Ask what kind of ball you should buy. If he responds with anything other than, "I really need to see you bowl before I can recommend a ball for you," turn around and walk away... fast!
What questions do you need to ask at a pro shop?
When you walk into a brand new pro shop that you have never been to before, what questions should you ask the staff/owner?
Ask what kind of ball you should buy. If he responds with anything other than, "I really need to see you bowl before I can recommend a ball for you," turn around and walk away... fast!
To piggy back off of RobVL1's point. They should also spend some extra time with you asking what you are looking for a ball/equipment to do for your game. What kind of conditions/houses you are looking use it? Also find out what they charge for drilling then compare the over all price they will charge you for the ball vs the retail price of the ball online. That will tell you how much they mark up the ball. A fellow bowler paid 260$ plus for a DV8 Thug Unruly which retailed online at the time for 140. That's a 120$ mark up! Needless to say I will be steering everyone away from that pro-shop.
I've also been a victim of cronyism at pro-shops to where they only cater to regular customers and fail to connect to slightly more casual bowler. You will be able to sniff those guys pretty quickly.
Bottom line it is relationship that you need to trust and feel comfortable and becomes more critical when you bowl more often or are ready to step up your game to the next level.
My Pro-Shop Operator is 83. Up on on all the new balls and techniques. With out him I wouldn't have gotten my first 300 at age 39. He keeps threatening to retire. I only hope I find one just as good.
Good Luck!.
Thank you to both of you. I'm headed to a shop this afternoon and will report back with the experience. Hopefully going to be measured and fit for a new ball, but I'm not sure I'm buying today. I'm a guy who does research before buying and I don't buy things impulsively, so I'll see how it goes. If prices are too high, I suppose I'll be supporting bowlingball.com and just getting it drilled in a shop.
I have found that "most" pro shops price their balls competitively with online retailers. They have to to survive. They make their money off drilling anyways.
Although not a deal breaker one shop I went to only offered finger tip inserts in black or yellow and slugs only in black. I like variety. I like having option of choosing from a variety of colors for my slugs/inserts (although yellow is preferred).
Pro shops can be like any sales operation. Watch out for the "well it looks like you also need this and this, etc."
The first thing to do is to see if they are IBSPIA certified. Then you know they at least have some credentials as a driller. They should also watch you bowl and take your measurements (PAP and grip) before they recommend anything. Even if you have a ball that feels comfortable, they should measure your grip as if you are a new customer that just walked in.
I usually ask what sort of fitting technique they use. I am partial to the Tri Grip method, and not all shops offer that. I also look to see what ball companies they are carrying. I like diversity. And I usually ask them what balls they are liking and selling a lot of.
Looking forward to your report back!
I am a proud member of Bowlingboards.com bowling Forums and winner of a weekly ball contest!
I will add a comment I made in another post. When you are measured, be sure you have your support on. This assumes you use one. With the support set to your most usual setting can change the layout up to a 1/4" in my case.
Well, here is the report for today. They don't have their own website for the pro shop. The bowling center's website lists the pro shop hours, which are indeed correct for September through May. June to August has different hours (even more limited) which I learned by showing up and looking at the door. Only 9 hours a week at the moment. I shall be going back tomorrow evening when they are actually open. Oh well. I should have called ahead first.
It wasn't a total loss though. I stopped at an advanced auto parts store nearby and got three microfiber towels for $6.
3 microfibers for $6 is expensive if it's your basic version. Costco/Sams/Walmart have them for around $0.30/each.
But if you want better ones order from theragcompany.com
http://theragcompany.com/16-x16-Eagl...?categoryId=-1
These are designed for auto detailing so they are extremely soft. Fibers are cut so there are no loops
The big difference between these and cheap basic ones is they don't "catch" or "grab". When I wipe my ball I can easily just spin it with the microfiber towel in my hand where as the cheap ones tend to grab the ball.
That's all
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