Ball Damage - Need help!

[The German Shepherd]

While bowling in my Wednesday AM league, my Defiant took some damage across the track area - several scrapes/gouges that were NOT minor. The guy at the counter told me to leave the ball and the owner of the bowling house would look at it and let me know what they would be willing to do. I haver not had this kind of thing happen often and I am wondering what you think. I don't think the damage is bad enough to replace the ball, and I dont think I want them to fill it in either as I dont want a polyester fill in my Defiant.

What would you insist on in a case like this????

Jay

[bowl1820]

There are basically three option's without replacing it and depending on just how bad it really is.

1- A full resurfacing, sanding the ball till they are gone. This would depend on just how deep any scrapes/gouges are.The con is it can remove a lot of ball depending on depth of scrapes/gouges, Not the best option for deep scrapes/gouges. Really should be done on a Haus or cook sphere machine.

2- Fill and resurfacing, where you fill the deepest gouges and sand the rest. Best option I would say. don't worry about the fill material its urethane not polyester .

3-Do a minor resurfacing and just leave them and live with them.

[Siddy]

if gouges are bad enough to affect how the ball rolls. I would ask for a new ball.

You also need to check of they have a policy about ball damage. Like they could say they are not responsible for any damage or harm done to you or your equipment.

[vgw]

Yeah, if it's bad like you say, I would push for a new ball replacement. They might offer you something in exchange which you could consider. Maybe some freebies and have them redrill the layout so the damaged area is no longer on your track, but that calls for a different layout obviously.

[The German Shepherd]

There are basically three option's without replacing it and depending on just how bad it really is.

1- A full resurfacing, sanding the ball till they are gone. This would depend on just how deep any scrapes/gouges are.The con is it can remove a lot of ball depending on depth of scrapes/gouges, Not the best option for deep scrapes/gouges. Really should be done on a Haus or cook sphere machine.

2- Fill and resurfacing, where you fill the deepest gouges and sand the rest. Best option I would say. don't worry about the fill material its urethane not polyester .

3-Do a minor resurfacing and just leave them and live with them.

I just spoke to the pro shop guy and he suggested that he fill the gouges and then put it on the Haus machine. Only my first two flares rings touch in the damaged area and by the time the ball hits the end of the pattern the other 12 or 13 rings are well clear.

Jay

[75lockwood]

situations like this are tough, many bowling alleys have signs that say they are not responsible for damaged equipment, that being said, if the owner is smart at all they would rather pay to have a ball fixed than say no, loose your business, and risk a bad reputation. i would see what the owner says, most should want to do what they can to make customers happy, but you can once in awhile run into that one jerk (i recall a story of striker throwing a ball at a manager (don't do that))

[billf]

A sign saying they are not responsible doesn't mean squat, legally or ethically. Until they are willing to let you inspect their equipment, they are responsible.

[MisterSinister]

I would be pissed if the damage was on the track area, and they didn't replace the ball. I understand it's cheaper, and easier to fix it, and chances are the ball will perform the same way it did before, but you shouldn't have to even worry about that. If they damaged it, replace it. If the scratch isn't in a bad spot, then fine, go ahead and fix it. Anything that could effect the performance should just flat out be replaced.

[billf]

I don't know what the mark up is on bowling balls but it's not like the cost of a ball for them is the same as for us.

[75lockwood]

I don't know what the mark up is on bowling balls but it's not like the cost of a ball for them is the same as for us.

This is true, hopefully when you speak with the owner he will be really nice about it (as he should be) then all of this worrying will be no big deal.

When do you see him?