Do bowling alleys ever compensate you for chipped balls?

[Aslan]

I'm gonna guess a giant "NO"...but I'm just wondering.

Sometime back in September my Frantic got caught in a ball return. It didn't damage it much...just left big black streaks all over it which eventually came out. But last weekend I was bowling and the ball return got jammed. When I finally go my ball (Rhythm) back...it had two gouges in it. Not "major"...we're talking 1/2 inch in length with minor depth. But still...I've maybe used that ball like 100 times tops...and now it looks like a vampire attacked it. So I was just wondering if anyone ever had a ball get messed up ENOUGH that they actually got the alley to compensate them somehow.

[zdawg]

I'm gonna guess a giant "NO"...but I'm just wondering.

Sometime back in September my Frantic got caught in a ball return. It didn't damage it much...just left big black streaks all over it which eventually came out. But last weekend I was bowling and the ball return got jammed. When I finally go my ball (Rhythm) back...it had two gouges in it. Not "major"...we're talking 1/2 inch in length with minor depth. But still...I've maybe used that ball like 100 times tops...and now it looks like a vampire attacked it. So I was just wondering if anyone ever had a ball get messed up ENOUGH that they actually got the alley to compensate them somehow.

I'm willing to bet the answer is no, and somewhere they have it written that they're not responsible for your own balls that you bring to the alley - mainly because the machines go through so much wear and tear I don't think they'd be willing to take the risk of everytime a ball gets scuffed up a bit (not saying yours fits this category) having people demanding they buy them a replacement.

[classygranny]

Around here most of the alleys will have your ball repaired if it is machine/equipment caused, but you have to report it at the time it happens. Most of them just have their in-house pro shops refinish. If it is too bad to repair, I'm not sure what they are doing now, but they use to give you the same ball, or comparable ball in exchange.

The key is that you have to report it at the time it happened...not even at the end of the night/session of bowling...right when it happens.

[mc_runner]

My teammate had the ball return badly scratch up the surface of his ball, the pro shop took it in and resurfaced at no charge. I think classygranny's probably right in that it's gonna be tough to get anything out of it if you didn't report it when it happened, though.

[striker12]

i already now the answer is no becuase last year when i went to 1 bowling alley to practice i threw my spare ball down and it got stuck and when it came back it has marks all over the ball not like 3 or 4 i mean 15-20 marks all over it and i just got the ball cleaned up too and when i looked above the fingers it has a big gouge in is 1 1/2 inch long 1/2 in wide and about a 1/2 deep and the bowling alley manager started to say that i did this to my bowling ball i said to him how about you call the pro shop i was just at he just resurfaced my ball he can tell you and he started to get all in swearing at me threating me and i was about to throw my bowling ball at him but instead i dropped the ball and punched him.

[josheaton16]

My house will repair balls that are seriously damaged by equipment. Meaning not just little scratched and minor stuff. With the one exception being plastic balls they will not repair those.

[tccstudent]

I have seen bowling alleys be like so what do you want us to do about it and I have seen bowling alleys replace the ball. Just depends on the alley and how bad the damage is.

[Aslan]

I shoulda said something at the time...but it was at a clinic and I guess I just felt like me complaining about a couple "little marks on my ball" would be looked at as whining. I mean the clinic was a good deal...2 hours of bowling for $10 with instruction from PBA level guys....so I guess I was just too embarrassed to say anything. However...later on in the day when I cleaned it and was putting it away...those dang marks were deeper than I thought. Oh well. Live and learn. I shoulda probably said something and they probably would have resurfaced it. Of course...then the ball is pre-maturely worn down from re-surfacing...but I guess it's a lose-lose situation.

[J Anderson]

I shoulda said something at the time...but it was at a clinic and I guess I just felt like me complaining about a couple "little marks on my ball" would be looked at as whining. I mean the clinic was a good deal...2 hours of bowling for $10 with instruction from PBA level guys....so I guess I was just too embarrassed to say anything. However...later on in the day when I cleaned it and was putting it away...those dang marks were deeper than I thought. Oh well. Live and learn. I shoulda probably said something and they probably would have resurfaced it. Of course...then the ball is pre-maturely worn down from re-surfacing...but I guess it's a lose-lose situation.

Consider this a learning experience, since if you keep on bowling it is likely to happen again. As others have said, as soon as you notice the chip, take it right up to the counter and report it. The better centers will try to do something for you, as well as sending the mechanic down to make sure there isn't something wrong with the ball return.

[sprocket]

Hey Aslan are you sure neither of those gouges were caused by when you occasionally launch the ball straight into the gutter at 20mph? Balls are not designed to take that kind of abuse.