To whom it may concern....
Well I made the mistake of sending a beautiful Mike Wheeler cue to Jim Pierce to have a new shaft made and a refinish to the cue. What should have been a relatively easy task for a competent cue maker turned into a damaged cue for me. This all started almost 4 months ago when I sent the cue to Jim and he promised a 2 to 3 week tournaround. Well, the cue was finally finished approx. 3 and half months later. In the meantime, I was patient up until the time that Jim Pierce said the cue was done and would be shipped on a Monday. No cue. I then emailed and called him repeatedly over period of two weeks with no response. He finally responded by email and sent my cue back three weeks later. Here is were the problems really begins....
The overall work that Jim Pierce performed on this cue was shoddy and incompetent. In fact, it was a "real hack job" in the words of a friend of mine. The problems and issues with the cue were numerous, with some more severe than others. I consider the cue profoundly damaged which has affected it's value greatly. Needless to say, I am a very disatisfied customer, and sick that a cue that I have $1,375 invested in was returned to me in this condition.
The following lists the problems and issues I found with the cue when it was returned to me:
-Jim Pierce cut approx. 2.5 centimeters into a phenalic ring in the butt sleeve, therebye cutting the ring in half. This botch was not necessary. There was no need to extend the wrap area. He was careless and sloppy. This affects the symmetry and appearance of the cue.
-The edge of the butt sleeve where the wrap ends is "raw" and sharp and is no longer flush with the wrap. You can feel it with your hands as it is an uncomfortable sharp edge. Jim Pierce cut the wrap pocket too deep (of course there was no reason to deepen the pocket at all).
-The new finish is lifting along this ring at the bottom of the wrap.
-The forearm of the cue now "dishes" (dips in) directly below the joint. It appears that sanding of the forearm would case this loss of wood. Jim Pierce denies doing this, but there is now daylight under the joint, where there was none before. Mike Wheeler adamately denies that the cue would have left his shop like this.
-Two new ferrules were replaced on the existing shafts....these ferrules arrived with pits and gouges in them.
-The new shaft that he made for the cue was larger in diameter at the joint area than butt collar. Again, sloppy, careless work.
-The new shaft "fits" on losely on the pin until the final turn. Again, sloppy.
In conclusion, my dealings with Jim Pierce were terrible. The customer service, if you can call it that, was almost non-existent. There was very little communication and when these issues were brought to his attention he virtually denied any wrongdoing (despite the fact that I have before and after photo's). Jim Pierce's workmanship was sloppy and careless, as evidenced by the outcome of my cue.
Pictures to follow.....
First picture is before I sent the cue to Jim Pierce. Note the original ring diameter
The 2nd picture is the cue butt after I got it back from Pierce. Note the ring cut in half.
3rd picture show the proper width of the ring below the one cut in half.
4th photo shows the "daylight" under the joint where there is missing wood.
My two cents.
