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Thread: getting fed up of my league/centre! anybody had issues like this before?

  1. #1

    Default getting fed up of my league/centre! anybody had issues like this before?

    so the center we bowl at for league is also my workplace, i used to be a machine technician there untill last year due to a knee op. The tech team they have is terrible now and their head tech is so stupidly lazy i used to hate working with him as me and the other tech did all the work (the other tech has now moved centers as he hated working with the lazy guy also).
    the lanes are a state right now with constant faults (amf 8290 xl machines) in 1 league night we can have 30 faults some nights even higher! our management is also terrible as they are too scared of the head tech as he is quite hot headed, so because of this the lanes are terrible. tonight i had a 2 inch long 1 inch wide and 4 mm deep chunk taken out of my ball because of exposed/extruding bolts!
    so here are my problems:
    problem 1, the league pattern we have is flat completely and really damn heavy! its also 41 ft long on a normal house shot i stand on 28 and bowl over 13 out to 4 to hit the pocket, on our pattern i have to stand on 30 bowl over 18 to have any chance of reaching the pocket!
    the tech who changed the wicks on our lane machine messed it up so our patterns are all screwed up (it was a nice pattern before this)
    in a league of 24 players there are 4 of us who hook bowl the rest are straight so to the majority the pattern is fine....
    problem 2, one week the tech will dress the lanes and then the next 2 they wont dress the lanes so they are bone dry again this doesnt bother the straight bowlers.
    problem 3, the guys are always moaning about the state of the lanes / approaches as customers can wear outside shoes but they rarely ever mop them. Me and my brother (also an amf tech) are always asking if they want to make a joint complaint as the management dont listen to single complaints tbh but none of them will complain.
    problem 4, there is another center (where my brother works also owned by the same company) 6 miles away where the lanes are dressed everyday and before every league session approaches are mopped every day and before every league session, the lanes run perfect in 180 frames that me and my brother bowled a few days ago we had not 1 fault.
    we have suggested moving there as its so good but they refuse as apparently its too far even though last season they bowled at a center 15 miles away.....
    this center has 3 leagues a week but we cant join as they are university leagues
    i really love bowling and its the only sporting hobby i have ever enjoyed this much! i dont want to give up at all but with no league to play in whats the point in practicing? i wanted a new ball this christmas but after what the lanes did to mine tonight there is no point as every week they are getting scratched and chipped.
    any suggestions on what to do? as its really getting to me now to the point where i get so annoyed after literally the 3rd frame of the first game that i just dont want to bowl the rest of the night, yet at the better center ill happily bowl 10 games and still not want to leave!
    anybody else had problems like this? what did you do? what should i do?
    my none league average is around 165 at the min but my league average because of all the crap i have every league match is only 128! i look forward to league nights hoping that it will be different this time but its just not getting any better in the slightest

  2. #2
    Bowling God MICHAEL's Avatar
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    Default Move to a Better PLACE lol

    Move to the great State of Missouri!! We take are bowling, and bowling alleys VERY SERIOUS! Conditions are almost always perfect each week, with fresh oil laid just before we start each league! Kansas City Missouri is know for its barbecue, Good looking women, and A-1 bowling lanes!!
    Don't walk on Thin Ice!

  3. #3

    Default

    would love to bowl in america lol you guys take it so much more seriously than we do. at my place of work it took me weeks of begging to get the weds nights off to bowl in the league yet if i went to them and said i need sunday mornings off for football they would have done it no problem!
    my nearest coach is just over an hour away too

  4. #4
    Bowling God MICHAEL's Avatar
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    Default Do you NEED HELP!!

    where do you live?? Is it in a war zone?? Would you like for Iceman to make a visit, and get things straighten out!!
    Don't walk on Thin Ice!

  5. #5

    Default

    lol i live smack bang in the middle of the uk. a warzone bowling alley would be better tbh! i know techs that have installed lanes in army bases all over the world! high end brunswick machines but we get good but VERY poorly maintained amf machines

  6. #6
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    Default

    That's really terrible. I wouldn't bowl there. I'd quit even if there was no where else to go. Hopefully there is a place you can practice cheap to get your bowling fix.

    I'm very spoiled and have been for over 20 years. The place I bowl (Drkula's 32, Inver Grove Heights, MN) Has the best maintained equipment in the world. Yes, the world. Gary is a genius and has modified those machines so they very rarely have any pin jams or other issues. He has several patents. I haven't seen a pin jam since I can't remember.

    He is also quite stubborn and proud of the shot he lays out. It is longer than any other house in the Twin Cities and has had a similar look for as long as I can remember. I don't believe he changes the shot for any tournaments either and there are many. There are no sport shot leagues.

    The entire center is kept very clean. You do your job there or you don't have a job.
    Ball speed: 17 - 18.5 mph Rev rate: 400ish
    PAP 6 1/8" over 1/4" up
    13° axis tilt / 30°-60° axis rotation
    Thumbless bowler
    High game: 300 High series: 804 High average: 217

  7. #7

    Default

    I used to love being a tech and the lanes were brilliant back then we would bowl there several times a week with no problems but since me and the other tech left its gone down hill bad. I even get the techs there asking me to help on problems that should be taught in the first week! It drives me mad when I'm on shift and I see 15/23 lanes on work shop mode! The only reason we bowl there Is for the league. The centre we practice at is far superior and that's because the tech that left same time as me is now their head tech and my brother is second in command so they get work done I even cover shifts there for them if they need it and I love it. Only perk of working for the company is free bowling as much as I Want. We used to bowl about 50 games a week until the lanes got so bad now we. Bowl 5 practice ones at my brothers center and 3 league games at my terrible center. Since doing this out averages have plummeted we are almost bottom of our league now because of it. Last year we joined 13 weeks late and finished 3rd with the highest session score combined and highest combined game also. I won the singles summer league and handicap league but this season because of the state of the lanes we are doing terrible its embarrassing

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