Table Mechanics tell your storie

NoBull9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What's some of the funny or horror storie's you have run into out on the road doing delivery's.I delivered table's for 15 years and have met alot of pool table installers around the south.Everyone has alway's had a storie to tell about a delivery.Like being attacked by a dog or a customer or just a mishap.What's your storie!
 
The funniest stories I heard came from well... Let's just say that company that all you old table mechanics seemed to have work for. I forgot who did it at that store but I heard a story where someone had a yapping dog. Like a chihuahua or a jack russel. They hit it on the head with a tack hammer and killed it. So they threw it behind the couch. I think it was the same guy who tried to run over someone's cat after taking out a mailbox.

I had a guy buy a Gulfstream 2 over the phone. He also had us tracking mud through his multimillion dollar home right there off of Old Alabama Rd. We kept taking our shoes off and he told us he was in a hurry and not to worry about it.

I also picked up a table that had 4 holes in the slate. 2 peices had 1 hole. And another 2. Victim of a pick axe.

I took an old Brunswick out of a crack house in perfect condition.

My buddy did Michael Vick's table when he had a broken leg. He said he was playing a football game on the play station.

There are more but I can't think of them right now.
 
Gotta love people

When I fist got into working on pool tables, I apprenticed under another. He used a pneumatic stapler and a small air compressor. The compressor is about as loud as a vacuum cleaner. Upon turning it on the customer runs into the room and asks, " Is that a vacuum pump to suck all the air out from under the cloth"?.....

Showed up on a job and as I entered the basement, I realized the customers Brunswick Bristol was completely UPSIDE DOWN on the floor. He said he and his friends were attempting to take it apart and couldn't figure it out. I can't help but to wonder if he flipped his car over to take the tires off....

By now if someone calls and describes a problem with their table, I can pretty well diagnose the problem over the phone. A customer calls, says he just bought a house in a very affluent area. As a stipulation in the contract he also had to purchase an antique Brunswick for apporx. $12k. He said the table just didn't play right. When the ball is supposed to stop rolling it just keeps rolling. This make absolutely no sense to me. In my mind, the ball either rolls or stops. I agree to come out to his home and evaluate the table. The table was slightly out of level and I could barely feel one of the seems. I grabbed a striped ball, no cue ball, and shoot it around the table to see how it rolls. All in all the table didn't play badly. I explained to the customer that I only found A few minor problems and could he demonstrate what he was trying to describe. He could not show me either. Feeling defeated, as I explained to the customer that I could not find the problem he described to me, I just happened to roll the cue ball out on the table. The cue ball rolls in the shape of a "J". I said, " It's a trick cue ball". the customer says, " A what ?" The previous owner took the regular cue ball and left only the trick ball. Needless to say the customer was a little embarrassed.
 
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That's funny with the trick ball.

We do a lot of tables for "The Boys and Girls Club" in Georgia. They usually have coin-op tables. When we take the slate off we find all kinds of stuff in it. One table had thousands of dollars in playstation games. Along with other various toys.

We did another coin-op that had cocaine in it (It wasn't the Boys and Girls Club so don't worry). My buddy did a talble where needles where everywhere. (For heroine use). He refused the job.

Another friend of mine did a job in downtown Atlanta where some kids got off a bus and started wailing on this kid. He just watched it and one of the kids yelled at him "Keep looking cracker your next". These where middle schoolers.

I did another job where I was up at 4am getting some tables ready. We had 4 jobs that day and none of them were easy. Our first job I remember saying "Would it kill this person to reschedule this job". When we show up to the job there were police and an ambulance. Someone walked over with a blank look in their face and our customer died that morning before we got there.

The thing I hate the most on the job is how the Husband has to ask the wife non-stop every little detail about the table. What color? Is this spot ok? Should we put the rug under? Can you put the rug under? Ok I'm sorry but can you take the rug out? What color do you think is best? Can we move this later? We've waited for long periods of time for the wife to come home and look at a color to match the room.

And these Husbands (In penis only) waste hours of our time because they have a wife who can't make up her damn mind. I just want to scream at the husband "Put the freaking pants on and make a damn decision".
 
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