John Bennett (Billiards) Ltd

Michael and Sarah were incredibly helpful on giving professional advice on the relative merits of various snooker tables, as well as completing an excellent installation. Thanks to them both for a project well managed. Highly recommended!

I contacted Michael Hudson to get a quote to renew my slate bed snooker table cloth and cushions. I also contacted several other firms whose prices were very substantially higher than Michael's. I suspect they were 'farming' out the work and taking a decent cut from the sale. When Michael arrived he brought with him the finest material you could buy and he proudly showed me the printing on the hem which stated the make and quality. He removed the cushions and instead of attaching the cloth over the many staples, he meticulously pulled each one out by hand. Each cushion was covered in turn but when he came to the last one he pronounced that he was unsatisfied with it and took it apart and re-did it. It was very obvious that Michael was a true craftsman and his apprenticeship with the century old snooker manufacture had paid off in spades. Watching him put the cloth on the table was quite something and this required a lot of skill. He ironed the table and then put the cushions back on, He marked it out and ironed it again. Then he checked the levels using a proper engineering spirit level and jacked up the table because it was down one end. He padded the legs out with wafers until he was satisfied. He then tightened all the bolts holding the frame together. He put the pockets back and then he replaced the nylon stitching with a flat linen shoelace and they look like new. So not only did I get my table and cushions recovered but, because he is a perfectionist, I also got a free service. My only concern is that in time to come when Michael decides to retire, unlesss one of his sons follows in his footsteps, he will be the last of a very exclusive club.

Very friendly and professional people. I fully recommend their services and the snooker table is fantastic. Nothing was too much trouble and great value. Regards Andrew.

I made an enquiry asking whether they had any bar billiard tables in stock. Whilst they did not have anything available at that time, Michael offered to build one using a slate that he had taken into stock earlier in the year, and made a superb job - it was delivered and installed within a month from my first telephone call, and in time for Christmas! Both Michael and Sarah couldn't have been more helpful and I now have a purpose built "one off" table which is in constant use. I would fully recommend John Bennett (Billiards) Ltd for any job that you might need.

John Bennett (Billiards) Ltd restored and installed a snooker table with great professionalism. They after sales service has also been exceptional. I highly recommend their services.

I ordered a bespoke oak snooker table from John Bennett Billiards in March. Initial omens were good with a picture of the turned legs and friendly service from the husband and wife team of Mike and Sarah Hudson. When the table arrived I noticed the cushion rails (friezes) didn't fit the steel block cushions very well so that when cueing from the rails there were sharp edges under your hand. Also they protruded above the rubbers into the pockets. To my surprise Mr Hudson opted to saw the corners (somewhat roughly and unevenly) off the friezes to make them fit better. Frankly they looked terrible and R Hudson agreed to make new ones. During the installation I was concerned at how much packing was going under some of the legs and Mike said this was due to an uneven floor. On closer inspection I realised that it was not the floor that was the problem (it is out of true by 3mm over the entire area) but that the legs were of different lengths. (Fortunately my table sits on thick carpet and even thicker foam underlay but the stumpy legs are still propped up in mid air....on a solid floor there'd be 18mm of packing visible). To compound the problem the joints cut to hold the long bearers for the slates were also at different heights. In addition to these rather crucial errors the overall finish was poor. Mitre joints did not fit together well, there were machining marks in places and the surfaces were rough. Before Mike returned with the new friezes I mentioned in an email that I wanted to discuss the legs with him when he came. His immediate comment when he arrived was that he'd agreed with his wife that I could keep the £750 outstanding payment and he'd fit the friezes and go. I explained that it wasn't a question of money, that this was a piece of furniture in my house and it has to look right. He insisted that the problem was the floor and even tried to prove it with his engineer's spirit level (with an accuracy of 1:10000 it, not surprisingly, showed the floor was not perfectly level!). By this stage it was clear that he didn't understand why the legs were faulty and more importantly had no intention of doing anything about them. He surprised me by saying that he reckoned he'd have a good case in court! So clearly not in any mood to compromise. He then fitted the friezes, this time leaving me with professional size pockets rather than the club size we'd discussed and he'd agreed. He couldn't even fit the pocket rails correctly and the balls kept hanging up in the bags rather than falling into the rails. Neither did he fit the hooks for the half butt and long rest but just stormed off accusing me, falsely, of having complained to a another snooker table manufacturer about my previous table. Within half an hour I had an email from his wife saying that unless I paid the £750 within 7 days they'd take me to court even though I'd still not indicated that I wasn't going to pay. I have tried to be accommodating and reasonable throughout and even went to the trouble of investigating a solution with a local carpenter, who thinks he can rectify the problem. I offered to pay all bar £200 to enable me to pay the carpenter for his work but I'll have to live with the unsightly stumpy leg until the table needs to be reclothed as I can't justify any more expenditure. My latest email about the small pockets has gone unanswered and I think that Mr and Mrs Hudson are no longer interested in rectifying their mistakes now that they have their money. As an aside I wouldn't even trust him to re-cover a table as he missed a little lump that is an occasional reminder of his shoddy workmanship!

Had our family table refurbished by John Bennett billiards. The workmanship was excellent and the table looks amazing. They are knowledgeable, helpful and provided an excellent service, have no hesitation in recommending them.

The table that was delivered exceeded all my expectations. Thoroughly recommended, the service, professionalism and genuine knowledge was fantastic. The snooker table is used all the time, by the whole family.

Great company to work with. Turned up when they said they would, did a great job and charged a fair price. Very happy!

John Bennett Billiards Ltd are efficient, helpful and knowledgeable. They had a huge range of tables and the installation was hassle free. We ended up with a table we love, the size we wanted the colour of baize we love. I definitely would recommend this company