You thanking me for being honest is like Hitler presenting a peace medal.
So, let me get this straight: Pay attention because we are going on a logic ride here that might be a little deep.
You started all this by claiming that you know how all Chinese cues are made based on your "extensive experience" repairing "vast amounts" of import cues. So as a repairman and as a cue maker you claim to be able to see and define all the problems with Chinese cue making just by the fact that you repair some imported cues.
But, then you turn around and tell me that we can't identify a problem by sending it to a cue repairman?
Do you think that we have some sort of communication problem? Do we not speak the same language as the local cue repair guy? I mean if we call him up or gosh, even drive over there and talk to him while he is fixing the cues, do you think that we are so stupid as to not be able to understand what he is doing and explaining to us?
I mean geez, cues aren't exactly rocket science Craig. They are made of tapered pieces of wood attached to metal and plastic parts. There are plenty of tricks and techniques that have been discovered and invented to make all those parts play nice with each other but it's not like it's particle beam physics or anything.
So doesn't it seem obvious to you that if a problem is recurring then it's important for the importer to get it fixed if that problem is significant enough that it's eating a lot of time and money and reputation?
Doesn't it seem obvious that the manufacturer would want to know about and fix these problems so that he can continue to keep the customers he has and attract new ones?
You're right, my expertise is in cases. I have never claimed to be a cue maker.
But I have been a cue dealer for 20 years. In those 20 years I have spent enough time in cue maker's shops to have picked up a fair amount of knowledge of how the process works.
But beyond that I am a player as well who knows how to assess a good cue.
As a cue dealer I have traveled the world selling cues face to face. People I sell cues to are people that I have to see again the next month and next year and the years after that. So it's a huge concern for me that I sell them something that they can depend on.
I would venture to say that I probably have more experience with more brands of cues that you do and that's not including all the factory brands. I am talking about cues made by small cue makers in the USA, Germany, Belgium, and Taiwan. This experience more than qualifies me to be in this discussion.
In addition I am in the cue factory a few days a week and can see the production first hand at every stage in the process.
So while I don't spin the wood I'd say that I probably know about as much as you do about how to assemble a cue and possibly more due to my firsthand experience in the shops of many cue makers.
And if there is something that I do say about building cues that is in error I expect to be corrected. And if that something is a process that we are doing wrong then I will be sure it's addressed and taken care of.
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John below are your words from you last post on this subject:
No, Sterling does not have an in-house full time repair facility. If a cue comes in that has an issue then it is either repaired or replaced at our discretion. The repair is done by qualified cue repair people around Charlotte. We also sometimes contract out with repair people around the country to repair our cues so that the customer can take their cue to their local repairman and we pay for it. Similar to what automakers do for PRIVATELY owned authorized repair shops.
John, if your company is not doing the repairs themselves I doubt they are getting a clear picture of what caused the problem. Especially like you said above, when you allow the customer to take the cue to a qualified repairman near their location. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but again I would suspect that many cues are just replaced due to problems. Now, what do you do with cues that are just replaced, tell the dealer to dispose of the damaged product, or are they collected and sent back to China?
John, I am completely self taught as a repairman and a cue maker. I started around ten years ago doing repairs and yes a very large number of these cues have been imports. I learned to build cues by taking broken cues apart and rebuilding them. This taught me what are common failures with certain brands of cues that are made in the USA along with imports.
John, when someone comes to me with a problem, I can normally diagnose it in a few minutes with a reasonble amount of certanty. I have developed these skills due to the above time spent to evaluate and give the customer a price for the repair.
Over the last 10 years I have seen the quality of imports improve in some area's, however, I have seen other problems that have never been corrected to this day. I also have played Pool since the 1970's, I certaily know what I expect and what I like in a cues feed back or hit, yes I know it is subjective but I also know what I like, and I have no problem selling every cue I make immediately upon completion. The truth be known I could sell many more cues that I build than I currently make, since I am not making more than 15 cues a year. This is due to the large volume of repair work that I do not to mention the restoration of Antique cues from the 1880's forward.
While I was serving in the US Army for the 23 years I was on active duty I was buying and accumulating all types of materials preparing for my retirement and my entry into the civilian sector. I was also doing a great deal of research on cue building techniques along with the styles of past and present cue makers. I always wanted to own a Pool Room, so I put a plan together and made it happen, along with a retail store, and a expanded cue repair and cue making facility all from the same location. No where in the State of Washington is there another facility that is a one stop location like mine, I currently have 8 APA Teams, and 6 BCA Teams that I sponsor, in addition I am soon going to add a number of ACS teams to my sponsorship.
Point is John, you are not the only one who has accumulated some knowledge in these areas, so please do not insult me by acting like I have no clue what I am talking about. The fact is I stay as busy as I want to, and I have no plans to expand any further, I am 49 years old and I am technically retired living a dream I have chosen to live, not something I have to do for the money, not saying that you are.
