Viking Cue Fail.

[RobDeBank]

I purchased a viking breaking cue about 8 months ago.. around last month while breaking with it the pin bent in the cue. I sent it back to the viking company and had to pay 45$ in shipping. The company called me and openly admitted there was a manufacturing defect on the female part of the cue but still insisted I pay for the repair and the shipping to get it back which came out to be roughly 40$. I refused because of obvious reasons and asked to speak to the person in charge. I got a women named Shawna who acted like a complete ***** to me and was disrespectful the whole conversation. So I told her I wanted to deal with someone else and she said that the president would call me back today. My phone rang today and it was Shawna again, she informed that she spoke to the president and he had no interest in speaking to me about this matter. I could either pay for the cue to be fixed or not but either way I had to pay for it to shipped back. So basically they told me to go **** myself.

I learned two things from this whole experience.... never buy another viking cue again.

And after all of this I ended up paying just as much as it would have cost me to buy a bk2 which is what I was going to do in the first place but cheaped out and got the viking cue for about 260$. I guess you really do pay for quality, I already got screwed by the viking company so learn from my mistake and just get a predator instead. IF it breaks I am sure they will treat you better and predator's play much better obviously.

I am not just someone ranting or hating on a company but I got treated very poorly and I am just some young guy who can't do anything about it except rant on AZ and hope that this deter's people from buying viking although I am pretty sure no one really buys them anyways because they don't play very well.

Thanks.

-Rd.

 

[sjensen1207]

Sounds like Viking doesn't back up their quality very well if they won't fix and ship an admitted manufacturer defect in their cues, nor do they appear to value their customers very well...I've never bought a Viking cue and now I'm glad I haven't and after hearing this...I probably never will...

Disclaimer: My opinion is based on the assumption that everything in your post is true...

 

[Beware_of_Dawg]

This cake isn't rising. When you told the story, are you sure you put all the ingredients in?.

Not to doubt you, I don't know you. I don't know them either. I do know that they are a consumer product manufactuer in a small niche market that has been around for 40+ years. With by all accounts, a very good reputation & a loyal following in some circles. If what you say is true and the is the whole story... Well that doesn't make any sense. Does not compute. So, I don't have an opinion. Yet. I will wait until the story is over first, I think some chapters got skipped or something.

 

[JCurry]

Not from personal experience, but I have HEARD that Predator is also very hard to deal with when it comes to warranty issues. Basically, that it will be your fault no matter what is wrong with it. They actually lost a Z2 shaft that a friend of mine sent them after the ferrule cracked.

 

[RobDeBank]

This cake isn't rising. When you told the story, are you sure you put all the ingredients in?.

Not to doubt you, I don't know you. I don't know them either. I do know that they are a consumer product manufactuer in a small niche market that has been around for 40+ years. With by all accounts, a very good reputation & a loyal following in some circles. If what you say is true and the is the whole story... Well that doesn't make any sense. Does not compute. So, I don't have an opinion. Yet. I will wait until the story is over first, I think some chapters got skipped or something.

Understandable, I tried to sum it up quickly so it wouldn't be painful to read their main problem is that I am in Canada which is why they won't cover the shipping but they openly said to me that the cue had a defect on the female part and they would fix that part for free. They are making me pay for the pin because they don't know why it would bend like that. The shipping SHOULD be covered though because of the fact that the cue was defective either way. Even if the pin did not bend the female part was still loose and needed to be repaired. It had to go back either way right? So I paid the 23$ or whatever for my new pin I was more angry at the fact I had to pay all of this shipping. I just never expected this out of a company like viking. I thought that I would be treated more fairly and I would not be talked to so disrespectfully. The lady on the phone completely blew me away with how she spoke to me. I am not trying to be bitter I just felt I was treated this way because they know there is nothing I can do about it. So I felt I should let other players know of my experience and hope that they can avoid going through this should they buy a viking and it breaks.

-Rd.

 

[macaframa]

Dealing with predator and their warraenty was very positive for my self as far as viking they do not stand by their warranty for nothing. I worked for an authorized dealer in which a customer purchased a viking cue and a month later the finish began chipping away. We sent the cue back for the customer and viking said that the chipping in finish was not a cue defect in which it clearly was. Vikings sucks

 

[SpiderWebComm]

Understandable, I tried to sum it up quickly so it wouldn't be painful to read their main problem is that I am in Canada which is why they won't cover the shipping but they openly said to me that the cue had a defect on the female part and they would fix that part for free. They are making me pay for the pin because they don't know why it would bend like that. The shipping SHOULD be covered though because of the fact that the cue was defective either way. Even if the pin did not bend the female part was still loose and needed to be repaired. It had to go back either way right? So I paid the 23$ or whatever for my new pin I was more angry at the fact I had to pay all of this shipping. I just never expected this out of a company like viking. I thought that I would be treated more fairly and I would not be talked to so disrespectfully. The lady on the phone completely blew me away with how she spoke to me. I am not trying to be bitter I just felt I was treated this way because they know there is nothing I can do about it. So I felt I should let other players know of my experience and hope that they can avoid going through this should they buy a viking and it breaks.

-Rd.

What makes no sense is why Viking wouldn't just fix the pin for free. The damn part is probably a buck or two. The way I see it, even if I didn't "know" how it bent or why it bent, I would have fixed it for free with a smile on my face and fall-on-the-sword. So, instead of doing the right thing out of the gate--- they pissed off someone who then in turn made a post on azb to say that their service sucked and the woman had a curt attitude towards the entire thing. Now, instead of future clients buying a Viking--- someone might get rattled over the story and go elsewhere...... ALL over a part that's a few bucks. Nitty. Your post could have been a raving post about how awesome Viking was.

