Fit and Finish
Do you know what a well built cue case looks like? I study cases of all kinds with a special emphasis on cue cases. I look at all the details that indicate good solid construction, meticulous work, and attention to the smallest details. Things like the stitching being straight and tight, the pockets being properly aligned, what should be centered is centered, the comfort of the handles and straps, the ease of use. I pay very close attention to the small details on the cases we build and I often will remake an entire case if something is "not right". This often causes us to have delays in delivery and it's – probably – things that the customer would not think were a problem anyway. I say this – with flame retardent suit on – because I see cases being done by my colleagues and competitors which exhibit issues that I wouldn't let out of the shop – and still they get high praise. Which leads me to believe that either the consumers don't know what "good" is – or my standards are too high – or the consumers know and don't care. Which is it? I am not going to go into detail here about what these things are that bug me so much because that would require a lot of show and tell and would piss everyone off from my colleagues to the people who own those brands. I believe that my colleagues all are building the best product they can and doing everything they feel is needed to be done to make a good case. My rant here is more directed to the consumer who gushes about a product without any experience with similar products which might actually be better. I guess it's unreasonable to expect people to temper their enthusiasm with some background on their experience so we can judge their opinion accordingly. For example if one of my customers who has owned and used every case made says that xxx-brand is the best then that carries more weight than Joe LeaguePlayer who has owned a few instroke knockoffs saying that xxx-brand is the best. I just get a little pissy when I know how anal I am about it and how much pressure I put myself and my team under and then I see cases which are not done right (in my opinion, based on my experience). I probably won't change on this point but it still irks me to see someone write that xxx-brand of case is the "best for the money" when I can clearly see many things on it that I wouldn't allow out of my shop. It makes me wonder about what people consider to be "good" and have value and where that opinion comes from. It also makes me wonder why I try so hard. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say about this. I am not going to change and we will continue to put out cases where I feel that the fit and finish is what it should be or as close as we are able to get. I hope that you as a consumer will look a little closer at the product you are considering and judge it based on the smallest details as well as the overall look. My goal here is that you never buy a case from us where you suddenly look at it one day and say, "that doesn't look right".
