this annoys me in both ends, my ball had a massive chunk taken out of it 3 days after having a full re surface! the alley (which is also my work) have offered to pay for it which is great. but their response was also. "there are so many nuts and bolts the ball will hit before it returns to you that its bound to happen"
now i was an amf tech for 2 years (recently just started again) and i know that in the 8290xl machines (the ones that scratched my ball) all the nuts and bolts that could hit the ball are cover or countersunk so this doesnt happen. so if the lane is doing this then its more than likely the centres techs not doing their job properly!
In this instance…the mechanic was already there. The wheel in the return stopped spinning and my ball got stuck behind 2 other balls. The mechanic had to shut it off then manually spin the wheel so the balls came up…then he got it running again. No idea exactly how the hell mine got damaged so bad…but live and learn. Next time I'll say something and see if they can get resurfaced. Thanks.Originally Posted by J Anderson
I think both alleys here will replace your ball if it's ruined (and not like 10 years old or something). If the damage is outside the track area, the pro shop will just touch it up a bit. But it's the same thing here, you have to report the damage immediately.
Company League Average: 198.1
City League Average: 186.5
WTBA Sport pattern League Average: 172.9
Current Arsenal: Roto Grip Nomad Pearl, Wrecker, and Hyper Cell; Track 920A and 505A; Storm Tropical Breeze; Plastic Spare Ball
the 2 houses i shoot at will resurface/repair the balls that get screwed up, its part of the deal with the inhouse pro shop. never herd of them replacing one though. I have had balls repaired but if the damage is in the track area the ball will never run the same again, at least thats my experience. My girl friend bought a ball last Tuesday and wouldn't you know it, first time out it came back with deep gouges in it, Good thing it was not in the track area..
Always a SAD event a NEW Ball Damaged first time out,, Ouch!!!!
sorry to hear about Mary's new ball getting damaged!! What did she get? Very glad to hear it wasen't in the track area!
How do you like your new ball, and did you go with the tri-Grip?? I know you LIKED it a LOT on your marauder!!
Don't walk on Thin Ice!
I'm not sure if I've thrown it enough to know where the track area is. I'll have to look at the oil left on it next time I bowl with it. I'm pretty sure at least one of the guages is going to be in the track area given the way they are separated. The only good news is maybe I'm not a good enough bowler where it'll matter!
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
A few weeks ago my wife wanted to go bowling with a couple of friends on the weekend at night so it was glow/cosmic bowling. It was dark and I didn't even notice while cleaning at the end of the night, but a few days later when I went bowling again my ball had all sorts of scuffs and dings in it. None very deep at all but I didn't even try to talk to the alley, because I figured approching them saying "three days ago your machine scuffed my ball" would not get me far so I just spent the $20 to get my guy to refinish it for me.
Last year I got my wife a new ball ( Disturbed... and it is awesome by the way) and in the 6th game she used it in the ball return hacked it up HUGE. It took all of 2 minutes for the house to issue a ball repair/replace ticket for us. The houses where I bowl, it the lane equipment damages your gear, you get it either repaired for free of if the damage is to extensive, replaced.
It seems silly for a house not to repair a ball. The actual cost in materials is only a few cents (assuming that the pro shop is stocked half way decent). The loss of good will and poor marketing would well make up for that..
Good news!
I checked it last night before leagues (even though I didn't use it…just curiosity) and the two marks are NOT in the track area. I was shocked given their size and that there are 2 of them that they weren't…but nope. One is under where my palm goes and the other isn't in the track area.
Still a bummer…but less so than before.
A lot of ball damage comes when the ball goes into the gutter just before hitting a 7, or 10.
The edge of the lane (down by the pins) is reinforced to protect it from pin impact, and the harder material can put some significant scratches on the ball.
Bigger marks usually come from the ball return process.
I spend a fair amount of time fixing lane damaged balls at no cost to the bowler, as long as it's clear the lane caused the issue.
If the damage is significant, the house pays me to buy a new ball, and I drill it at no charge.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks