The latest threat from "ABIA"

K

kyther

Registered
I usually just keep quiet about political c***. This one just bit me the wrong way. According to an email I just received,

"ABIA volunteer staff received notification last week from the only national pool table installation company serving several online billiard table shippers that ONLY ABIA certified companies will be performing the installations for their clients around the country."

It is followed with a link to a poorly composed "news release" that is nothing less than scantily veiled threats to our group.

Who are the, 'volunteer staff'
Who is the, 'only national pool table installation company'
Who are the, 'several online billiard table shippers'

While I can see the benefits of REAL trade organization (and I know several people have talked about it), this latest threat tactic from "ABIA" really demonstrates true motive. Just my 2c worth.

Kerry
 
This what you're referring to?
As this national installation company continues to acquire volume accounts for the distribution of pool tables via online websites the industry standard will begin to require this ABIA certification as customers continue to demand the certification for their installations. The ABIA company certification is currently the only standard in the billiard industry to give clients a positive look at a retailer or installers business by performing reference checks, background checks, proof of insurance and proper local business licensing. ABIA members who are not able to qualify for the certification or that just don't feel the certification is important will be left out of the changes that are slowly being required by the larger corporate companies who utilize their services.

I agree with you Kerry that the organization needs to be way more transparent. Had previously started a thread questioning who these folks were and who was doing the certifying. I find it odd that there is no "list" of certified mechanics on their site so maybe anyone can just claim to be a member company. :confused:

note - I also see the member benefit from MBS was cancelled.
 
Dartman said:
This what you're referring to?
As this national installation company continues to acquire volume accounts for the distribution of pool tables via online websites the industry standard will begin to require this ABIA certification as customers continue to demand the certification for their installations. The ABIA company certification is currently the only standard in the billiard industry to give clients a positive look at a retailer or installers business by performing reference checks, background checks, proof of insurance and proper local business licensing. ABIA members who are not able to qualify for the certification or that just don't feel the certification is important will be left out of the changes that are slowly being required by the larger corporate companies who utilize their services.

I agree with you Kerry that the organization needs to be way more transparent. Had previously started a thread questioning who these folks were and who was doing the certifying. I find it odd that there is no "list" of certified mechanics on their site so maybe anyone can just claim to be a member company. :confused:

note - I also see the member benefit from MBS was cancelled.
Click to expand...

When they called me to urge me AGAIN to become a paid member so I could purchase IC Cloth at the "discounted" (after paying for the priveledge) price, I told them I wasn't interested because I liked being able to mention name brands that my customers have heard of. What customer is going to request Installer's Choice Cloth?! The ABIA rep on the phone asked me if I had tried the cloth. I have not, so he said that several reputable installers have sampled it for installations and had nothing but great things to say. I asked if there was a list of those installers so I could contact them and get their honest feedback on the cloth, since I wasn't going to pay for the priveledge to buy something I don't even know if I would like or want. The guy simply told me there was a list of those people on the site. Have any of you seen it? I haven't.

Everything with them is very vague and general. They won't tell you who the distributor is, but you're supposed to pay them to be approved by said distributor?

They want me to pay them to let me buy cloth that plenty of anonymous people really like but can't tell me who they are and why they like it?

The next big thing will be telling us that if we pay them yet another fee, they will give our number out to some huge industry contacts that will general lots of something. Who or what does not need to be disclosed.

I'll pass...
 
MAn! Check out the cloth reviews!

Them are be smart guy.

Wonder who the editor was...perhaps ghost-writer?
 
Black-Balled said:
MAn! Check out the cloth reviews!
Them are be smart guy.
Wonder who the editor was...perhaps ghost-writer?
Click to expand...

That Randy Scwind fella must be an engineer.

Why pour water at a 45 degree angle to test liquid resistance?
Don't recall ever playing on a table that was on a 45 degree angle.
-Liquid Resistance
Test reveals that this cloth has excellent liquid resistance with zero absobtion when exposed to water.
(liquid test = cold water, medium faucet stream @ 6" x 45 deg. angle for 30 seconds)

A 4" cloth sample?
You typically won't get burn marks on napped cloth and besides, a 100 repetition test is not much of a metric.
-Abrasion Resistance
Test left little to no 'break-burn' visible after multiple breaks. (burn test = 100 consecutive medium to hard break shots on a 4" sample attached directly over 1" slate using no follow, draw, or side spin)
 
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I researched ABIA, InstallGurus, and IC Billiard Cloth. They are all in close proximity to each other and they have used outside internet resources to shield their identities from "whois" searches of their url sites. It's all the same folks!!

I'm sure that Install Gurus is "the only national pool table installation company" they are referring to.

So basically they've informed themselves that they are only going to be referring their jobs to installers that pay them for the privilege to do so using shitty cloth purchased through them at a "special" price they negotiated with themselves.
 
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Look, I've said this before...if Diamond, Brunswick, and Olhausen isn't endorsing the ABIA...then they don't mean shit.
 
realkingcobra said:
Look, I've said this before...if Diamond, Brunswick, and Olhausen isn't endorsing the ABIA...then they don't mean shit.
Click to expand...

Problem is there are many non-AZB table people out there that may bite on the possibility of work and cheap cloth
without checking into endorsements. There's more we can discuss another time.

Rick
 
QuickEdward said:
I researched ABIA, InstallGurus, and IC Billiard Cloth. They are all in close proximity to each other and they have used outside internet resources to shield their identities from "whois" searches of their url sites. It's all the same folks!!

I'm sure that Install Gurus is "the only national pool table installation company" they are referring to.

So basically they've informed themselves that they are only going to be referring their jobs to installers that pay them for the privilege to do so using shitty cloth purchased through them at a "special" price they negotiated with themselves.
Click to expand...

Bingo!!!!!
 
Has anyone seen this contract of only ABIA table mechanics installing such claimed tables exclusively?...think people;)...all that is...is a press release without any facts to back it up, so...do you really think a table manufacture would hinder the distribution and setup of their tables...by anyone...and sign some kind of a contract...to set their tables up by..."whom"....come on...not a chance;)
 
kyther said:
"ABIA volunteer staff received notification last week from the only national pool table installation company serving several online billiard table shippers that ONLY ABIA certified companies will be performing the installations for their clients around the country."
Click to expand...

Even money says the "only national pool table installation company" referred to is InstallGurus.
Then again InstallGurus makes no mention of this.

Wondering if they are the same outfit that wanted tables picked up at O'Hare, delivered and setup for $275.
 
Dartman said:
Even money says the "only national pool table installation company" referred to is InstallGurus.
Then again InstallGurus makes no mention of this.

Wondering if they are the same outfit that wanted tables picked up at O'Hare, delivered and setup for $275.
Click to expand...

Don't forget the handjob you're supposed to give the customer once the setup's done...
 
The ABIA is nothing more than the defunct "Pool Tables Direct" .com company that advertised and promoted the fact that they had certified installers all over the country...when all they did was call up billiards business's and ask if you'd be interested in installing their enet direct sale pool tables...that's all. But that list of names got passed along from enet company to enet company....because of the data base that was built up. There is no such thing as a certified installers ass...unless WE create it first...so, as I've said all along...this is nothing more than another enet company looking to take advantage of us table mechanics. If WE were a true certified installers orginazation...with all members at least certified to correctly setup and install pool tables correctly...WE would be the ones going to the table manufactures and telling them what WE could do for them...not them telling US what they can do for us!

Glen
 
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