Viking Cue Fail.

http://www.vikingcue.com/viking_cues_warranty.php
A joint insert being a little loose in the shaft will not bend a joint pin. Especially Vikings quick release pin which for the most part is thicker than the minor thread diameter on most 5/16 18 thread pins. To bend a pin with the joint screwed together would almost certainly crack/split the shaft because of the lateral force against a thin piece of wood. Think about it, what would give first a joint pin or 3/16" worth of wood and plastic.
If the cue appeared to have other abuse on it such as dents and finish chips, the cue would be considered abused and by their warranty, the pin would not have been covered.
I love how people hear one side of the story and are willing to jump up to fight. Viking has been around for almost 50 years. They wouldnt have lasted that long if they arbitrarily treated their customers poorly.
Chuck
 
Hey Rob,

Sorry to hear about it, unfortunately I thought this might happen.

Glad the nick name stuck :wink: See ya tonight
 
It just barely bent but any bend in a cues pin is huge you can't play like that. I think I will just go to a CM and have something put together in the future. Thanks everyone for the feed back on this matter. I will be sure to write the company one last time and no I didn't take any pictures of the damage and also... the cue is in great condition, no signs of abuse.

-Rd.
 
If you do not get this resolved with Viking, get the cue to me and I will fix it, no charge. I have the Viking quick release pins so it will be good-as-new. In fact, PM me your info and I can give them a call to see if they can send the cue to me. I'll do what I can to take care of it one way or the other.
 
ratcues said:
If you do not get this resolved with Viking, get the cue to me and I will fix it, no charge. I have the Viking quick release pins so it will be good-as-new. In fact, PM me your info and I can give them a call to see if they can send the cue to me. I'll do what I can to take care of it one way or the other.
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bravo! this is the kind of stuff that makes me enjoy internet forums.
 
ratcues said:
If you do not get this resolved with Viking, get the cue to me and I will fix it, no charge. I have the Viking quick release pins so it will be good-as-new. In fact, PM me your info and I can give them a call to see if they can send the cue to me. I'll do what I can to take care of it one way or the other.
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You have no idea how much I appreciate that, despite the how viking treated me I had them fix it because I was already like 60$ in with shipping so I just paid the extra 20 something dollars. I guess they win, but what could I do right?

I am really grateful for your offer, that is a really nice thing to do for someone you don't know and don't owe anything too. Next time I need a cue repair you just picked up a paying customer :)

-Rd.
 
At least you'll be getting your cue back and in playable condition.

I'll be here when you, or anyone else needs anything. ;)
 
I've known Gordy Hart since the 60's, stand up guy, gettin' old but never have heard anything bad since then. You might even try letting Mike Janis know about your problem, he represents the Viking Tour and is in direct contact with the mfg allot.
Sounds like customer service female may have gotten tweaked and it turned into another problem.
 
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steveinflorida said:
I absolutely hate it when some smart a$$ treats a customer with
no respect and has a 'don't give a damn ' attitude.
There is NO excuse for this.
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I feel the same way. i hate it when i spend my hard earned money somewhere and get treated like i'm asking for a favor!

after reading this thread i'm "NEVER" going to buy any viking products. so far the list of businesses that'll never get my business/money is viking and best buy but the list is always growing!
 
Viking cues

I had a viking cue wood to wood that sucked. I had a leather wrap when ordered installed by viking.

The leather was so thin if you bumped something it would cut like paper. I ordered a extra shaft from viking.

When I got the shaft I screwed it on the butt and when I unscrewed it the insert out of the shaft was still on the butt pin (not glued in well).

The cue always had a buzz and power loss when using extreme english. It was fine as long as you hit the cueball close to center.

I discussed the problem with 2 cumakers and they couln't explain.
I believed it to be the quick disconnet pin hasn't enough threads on the pin but I will never know for sure.

I predict viking will go the way of Mali in the future.
 
poke&hope said:
I had a viking cue wood to wood that sucked. I had a leather wrap when ordered installed by viking.

The leather was so thin if you bumped something it would cut like paper. I ordered a extra shaft from viking.

When I got the shaft I screwed it on the butt and when I unscrewed it the insert out of the shaft was still on the butt pin (not glued in well).

The cue always had a buzz and power loss when using extreme english. It was fine as long as you hit the cueball close to center.

I discussed the problem with 2 cumakers and they couln't explain.
I believed it to be the quick disconnet pin hasn't enough threads on the pin but I will never know for sure.

I predict viking will go the way of Mali in the future.
Click to expand...

Buy yourself a mezz and this'll never happen again
 
"devil's advocate"

my two cents....

my first "new" cue was a viking....plain jane....dark wood, dark wrap, wood to wood with steel pin into "female wood" (dont know the correct term for that type of joint). I got it as a present, and honestly thought is was pretty cheap looking(I now love PJ sticks). Not to be an ingrate, I graciously accepted the gift and headed down to the pool hall(my second trip that day).

Boy was I surprised.....it "hit" better than many of the custom cues that were around. I dont drop names, but a pro was there and even he was impressed, especially for what I later learned was a $120 stick(in 1992). We often "traded" sticks when we played, his was a primo JW, and yeah, he still whooped me at will, great way to learn though, and the two sticks played very close, swapping also taught me how to adjust for those "slight" differences(Cant play with one, cant play with any). Since then I have played with lots of other high end cues production and custom, and turned down buying many cause my cheapo viking was just plain better....IMO.(Disclaimer....I JUST bought a used custom by a well known builder, on its way now....and it damn well better be "better" than my viking...lol)

I have never had to deal with viking's customer service, but it sounds like you just talked to the wrong person. Like others have mentioned, try to find a local Rep, their job is to make people happy. Posting here is a great way to get your story out too, but it does kinda put viking on the short end of the stick so to speak. Every manufacturer has defects both in product and service...just like every manufacturer has a great story like mine. I love my Viking, not worth squat, I have had to repair it a few times,but I played ALOT, used it as a break cue, and I break pretty hard. Simple repairs, shaft trim ring came loose, one of the plastic butt rings cracked(again I break pretty hard sometimes), not to mention I would let just about anyone play with it.....

Anyway...
Though I kinda believe that my viking is a "one in a million" cue....you know.....the stars just aligned right for that stick, and it plays a lot better than the average viking....I just got lucky. The OP's story is the flip side...but it does sound like he was pretty happy with the stick up until it "defected".

My point is that one person's experience, even when supported by four or five more similar stories, doesn't turn me off to viking. People are also more likely to bring up the bad stories than the good. I would really like to hear how this story ends, if viking is smart they should step up and do SOMETHING to make this right...... I still plan on getting another viking someday, gonna retire the old pj...maybe ill get lucky again?

sorry for the rant...i do sometimes get carried away....
 
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