Warning for doing business with Tony Zinzola
- Thread starter Bobbie
- Start date
Tony is a person who should not be making custom cues imho... oh wait, he isn't
So your saying he's making a partial custom cue? Assembling? Do tell.
I always thought Tiny and another cue maker had very similar designs...way too similar.
No, no, nothing like that. I was just being a smart ass to the poster who told the OP he should NOT be buying custom cues.
My reference to Tony was that since he has not built the OP's cue in over 3 years, he should NOT take orders, since it appears he does NOT build cues currently !!
I have no knowledge or even implying that Tony did NOT build his own cues now or in the past....... just the future seems to be open to debate
Im far as I know cue building is not Tony's job and he is a very busy guy. My mentor is part of his family so to hear people bashing him about this and that is very disheartening!! People go through crap here and there and sometimes projects need to be put on hold. How long is it for a Southwest Cue these days?? I know about 10 years ago Southwest has a 10 year waiting period so I can only image what it is now. Look... He has his reasons for his actions. Did you ever think that he's swamped or burned out with work?? Did you ask him how many hours or days in a week he can work on cues?? I bet you didn't. I bet you would expect him to eat his pasta with meatballs over his lathe and not at the table with his family. I bet going to practices and school events isn't important either. Holy Christ!!!
Personaly I think Tony feels bad about being behind and says things or gives sooner dates because he feels bad about the time he can't put in. He's a good man that loves pool and loves making gorgeous piece of playable art!!
Im not completely defending the way he handles things but maybe you should put yourself into his shoes. Maybe realize that there isnt enough hours in a day.
Tony..... Thank you so much for the cue you made me! I didnt mind the wait because I knew it was gonna be awesome!! Thank you and god bless :smile:
Personaly I think Tony feels bad about being behind and says things or gives sooner dates because he feels bad about the time he can't put in. He's a good man that loves pool and loves making gorgeous piece of playable art!!
Im not completely defending the way he handles things but maybe you should put yourself into his shoes. Maybe realize that there isnt enough hours in a day.
Tony..... Thank you so much for the cue you made me! I didnt mind the wait because I knew it was gonna be awesome!! Thank you and god bless :smile:
If he's so busy and has "things" going on, why is the clock still ticking on this guys cue and/or deposit? A really simple resolution would be to refund his deposit before it got to this point and man up to his error. That's respectable...keeping someone hanging for this long is not.
Yes, you wait for a SW cue for 10 years but you don't put down a deposit until its actually being built. Tony is no SW and to this day, I've never heard of SW stiffing someone or delaying their cue for years.
Yes, you wait for a SW cue for 10 years but you don't put down a deposit until its actually being built. Tony is no SW and to this day, I've never heard of SW stiffing someone or delaying their cue for years.
For future try to get email for your cuemaker saying you will have the cue by X date or or deposit will be refunded by pp within 24 hrs upon notice or optionally you may wait longer-shiitty wording but u know what i mean
Then try to find a cuemaker in your own State. Small claims court is pretty simple but you have to file in the state of the guy who screwed you im 99% sure
Then try to find a cuemaker in your own State. Small claims court is pretty simple but you have to file in the state of the guy who screwed you im 99% sure
I do not know how much money a custom cue builder ties up in materials for a cue. I do racecar metal fabrication and I know I will not start work on a customers car without a deposit. It can take a year to build a car for someone, many 10s of thousands of $$, plus labor, I for one would not tie up that kind of money in something that I did not own. I usually get a deposit for the materials that will be needed to get project going, then a small labor deposit. As I accumulate labor hours on the project the owner continues to make payments. If someone orders a custom cue I would think the deposit is needed, what if you build a cue for someone and he decides he no longer wants it? I suppose the cue builder can sell it, but it is a custom built cue built to someone's specific taste and specs.
Wow, so his life, priorities are so much more important than everyone elses
Here's a trick to help poor Tony through his tough times. Refund the money ASAP, and thus he has one less project on his plate, one less thing to worry about, and thus he is on the road to a more fullfilled life. Pretty simple... yet, he doesn't want to do it for some reason.
Poor, poor Tony. Just for the record, Tony is NOT the victim... maybe your "mentor" can explain that to you some day....I believe it's in the chapter that deals with ethics......
I'm sure we all understand that people experience upheavals in their life. When that happens, a cuemaker needs to communicate honestly. That responsibility is more important than being embarrassed or feeling bad.
The bigger problem is when cuemakers immediately spend a deposit that they can't afford to return if something goes wrong.
You get ZERO leeway if you *won't* communicate the problem. Communication is so simple and solves most issues.
KMRUNOUT
Hmmmm
Why is it everyone who defends the accused cuemaker already has received their cue?
And if I recall Southwest cues do not receive a down payment until you are notified they are ready to start building. And they have an outstanding reputation.
