Parris cues.

[stephen23]

all I can say is Trevor MIGHT be the MOST EFFICIENT cue maker in terms of MANPOWER!!!
I got my cue all the way from UK to Hong Kong for roughly 6 weeks only and the craftmanship and timber selection was way too SUPERB then my old John Parris Ultimate 227 b4!

[sunny3909]

I have one on order too and it really is hard to wait for it. Especially because
my old one continues to break down every time I play...

But now, after a couple of weeks I must say that everyone is aware about the
waiting time by the moment he gets in touch with a cuemaker and places his
order.

Of course, 20 weeks are a very long time, but that just is how it is.
Saying that JP should be punished for the long wait seems totally pointless to me.
You don't want to wait 20 weeks? Do not order!
It's as simple as that.

You wouldn't pay more if he finished your cue in 10 weeks "by mistake", would
you?

Yes I would pay extra money if Parris could complete my order in half time.For a guy like me me who plays regular tournaments 10 weeks is priceless compared to extra 100 quids.

My point is that you pay atleast 600 pounds for a Parris ultimate and then you have to wait for 20 weeks.
You can get a better cue or atleast the same quality from Mike Woolridge or Trevor White in much less time for the same price or maybe a little less from Trevor.
I would never wait so long for a cue when I know that I can get a better cue in half time or even less for the same price.


With my personal experience I have never seen a bad Woolridge cue in the pro series let alone the custom made cues but I have seen really pathetic Parris ultimate cues.

Now you get my point my friend.

[mooneyy]

I could always get your point, but:

If one orders from parris, he knows the wait will take so long.
Why wait three years for a 160'00€ Ferrari F430 whilst you could get
an Aston Martin DB9 for less and in much shorter time?

I assume JP could employ more people and get the cues done much quicker if
he'd like to. But he doesn't.

So if you can't afford the 20 weeks wait, you shouldn't order.

And by the way: It all depends on the circumstances which make you order
a new cue, doesn't it? My cue is breaking down atm, that's why any wait
seems to be too long.

cheers

EDIT: I meant paying more if the cue occasionally arrived a couple of weeks
early, not for a special deal.

[spookster13]

tall poppy

I am only new to the snooker forum but if john parris was to go bust and shut his doors then there wouldn't be anything to post and this site would shut down for lack of discussions. If you don't want to wait 20 odd weeks for a parris, then as previouly mentioned don't order one and then complain about it. I've never seen such hatred for a man who chooses to run and promote his business the way he wants too, thats the bottom line it's his business, and if thats the way he wants to run it then so be it, if you don't like it then keep your wallets shut.

[barracuda911]

I don't think its hatred as such. In fact, i'd say that hatred is a very harsh word, when all people have done is question JP's (or his assistant's) workmanship and more importantly, quality control.
I have yet to hear of anyone on here, or elsewhere for that fact, that has anything bad or negative to say about Mike Wooldridge's or Trevor White's cues....and I name those two cuemakers as they are among the best in the world and they are regular visitors to the forum and always endeavour to answer our questions.
I have said on the forum before, that I own and use a JP Traditional cue and am very happy with it. There isn't one thing that I can point wrong with it.

[Mike P]

It sounds like much of the complaining from this group is in part due to John not solely making his own cues. So if JP had stayed small enough to continue doing all the work, he would have held his reputation to what it was in the past. A good tradesman, upon seeing his sales(popularity) surpass his one man shops capabilities, has to make some decisions. One thing I have learnt from business, if you double in size, your headaches don’t double they quadruple. This includes even expanding from a one man shop to a two. Also as an employer, unless you were able to hire clones of yourself, quality always becomes a factor.

If Trevor and Mike are producing near their max per year, with an increase in sales, would they decide to expand or extend wait times? It is nice to think that if T&M were to expand they would be able to continue producing one man cues, but this isn’t reality. Would we think less of their cues if a person were hired to do the rough sanding. I have read where one cue maker has his wife do the linen wrap on his pool cues. Does this exclude him from the “One man Shop” status.

I think that the product has to be judged on its quality not by the number of people that touched the cue. If what I am hearing pertaining to the quality of JP cues is true, then the buck stops at the top. Whoever is doing the quality control checking at Parris is not doing their job, or for business reasons is. Anyone who deals with the public knows just how important Public Relations is. Unsatisfied customs need a shoulder to cry on, make sure its yours.

I bought my Ultimate from JP in 2000. I can honestly say that John was a pleasure to deal with and I have never had any issues with the workmanship or finish. My cue is numbered 424, so perhaps this cue was still produced before the quality issues people have brought up. It is by far the best cue I have played with (thanks Noel).

WAIT TIME: South West cues has a wait of between 4 to 5 years, what’s 20 weeks!

