Rip-off Report on Glen, The Real King Cobra

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Humm!!!!!!!!!!

kvinbrwr said:
Don

Sure. An appointment secretary would be nice. Maybe a driver too, so he could work in the back of his truck between jobs. He'd probably be more efficient if he flew between jobs, although with his equipment, he'd need his own plane. So a pilot too.

Kevin
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Kevin..


A plane and pilot may not be a bad idea. Just make sure it has a phone so he call his customers.

Don :rolleyes:
 
Lumocolor said:
I will always remember watching a star trek episode and Scotty saying something to the younger engineer geordi along the lines of "You always overestimate a job!!! If you believe it's going to take you 3hrs to fix the warp drive you tell the captain it's going to take 8hrs, that way if you're done in 3 he thinks your a miracle worker and if shit happens and it takes 8hrs then you still end up looking good"

That scene just made sense to me and i like looking like a miracle worker ever since...lol.
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You know. Ernie Gutierrez (Ginacue) was always like that. For maybe 45 years of very high demand for his services and product, he always did exactly that.

Then, he got involved in a huge project (the Cathedral Cues) that took him maybe a year longer than he expected, putting him in the position of running behind. And for the first time in his life, he found himself underestimating on time. Its human nature, its very hard to say no to your customers.

Kevin
 
I've long wondered this.....

Black-Balled said:
How many, would you guess, that have skills that approximate Glen's?
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I've long wondered this, obviously Mark Gregory, and I know Glen has a young guy who he recommends if he can't get somewhere, who else?
 
RAMIII said:
After Glen spent seven days at my house recalibrating the rails, handling the sub-rail extensions, installing cloth via the glue-down method he only charged me what Mark Gregory charges for just doing subrail extensions. I calculated that he was working at less than $10 an hour! Which doesn't even cover the cost of travel to Dallas.
I asked him why he doesn't double his prices since his attention to detail is incredible and he said he would feel bad pricing people out of a great table. He knows people would pay more, but he also knows the working joe would miss out.

Glen is who he is, and he's happy with his way of life. You've got to know what you're getting yourself into when you sign up with him. Once he gets to you, then you are his only priority, but it takes some time for him to figure out what Diamond deals will send him to your part of the country. In this case, even his rail work is dependent upon his work schedule with Diamond. Glen is able to offer such affordable prices because he prioritizes his job with Diamond first, as he should. We all benefit from the side-work when he can fit us in, and are able to take advantage of some amazing prices and skilled artistry.

Those of us who have been fortunate enough to have Glen work on our table appreciate him more than he knows, and wait years for his return. I hope the OP and Glen get this worked out soon. It's in neither one's interest to have this thread out there.
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Wow man, 7 days to do what lots of guys could have done in 1 day (if finishing the job is all you care about).

South West cue ? 10 years.

Mezz (love mine) ? Available immediately.

7 days is outrageous. That's like Searing making you wait 2 years for a refinish.

I'll be your table is dead nuts perfect (like Searing's refinish).

Kevin
 
realkingcobra said:
I understand your IRS issues, and the pressure you're under, which is why I agreed to rebuild your rails for $250 instead of my normal $1,500 for the whole job, but that's OK, as I have no problem returning your rails untouched, and your $250. I don't need to RIP anyone off in order to make a living, as I have more work waiting on me than I could ever do, as it is on this delivery run to WI, MN, SD, and Indiana I already have 7 Diamond's to rebuild at anywhere from $650 to $1,500 per table...so, no problem Tony. I'll send you your money back tomorrow
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Cobra: Uh, did it occur to you it's out of line to broadcast someone's "IRS issues" in public?
Or imply "I cut you a break because you're broke"?

If you're only messing with the rails, you're not doing the "Whole job",
so it seems to me there's no reason you WOULD charge for the whole job.
Or are you saying rails alone is normally 1,500?

Txstang1 said:
That kind of response right there would make me more pissed. But Hey, you are giving him his money back and his rails when you get around to get it, so I guess you did the right thing here :rolleyes:
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Ditto. Based on that reply, I know I won't be hiring glen.

The attitude I get from his post is: "hey, I don't need to waste time doing your shitty little 250 dollar rail job.
You're lucky I even agreed to that price. I'm so important and in demand that I'll never run out of work.
I have all these $1,500 dollar jobs lined up... if you're gonna cry about it, I'll just do those instead of
wasting my time with your lunch money."

I see a real obvious omission in Glen's post: the word "Sorry".

kvinbrwr said:
Here RCG tries to do a favor for a guy and instead of parking his truck at the guys house and do the full on $1500 job, charges him a cut-rate and takes his rails to do them as he can. Serves him right for trying to do the guy a favor.
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Absolutely, the OP should be thankful. A guy took his money, rendered his table useless for months, ignored his calls,
and then made a tacky comment about the guy's personal financial problems. Additionally, he will send the money back
and even the rails too, someday. I bet the lucky OP will get to put his table back together himself too, a valuable learning experience.