Why is it everyone who defends the accused cuemaker already has received their cue?
And if I recall Southwest cues do not receive a down payment until you are notified they are ready to start building. And they have an outstanding reputation.
Who gives a shit how long it takes south west. Your comparing apples to oranges. Southwest tells you it will be a 10 year wait. Thats a big difference then telling someone a date and a year later you don't even have pics of it being started! It's one thing to be running a little behind. Cue makers are making one of a kind pieces of working art. But there is a limit to what you should have to wait. Sounds like he's taking more on then he can handle and thats not the customers fault or problem.
On the matter of southwest, I contacted Lori and was treated with utmost professionalism. She not only had my original order date (2002) but she had the details of my request ready to read back to me. She even had notes from 2004 when we spoke to confirm a few changes. Maybe Southwest cues has a long wait, but it is a wait for the right reasons and their conduct is superb relative to tracking their commitments.
What has Tony done for this guy. Suppose your comments are right on..."he's swamped"..."he's burned out"... do these things give him liscence to fail his delivery date then fail to even offer an alternative to his customer.
Tony can have any number of valid reasons to miss a build date...but if he does so...agregiously...he should give his customer the money back provided there is a request made.
What is your excuse for Tony not doing right by his customer??? How does many hours and regret excuse that kind of neglect? Return the money and accept that you were in over your head with work. There is no shame in that...provided it is accompanied with the integrity to accept the burden of business lost.
I took deposits on some schon tributes
Schon ran into some typical delays
My customers were great,seldom did they call,
but the pressure almost drove me crazy
Just knowing people were waiting
A month or two delay on my promises or rather projections
got the better of me
I think deposits are good with honorable people,
sometimes they are necessary in the business world
I wanted a really fancy Bob Owen,he asked for a deposit
when he just met me,he needed to
know that if he built an unusual cue that he wouldn't get stuck if I changed my mind
after several builds with bob we still maintain a good relationship
and when I order something far out ,I send the payment up front
so his mind is free
Incidently,you can send him a deposit with full confidence
His cues are nice and so is he
Schon ran into some typical delays
My customers were great,seldom did they call,
but the pressure almost drove me crazy
Just knowing people were waiting
A month or two delay on my promises or rather projections
got the better of me
I think deposits are good with honorable people,
sometimes they are necessary in the business world
I wanted a really fancy Bob Owen,he asked for a deposit
when he just met me,he needed to
know that if he built an unusual cue that he wouldn't get stuck if I changed my mind
after several builds with bob we still maintain a good relationship
and when I order something far out ,I send the payment up front
so his mind is free
Incidently,you can send him a deposit with full confidence
His cues are nice and so is he
if the maker is going to wait a long time before starting on your cue he then asks for his deposit at that time. not in advance of even knowing when he will decide to build it.
all too often they just take the deposit and spend it on other things than your materials. that is called stealing. then they have to build a cue for a discounted price and they dont want to do the work.
what works best is for people to put on this site the names of cuemakers that pull this crap, and then let only the stupid fools continue to buy from them.
all too often they just take the deposit and spend it on other things than your materials. that is called stealing. then they have to build a cue for a discounted price and they dont want to do the work.
what works best is for people to put on this site the names of cuemakers that pull this crap, and then let only the stupid fools continue to buy from them.
he must feel real bad, he aint even came here to address this. i'm sure he is iin mourning now as I type this.
To many great cue makers out there to be sending the amounts I have heard people sending this guy. Crazy... I could see a deposit to cover the materials once the cue is started, but the rest is non-sense. Especially deposits on a waiting list.
Hi,
I don't want to judge anyone and am a big fan of Tony's work
Here is my take on the subject and it is based on my 25 years of business experience not my nine years as a CM.
People who buy custom cues need to communicated with at least 2 times per week because they deserve that consideration IMO.
Building cues takes time and if you are in demand building multiple cues in batches this communication is vital so you customers are in the loop.
With smart phones today it is so easy to take pic during all phases of the build and just send them off in seconds to email or text messages.
I am currently building 7 custom cue order and everyday I send at least 10 pics to the guys I am building cues for. It is just too easy to do that I know that the player waiting for the cues love this practice as they see their cue evolving.
So my advise is to send pics and talk a few times per week to your customer. I have been late on my delivery dates many times for different reasons but have never got a scholding from anyone because when you are open and communicate with people they will not get mad if there is a bump in the road.
As a side note, I read a statement on a website whereby the CM said something like, "progress pics are a luxury or privilege and don't mistake that with something that would be considered a standard practice". When I read that I thought, this guys is telling you he is arrogant and rude up front. He must not like what he is doing. Sure enough I read sometime later he was closing his operations. He lacked and passion in his approach to this trade.
I know Tony is passionate and talented about what he does. IMO, he needs to communicate better and send pics to customers every day.
All would be good if he did.
JMO,
Rick