Also on the “Waiting Front”, I am in the experimenting (cues)stages and have a cue on order. I must say that when your emails and faxes go unanswered it becomes very frustrating. In ordering the cue, it took four attempts, over a month’s period, before receiving a reply from the company. My latest attempt to contact the company, was to add a case to my order and only if the cue has not already been shipped. My request for a case was placed on Saturday and I am curious as to whether I will hear back from them.

Mike

[sunny3909]

I am only new to the snooker forum but if john parris was to go bust and shut his doors then there wouldn't be anything to post and this site would shut down for lack of discussions. If you don't want to wait 20 odd weeks for a parris, then as previouly mentioned don't order one and then complain about it. I've never seen such hatred for a man who chooses to run and promote his business the way he wants too, thats the bottom line it's his business, and if thats the way he wants to run it then so be it, if you don't like it then keep your wallets shut.

It's not hatred mate its a personal opinion.Inconsisitency in quality and time are the two main drawbacks of Parris.I know there are several other members who share the same opinion about Parris.

[ChatLag]

I think that the product has to be judged on its quality not by the number of people that touched the cue. If what I am hearing pertaining to the quality of JP cues is true, then the buck stops at the top. Whoever is doing the quality control checking at Parris is not doing their job, or for business reasons is. Anyone who deals with the public knows just how important Public Relations is. Unsatisfied customs need a shoulder to cry on, make sure its yours.

Mike

I totally agree to all that you say.
It is a hard way from being a craftsman to run a company.
The waiting time is - i think - not the main problem. A lot of people here are waiting 20 and more weeks on their cues from different cue makers. So do I.

The main topic for me is the consistency of quality. To wait is OK if you know what you will get. And for top money given to a top cue maker i expect top quality.

If I cannot be sure if the finished product will have that level of quality i am feeling like gambling.

So the main point is that John Parris should take care of his quality policy in his company.
If this system is properly installed it does not matter how much people are working on the cue.

[spookster13]

tall poppy

directed to barracuda911
Thats exactly right you haven't heard a bad word about mike or trev all the energy is directed at JP, and yes hatred is a harsh word and yes you are correct when you got your JP all you could do is rave about it, it appears to be a public past time to lay the s**t on JP. As i said before if you don't like the man the product the service then don't deal with him, barracuda911 if you like the quality of mike or trev's cue so much why don't you buy one.

[totlxtc]

Well, how long does it effectively take to make a cue then?

10 - 15 hours roughly, some can be quicker than others.

[ChatLag]

[QUOTE=totlxtc;374106][QUOTE=mooneyy;373871]Well, how long does it effectively take to make a cue then?

10 - 15 hours roughly, some can be quicker than others.

So now we can estimate the turnover of a cue maker.
10 to 15 hours mean 3 to 4 cues per week. Let's say three pieces.
Average price for a JP might be somewhere around 400 GBP/pc.
Means a turnover of about 1.200 GBP a week per cue maker...
As far as I know JP has six people making cues means 7.200.--/week
Multiplied with about 40 working weeks/year would be 288.000.--/year.

I think it must be more to cover all cost...
So they must be making more cues.

[ADR147]

[QUOTE=ChatLag;374107][QUOTE=totlxtc;374106]

Well, how long does it effectively take to make a cue then?

So now we can estimate the turnover of a cue maker.
10 to 15 hours mean 3 to 4 cues per week. Let's say three pieces.
Average price for a JP might be somewhere around 400 GBP/pc.
Means a turnover of about 1.200 GBP a week per cue maker...
As far as I know JP has six people making cues means 7.200.--/week
Multiplied with about 40 working weeks/year would be 288.000.--/year.

I think it must be more to cover all cost...
So they must be making more cues.

it does not work like that though jobs would be done in stages ie fit 20 badges finish 30 cues etc i would guess to make a parris cue in real time is about 4 hours.

[ChatLag]

You are right. I didn't mention that.
So turnover should be about 700,000.--
Sounds more realistic...

[ADR147]

cases tips repairwork.....

[poolqjunkie]

A couple of my friends ordered 2 1pc John Parris Ultimate Cues in late September. The first cue cost £866 and the other £669 which I think is way to much money for once a week players but each to there own!
John Parris told them the cues would take around 20 weeks to make as the process is a slow one on the Ultimate range.
They rang Parris in late February and Parris told them he'd not started the cues because he couldn't find any good pieces of wood, they both said fair enough how long before they'll be ready, he told them in the next batch of wood he should find 2 nice pieces and make a start. They rang him back on Friday and he told them he'd only just found a couple of nice pieces and would be making a start straight away, he also said the cues will be ready for the end of April.
How is this possible when he originally said its 20 weeks to make but now he can do it in 5???

From late September when they ordered the cues to end of April when they should be receiving the cue is about 24 weeks.