Topic: Brand New Bonzini Issue

[kawasakizx636]

Hey guys, I purchased a brand new Bonzini B90 ITSF table.  When i received my table, i notice many imperfections with the table.  I emailed Bonzini Canada about it, and they aren't helping me out.  The things that i notice are....

Playfield is warped "ball rolls by itself,

Found an air bubble in the playfield in front of goal,

4" crack in the wood on the face of the end of table "with time, i'm sure the crack will probably end up going straight across",

The baseboards that hold the playfield down are on badly "looks like they used a shotgun to put in the brad nails in places, and other places they didn't put any nails and it's raised "they should have at least filled in the brad nail holes instead of making it look like an eye soar",

The corners of the baseboards look bad, they don't line up".

Does Bonzini not have a quality control inspection before they send things out?  I figured they would be strict on their inspections since it's hand made and they talk so much about how good their tables are.  I'm not impressed with the table i have and the way i'm being treated by Bonzini.  I guess since i live in Ontario Canada, i'm now stuck with it, i'm sure if i was in France, they would help exchange it for me.  I gave them 3400$ and i have to rebuild the playfield myself,  that's crazy.  Even though all tables come from Bonzini France, I should have spent a lil more money and purchased from the US from Alan Cribbs instead of purchasing from Bonzini Canada.  He seems to care more about his customers.  My table isn't fun to play with since the balls run away from the players and usually end up against the side of the playfield, where i then have to try bouncing the ball off the side many times to get it free " which is illegal in competition since you are only allowed to hit the side 3 times with the 5 bar.  The table is as level as i can get it, it's the playfield itself.

So now i'm at the point of re-building a brand new playfield,  i've seen people mention using a warp resistant particle board and gerflex.  What do you guys suggest?

I'd really like to start playing with my Bonzini, but it's not fun playing it like this,  i somewhat know where the warped places are, so i can avoid those spots, but when i play with friends, they are always complaining that the ball rolls away from them "I don't blame them", and then they say "did you really pay 3400$ for this, your Fabi table played better than this.

[stinkfoos]

wow, that sucks. I was thinking of getting their table, but having second thoughts now. Thank you for posting..and for the pictures. Keep us posted on any developments.

[eamez]

Bonzini was/is my dream table even without playing one.  Thank you for the pics. Even though they show the imperfections you're addressing you can also see the quality in the parts.

Thanks for sharing, more pics please!

[kawasakizx636]

wow, that sucks. I was thinking of getting their table, but having second thoughts now. Thank you for posting..and for the pictures. Keep us posted on any developments.

You're welcome for the pictures, i'll keep the thread posted for sure,  but i'm sure i'll probably just post things of me doing to it.  Bonzini isn't helping me.  They pretty much told me to grab a hammer and hit the baseboards down to try and get the playfield to sit down and the corners more even.  The thing is,  there's many places that have no nails, so nothing happens when i push down on the baseboards,  there's also way too many nails in places, so the baseboards don't move. As for the crack, they said it's normal and doesn't effect the play "looks terrible on such a beautiful looking table", and about the un-level playfield, they keep saying to adjust the feet, but that isn't helping, the ball rolls towards the middle from both ends of the table.  I think the main thing that could have caused all of this, is that bonzini shipped it in the winter with the slowest shipping available, so it's been in the cold/hot/cold/hot too much.  But even that being the case, it shouldn't be my problem, they should either ship it fast or not ship during those times.  I'm sure it's not the first time this has happened with their tables.  They shouldn't be just sending things out, and then telling the customer that things are normal and that i have to try and fix things myself.  These tables aren't cheap, i paid a lot of money for it,  I should be happy with my purchase.  I've had the table since january and i don't even play it It's just not fun like this.

[/quote]

Bonzini was/is my dream table even without playing one.  Thank you for the pics. Even though they show the imperfections you're addressing you can also see the quality in the parts.

Thanks for sharing, more pics please!

It's been my dream table all my life also,  i've always wanted one but the price kept me away when i was young.  Now that i'm older and working, I finally made the purchase, sold my Fabi, waited 3 months to receive the Bonzini, and now i'm second guessing the purchase.

Don't get me wrong, this table is awesome, I just don't like how it's un-level, makes it hard to play and not fun.  The crack and baseboards don't look good, but doesn't affect the play "still shouldn't be like this, I don't care if Bonzini says it's normal".  If i had to do it again, i'd drive to the united states and see if Alan Cribbs would look over a table for me before selling me it,  he seems like a great guy that cares about his customers.  If the table played the way it should,  it would be awesome,  i love the grippy playfield compared to the glass on the Fabi table.

