reducing cost is one thing...if that leads bowlers to leave, then they are losing money.
PLUS with the low oil volume they are wearing out the lane surface even faster. These lanes are 15 years old. There are other ways to cut costs....In this area they are not even turning the lights on on Sundays. If you want to bowl...it will be in the dark.

Reducing costs by not oiling lanes or reducing the amount?  It costs about $0.60-$0.70 to oil and clean a single lane.  If you have a 40 lane center, then it costs maybe $28 to oil the entire center.  This is based on a normal house shot with about 20.0ml per lane.  That is less than $200 a week to oil the lanes every day, yet we know too often lanes are not oiled every day. 

If a center wants to cut costs, there are numerous other ways than not oiling.  Even if you reduced the oil amount in half you put on the lane, you only saved about $100 per week.  If we are pinching pennies that much, you are in the wrong business.

Just my opinion......

Learned also recently from a dude who does the lanes the shot was not legal when inspected

THAT is a legitimate gripe, given evidence to suggest so.

Volume and length are not.

The place I bowl at fixed the problem by putting out the High Street pattern.

The REAL problem was identified as "too dry", correct?