I wish someone would do me some bit favors like that, where they hold some of my money and property for a few months
so I can't accidentally use either.
 
RAMIII said:
I've long wondered this, obviously Mark Gregory, and I know Glen has a young guy who he recommends if he can't get somewhere, who else?
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There's Donny out here in So Cal (sorta trained by RKC) and he does pretty top-notch work.

But really, you want a 1960s Ginacue completely rebuilt to today's standards flawlessly like new? You have to go to Ernie Gutierrez.

Want a 1960s Gold Crown completely rebuilt to today's standards flawlessly like new? RKC.
 
Highroller54 said:
angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:

After weeks of phone conversations with Glenn (The Real King Cobra) he and I came to an agreement for him to rebuild and calibrate my Gandy Rails. Back in the first week of February 2013, Glenn was in my area and was able to pick the rails up at my home along with the payment for the work. We made a deal that he would have them completed and returned by mid March 2013. Well now it’s late May 2013 and after many phone conversations, and Glen telling me he would have the rails done and returned to me time and time again, I have given up all hope to ever seeing Glenn, my money or my rails again.

I have been extremely patient during the procrastinating Glenn has done. Glenn has left me with a Table that’s useless. Now I have been forced to take action, I normally wouldn’t even think of doing this kind of thing, (Venting on a forum), but Glenn has took my money, took my rails and has done nothing short of screw me, and has never returned either of them. People need to know what he is capable of doing!

I just don’t understand how a person everyone speaks so highly of, can do this. But I guess you live and learn. I have since tried to sell the table for parts, trying to recover some of my money, but so far no takers. I guess an old Big G Gandy isn’t worth much but it was my table, and now it’s been stolen from me and the remainder I have left isn’t worth anything.
Glen has totally ripped me off and screwed me and I just felt like venting, sorry to waste your time..
:angry:
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You have been around here for six months, and I don't know if you had heard of Glen before joining here.

As a disinterested observer of the many posts praising his work, the one theme that is unchanging - he does not have a rigid schedule.
Those who hire him live with it.
 
kvinbrwr said:
There's Donny out here in So Cal (sorta trained by RKC) and he does pretty top-notch work.

But really, you want a 1960s Ginacue completely rebuilt to today's standards flawlessly like new? You have to go to Ernie Gutierrez.

Want a 1960s Gold Crown completely rebuilt to today's standards flawlessly like new? RKC.
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And on my coast, I think you can add DeTurk, John Burns and Mark Gregory.
 
DoubleD said:
Why would you get down on a thread like this, tho? Why do you feel you need to stick up for someone like RKC or Searing or whoever?

dld
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To answer your "why would I?"

Because I didn't see that RKC did anything here that merited a thread labeling him as a "rip-off". Apparently the OP agrees with me, he was the one that posted it and he took it back, so it can't be all big a mystery.

Thanks

Kevin
 
realkingcobra said:
I understand your IRS issues

Glen
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WTF has this got to do with it - you got paid - you got the rails - If I'm not mistaking this is in violation of the forum rules - posting personal info about someone - do you have proof of this ?? - As long as people make excuses for this guy he will keep doing this sort of thing.
 
SignManiac said:
No it's not. I say it all the time and many times I'm glad I did. I know a lot of starving artist because they are poor business people.
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That's cool for you and maybe you've got a following of 40 years worth of loyal customers that made you who you are and you feel like you owe them your best and they want something just a little quick just this once and maybe you can still say no to them.

Kevin
 
I wholeheartedly agree that the word "artist" is ridiculously overused today.

but Glenn is an artist.

he was here at my house for 8 days rebuilding my gc1. I witnessed him doing things you would have a tough time ever believing. Some jaw dropping stuff.

One little detail required that we hump the three pieces of slate from my basement rec room out to the driveway to touch the bed wood up which, to be perfectly honest, was not going to affect play one bit or ever be seen. I practically pleaded with him not to worry about this and his response was, "I have to; if I drive away leaving it that way, I'll have nightmares about it." :eek:

the end result was beyond spectacular.

approx 6 months later, I had a water leak in my kitchen that went straight down the ceiling and walls into the rec room doing lots of damage including the table. :mad: :angry:

I called Glenn for advice on how to proceed with drying/repairing the wet table. He said he was in VA but will come here to CT when he finished the job he was on. And he did.

But with all of this said, I really do hope the OP and Glenn can come to a good and fair resolution. I couldn't imagine being tableless for a couple of months.

best,
brian kc
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
I wholeheartedly agree that the word "artist" is ridiculously overused today.

but Glenn is an artist.

he was here at my house for 8 days rebuilding my gc1. I witnessed him doing things you would have a tough time ever believing. Some jaw dropping stuff.

