I wanted to get additional perspective on a recent experience at my local driller. Am I being too harsh in my conclusions...?

I walked into the latest pro shop I've chosen to try and support local shops. It's run by two well known local people who are good drillers, but neither of them were there. Business has been good for them, and they are adding staff.

I wanted to re-drill a ball and get it back in the bag for league. I "thought" I remembered that I put it away because it was a test ball for offset thumb (please, let's not sidetrack into that discussion....)

Based on what these two drillers have passed down to their previous new hires, I was fairly confident they could help me get the ball back in the bag.

Out comes a guy I haven't seen before.

I said "I want you to check this ball and tell me whether it will be best to re-drill the thumb or fingers to get it back in the bag. It hurts my thumb; I think because it was a test ball for offset thumb".

I did NOT have my Switch Grip installed (left them in the other bag). I did bring another ball to compare with.

He checked every single pitch and said "nope, this ball is a perfect match, you're dreaming..."

I said, "do you have a Switch Grip to measure it again. I swear my thumb hurt when i used it... feels like it's cocked to the side"

He grunted, went into the back, got a 0/0 test insert, and re-did everything.

"Nope, like I said man, it's perfect, I wouldn't touch it".

I sheepishly adopted the attitude of not knowing what I was doing, which is really not true, kept doing my email while waiting (a mistake, I know) and left.

I was getting ready to put the ball in the bag for practice tomorrow, and just by looking at it it's simple to see that the thumb is shifted from the center line, no wonder the $%^& thing hurt. It's offset by a good 1/8 inch.

My thoughts...

- I was wrong to trust what I thought he should know. My bad.
- I can't believe he missed it after hearing a customer talk about the offset, especially when he had a Switch Grip in the ball.
- His condescending "you're an idiot" attitude bothers me.....


(On edit) - I should add one thing. I know the offset thumb issue sometimes reaches a fever pitch as to whether or not the concept is real. My point however, is that given the fact that all spans are equal (even though shifted), when the customer is complaining of thumb pain, and mentions offset thumb as the difference, wouldn't it be obvious to check the relative alignment of the thumb to the other ball I was using to have him measure against?

Feedback please....

If you trust the 2 owners of the pro shop, I would ask when they will be in the office and only go when they are there.  The next time you are at the shop explain this incident to them because employees like that will only hurt their business.

agreed. The owners need to know what's going on. If not, the blind will lead the blind. (Not calling you blind, but many bowlers are uniformed)

Thanks for the feedback... Updates:
- Agreed that the owners should be told...  They are, to be polite, a bit arrogant. Good drillers, know a lot, but believe they and their staff can do no wrong. I've gotten the "you're a mere mortal bowler" attitude before... but they are very good, so I put up with it, and have learned a lot from them... I won't be able to convince them; they'll say it was a misunderstanding, but let's be honest. No it wasn't. He flat out blew it.
-I specifically said I thought it was offset compared to the other ball I brought and that my thumb felt bent. I believe I am correct in saying that with an offset thumb your hand lays on the ball differently.
-He checked every span and pitch. They matched within 1/32nd. In my opinion, all that proves is that the offset was done in such a way as to match the original. While that's great, he missed the obvious "it's an offset and my thumb hurts".
-Thanks for the picture; that's exactly the issue and visualizes it perfectly (I'm left handed and the offset is the other way, but the point is still the same...)
-I think I'll go back, if for no other reason than to tell the owners, although I'd really like to shove the ball in this guy's face and explain that he screwed up... But, I'm trying to be a kinder, gentler person. We'll see how I feel Monday.

One follow up question please... If you offset the thumb, will there be a corresponding thumb pitch change?

There are only 3 things when you drill a ball.  The distance between the holes, the angle the holes are drilled into the ball (pitch) and the angle of the thumb oval and/or finger inserts if you use those instead of a round hole.  The rest we shall call marketing.

Realign your finger inserts and the appearance of offset will go away.

What if you don't use grips?

I don't agree with offset thumbs, but I do subscribe to the CLT theory. For me, it works. YMMV.

I don't understand if you believe in one you don't believe in the other.

In my experience, CLT is realignment of pitches, and offset thumbs actually changes the span. I've tried copying a CLT by pulling the pitches off of a ball and applying it to a T grip, but it wasn't the same. Again, YMMV.

You probably know by this point, but you should always have your personal Switch/IT slug with you for diagnosing any grip problems. Between tape and having your thumb manually worked out, feel can be much different.
 
But even with the test insert, he should have used a yellow grease pencil on your thumb to analyze the contact points in your two different balls. If one ball hurt, the pencil marks from thumb in the slug should look different, and therefore help prove that the two balls are different.
 
In any case, I'm not impressed with this driller's diagnostic skills. He wouldn't be allowed to get close to any of my equipment again.

I'm not an expert on offset drills. I experimented with one ball when my driller was experimenting with the technique (it was either from Hall or Slowinski), but it called for more reverse in the thumb than I previously had. It made some sense since the span from the ring to the thumb was slightly longer.
 
I didn't like it, so the experiment went no further. In your case I understand the distractions, and things didn't go down as they normally would. Hopefully, you can make an appointment with one of the owners next go round.