Hi Allen,
I am out of commission for a while and I haven't been on-line for the past weeks or so. I have explained and asked for indulgence and I do respect your side. I can not do anything about things beyond my control. I offer no excuse now and I believe you are right in your terms. I will process your refund but for the last time, I humbly ask for your indulgence as I can not refund right here right now as I will take this out of my own pocket. I will return half this end of month, then half by end of next month. I only have my meager office work salary to get this from. I, or we may be poor, but we won't rob anybody of their money. After full refund, no need to return the cue we shipped.
Since this is public, I would take this opportunity to do a public disclosure as well. We are not perfect and we accept that fact but we try our best to provide within the limitations we face. Delays have been caused by uncontrollable instances like weather disturbances which really hamper production, and of course the cuemaker's state of physical conditions. People get sick also. People experience personal tragedies - bebot's niece was in a tragic accident and had both legs amputated. Just imagine the stress it put in the man's heart and mind. I don't think anybody can just pick up his chisel and work as if nothing happened the next day. It is not the first time I get harsh remarks due to some delays, I get cursed, called son of a b*tch, I was accused of a scammer, a robber, a scumbag, you name it. I just absorb them quietly, though it hurts as I am also a human being. At the time when we were hit by a super typhoon, the shop was under waist-deep water, no power (electricity) for more than 2 weeks, and everything was a standstill... what can we do. There was even a time when I got a comment that "I hope nobody dies again in your family as it will just be another excuse for you". It was Q3 last year when my father in-law died and I failed to communicate for a while. How worse could it be for someone to receive a comment like that, knowing you have no control of the circumstances.
But at the end of the day, i chose this path and I still firmly believe that the customer is always right, and I rather choose to resolve issues than go around them. It's just sad that at times resolution doesn't come as fast as I hope it would.
For almost 3 years since late 2008 since I came around in the business, we have shipped more than a hundred cues. If we intend to scam, we would have been US$20K-30K richer now. No business is perfect. We all encounter bumps on the road. The important thing is to be given the chance and to be able to resolve.
For all those with pending orders, all plain janes are on track, those higher value cues we will finish and deliver starting by this mid-year until the end of the year. I haven't posted recent ones as my work limits my internet access but last week alone we have finished and shipped 6 cues. Latest is the 4-pointer 4-veneer ivory inlays ivory hoppe ring. We are working double-time to catch up and fulfill our commitments, and so we will.
Our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience.
Sgd.
Les Lacson
