WheatCues
Banned
Regarding Ted Harris
I met Ted briefly back in the mid 90's in Ft Lauderdale next to Port Everglades at a tournament when CAMEL was sponsoring the pro tour and there was also an APA event going on in the same building...
He was set-up and handling all the repairs and so forth, now keep in mind that I was also a cuesmith too but had only been doing it for a few years at that time so I was automatcally drawn to his booth.. and to my knowlege and I could be wrong, "I don't think Ted was building cues either back then"
I stood there and watched him work on cues and observed his set-up and asked several questions and I must say... HE IMPRESSED THE HELL OUT OF ME ! so I kept returning and watching and asking.....
Not only does Ted move very fast and fluid with his skills, he's also a fantastic guy to talk to as well... when I told him that I did repairs too and that I had a Porper-B lathe, he was VERY RECEPTIVE and did not show the slightest hint of arrogance or senority toward me at all, as a matter of fact he answered my questions in detail...
The other thing that was ingenious and very practical for his customers was that he took golf bag tubes and cut them down and wrapped each one with every different color of irish linen he had and then slit the tube all the way down the side so that those seeking a re-wrap could actually slide the "sample sleeve" over their existing wrap and see EXACTLY what it's going to look like !
Now I thought to myself.. here's a BUSINESS man that not only has his sh*t together but is very customer oriented as well, he did NOT have to go out of his way to create those sleeves and out of pocket expenses just to make the linen choice easier ! Also I suspect it was to avoid intteruption while he was working with the constant never-ending question "what colors do you have" ?
Anyways, I wanted to share my personal initial one-time experience with him and I walked away that day with my nose opened a little more and had fresh ideas and I immediately incorporated speed and fluidness in my repairs" except when I'm carrying on a conversation while working"...
Ted Harris is a fine example of what a professional cuesmith should be like and that includes customer interaction as well as everything else the title entails....
I have seen a few of his cues in the recent years and I was impressed with the quality of his cuemaking skills as well, but NOT surprised... it was only a matter of time before he started building cues professionally, So I'm sure he gives his customer's that he's building cues for, the same dedication and sincerety that he has shown in the past with repair customers and complete strangers !
Ted, if you read this, I just wanted to thank you personally... You were and still are an inspiration to me as a fellow cuesmith and I really appreciate the sincerety and time you spent with me that day discussing cuesmithing with an inexperienced kid who was ambitious to become a professional cuesmith like yourself and even though you probably don't remember me, I vivdly remember key aspects of that day and tell this same story to my customers all the time who compliment me on my quick speed when they are in my shop having repairs done !
Very Sincerely, Eddie Wheat
I met Ted briefly back in the mid 90's in Ft Lauderdale next to Port Everglades at a tournament when CAMEL was sponsoring the pro tour and there was also an APA event going on in the same building...
He was set-up and handling all the repairs and so forth, now keep in mind that I was also a cuesmith too but had only been doing it for a few years at that time so I was automatcally drawn to his booth.. and to my knowlege and I could be wrong, "I don't think Ted was building cues either back then"
I stood there and watched him work on cues and observed his set-up and asked several questions and I must say... HE IMPRESSED THE HELL OUT OF ME ! so I kept returning and watching and asking.....
Not only does Ted move very fast and fluid with his skills, he's also a fantastic guy to talk to as well... when I told him that I did repairs too and that I had a Porper-B lathe, he was VERY RECEPTIVE and did not show the slightest hint of arrogance or senority toward me at all, as a matter of fact he answered my questions in detail...
The other thing that was ingenious and very practical for his customers was that he took golf bag tubes and cut them down and wrapped each one with every different color of irish linen he had and then slit the tube all the way down the side so that those seeking a re-wrap could actually slide the "sample sleeve" over their existing wrap and see EXACTLY what it's going to look like !
Now I thought to myself.. here's a BUSINESS man that not only has his sh*t together but is very customer oriented as well, he did NOT have to go out of his way to create those sleeves and out of pocket expenses just to make the linen choice easier ! Also I suspect it was to avoid intteruption while he was working with the constant never-ending question "what colors do you have" ?
Anyways, I wanted to share my personal initial one-time experience with him and I walked away that day with my nose opened a little more and had fresh ideas and I immediately incorporated speed and fluidness in my repairs" except when I'm carrying on a conversation while working"...
Ted Harris is a fine example of what a professional cuesmith should be like and that includes customer interaction as well as everything else the title entails....
I have seen a few of his cues in the recent years and I was impressed with the quality of his cuemaking skills as well, but NOT surprised... it was only a matter of time before he started building cues professionally, So I'm sure he gives his customer's that he's building cues for, the same dedication and sincerety that he has shown in the past with repair customers and complete strangers !
Ted, if you read this, I just wanted to thank you personally... You were and still are an inspiration to me as a fellow cuesmith and I really appreciate the sincerety and time you spent with me that day discussing cuesmithing with an inexperienced kid who was ambitious to become a professional cuesmith like yourself and even though you probably don't remember me, I vivdly remember key aspects of that day and tell this same story to my customers all the time who compliment me on my quick speed when they are in my shop having repairs done !
Very Sincerely, Eddie Wheat
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