Re: Mcdermott warped butt

[gwbb]

I finally received my cue after 5 weeks of waiting for my order. My order was sent from the factory with the worst quality control ever. In the butt of my cue is a 3/8" warp. I put the cue together before chaulking it, rolled it on the table and watched it bounce up and down.

I can't believe after waiting this long for my order the company would send out such a poor quality product.

I called and talked to Monique on Tuesday of last week to return my order. She passed me on to the McDermott sales rep, so that he could take care of the problem. When I talked to him about the return he said that I would be contacted for the pickup. I'm still waiting. I don't want to be held responsible for having the cue longer that your return policy states for a refund.

I'm still waiting to return the cue that they sent me. Like my last email regarding my order, this is the worst customer service I have ever received. No one has followed up with me to check to see if my order has been picked up by UPS. I need to know who to send it back too so that it doesn't get lost and forgotten about. I don't know when I will receive my new cue, and if it's going to take another 5 weeks to get another warped cue.

If it's easier just tell me and I will return the cue, case, joint protector for a full refund.

My original order # 45549.

Please contact me regarding this email.

Thank you

[nathar]

I don't work for Seybert's, but from what I know about how most warranty issues are handled it is no longer in Seybert's hands. Your complaint now is with McDermott. And from what I read of your posts, your issues have always been with McDermott, other than the fact that allegedly you were told that the 30" shaft was in stock. Seybert's has no control over another company's shipping policies. And also understand that no business is perfect. If you had problems, know that you are in the vast minority. This site and the services that Seybert's provide have been an absolute breeze for me, taking into account other internet purchases I have made.

One more question, did you have your order shipped by FedEx? :twisted:

[dags_lax]

I have got to strongly disagree with you on this one Nathar. Even if the item was drop shipped, Seybert's, not McDermott sold the defective cue to gwbb. Seybert's needs to make good on this transaction and deal with McDermott themselves.

Any store that sold me a defective item and then made me deal with the manufacture to make it right would never get my business again. In fact if I was aware of something like this they wouldn't get my business in the first place.

To gwbb, if you paid for this purchase via credit card, call your credit card company contest the charge.

Keep us informed gwbb. I will be interested to hear how this plays out. I am also intersted to hear Seybert's take on this.

[audiopro]

I don't think I would recommend contesting the charge at this point. The chance has barely been given to get the situation fixed.

Unfortunately a lot of companies force you to go through the manufacturer directly following the sale, rather than coming back to the retail store for replacements. I have experienced this recently with a couple things, one of them being my new Bowflex. Fortunately, the missing part was not needed to operate, and I did not mind waiting for it to be shipped...

That said, I think Seyberts will do everything they can to make it right for you. Just be patient... I know that can be difficult after spending a few bucks on something, and being frustrated by the ill-product you received...

[dags_lax]

I once bought a DVD and when I got it home and opened it up the disk was a different movie than was on the box. The store exchanged the item but I opened it at the service desk and guess what? Wrong disk again. The store didn't give me the customer service number of the company that made the disk, they refunded my money. I once bought a printer that was dead out of the box. The store didn't pawn their responsibility off on the manufacturer, they replaced the printer.

In this case as well as the examples I cited above I don't see this as a warranty issue. I see it as an instance where the customer did not receive what he paid for. That being a straight cue in this instance.

Personally I think the correct response from Seybert's would have been to offer an exchange (dealing with McDermott on the customers behalf) or a full refund, including shipping.

As for making a claim with the credit card company I don't think it is too soon. After fourteen or fifteen days with no response something needs to be done.

[nathar]

I can agree up to a point with you dags. But in the interest of time it would seem more prudent to deal directly with McDermott in this case. By the time you ship it back to Seybert's, Seybert's ships it to McDermott and then McDermott ships it back to gwbb, it could have already been handled directly. As far as your dvd and printer, if you were dealing with a warehouse style chain store, and I have no idea whether or not that is the case, then they more than likely have the market power and stock to deal with situations like this that may arise from time to time. But you have to keep in mind that smaller personally owned companies don't always have those same resources. If Seybert's does indeed have the butt in stock, then you definitely have an argument. Then Seybert's can send him the butt and take care of the warranty on their own terms. If they don't have another similar butt in stock then it would be quicker for gwbb to make good on the warranty himself.

I personally have a hard time believing that Seybert's is unwilling to take care of this for him. Although in all fairness, they have recently been dealing with the show in Valley Forge. And while that isn't an excuse, it does bear mention.

[dags_lax]

I would imagine that Seybert's purchases plenty of cues from McDermott and would have market power with McDermott. Certainly more than a single consumer has. Remember Seybert’s is McDermott's customer, not gwbb.

