screw hole within 4 1/2" id the edge of the slate is out of the playing surface! Makes it a bitch later having to did those screw holes out if ever moving the table.
If the seams to fit perfectly flush to both sides, how do you handle that?
I run a strap around the table and slate, put the strap over a bottle jack, centered on the high side of the seam, then as I raise the jack, it pushes the high side down flush to the low side, then I superglue the slates together right there. I don't feather out the bonds to make up for NOT KNOWING how to level slates, EVEN IT THEY'RE NOT PERFECT! I make them PERFECT by the time I'm done!
This is Clark using my strap system to flush the seams on a 9ft Diamond ProAm.
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Unless the slates are seriously ground bad, there's no excuse in not being able to flush the seams, and level the pool table. Only amateurs and hacks need perfect slates to do their work, I live in the real world, you don't get perfect slates but once in a great while! To me, the rule of thumb is, if YOU can't level the slates as a PROFESSIONAL, then neither should any other table mechanic after you! But if someone else can level those slates, don't call yourself a PROFESSIONAL!!!
The owner of Felt billiards in Englewood ,Co takes very good care of his tables, 9 ft diamonds,9 ft Crowns and 7 ft Diamonds.
He recovers them way before most rooms do.
Do you do them?
He recovers them way before most rooms do.
Do you do them?
No, I think Steve does