I agree with chipmunk. Give him a call first. If he can't give you what you want, then go back to him personally.
As a shop operator, here is what we do in that case. We would have taken a 1/2 drill bit and drilled into the ball about 1/8th to a 1/4 of an inch tracing the gauge in the process. Fill it in with clear plug. Once hardened, router the plug off and a light resurface to make the entire surface uniform, and it looks brand new. If done right, you almost can't tell there was ever anything wrong.
Sounds as if someone there told the shop operator that you were from out of town and needed the ball the following day so he just did a quick once over just to get you back out the door. At least the guy could of done is be honest with you. We had a problem with this very thing this past week where a person from out of town was down bowling a tournament and his ball came back with a gash about 2 inches long, maybe a couple centimeters wide and not very deep. We took his name, phone number, and address. Once we finish the ball, we are going to ship it back to him at the cost of the center. IMO, that is the way your situation should have been handled as well.
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Steven Vance
Pro Shop Operator
Striking Results Pro Shop
Red Carpet Lanes
Duluth (NE Atlanta), Georgia
If anyone out there is worried about the scores being too high, try duckpin!!