[stinkfoos]

I was so surprised to see how random they inserted the nails with a nail gun. At least use a some kind of pattern and fill the holes...so basic. This shows no eye for details. If you have a split piece of wood..don't use it. If it's still wet..don't use it because it might split later. I would be very disappointed also. I might have to go the Sulpie route: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxfScHpd6Zk

[Buckshot]

Wow, you really got screwed by Bonzini, sorry to read about how badly they're treating you after you spent thousands of $ on their table. If this had happened to me I would be furious and seriously bummed out. I hope word gets out about this and Bonzini gets the message.

[kawasakizx636]

I was so surprised to see how random they inserted the nails with a nail gun. At least use a some kind of pattern and fill the holes...so basic. This shows no eye for details. If you have a split piece of wood..don't use it. If it's still wet..don't use it because it might split later. I would be very disappointed also. I might have to go the Sulpie route: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxfScHpd6Zk

Exactly what i was thinking,  that's why i mentioned in my first post that it looked like they used a shotgun to put in the nails.  And i don't know of any company that doesn't fill in the holes after.  It looks like ***.  I thought for sure that they had great quality inspections once the table is completed since it's man made and people can make mistakes, but i guess they just make them and push them out.  Sucks.

Also, this is the tournament table "itsf",  i can just imagine if i put the table in a tournament,  players would be yelling every two seconds.

[kawasakizx636]

Wow, you really got screwed by Bonzini, sorry to read about how badly they're treating you after you spent thousands of $ on their table. If this had happened to me I would be furious and seriously bummed out. I hope word gets out about this and Bonzini gets the message.

Bonzini doesn't care,  they wanted my money which they got.  They were super nice to me when i first contacted them about purchasing the table.  Emails went back and forth, but once they had my money, i didn't hear much from them,  and once i told them the issues, they just told me to use a hammer and that everything else won't affect the gameplay.  I've sent them many emails after that, and they don't reply.

[eamez]

Bonzini doesn't care,  they wanted my money which they got.  They were super nice to me when i first contacted them about purchasing the table.  Emails went back and forth, but once they had my money, i didn't hear much from them,  and once i told them the issues, they just told me to use a hammer and that everything else won't affect the gameplay.  I've sent them many emails after that, and they don't reply.

I've been reading this forum a lot recently and I actually came across that you originally purchased a FABI table 10 years ago and most recently acquired a Bonzini.  Very cool as I just bought a FABI table and maybe in 10 years I will buy a Bonzini.

[kawasakizx636]

Bonzini doesn't care,  they wanted my money which they got.  They were super nice to me when i first contacted them about purchasing the table.  Emails went back and forth, but once they had my money, i didn't hear much from them,  and once i told them the issues, they just told me to use a hammer and that everything else won't affect the gameplay.  I've sent them many emails after that, and they don't reply.

I've been reading this forum a lot recently and I actually came across that you originally purchased a FABI table 10 years ago and most recently acquired a Bonzini.  Very cool as I just bought a FABI table and maybe in 10 years I will buy a Bonzini.

Ya, the FABI table was great,  looks exactly the same as the day i purchased it. I sold it to make room for the bonzini.  I wanted to have the grippier playfield, instead of the glass playfield, for more control.  The bonzini is exactly what i wanted, i just wish that the one i received was more playable.  It's much bigger than the Fabi,  the timing to do tic tacs and other passes are much different since the players are spaced further apart.

[Alan Cribbs]

Totally unacceptable!
Please email me with your contact information.
Not sure what I can do but will try to help out with getting your information forwarded.

This is not a typical example of the quality standards of Bonzini products. All Bonzini tables have a warranty on their core construction. The only areas not covered are those induced by player abuse.

In 19 years of importing/distributing with Bonzini, we have always received support and replacement of any defective parts or construction issues. And I can say, we have had very, very few problems.

We inspect our inventory upon delivery from the manufacturer to insure our customers will receive the table they expect for their investment.

Please forward me your contact information and photos to me if you wish.

Alan Cribbs

[kawasakizx636]

Totally unacceptable!
Please email me with your contact information.
Not sure what I can do but will try to help out with getting your information forwarded.

This is not a typical example of the quality standards of Bonzini products. All Bonzini tables have a warranty on their core construction. The only areas not covered are those induced by player abuse.

In 19 years of importing/distributing with Bonzini, we have always received support and replacement of any defective parts or construction issues. And I can say, we have had very, very few problems.

We inspect our inventory upon delivery from the manufacturer to insure our customers will receive the table they expect for their investment.

Please forward me your contact information and photos to me if you wish.

Alan Cribbs

Weird how my pictures don't show.  I've never seen them say to update to 3rd party.  I'll look into it.  I'll send you an email Alan.  I really wish i would have purchased through you,  but since i live in canada, i went through babyfoot bonzini, which was a bad idea on my part.