Worst custom cue making experence ever!!

I am sorry to hear about the nightmare you've endured, I'd be pissed off too. I think shedding light on the situation is a public service.
The people doing great work and taking there business seriously should be the ones rewarded.
If someone isn't doing a good job, people need to know about it. That way they can support the ones who are doing it right.
 
I always feel terrible when I see threads like this, but they seem to be more common than ever.

There are a few reasons for that.

With the exposure of the internet, cuemakers who are just getting started, or have not been building for a long time, can get exposure very quickly. Years ago, you had to work hard for that reputation to get out of your local area. You earned it by building good cues and doing good business. Now, a newcomer to cue making may seem to be as experienced as many veterans even though he's still learning. Not only learning about cues, but also about being in business. It's a lot different than building as a hobby.

There are more situations where, because of the current unemployment situation, a hobby cue maker looks to selling cues to get by. Obviously, there's nothing wrong with that. However, the buyers don't really know if the maker they're buying from has an established business or if they are selling a few cues here and there for extra spending money. Obviously, if a cuemaker has an established business, then he has the need to keep things right and customers happy. But for the builder who's making some extra spending money, he may not have the funds to make something right. He also might think it's better to just weather the storm than to spend the time and money to make something right. What it all boils down to is the cuemaker who is really in business has "skin in the game" so to speak, and can't afford the bad reputation. He will make sure customers are taken care of. With the hobby cuemaker there are many more variables that come into play. Most of which no one can really predict.

I guess what it all boils down to is you have to consider the situation of the person you are doing business with. If it's a seasoned business cuemaker, then you should be able to count on them. If it's more of a hobby type cuemaker, then you may not. You certainly may be able too, but you just shouldn't count on it all the time.


Just because someone builds and sells cues, doesn't mean they are in business. This post certainly isn't meant to offend anyone, especially those cuemakers who may fit into that "hobby" category. They certainly have a place in this pool world. In fact I know, and am friends with many of them. I also consider many of them to be some of the best cuemakers on the planet. But the fact remains that it's not the highest thing on some of their priority lists and when "life" happens, other things will most certainly be more important to them.
 
My thoughts after being self employed as a contractor for over 30 years is I would rather do a job for free than have one single unhappy customer! That is how I ran my business, I would bend over backword and kill them with kindness if necessary. When I had a client that was unreasonable and they contacted me again for work I'd politely explain to them that I no longer wanted to do work for them and wish them the best of luck. In this situation I believe once an individual accepts funds for a cue then he has established that he is running a business making cues. Whether he is making 10 or 200 per year does not make any difference to me. He then becomes responsible or not as the case may be. That is one of the things that seperates the professionals from the wanna bees, sadly everyday someone falls victim to the acts of an unprofessional individual claiming he is a professional... JMO!
 
Thank you for this thread.

I feel really bad for the OP and other victims of this awful service and experience. I just wanted to post to say a sincere "thank you" for creating this thread to make this poor service known and searchable. It has helped me personally in reinforcing my decision that if I were to purchase a custom cue, it'd be one that's already made, from a dealer, although I still wouldn't get 75% of what I truly wanted in a custom.

It seems as if some cue makers unethically place priority to their friends' and/or dealers' inventory far ahead of individual orders. What a shame. Again, I hope everyone's problems are resolved promptly and to 100% satisfaction as it should have been from the get-go. (if 100% is even salvageable now)

Taemin
 
Quesports said:
**** In this situation I believe once an individual accepts funds for a cue then he has established that he is running a business making cues. Whether he is making 10 or 200 per year does not make any difference to me. He then becomes responsible or not as the case may be. That is one of the things that seperates the professionals from the wanna bees, sadly everyday someone falls victim to the acts of an unprofessional individual claiming he is a professional... JMO! ****
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Quesports

I agree completely.

I was hesitant to use the word "Professional", but you are right. There are some who are "in business" because they are taking money, but that does not mean they are "professional".

With your business, your reputation is your "skin in the game", as is with mine. A "Professional" will always hold that reputation with very high regard.

Great post!
 