Right or wrong, they should have fixed your cue for free and charged you the difference between a US shipping fee and Canadian. Who cares if you bent the pin with a set of pliers. They can't prove it and the customer is always right. Some companies just don't get it.

 

[Rotarded]

Not from personal experience, but I have HEARD that Predator is also very hard to deal with when it comes to warranty issues. Basically, that it will be your fault no matter what is wrong with it. They actually lost a Z2 shaft that a friend of mine sent them after the ferrule cracked.

Not to hijack this thread, but I had a great experience with Predator when I had warranty claim. They covered my cracked ferrule even though my proof of purchase had been lost in an apartment fire. I sent it in, they called me and told me they'd cover it, and sent it back fixed. No debate, no argueing, no problems.

 

[jrt30004]

Not from personal experience, but I have HEARD that Predator is also very hard to deal with when it comes to warranty issues. Basically, that it will be your fault no matter what is wrong with it. They actually lost a Z2 shaft that a friend of mine sent them after the ferrule cracked.

i'll pile on that not only have i heard they are hard to deal, i've seen more than three bk2's where the joint bascically exploded from impact. so to the op you could have spent more and had the same problems. and these are the reasons i spent less than a hundred bucks on players. i beat the dogsnot out of it and in over a year i've had no problems and if i did - for 90 bucks i got a great years worth of breaking out of it.

 

[whoaaaa]

ohhhhh great. I have a break cue by them. I wonder what kind of defect they can possibly have. It's discouraging to hear that Viking has bad customer service. There aren't many production cue companies left that manufactures in the US. I guess this is another reason why consumers buy custom cues.

 

[TheNewSharkster]

I am curious why they would still want to charge for the repair if they openly admitted that it was caused by a defect. Did they offer an explanation for for this? I feel like I am missing something.

 

[Beware_of_Dawg]

They are making me pay for the pin because they don't know why it would bend like that.
-Rd.

How did the pin bend? That's a little unusual to say the least.

 

[RobDeBank]

I am curious why they would still want to charge for the repair if they openly admitted that it was caused by a defect. Did they offer an explanation for for this? I feel like I am missing something.

They admitted the female part was a defect but not the pin, they fixed the female for free but made me pay for the bent pin and it bent while I was playing I did a standard side rail break during a game of 9 ball and the cue didn't feel right next rack and then I put it away and didn't use it anymore.

-Rd.

 

[Johnnyt]

I've delt with Viking for 40+ years and never had a problem with them. Johnnyt

 

[TheNewSharkster]

They admitted the female part was a defect but not the pin, they fixed the female for free but made me pay for the bent pin and it bent while I was playing I did a standard side rail break during a game of 9 ball and the cue didn't feel right next rack and then I put it away and didn't use it anymore.

-Rd.

Ok, I think I got it. They admitted the female part was a defect but they don't feel the cause of the bent pin was from the defect. I am no expert on this subject but it makes sense that if a cue has a faulty female joint it would cause damage to the pin. Did they say what the defect was? In my mind the pin would be only be bent if it wasn't tight or it couldn't be screwed on fully.

 

[RobDeBank]

Ok, I think I got it. They admitted the female part was a defect but they don't feel the cause of the bent pin was from the defect. I am no expert on this subject but it makes sense that if a cue has a faulty female joint it would cause damage to the pin. Did they say what the defect was? In my mind the pin would be only be bent if it wasn't tight or it couldn't be screwed on fully.

they told me the female defect was that it was loose so I would imagine that little bit of play the female gave the pin allowed for it to bend but who really knows it wasn't bent much but it was still bent. I think regardless they gave me a lot of hassle over something they know they could have fixed for next to nothing. It just wasn't good business and I feel like I got treated very poorly.

-Rd.

 

[Beware_of_Dawg]

I think regardless they gave me a lot of hassle. It just wasn't good business and I feel like I got treated very poorly.

-Rd.

Based on your explanations and the calm and logical way that you have represented yourself and your complaints about the way this was handled... I tend to agree with you.

FWIW... Viking just made my "Look elsewhere" list when considering a purchase.

*edit* and to clarify, they are now on my "pass" list not because of asking you to pay shipping or because of policy regarding warranty claims, I know nothing about those policies. I do know how people should be treated though, I would not want to be made to feel the way it sounds like you felt during this process.

 

[cuesblues]

Viking

The only experience I've had with Viking is asking for some help identifying a very old Viking cue and the guy on the phone was rather unfriendly and they did not respond to my email.

No big deal on my situation but this doesn't surprise me based on the
attitude I got over the telephone and non-response to my email.
It doesn't sound like they are acting like a cue builder anymore, and they definitely don't know about AZ Billiards.
If they did, this would of been handled differently.
Try dealing with Sony if you have a problem.

 

[RobDeBank]

Based on your explanations and the calm and logical way that you have represented yourself and your complaints about the way this was handled... I tend to agree with you.

FWIW... Viking just made my "Look elsewhere" list when considering a purchase.

*edit* and to clarify, they are now on my "pass" list not because of asking you to pay shipping or because of policy regarding warranty claims, I know nothing about those policies. I do know how people should be treated though, I would not want to be made to feel the way it sounds like you felt during this process.

thanks believe it or not this whole post has made me feel a lot better about this whole ordeal. Even though I have sour feelings towards the company I am gonna be happy when my cue is back and I can maybe pot a ball off the break again... something about an old playing cue that doesn't give you that solid thump like phenolic does.

cheers.

-Rd.

 

[OUSooner]

Thats why I typically only buy custom from local cuemakers with a good reputation. In my experience they offer a great warranty and don't want any of their products going around town in subpar condition.