reasons for the meucci downfall

[undertaker]

why has meucci now so a bad reputation? until the mideighties or 90tis he has made a good cue. but until then i have only heard bad things about them.
terrible cutomer,repair services, bad craftmanship,materials...
so could anybody tell me what have happened? i have heard that he has bad allergic problems and could not go in his own shop. maybe that is one of the reasons. the other rumor i have heard was that he had purchased a lot of bad materials,woods in the 90s.
i hope somebody could tell me what have happened.
thanks

 

[cycopath]

Meucci

We are a Meucci dealer, and I'd say the reason they've gone downhill is simply piss poor quality control. I think Meucci like other companies will try and increase profit margins by letting quality of product slide. The cues we've gotten from them in the last couple of years are horribly made. We're probably going to stop carrying their cues.

Also, like the OP mentioned, repair service waiting times are simply ridiculous. I sent back a cue for refinish a few years ago, and it took 4 months to get it back. After several phone calls. The last cue I sent back was for a forearm replacement and it took 11 months and several phone calls. Just terrible.

 

[johnqbs]

cue rattle

quite a while back bought meucci m-4 after a little play cue would make
rattle noise when hit ball , went where i bought it they took out weight
bolts that was run down on top of each other. never buy a cue with more than one weight bolt, just something to give problems. why would they
do that . they had to know it would make nasty noise.
john107:anderson sc

 

[NewStroke]

I purchased a Meucci in the late 80s and had nothing but problems with the ferrule. After the second replacement, they agreed to refund my cash. What made it so annoying is that I was stationed overseas and it took at least 30 days for each transaction. That really turned me off to their cues.

 

[pro9dg]

why has meucci now so a bad reputation? until the mideighties or 90tis he has made a good cue. but until then i have only heard bad things about them.
terrible cutomer,repair services, bad craftmanship,materials...
so could anybody tell me what have happened? i have heard that he has bad allergic problems and could not go in his own shop. maybe that is one of the reasons. the other rumor i have heard was that he had purchased a lot of bad materials,woods in the 90s.
i hope somebody could tell me what have happened.
thanks

It is almost 20 years ago that I met Bob Meucci. His cues were the Premium brand in those days and he made me a Gambler which I still use to play today. Almost every player in the top 20 or so players in the UK had a Meucci in their case then. Many of them provided by me free of charge courtesy of Bob himself. Many other up and coming players, too many to mention, started playing with what was the only serious contender for a good player to own.

Then what happened? Predator came to the market with a credible product and just like a fashion fad players started to swear by this new cue.

Fortunately for the newcomers this coincided with the downturn in quality of Meucci products. In my opinion the company lost it's way when when Bob ceased to take an active part in the day to day running of the company. He opted to entrust the business to his daughter and son in law. From that day on the quality control of their cues became non existent.

I saw Bob recently in Galveston and he still has the charisma that took him to his place as the market leader back in the 80s and he still attracts a crowd of his peers eager to listen to his undoubted knowlege of cue technology. But sadly back at base his once proud name continues to spiral downwards.

Such a shame as he has produced some of the best cue graphics ever.

 

[TATE]

First of all, Bob Meucci himself is indeed an innovator and was around when it all began - he basically figured out the collector craze and came up with many ideas.

However, as a company they failed in the reputation arena because they focused on flashy new designs and high volume sales and production instead of quality and substance. The synthetics they introduced had no longevity. I don't think there was any consideration for durability.

This was the game plan - keep pushing and selling more stuff.

If you can't deliver quality, this is what happens eventually - especially in the age of the internet.

Chris

 

[sigep1967]

I also heard that when he moved from Olive Branch MS to Sledge MS he lost most of his work force that had been with him for years. The move was made due to the sate offering huge incentives to move manufactoring businesses to depressed areas of the state.

 

[markpatrick]

Meucci?

I also heard that when he moved from Olive Branch MS to Sledge MS he lost most of his work force that had been with him for years. The move was made due to the sate offering huge incentives to move manufactoring businesses to depressed areas of the state.

They are production ques are they not? I used to have a Road Agent and never had any issues with it, but that was back in the 80's before I bought a Joss and a Schon.

 

[Shaft]

In fairness, I have two Meuccis bought in the last 5 years with absolutely no problems, but I use a Z2 and an OB2 shaft on each.

I really believe "the butt is for show and the shaft is for dough."

Maybe I don't play enough...?

 

[zy112]

I can speak on both sides here. IMO, a "good" Meucci can be a very good playing cue. I have several friends that have nice Meucci's and swear by them. However, I probably know more people that have owned them including myself and had bad problems with them.

Specifically, mine, while sitting in a case upright in a climate controlled closet, the forearm warped, butt cap fell of when playing as did the ferulle lol. Inlays were disqusting too, very crooked not even close to looking right.

Here is the bottom line. It only takes a few bad stories vs. a lot of good stories to tarnish the reputation of a product and I feel this is what has happened. The people who luck out and get good Meucci cues stick with them and have a good player, but all the problems with quality has hurt them bad, IMO.

 

[Newsheriffintwn]

Ive had several Meucci cues back in the late 80s and early 90s. Even back then the cues had uneven points and questionable inlays. I dont think the cues have ever been known for being executed perfectly. They did however play very well. Back during these times not many people gave much thought to all the points lining up or the quality of inlays. They were more concerned with how the cue played over the aesthetics. Nowadays with the internet and the overall consumer being so well informed, these flaws just dont fly. Seems most people nowadays care more for technical perfection and a lot less for playability. About a year or so ago I really wanted to give Meucci another try. I went to Seyberts and looked over the Meuccis they had. I truly wanted to buy one, but after eyeballing the poor quality up close. There was absolutely no way in hell I could shell out that kind of money for something so poorly built. Not to mention it seems to me that back in the day the ferrule wasnt almost 2 inches long? (maybe Im mistaken). To sum it all up I think the average player was just a lot more under educated on cues back in the day, and didnt realize what they do now. NOT to mention quality control must have been the first to be fired at Meucci cues.