Here we go again! Don't hurt his lively hood! Lol Believe me there is many stories of Jim pierce like this. Any cue maker that doesn't hold to his end of the bargain and screws somebody this long over and over deserves to get there lively hood hurt. It's not like he and the others who have had issues with Jim haven't given him a chance to make it right.


mtglassguy said:
I know Jim personally and I can tell you that things do happen. I know he was sick for some time and I know for a fact that 2 pieces of his equipment broke down. I have ownef a couple of his cues and they were perfect. I still have one and it does hit like a tank. His prices are more than fair. I have seen cues on here that are way worse go for thousands . I would venture to bet that no matter who the cue maker is there are stories out there just like yours. No one can please everyone every time .
I understand what it feels like to have a bad experience and I feel ya there. But posting something like that in hopes to damage someones reputation and possibly hurt their livelihood I think there are better ways to go about it. If someone could tell me a company that has never had a complaint please tell me so I can buy stock. There has to be a common ground you 2 can reach somehow. Maybe I will stay a mediation service between makers and customers when they have a bad deal.
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My experience, for what it's worth

My experienced was mixed but ended OK.

I bought a Pierce cue from an AZer in the tail end of 2011. The cue was great looking (5pt walnut made from gun stock and nice birdseye maple, with two bowling alley shafts). One of the shafts, my favorite of the two, had a wobble only when screwed on the cue. (Although all the bowling alley shafts I have do have a bit of a taper roll). Jim said he would check out the facing and correct it free of charge. It ended up taking 8 months to get my cue back so I had to be very patient (especially considering that I just got the cue!).

During that time, we talked and he said he tried to fix the shaft but it still wasn't perfect. So he made me a completely new shaft! And he refinished the cue butt because I had managed to put a ding in the butt during the short couple weeks I used it. This was all great, but yes, I did have to wait much longer than I anticipated. Jim offered to send me $50 to make up for it and mentioned having wood sent to Jim Baxter for joint protectors to be made.

Then finally when the cue ships, he or his girlfriend, got two boxes mixed up and it shipped to one of his other customers. So his other customer and I shipped cues back to one another. When I got it back, the cue was great and I had the old shaft that was not as wobbly and actually rolls pretty damn good as well as the new shaft he included. All of this for the cost it took to ship the other customer's cue. Now, I never got the $50 or reimbursed for shipping but I told Jim not to worry about it. He never got the joint protectors to me either but, hey, I ended up getting a free shaft and a refinish.

So with my experience, I can say I like Jim's cues (I have two). I think for the price point they are tough to beat. It is true that he may fall short on promises and behind on his timelines, so I can understand others who ran into similar problems who had worse outcomes, but in my case, at the end of the day, I'm satisfied with how it turned out. :thumbup:

Still shooting pool with a Pierce,

Ed
 
Jim Pierce

I like Jim and have had three of his cues. Two of the three have had joints that come loose. Not good when your waiting to hear that sound on every shot. I love my Pierce don't get me wrong, but I think I love the shaft (no pun intended) more than the rest. I am considering a Harris cue to replace my Pierce and was offered by Jim to fix it at no cost, but I think im just going to move on. I may have him build a shaft or two for whatever cue I buy next. I hope he gets everything lined up with the quality he does build some nice cues.
 
As in all stories, there is 3 sides...in this case the OP, The Cuemaker and the Truth....I'm sure some of these things happened...just as I'm sure some didn't...for me personally, I "met" Jim about 18 months ago, (never met in person, only talked over the phone)...I paid up front for numerous cues to be made and he came through with each and every one....I'm expecting another one, and I am positive it will hit as good and look as good as all the rest...I hate to see these threads, its just not my style...I have had MUCH worse experiances with other cue makers but never aired out all the details, maybe I should have, who knows...but as in all things there is a small % of defects that occur...cars, houses, cues whatever...and I can honestly tell you that my experiance with houses and cars is that you can expect a huge headache and possible legal action to get those defects corrected...I digress:) My point is this...in my opinion Jim is a stand up, honest guy and he will make every effort to make it right.
 