IMO here is how this should work, gwbb calls Seybert's, the person answering the phone tells them that Fed Ex will pick up the cue or if that is not convenient gwbb can return the cue and Seybert's will credit his account $X.XX for shipping. When Seybert's receives the defective cue the order is placed again and the item can be drop shipped, just like what happened with the original order. Or a full refund should be provided if that is the customers wish. Then Seybert's can return the cue to McDermott for their credit at their leisure.

As for my examples, the DVD was from a national chain electronics store. The printer was a local, one store, family owned business.

The funny thing is that a few years later I went to work as a tech for that family owned business. Most of the time in a situation like this we would replace the part but there were times when the item needed replacement. And I will tell you one thing, we didn't give the customer the manufactures number and tell them they were on their own.

I have to agree with gwbb, this is terrible customer service, both on Seybert’s and McDermott’s part. Seybert’s, because they should be standing behind the sale and the ones handling the problem. McDermott because they should be standing behind their product. In either case a solution should have been in the works right away with the initial phone call whether that call was to Seybert’s or McDermott

[nathar]

I had just written quite a long response to your last post. During which I decided to check out McDermott's warranty. After reading, McDermott gives the authorized dealer the authority to accept warranty returns. Therefore I erased my response, on the grounds that I have no leg to stand on. I hereby recant my earlier comments.

I will add that gwbb needs to understand that until either Seybert's or McDermott receives his defective cue that they should be under no obligation to send out a replacement.

Having said that, if this post was for the purpose of voicing his displeasure at how the situation was handled, then fine. But if this was his way of informing Seybert's of the ongoing problem, then there was a better way. That would be through the "contact us" link from the home page. Which I'm sure gets a higher priority than posts on the forum.
Just my 2 cents. And as stated above, after reading McDermott's warranty policy, I stand corrected dags. :)

[dags_lax]

I repeat, I don't consider this a warranty issue, at least not from the viewpoint of a customer. This would be a warranty issue if the customer received a good cue and two weeks, two months, or two years down the road the cue warped. But in this case the cue was warped before the customer even received it so therefor the customer didn't receive what he assumed he ordered. That being a straight cue.

I am not sure what consumer law would have to say about a case like this. Perhaps the seller bears no responsibility in the sale of defective merchandise. If that were the case then Seybert's was certainly within their rights to tell their customer tough luck, they have to deal with the manufacturer.

I realize that because the item was drop shipped and Seybert's never saw the cue so they can claim innocence of any knowledge of the cue being defective. But from a customer service and public relations standpoint if I were Seybert’s I would be doing every thing I could to satisfy this customer. And if the cue is not in stock I would offer an upgrade at no charge. The profit from a single sale isn't worth the bad public relations, at least in my opinion.

My dealings with Seybert's:

Several years ago, four or five I think, I ordered some tips to put on for a friend. With an upcoming tournament I paid for expedited shipping. The tips were sent regular parcel post and I didn't receive them before the tournament. I didn't bother doing anything about it for the couple bucks and I still needed the tips.

Next transaction; I ordered a P2 and a Talisman case neither of which were in stock. After developing some concerns over Predators warranty policy I cancelled the P2 order. No fault of Seybert's. I also canceled the Talisman case order as well and went with a dealer that had it in stock.

Third transaction; last fall. Despite my concerns over Predator's warranty I placed a custom order for a Z shaft for my Nova which I sent in so it could be mated corretly to the butt. 1/2 inch longer, Moori tip and Nova style joint fitting. Got the shaft, no Moori. Seybert's refunded that cost. The shaft mated to the butt perfectly. Unfortunatly the silver trim ring wasn't flush with the shaft like my other shafts. And after seven months the finish isn't holding up and the shaft has developed a pretty good wobble. While dissapointed in the workmanship I realize the wobble wasn't Seybert's fault.

Last transaction; first part of this month. Place and paid an order that included a set of Aramith Super Pros. Recieved the wrong balls. Seybert's had Fed Ex pick up the balls at thier expense and sent me out the correct set. The time line was such that they had to have shipped the second set before they recieved the original set back.

So while my experences with Seybert's have been something of a mixed bag when I have contacted them the customer service has been great.

Seybert's has been in contact with us from the begining on this issue. I have spoken with Sid today and will get that cue picked up asap.

Tim “T.D.” Drover
National Account Manager
McDermott Cue
W146 N9560 Held Dr
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051

td@mcdermottcue.com
www.mcdermottcue.com
PH: 1-800-666-2283 ext. 134
Fax: 262-251-9290

[Sid]

Hello,
I just returned from the UPA championship and had a chance to look into this problem.

