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Author Topic: What would you do?  (Read 1507 times)

Arstine

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What would you do?
« on: December 21, 2008, 03:56:52 PM »

So, my girlfriend and I went out of town this weekend to do an early holiday with her family.  Part of that was going bowling with her sons so we took our balls.  The day before we left I let her have her present, a new 11 pound Razyr.  

Fast forward to the bowling Saturday.  First frame she throws a strike, second frame I don't remember what she hit but the ball came back with a nice deep gouge out of it.  I immediately took her and the ball to the front desk to ask what their policy was on damage from their machines.  I explained to the counter guy that the ball was brand new and he agreed from the condition it was in that it had to be a new ball.  The guy there said he could repair the ball but I had my doubts with as deep as the gouge in the ball was but since we were quite a way from home we decided to let him have a go at it and we would pick it up before we left the next morning.  

I made the mistake of not going in to get the ball myself, my girlfriend went to get it while I was packing things up in the hotel room.  By the time we left the ball was packed in the back of the car so I didn't get to look at the ball until we got home.  After seeing the ball it's a very good thing that I didn't go to pick the ball up because I think the guy there would have been force fed a ball.  It looks like he put it on a spinner and held 360 grit sandpaper on it until the gouge was gone.  I'm not even entirely sure the ball is round anymore.  The Hammer logo is still on the ball but the USBC number and Razyr logo are pretty well gone.  There's no way she could use the ball in a tournament now if she wanted to since the number is gone from the ball.  I am plain out pissed that this guy would pull something like this.  He didn't even make an effort to put the ball back to it's original polished 4000 abralon finish.  

So, as the subject says, what would you do in a situation like this?  It would cost me as much in fuel to go back down there and raise hell with the guy as it would to just replace the ball with a new one.  But I am considering just that on principle.  I thought the original damage was more than enough to warrant him replacing the ball.  It was just the bad.  But now with the hack job this guy did on the ball I am pretty convinced that a new ball is in order.  If for no other reason than the fact that he made the ball inelegible for competition use by sanding off the numbers and logo on it (I am assuming that those are required for tournament use, correct me if I'm wrong).  


 

Jay

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Re: What would you do?
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2008, 12:33:32 AM »
I do not believe lack of serial number or logo would make the bal ineligable for tournament use.  I could be wrong about that when it comes to a big tourney like nationals but that would be the only situation I can think of.  The only problem is god forbid she shoot an honor score with that ball, she can't get the award because you need the serial number for the paperwork.

That aside, I think it's a big enough issue that they didn't really fix the problem.  It sounds as if the gouge is gone but there's the possibility that he didn't sand the ball equally, taking away the roundness of it.  I imagine there's a way that the pro shop you go to can check to see for sure if that's the case.  But I agree the guy also should have taken the ball back to OOB.

Depending on how big that gouge was you may want to re-check the span on the ball to see if it's the same now.  If the ball was sanded enough, you may be looking at a span that's too short to fit properly.  From the sounds of it, you may just want to buy a new one if you have to spend any money to repair the thing.

JessN16

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Re: What would you do?
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2008, 01:08:13 AM »
I think -- but am not sure -- that if the serial number is gone for whatever reason (sanded off, or if you have to drill through it), you have to etch the number into the ball somewhere else. What I can't remember is whether that's a USBC rule, a PBA rule or my imagination.

Jess

Danes07

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Re: What would you do?
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2008, 04:50:07 AM »
I agree, definitely a hack job.  Despite it being a decent drive, I think I would go back and have it out with the guy.  If thats his idea of repairing the ball, I'd hate to see what he does with equipment he is drilling.

I would demand that he replace the ball.

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Re: What would you do?
« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2008, 07:24:28 AM »
The serial number is not the issue. It sounds like a huge flat spot is on the surface. I'd at least call the idiot at the shop and raise some HELL, because at this point to make the ball round again you'll need to sand down the whole surface, and you'll probably lose the entire label. It's a cosmetic thing, but he should have plugged it, but was probably too lazy. Sorry you had to deal with such an amateur.


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Centers

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Re: What would you do?
« Reply #5 on: December 22, 2008, 08:59:58 AM »
JMO, I would drive back, and give that guy hell.  What he did was screw up the ball more.  I would make the guy replace it and if he doesn't, I would tell the alley manager what terrible work his pro shop guy did.  It really is a shame you didn't see it before you left it.  

You may want to call him and see what he is willing to do if you don't want to drive.  If it was me, I wouldn't let him work on it anymore, just demand a new ball.
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Spider Ball Bowler

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Re: What would you do?
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2008, 04:05:14 PM »
Well the gouge is gone, what else did you expect?

I never would have dropped it off to get fixed in the first place, because things happen.

Ultimately you now made the problem worse by leaving it with an obviously incompetent ball fixer upper person.

Just call him and ask him what he did and why he didn't do what you thought he should have done.  Tell him the ball is ruined and you want a new one.  If he says no, then go buy a new one.

Be polite, politeness goes a long way.  Remember it is just a bowling ball we're talking about here, not something important.
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TWOHAND834

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Re: What would you do?
« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2008, 04:30:32 PM »
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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Arstine

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Re: What would you do?
« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2008, 06:09:02 PM »
I agree with the plugging idea.  It was even brought up, I have no idea why he didn't just do that.  

I was kinda grumpy last night when I posted the original post, just drove all night then saw the ball.  So I plan on calling the guy and seeing if he's willing to make right on the deal.  At this point I don't care if he just has a ball shipped to me here and I have to pay to get it drilled up on my own.  

The good thing is that the ball isn't out of round.  We went and threw a couple games this afternoon since tonight is leagues and I wanted to be sure the ball was usable.  She's happy with it for the most part so I'm just going to polish it up for her for now.  


Atochabsh

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Re: What would you do?
« Reply #9 on: December 22, 2008, 06:34:47 PM »
Its too bad that you did not examine the ball before accepting the repair.  

If he's that incompetant then I doubt you are going to get anywhere with him now about the job's quality.  

Polish it up and use it.  Even for honor scores you are no longer required to put the serial number on the paperwork.  All it asks for now is "is the serial number present".  yes or no  

Most tournaments, especially local ones, do not require a serial number.  Only touranment I've bowled in in the last few years was the Ladies Nationals.  They did not weight out the balls, but did ask for the serial numbers.  The USBC Open doesn't ask for the numbers.  At least they haven't that I know of.  

Erin