Small bowling alleys, leagues and hours.

[jlwonderley]

Anyone have a center that can't seem to keep a regular schedule? I've yet to play in a league; I always bowl on nights where there's some kind of discount rate. One center is very small with either 10 or 12 lanes. A lot of the time we have to bowl after league ends, during season. They take up every lane. Sometimes it's really busy after league, making it hard to get a lane. Other times no one shows up at all, and we're closed early on. Once I showed up an almost 2 hours before closing, the league was going late, and I was told they would be closing as soon as league ended. Regardless, even if league ends on time and there are plenty of open bowlers, the guy always tries to shut us down 30-45 minutes before posted hours!!

[Aslan]

Not around here. But the only "small alley" I know around here is at CSF campus. Besides, I'm a 1.5 minute walk from a center that is open 24 hours a day. I bowled there a few games Friday evening, a couple games Saturday night, and just bowled 6 more this morning. I'll probably be back there tonight or tomorrow. I've bowled there at 8:30 AM and I've bowled there at 2:45 AM...and many times in between. Never been there between 4:30 and 8:30 AM...but I guess a little pre-work bowling could be a possibility. I'm just not a "morning person". I've bowled some in Vegas/Lauglin that were also 24 hours. Not many of them still do that...but there are still a few.

[Tony]

Only one little bowling alley near me, 8 lanes , only bowled their one for a demo day.
No 24 hour bowling here either, most of the lanes are open starting at 9 / 10 0r 11 and close at 9/10 or 11, I would not be surprised if the employees close a few minutes early it no one is on the lanes, but in almost all cases they also have a bar and that is usually open until 2.

The place I think of closing early around me is a bar and grill, if it's 8 or 9 on a sat and not many people are their they will push them out and close the place....

[epiepenburg]

I bowl in a small house that has 12 lanes. Leagues take up most of the time. During the week, with the exception of Tuesday's, there are leagues that run until 9 or so, they then keep the bar open as long as people stay, but usually nobody is bowling. On Friday and Saturdays there are leagues that go until 9, and then there is the black light bowling that runs until 11. I've stayed after my Friday league to bowl under the black lights until 11. Usually bowling stops and the bar closes up then. However wih knowing the workers who also bowl, I've often stayed until well after midnight bowling with them.

[jlwonderley]

It got to the point that I stopped going there, and drive over twice as far now. The first place obviously doesn't care much about anything outside of leagues. They do have really good deals though, one night it's $1 a game, and another night it's $7.50 for unlimited (including shoe rental, although I have my own now). Got Miller High Life on tap recently for only $7 a pitcher. Unfortunately, the conditions are terrible. Were asked an employee one time who informed us that they only were oiling the lanes once a week during the off season, and I think twice otherwise, before the two main leagues.

[jlwonderley]

Not around here. But the only "small alley" I know around here is at CSF campus. Besides, I'm a 1.5 minute walk from a center that is open 24 hours a day. I bowled there a few games Friday evening, a couple games Saturday night, and just bowled 6 more this morning. I'll probably be back there tonight or tomorrow. I've bowled there at 8:30 AM and I've bowled there at 2:45 AM...and many times in between. Never been there between 4:30 and 8:30 AM...but I guess a little pre-work bowling could be a possibility. I'm just not a "morning person". I've bowled some in Vegas/Lauglin that were also 24 hours. Not many of them still do that...but there are still a few.

24 hrs? Dang I'd like that. Ours are all open til 11:00pm, unless it's a late night cosmic bowling on fri, sat, don't know much about that I never go on the weekends.

[J Anderson]

24 hrs? Dang I'd like that. Ours are all open til 11:00pm, unless it's a late night cosmic bowling on fri, sat, don't know much about that I never go on the weekends.

My local center, which is not small at 56 lanes, only lists its opening time of 9 am. Tuesday and Wednesday are the only days with second shift evening leagues which keeps them open past 11 pm. I think they try and shut the lanes down by 11 pm Sunday, Monday, and Thursday, midnight or later Friday and Saturday. On Monday nights last year the leagues took up the whole center from 6 to 9.

[billf]

12 lane house, only one in the county (35 mile radius). We don't even have posted hours. During the season we open around 9 I believe. Between the senior leagues and two early leagues for second and third shift workers Mon-Fri is covered. In the afternoons not much from 1-3pm. Mon, Tue , Thu and Fri 3-4:30 is high school team practice. Wed is our after school program. Mon-Thur leagues from 6-9. We start oiling at 5:15. Fri league starts at 7. All leagues have 10 minute practice prior to start. Sat morning 9am Youth league, noon Bumper league then open bowling/birthday parties til 5, league at 6. Yes, that's 15 minutes to clean up from the parties, vacuum the carpet, etc. before oiling the lanes. Sun leagues at 10am, 2 and 6pm. Glow bowling Fri 11-2am, Sat 9-1

