Lazy Bowling Alleys

[Greenday]

I'm up in Canada, visiting a friend. Yesterday she suggested we go bowling so I was very excited. We get to the alley and the woman at the counter asks us if we can wait 10-15 minutes so they can finish oiling the lanes since there is a league starting soon. I have no problem with that, I prefer fresh oil. Finally she meets us at the bar and tells us the lanes are ready. We pay, go to our lane and start throwing. Bone freaking dry. No oil on the lane. So lanes 1-4 which weren't being used for the league don't get oiled. I got so frustrated I just switched to my spare ball and that still hooked a lot.

I mean, how lazy can you get? Skipping four lanes out of 32? Is it really such a big deal to oil all the lanes?

[RoccoRock]

Poor job by that bowling alley, especially seeing as how they made you wait to get a lane. I was talking to a friend last night, and she told me she knows the manager of the local 300 bowling alley. They told her the oiler is broken, so they haven't bothered to oil the lanes in weeks. That's why I hate going to places I don't know.

[striker12]

ik how you feel same thing happens at my bowling allie they jsut dont care as long as they get paid and most of the time htye will put water in with the oil how stupid can ou get to do that.

im also in canada witch part of canada where u in, im in ontario some lanes here are nice but not where i live they are jsut trash the bowling allie i normaly go to the lanes have not been done in over 40 years and there worped cause the owner owns 3 bowling allies and this one is jsut a junk bowling allie to put money in his pocket.

[americantrotter]

Not refilling the water cooler, forcing experienced bowlers to play next to kids so they don't have to clean further away, limited oiling schedule in the summer even during leagues, balls not ready after 12 weeks of league play in a Have a Ball League, pro-shop consisting of spare balls and cheap hook balls, inexperienced driller, doors locked with no notice during "open" hours, bar open on weekday nights with no one there but closed on weekend days when alley is full, snackshop not open until evening regardless of capacity, some staff that knows less about the lanes than their own customers, lanes that arent cleaned nevermind oiled, and just a general sense that they arent in competition with anyone so they must do it better because everyone keeps coming back.

[Greenday]

ik how you feel same thing happens at my bowling allie they jsut dont care as long as they get paid and most of the time htye will put water in with the oil how stupid can ou get to do that.

im also in canada witch part of canada where u in, im in ontario some lanes here are nice but not where i live they are jsut trash the bowling allie i normaly go to the lanes have not been done in over 40 years and there worped cause the owner owns 3 bowling allies and this one is jsut a junk bowling allie to put money in his pocket.

I'm in Guelph right now.

It's ridiculous. I just cannot bowl on dry lanes anymore. I use my plastic spare ball and that still hooks. This place makes you pre-pay too. If I had known, I wouldn't have gone.

[billf]

And people wonder why bowling is a dying sport. The overall level of customer service in the industry is sub-standard, that's one reason why.

[panbanger]

And people wonder why bowling is a dying sport. The overall level of customer service in the industry is sub-standard, that's one reason why.

Yep! I really love the Brunswick Zone in my town - super friendly staff, great pro shop, lanes are well taken care of etc. Contrast that with the one other bowling alley in town, where I'm guessing the people who work there must be friends with the owners, because otherwise there's no way they should be working in a job where you come in contact with the public. The lanes are dry, ball returns leave tons of grease on your ball, just a really crummy place.

[striker12]

some of the staff at my bowling allie is nice manly just the ones that do the front counter and the bar but the guys that do the lanes there just *** holes (sorry for the langage) but its true.

i might be planning on bowling in a money league up in belville cause the first time i went there i had to move like 8 boards right of where i would normaly stand at my bowling allie they keep that bowling allie good.

and if u ever bowl at cloverleaf lanes in kingston ontario dont ever play up middle or the 5 board to the 1 board cause there all worped cause if the ball gose out past the 5 board u can use like the hell raiser revenge on med-dry lane condition and it still wont go into the pocket cause it loses all its energy trying to pull back in and thats what makes it much harder to hit the 10pins cause the plastic ball will slid right, that is why i had to shoot my spare shots much faster and different.

[RoccoRock]

I am building up a list of bowling alleys I will never go to again. One bowling alley, near my sisters house, the approaches were terrible. First ball I stuck so bad, I fell down. The monitors are at least 30 years old, and the lanes are so dry I thought I saw tumbleweeds. Some people just don't care, then they wonder why bowling alleys are closing left and right.

[Greenday]

We went again this time with her family. Got to bowl on one of the lanes that actually gets oiled. Medium-dry lane condition bordering on dry by the time I finished my second game. Bowled a 190 and a 211. SHOULD have gotten higher that second game, but the ball slipped out of my fingers and I missed my spare shot in the 10th that would have given me an extra throw.

[wdc1987]

Same thing happens here all the time. Only time are lanes are right is when the head mechanic is working. Other then that the other guys just do whatever they feel like. Last time i bowled on super dry lanes i used a friends 15 pound plastic ball and played as far right as i could and the ball would come back ended up shooting a 174. Takes practice. I still struggle on some lane conditions that im not use to. But practice makes perfect. And lazy employees make it harder but worth it in the long run.