One little detail required that we hump the three pieces of slate from my basement rec room out to the driveway to touch the bed wood up which, to be perfectly honest, was not going to affect play one bit or ever be seen. I practically pleaded with him not to worry about this and his response was, "I have to; if I drive away leaving it that way, I'll have nightmares about it." :eek:

the end result was beyond spectacular.

approx 6 months later, I had a water leak in my kitchen that went straight down the ceiling and walls into the rec room doing lots of damage including the table. :mad: :angry:

I called Glenn for advice on how to proceed with drying/repairing the wet table. He said he was in VA but will come here to CT when he finished the job he was on. And he did.

But with all of this said, I really do hope the OP and Glenn can come to a good and fair resolution. I couldn't imagine being tableless for a couple of months.

best,
brian kc
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Brian

Before I started to read and see of RKC's work, I would have thought 9 days (once he actually started the job) would be a ridiculous amount of time, but its not is it?

Plenty of guys would have done it quicker.

Plenty of guys would have been better about scheduling the appts.

Plenty of guys could have been better on the phone.

Zero guys would have done the job as well.

Kevin
 
DoubleD said:
Really? No rip-off?

RKC has had this guys rails for months, leaving him with a table that he can't play and can't fix without substantial cost.

In all that time, I'm guessing that you figure the guy was in some sort of catatonic state or bedridden because otherwise it is safe to assume that he might have wanted to do something crazy like play pool. Now, because he doesn't have a table that works, he has to go to a pool hall (a business in which they charge money to play pool).

So, at the very least, RKC ripped this guy off the amount of money he spent playing pool outside of his home instead of in it during the extra months he has had the rails.

Now, if we really want to brass-tack this issue, we can talk about the gas and wear on the guys car driving to said pool hall. Then we can add in the value of his time which has been wasted because of the same drive.

We can also really get deep into the issue and figure out the value of the space that the table is occupying. If it is in storage, that is easy--whatever the rental is each month. If it is still in his home, then we can use some black math and figure out what each square foot is costing per month, how many square feet are not able to be used because of this stack of wood and rock. This is called 'the cost of lost opportunity'. He can claim this because there is no way to prove that he wouldn't have used that space for something else.

So, yeah, RKC ripped this guy off. The OP backed down because of the backlash he was getting here and the suggestions that RKC might be vindictive and not return the money or the rails.

dld
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You've got the advantage of being able to read people's mind so I'll trust what you say about everybody's motivations here.

Silly me, I thought the OP could have gone to a pool room and played pool while he table was down for repairs. Sort of like I did (used a different cue) while mine was out for repair. To me, something costing me money or inconvenience isn't a rip-off. To me, a rip off is someone stealing from me.

Down too long? Sure. Rip-off ? If you say so (I guess).

Kevin
 
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CreeDo said:
Cobra: Uh, did it occur to you it's out of line to broadcast someone's "IRS issues" in public?
Or imply "I cut you a break because you're broke"?

If you're only messing with the rails, you're not doing the "Whole job",
so it seems to me there's no reason you WOULD charge for the whole job.
Or are you saying rails alone is normally 1,500?



Ditto. Based on that reply, I know I won't be hiring glen.

The attitude I get from his post is: "hey, I don't need to waste time doing your shitty little 250 dollar rail job.
You're lucky I even agreed to that price. I'm so important and in demand that I'll never run out of work.
I have all these $1,500 dollar jobs lined up... if you're gonna cry about it, I'll just do those instead of
wasting my time with your lunch money."

I see a real obvious omission in Glen's post: the word "Sorry".



Absolutely, the OP should be thankful. A guy took his money, rendered his table useless for months, ignored his calls,
and then made a tacky comment about the guy's personal financial problems. Additionally, he will send the money back
and even the rails too, someday. I bet the lucky OP will get to put his table back together himself too, a valuable learning experience.

I wish someone would do me some bit favors like that, where they hold some of my money and property for a few months
so I can't accidentally use either.
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Hard to disagree with anything here... hit the nail on the head, for me.

$250 or $25000... the price doesn't matter. The job was accepted, the money was accepted, the rails were taken and a completion date was quoted. That is all that should matter.

If anyone, anywhere, in any line of work, thinks that they are so important that they don't need to keep a customer updated when falling short of a quoted delivery date, then that person is too "important" to be taking that job in the first place.
 
DoubleD said:
Read my post again, smart guy. I addressed the issue of going to a pool room, which unless he ruby-red-slippered his way there and was comped time, cost him money...and time.

dld
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You are absolutely right. When my car is in the shop for repairs and I have to rent a car. Its a rip-off.

Kevin
 
Black-Balled said:
How many, would you guess, that have skills that approximate Glen's?
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I would have no freaking clue how many, don't really go around the country trying to find that out. I just know my table plays great. And it was not done by RKC. Not that he does not do incredible work, just, not the only guy who can do rails and maintenance on a table.

Not really speaking about R&D though, just maintenance on a table. RKC seems to do quite a bit of that (R&D) from what I read.
 
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All the negative posts by people who know nothing about what's going on make it easier to maintain my customer waiting list. See, rather than raise my prices, or keep a running list of those I would do work for, it's much simpler to build a list of all those that don't, and never will...have enough money to hire my services;)

Glen
 
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