Now we are staffed with only one full time worker and the rest of us part time. Now we are also instructed to keep payroll as low as possible to help save for new lanes, approaches and ball returns (being so old and obsolete we can't do one without the other two). So here is my typical week. I bowl Sunday mornings and work from 12-6 every other week. I bowl Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday I work 5:15-close (we shoot for 9:15), two Fridays a month 6-close (shoot for 2:15), coach the youth league Sat at 9am and work every other Sat 5-close (1:15 is the goal)
As you can see I am given 15 minutes to clean, do dishes, count lottery, three cash registers, put the balls away, etc. We start with three and I will use this past Friday as an example; Dan at bar, Austin (15 years old so can't serve alcohol or fix certain machine issues in the back) and myself. I worked my regular job 5am-4pm took a shower, changed and went to the center. League went smooth, no issues as usual. Glow bowling started so at 11:15 I had Austin leave, 11:30 let Dan go. We had 67 people. That left only myself to work the counter, bar and fix any lane issues. It's hectic but I do it all the time. In three years my drawer has been off a total of $5

So take your situation: one person looking to open bowl. We charge $4/game. Normal people bowl two games an hour. That's $8. Subtract the electric for the lights, ball return and pin setter and the $9/hr they pay me and it's a loser. Lineage for most leagues (seniors and youth are discounted) is $10.50/bowler. Most of our adult leagues are full so that's $630 or $210/hr from leagues. See, a smart business owner will want as many leagues (guaranteed money) as possible. The only way to budget and have a business plan is to have a clue what the incoming dollars will be. It isn't done to be a personal attack on open bowlers just survival.

So now I ask, why don't you bowl in a league?

[jlwonderley]

12 lane house, only one in the county (35 mile radius). We don't even have posted hours. During the season we open around 9 I believe. Between the senior leagues and two early leagues for second and third shift workers Mon-Fri is covered. In the afternoons not much from 1-3pm. Mon, Tue , Thu and Fri 3-4:30 is high school team practice. Wed is our after school program. Mon-Thur leagues from 6-9. We start oiling at 5:15. Fri league starts at 7. All leagues have 10 minute practice prior to start. Sat morning 9am Youth league, noon Bumper league then open bowling/birthday parties til 5, league at 6. Yes, that's 15 minutes to clean up from the parties, vacuum the carpet, etc. before oiling the lanes. Sun leagues at 10am, 2 and 6pm. Glow bowling Fri 11-2am, Sat 9-1

Now we are staffed with only one full time worker and the rest of us part time. Now we are also instructed to keep payroll as low as possible to help save for new lanes, approaches and ball returns (being so old and obsolete we can't do one without the other two). So here is my typical week. I bowl Sunday mornings and work from 12-6 every other week. I bowl Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday I work 5:15-close (we shoot for 9:15), two Fridays a month 6-close (shoot for 2:15), coach the youth league Sat at 9am and work every other Sat 5-close (1:15 is the goal)
As you can see I am given 15 minutes to clean, do dishes, count lottery, three cash registers, put the balls away, etc. We start with three and I will use this past Friday as an example; Dan at bar, Austin (15 years old so can't serve alcohol or fix certain machine issues in the back) and myself. I worked my regular job 5am-4pm took a shower, changed and went to the center. League went smooth, no issues as usual. Glow bowling started so at 11:15 I had Austin leave, 11:30 let Dan go. We had 67 people. That left only myself to work the counter, bar and fix any lane issues. It's hectic but I do it all the time. In three years my drawer has been off a total of $5

So take your situation: one person looking to open bowl. We charge $4/game. Normal people bowl two games an hour. That's $8. Subtract the electric for the lights, ball return and pin setter and the $9/hr they pay me and it's a loser. Lineage for most leagues (seniors and youth are discounted) is $10.50/bowler. Most of our adult leagues are full so that's $630 or $210/hr from leagues. See, a smart business owner will want as many leagues (guaranteed money) as possible. The only way to budget and have a business plan is to have a clue what the incoming dollars will be. It isn't done to be a personal attack on open bowlers just survival.

So now I ask, why don't you bowl in a league?

I plan to bowl league, however I am a certified procrastinator and have never signed up yet. I wanna make sure my weekly bowling buddy will be able to do it as well.

I understand that they aren't making any money off me when I come in with my own shoes on a super cheap discount night. I simply have a very limited income, and can barely afford to go bowling once a week as it is. We do always buy a couple pitchers of beer though, so there's something. It just really makes me mad when ANY business advertises certain hours and then doesn't stick to them. At the very least the owner of these Lanes should include a notice to call ahead in the evening.

[Aslan]

League lineage used to be so significant that centers could use them as collateral on loans. They might still be able to do that; not sure.

But open bowling...some days you're full...some days you have 3 families in there the whole day between opening and leagues. Hard to count on that from a business standpoint.