Recently I had an older gentleman come into the proshop with an old beat up Roto Star UC2 ball.  It appeared as if he had used it out in the parking lot a few times (that many chips and nicks).  as he explained, it was his from years past and he wanted to have it plugged, resurfaced, and redrilled for "maximum-hook," so he could use it in his tuesday morning senior's league.  At the time I suspected it was either urethane or polyester...and doubted it had much hook potential on current lane conditions (since then I have found some information to confirm this).  I explained to the gentleman that all of the work would cost nearly as much as purchasing a brand new low end resin ball (with drilling) AND with the construction/materials of his ball, it was highly unlikely that the would get the desired results...  

After which I was in for a 15 minute lecture on how that used to be the best ball available and such.. Normally I would have enjoyed the information and history lesson, but at the time I had a bunch of other people waiting to get work done.  

Should I have not been "honest" and just done the work?  What does everyone else do in this case?

S^2
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He was a big fella - 6'2"... 180

-Old Western Movie on AMC

You have to be honest.  If you just "do the work", then he will either come back complaining how the ball doesn't hook, or tell everyone how you ripped him off.
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The clock on the wall says 3 O'Clock...last call...for Alcohol!
"I love a martini -- but two at the most. Three I’m under the table; Four, I’m under the host."  Dorothy Parker

yeah exactly.  Plug and redrill would be $30 and a full resurface/polish is an additional $20...  So for an extra $20, he can get a tornado or a wild drilled and out the door.  Plus since he's a league member, he gets an additional 15% discount... so roughly it would only cost $60 plus tax.  I tried to explain the best I could in a relative quick manner (as we were very busy)...  we'll see how it turns out.

S^2
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He was a big fella - 6'2"... 180

-Old Western Movie on AMC

haha... thanks M.  I'll keep that in mind...  I guess it is urethane.. so if it was sanded to 320 grit and thrown at 10 mph.. it would probably work?!?!

S^2
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He was a big fella - 6'2"... 180

-Old Western Movie on AMC

Strapper good point and I am guessing since its an old guy his ball speed might actually be 10mph perhaps you can satisfy him afterall.
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I should just quit bowling, oh wait I already tried that.
Now that I am back and my Saws are sharp again, I am ready to cut some wood.

there is a certian liablity in drilling old balls. they can crack while plugging. you never know if has left the ball in the trunk for the last 10 years!

even when you do it all the way he wants, some other old guy will kick his but with a new ball and he will blame you.

lose-lose situtation. good luck!
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"deserves got nothing to do with it."
-- William Munny

Here is just a suggestion if this ever comes around again.  I had a pro shop here let me experiment with several drilled balls.  It was luck that we had almost the exact same span.  Ask the person what their span is, and if you know of a decent ball that has a span relatively close to what they have, let them throw that ball a few frames or games and let them decide by themselves.

Bowlers can also be stubborn when it comes to bowling equipment also.  Same proshop above had numerous people come in and they knew exactly what ball they wanted and how it should be drilled even before the proshop helped them out.  Trying to get the person to change their mind is very hard.  Myself was and probably still is included .
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It does not matter what type of shot you throw, it's the results on the scoresheet that counts.