JonTravisTaylor said:
As in all stories, there is 3 sides...in this case the OP, The Cuemaker and the Truth....I'm sure some of these things happened...just as I'm sure some didn't...for me personally, I "met" Jim about 18 months ago, (never met in person, only talked over the phone)...I paid up front for numerous cues to be made and he came through with each and every one....I'm expecting another one, and I am positive it will hit as good and look as good as all the rest...I hate to see these threads, its just not my style...I have had MUCH worse experiances with other cue makers but never aired out all the details, maybe I should have, who knows...but as in all things there is a small % of defects that occur...cars, houses, cues whatever...and I can honestly tell you that my experiance with houses and cars is that you can expect a huge headache and possible legal action to get those defects corrected...I digress:) My point is this...in my opinion Jim is a stand up, honest guy and he will make every effort to make it right.
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I can tell you that everything that was in the OP post happened and continues to happen. I know because I play pool with him everyday and have been privy to the entire deal. Basically everything that Jim has said has been HORSECRAP. Nothing ever seems to go the way he says it will. Hopefully the cue is really in the mail this time. However it is going on five days to get a priority mail package......
 
warfdiesel said:
I can tell you that everything that was in the OP post happened and continues to happen. I know because I play pool with him everyday and have been privy to the entire deal. Basically everything that Jim has said has been HORSECRAP. Nothing ever seems to go the way he says it will. Hopefully the cue is really in the mail this time. However it is going on five days to get a priority mail package......
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JohnTravisTaylor is one of the Jim Pierce minions that firmly believes that Jim Pierce walks on water and everyone else is a liar and malcontent.

As to the mailing of the cue, well, I'm still waiting for the $500 payment that Jim promised me....it's been over a year, but you know how slow the mail service can be. LOL

I am sorry for your friend. Believe me, it is no fun getting screwed like that. It is important that threads like this persist so that others become aware of his business practices and poor quality workmanship. Good luck on resolution.

Regards,

Doug
 
Salamander said:
JohnTravisTaylor is one of the Jim Pierce minions that firmly believes that Jim Pierce walks on water and everyone else is a liar and malcontent.

As to the mailing of the cue, well, I'm still waiting for the $500 payment that Jim promised me....it's been over a year, but you know how slow the mail service can be. LOL

I am sorry for your friend. Believe me, it is no fun getting screwed like that. It is important that threads like this persist so that others become aware of his business practices and poor quality workmanship. Good luck on resolution.

Regards,

Doug
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Oh Sally! I am not a minion, just stating my opinion and my experience the same as you...the difference is you won't ever find me leaving a negative rep on somebody for stating their opinion...thanks for that by the way, yours is the only neg I ever received!! Lol! You better run along now...I think I hear your mom calling you...
 
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Eddie Wheat gets the prize for "Peeee" Poor Customer Service.

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warfdiesel said:
I can tell you that everything that was in the OP post happened and continues to happen. I know because I play pool with him everyday and have been privy to the entire deal.
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If everything your buddy says is true, then why did he start out his original post with a lie? :confused: :confused: :confused:

mnb said:
dickja said:
So about a year ago I put a post on here asking for a custom cue.
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Your Join Date says "Jan 2013". How did you post on here a year ago?
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It's amazing how some cue makers can keep on breaking promises and expect people not to know about it.

It's quite apparent that there are professional cue makers, and wannabe cue makers. The wannabes are hobbyists who haven't figured out how to do cue making as a business. A lot of the business side of cue making is just common sense.

I'm a buyer of cues. I'm not going to roll a dice with my money with someone who hasn't demonstrated that he can keep a promise. I don't care if his cue may eventually turn out to be decent. With many very good cuemakers around, the guy who isn't professional stands at the end of the line.
 
Jim pierce

I have know Jim since 1999. He is a stand up guy and will bend over backwards for you to make it right. I wonder if you guys think making cues is easy? Things happen. Yes a date that was promised is extended due to unexpected issues. He will make it right. But I also agree messing with his way of making a living is not the way to get it done. You get more Bees with Honey. Good luck.
 
CaPoolFan said:
I wonder if you guys think making cues is easy? Things happen. Yes a date that was promised is extended due to unexpected issues. He will make it right.
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that has nothing to do with anything. it can be the hardest thing in the world or the easiest thing in the world. end result is you accepted the job so do it correctly. just cuz it may or may not be difficult has no bearing on the situation. it's a weak cop out excuse. if it's so hard that you cant do it consistently without screwing up then stop doing it and find something else to do.

also, replacing a buttcap is not as hard as you think it is. you can do it in under an hour, depending on the finish you use it can take longer but it's a simple job. no excuse to miss due dates by months.
 
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