I would like some help with a problem...

[Robert]

The problem is my local house.  They just won't put out any oil.  Our 2nd shift house average is 150.  That's right people...150.  The manager claims that he puts put oil via "the machine".  I haven't seen the machine in use.  It just sits along the wall.  

The manager tells me that just before the ball hits the ball return, the ball goes through a sack to wipe off the oil.  Well it can't wipe it all off.  I've bowled in other houses and I've seen 4-6" of oil on my TPC Player flare track.  

Is there a rule or something that lets managers do what they want, when they want to.   We only have two shifts.  The current WBIC bowles between 630pm-830pm, and the mixed leaque starts at 830pm and ends around 1045pm.  There's really no interest in open bowling so we are it.  I speculate that he only "oils" once every 4-5 days with a light coating of oil.  The approaches are not cleaned and the backend is torched.  

I'm also starting to believe that the oil machine is broken.  I do think that it is only oiling the first 10 boards and no others.  I've seen several bowlers that miss one board rith of 10 and it stays right.  Hit number 11 and bye bye to the left gutter.  Our local association complained to him, but nothing gets done.  

My question is, is there anybody in the national level that can look at our house and make the manager clean, repair lanes, and oil them with medium oil??

Sorry for the long post

Cheers

Robert

[jimensminger]

there are several things you can do,..the first thing I would do is request a league meeting, and see if the rest of your league feels the way that you do. If so, have the league President formally request the center provide the league will a playable condition. Lanes and approaches should be maintained in a playable condition. If the center refuses, and your league is sanctioned, each house has a ABC rep assigned to help bowlers with problems,..contact your rep, and see if he can assist. If the center is a Brunswick or AMF you can escalate your complaint to the centers regional managers. If all else fails and the league continues to be unsatisfied with the service,..move the league to another center.
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www.dynothane.com

[Robert]

We brought this up before the league secretary and nothing was done.  I'm sure the bowling manager does put some "light" oil on the lanes at the begining of the week, and it dries up by Sunday.  Probably died up just after he put it down.

My suspicion is pointing toward the lane oiling machine.  He says that it works; however, sometime it will continue on into the pit!!!  Hmmmmm.  We are a very, very, poor community.  The bowling alley is all that we have.  The manager is poor and so is his crew.  They are all part time.  I think it would be nice if we had some outside help.

We probably need someone with "real" experience in lane maintenance skills to show the manager and his co-workers how to work & repair the oiling machine, set a time schedule as to when to lay down oil, and clean the approaches, lanes, and backend.

So, it is basically a lack of skills.....

Cheers

Robert

[Robert]

yes..falling into the pit

cheers

Robert

[stanski]

Just view it as a challenge. Bring down your expectations. I love how people beg for tougher lane conditions, but when the conditions are there, they whine sooooo much about the manager being cheap and not puttin enough oil down. Everyone is bowling on the same shot, deal with it.
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stanski

[mumzie]

Are the lanes ABC certified?

If so, you may have recourse, if the lanes were certifiable whenever they passed, but could not pass the test now, the association could pull the certification. That would mean that if, on the outside chance someone shot an honor score, it would not be approved.

Around here, we have a couple of real sticklers for certification. The house I bowl 2 leagues in hadn't completed their entire remodel by the time the certification team came in early August 2003, so instead of being given a "provisional" certification, their cert. was pulled. When they completed the remodel, the certification team didn't get right out to recheck the lanes. The approval of my 800 series was delayed by several weeks because of this, and was seriously in doubt for a couple of those weeks. You know what the issue was? They were putting in new foul lights, and didn't have a couple of the lanes complete in early August...

Anyway - seems to me that you might have recourse if the lanes are certified. If not, that's the question to ask the proprietor.


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"Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage."
--Winston Churchill

[Robert]

Stanski,

You've never bowled in a dry house year after year?  The last honor score was over 10 years ago.  It was a 300.  The person now lives in a larger city with great lanes.  I'm talking oiled lanes.  I also play at these lanes as well and usually throw between 200 to 250.  At my house, the 2nd shift average is 150??  What's up with that?  I bowl 155 ave there....

If you get close to a 500 series, the people there praise you!!  Everybody congradulates you if you get a strike.  If you can string 5 or 6 in a row, people start watching, hoping for an honor score.  My highest in this house is a 650 series.  I haven't seen anything above it yet.  It's been 8 months.

Lane1,

Man that would be nice.  To have medium oil on the lanes with 37-38' of oil.

Mumzie,

I was told the lanes were certified by the league secretary.  Although I don't know how they could be.  Monday evening, there were nails coming up on lane 3.  You could see sparks when a ball hit one of them.  The approaches are dark.  It would be nice to have lighting over the approaches, the approaches cleaned, and dots painted on the proper boards.  Is that too much to ask for??

Cheers

Robert