 

[garczar]

Meucci

maybe Bob outta hook-up wth JimLucas and have lucasi crank-out some perfectly made Meucci. They could be sold as "Mucus", perfect to beat the snot out of ur opponent. sorry, i couldn't help myself.

 

[Bamacues]

maybe Bob outta hook-up wth JimLucas and have lucasi crank-out some perfectly made Meucci. They could be sold as "Mucus", perfect to beat the snot out of ur opponent. sorry, i couldn't help myself.

No disrespect intended, but who is Jim Lucas? Lucasi cues are a production cue made in China...I believe the KaoKao factory makes them...same one that makes Players.

Joe

 

[garczar]

lucasi

Lucas started Cue and Case. He had Bill Stroud show how to make a proper cue. " Lucasi" is the name they came up with. cute huh,? Tai-can factory in Taiwan makes Lucasi as well as Universal and others. The Southwest look-alike cues going around a few years ago are Tai-can cues.

 

[measureman]

I had a meucci cue in the mid 80's it played lights out. But the thin walled ferrule cracked and i replaced it with the same length but thicker walled one and solved that problem.Then i stripped the finish off the wrap and exposed the linen and solved that problem. Then the cue warped. Nothing i could do about that. All this happened in the first 6 months.
Now i have a Lucasi. Have had it for 8 months now and it's as good as the day i bought it. Can i spin and draw the cue ball as good as with the Meucci? No but i don't have to repair it at all. To me a Meucci was like having a Ferrari a supercar that needs a lot of maintenance but when it's right it's great. A lucasi is like a Honda well made reliable and get's the job done.

 

[danquixote]

It is almost 20 years ago that I met Bob Meucci. His cues were the Premium brand in those days and he made me a Gambler which I still use to play today. Almost every player in the top 20 or so players in the UK had a Meucci in their case then. Many of them provided by me free of charge courtesy of Bob himself. Many other up and coming players, too many to mention, started playing with what was the only serious contender for a good player to own.

Then what happened? Predator came to the market with a credible product and just like a fashion fad players started to swear by this new cue.

Fortunately for the newcomers this coincided with the downturn in quality of Meucci products. In my opinion the company lost it's way when when Bob ceased to take an active part in the day to day running of the company. He opted to entrust the business to his daughter and son in law. From that day on the quality control of their cues became non existent.

You need look no further for the answer. I met Bob while I worked for Wells Fargo alarm systems. Some may not know that Bob started producing cues in Memphis at a hole in the wall shop on Getwell Blvd. I installed his burglar and fire alarm systems. I would stop by now and then to say hi and admire the work being done. it was about this time that his sales took off, Mississippi offered him a tax exemption to move his business out of Tenn. and into Olive Branch. I went to his new shop when they were up and running and ordered the cue that featured a chess piece motif......Rook if I remember correctly......The cue was beautiful and I enjoyed playing it for many years. I would still drive out to Bobs shop from time to time but seldom found him there. i was told by his employees that he rarely came in anymore since he became involved in the horse business, and had allowed his daughter to run the day to day business. I have no idea if that part is true, but I do know it wasn't long after that his cues became less desireable and complaints began to flood the shop...Dan

 

[nancewayne]

Meucci Cues were THE cue to have in the 80's...Earl Strickland won many tournaments with one as well as many other great players. I understand at Meucci's peak, they had a 100,000 sq.ft. plus facility and over 100 employees!
Bob Meucci made "a ton" of money and invested in a horse ranch and turned operations over to his kids while he became a "gentleman" rancher! Almost at exactly the same time, Chinese cues were starting to flood the U.S.market (and the European market) undercutting the premium prices Meucci was offering for their cues by A LOT! Meucci then started doing shortcuts...more plastic both outside and inside their cues creating inferior quality cues. They simply could not compete and lost so much business and lost ALL their good "PR" that suppliers stopped buying from them.
I understand that Bob Meucci either lost his horse ranch or had to sell it, moved his operations into a much smaller 10,000 sq.ft. building and now has roughly a dozen employees (including Bob Meucci back at it!).
The rise and fall of a once great name !!!

why has meucci now so a bad reputation? until the mideighties or 90tis he has made a good cue. but until then i have only heard bad things about them.
terrible cutomer,repair services, bad craftmanship,materials...
so could anybody tell me what have happened? i have heard that he has bad allergic problems and could not go in his own shop. maybe that is one of the reasons. the other rumor i have heard was that he had purchased a lot of bad materials,woods in the 90s.
i hope somebody could tell me what have happened.
thanks

 

[Nick B]

Every Meucci...I mean EVERY Meucci I have put in my hands that was made mid 90's onward has popping inlays and other problems. This simply can't be isolated.

If Meucci made cars Ralph Nader would write a book about them.

"Unsafe at any shot"

 

[garczar]

Meucci

I think there's a common thread in some of these posts and that is as players we'd all really like to see Bob return to the lathe and turn out some cues that play like old school Meucci but built to the high standards set by todays makers. If he ever does, put me on the list for one from the Rifleman series he made for Buddy.

 

[pro9dg]

I think there's a common thread in some of these posts and that is as players we'd all really like to see Bob return to the lathe and turn out some cues that play like old school Meucci but built to the high standards set by todays makers. If he ever does, put me on the list for one from the Rifleman series he made for Buddy.

Bob still has the knowledge and the skill to clean up his name.
What about it Big Fella?