An idea: a directory of cue repair techs
Players could search by zip code and find someone nearby who does the repair they need. Before I build it, I want to know if enough repair people would want to be on it. If you do cue work, would you?
Why this should exist
Ask around at league night where to get a cue fixed and you'll usually hear, "There's a guy." Most cue repair travels by word of mouth, and a lot of good repair people never show up in a search.
So players guess. Someone with a mushroomed tip the week before a tournament drives past two people who could have fixed it in twenty minutes. Someone with a cracked ferrule ships a cue across the country when there was a tech three towns over.
The repair side has the opposite problem. The good ones stay busy with regulars, but there's no simple place to say what they do and what they don't.
I run into this myself. I replace tips and ferrules and recondition shafts here in Central Massachusetts, but I don't do joint, butt, or pin repair. When a player hands me a cue with a loose joint, I want to send them to someone good. A shared list would make that easy for all of us.
What being listed would get you
Found by players nearby
Players searching by zip code would see you, including players who'd never have heard your name at their pool hall.
Only the work you want
Players searching by zip code would see you, including players who'd never have heard your name at their pool hall.
No street address required
When someone brings a repair you don't do, you'd have a list of people to send them to, and they'd send work back.
Only the work you want
Players searching by zip code would see you, including players who'd never have heard your name at their pool hall.
Would you want to be listed?
Fill this out if you do cue repair for other players: a full shop, a lathe in the garage, or the person at the pool hall everyone hands their cue to.
This isn't a sign-up. Nothing gets published. It just tells me whether there's enough interest to build the directory, and I'll let you know either way.
Questions
What is the Cue Repair Locator?
An idea for a directory of people who repair pool cues, which players could search by zip code and by the type of repair they need.
Who could be listed?
Anyone who repairs cues for other players: full-service cue shops, pool hall technicians, and independent repair people working from a home shop, including people who only replace tips.
Does filling out the form list me?
No. It only tells me you'd want to be listed if the directory gets built. Nothing about you is published, and you'll hear the details before anything goes live.
Would my home address be shown?
No. The plan is for a town and service area to be enough, so home-based repair people could be found without publishing a street address.
Who is behind this?
I'm Greg, of Billiard Greg's Cue Repair in Worcester, Massachusetts. I replace tips and ferrules and recondition shafts, and I want a better way to refer players to other repair techs.