We contacted McDermott cues on the day we were informed of the problem of your cue. They set up the pickup for your cue and we thought all the proper motions were set in place to solve the problem.

Your post on the board this weekend is the only reason we had to know that you still had not had your cue picked up. With that information in hand we contacted McDermott to see what the problem might be. They provided us the tracking number of your call tag.

Then we ran the call tag tracking number. The results of the track is listed below. I have taken off the personal information as this is probably not the best place to handle situations like this but what the heck.

Your Town, US 03/27/2006 10:11 P.M. RECEIVER WAS UNAVAILABLE TO SIGN ON 3RD DELIVERY ATTEMPT;PACKAGE RETURNED TO SENDER
03/27/2006 7:38 P.M. THE PACKAGE WAS NOT READY FOR PICKUP ON THE 3RD ATTEMPT.

03/27/2006 7:35 P.M.
Your Town, US 03/24/2006 1:04 P.M. THE RECEIVER WAS NOT AVAILABLE TO SIGN ON THE 2ND DELIVERY ATTEMPT. A 3RD DELIVERY ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE

Your Town, US 03/23/2006 12:00 P.M. THE RECEIVER WAS UNAVAILABLE TO SIGN ON THE 1ST DELIVERY ATTEMPT. A 2ND DELIVERY ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE

US 03/22/2006 3:34 P.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

I will also provide you with the tracking number via PM so you can track the call tag yourself.

I taked with mcdermott. They have the cue you ordered in stock but is has a 31" , not a 30" shaft as you ordered. They can send it out as soon as they receive the cue you have now.

We also have them in stock here, but with the standard 29" shaft. If you want one from here, we would send one out to you as soon as we receive the one you have now.

Each McDermott cue is made and sanded with the cue assembled full length for a perfect match. So, when you order an extra length cue, it takes 4-6 weeks as they have to make a new cue for you so the extra length shaft can be mated to the cue. (As stated on the order page where you choose the extra length option).

If you are having trouble with meeting up with the call tag, you can send the cue to McDermott yourself (or to us if you choose, we will handle it from there.) we will gladly reimburse you for your shipping expense. If you do this, be sure to insure the package properly in case of accident.

If you would like to have a refund, send it back to us and I will provide a full refund.

I apoligize for the problems you have had. We try to set all the proper details in motion quickly and if any problems arise try to fix them as soon as possible in the way that causes the least amount of hassle to the customer. I have always felt that it is hard to judge a good company by when things go right, It is much easier to judge a good company by how things are handled when they go wrong. Problems will probably always happen no matter how hard we try to elimiate them, sometimes we just cant control it all when dealing with so many different companies. That is why we try to stock so much inventory around here. But when problems do happen we try our best to resolve them quickly. If you think we have failed on that part, I apoligize.

If you go through the posts in this public forum, I think you would find that the majority of posts are to the postive about our company, quite a accomplishment as you can imagine that when things go wrong, they will get posted a heck of a lot more than when things to right.

Please feel free to call me on our toll free if you have any questions, or if I can be of any help in getting this resolved.

[txplshrk]

As usual Seybert's rises to the occasion again! I think Seybert's is awesome.

[nathar]

This is it for me on this one dags. :D Even though this seems like a dead issue now I just want to interject one more thing. My reasons for refering to this as a warr issue has to do with the fact that we are outside looking in. We don't have the neccessary details in regards to this particular cue to really know what has caused the warpage. I would assume that it's possible that the warpage could have occured during shippage. If that did happen then gwbb is pretty much out of luck. Unless the nice people at Seybert's decides to just get him another cue at their loss.

Anyway, it seems as though this issue has been taken care of, and we're just being a couple of blowhards anyway. :P Had fun while it lasted.

[dags_lax]

Glad to see that Seybert's and McDermott are making good on this transaction. Unfortunately someone screwed the pooch on this one by not following up with the buyer. If they had this whole thread could have been avoided. The cue could have warped in transit or it could have slipped through quality control at McDermott (that happens at all companies), but what ever the reason for the warpage,unlike Nather, I do not feel the buyer should be responsible for the loss.

There are processes that a cue manufacture can take to lessen the possibility that a cue will warp but wood is wood. My Z shaft was straight when I received it. The fact that my $240.00 investment warped in just a couple of months disappoints me but Predator’s shaft warranty only applies to Uni-Lock and Radial pin joints (mine was a 5/16 X 14) and wouldn’t cover warpage anyway. I as disappointed as I am with my shaft, at least it didnt wobble for a few months, I would have been furious had the shaft been warped when received and then told that I was SOL.