BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: dR3w on November 13, 2013, 01:53:57 PM
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Can someone explain to me why the USBC requires you to Activate your membership now? Isn't filling out the card and giving them money enough? Didn't that work in the past?
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The USBC may be trying to find out how many members follow the website........
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Why do you have to activate your card... Benefits in doing this is the real question...
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The wording is crazy it should be "Verify your Information" because that is what you are doing. I get ask this every time I go into the bowling center "Why to I have to Activate my card?". Stupid wording on their part plus I was told monday night that the bowler tried an that part of Bowl.com would not load up for him.
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Why do you have to activate your card... Benefits in doing this is the real question...
Definitely the benefits.
When traveling, I get some killer deals on hotel stay with any of the Hilton properties (my preference is Hampton Inn). I get a hell of a lot better deal through using the USBC's discount rate than I do my AAA discount. Add in that I could also get points from my airline for staying there (without using an airline card to pay for it, nor even having to fly to where I'm staying), is a huge bonus.
For example.. I stay at some place like Bakersfield, CA. Best rate at Hampton is $129/night. AAA discount: 122. USBC: $109.
Depending on location, it could be a good deal, plus you know that you're not staying at a place that looks like it was just trashed. Win all around.
BL.
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I could do a whole rant on the "new" USBC but I will try not to. Ultimately it is a corporation and like any it needs income to run the day to day operations. it had changed its focus from overseeing the sport as a National Governing Body to creating programs and services to facilitate that income, in short they need to market to you.
The biggest issue I have with the USBC is they take 50% of the entry money for every entry into the USBC Open Championships. Many don't know this and I don't think most would be happy if they did know. What other tournament have you bowled where they take a flat 50%. Its all about income it seems, if interested you can review audited financials here http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net/usbcongress/bowl/aboutusbc/pdfs/usbc_2011_2012_financial-statement-final.pdf
JC
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You are not required to activate your membership online. I confirms your information with the USBC so they can send you email from which they receive advertising revenue.
TT
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Now I understand what this topic is all about.
I just received my Sport card and underneath the card on the enclosed letter is a code with the message "Activate With This Code" underneath. A little bit more below that is another phrase: Go To Bowl.com/activate to ACTIVATE YOUR MEMBERSHIP.
Sure does sound like it is a requirement and not a verification. Another reason why I do not like the 'new' USBC - all about money and not the bowlers.
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You could activate your USBC membership and sign up for Obamacare in the same computer session. lol
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If filling out the paperwork and paying my fees isn't enough, I guess I just won't be a registered member, because I ain't going online to "activate" a membership that I had to pay for in the first place.
It isn't like I would be missing out on much anyway. I've already got all the keychains and refrigerator magnets I will use in a lifetime...............
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So, replying to several posts on this site is no big deal, but going to the bowl.com site to activate your membership is a hassle that you're just not willing to endure? I find that to be a little bit inconsistent.
As for the typical bashing of USBC that some have gotten into in this thread, I ask what are you expecting? What benefits ought the company to provide for the meager amount you pay in each year? Remember, at most, you're paying $21/year for standard membership. Only a portion of that goes to national dues. What exactly should our governing body be doing/providing you for that amount? Hell, to me the $18 I pay in each year is worth the bonding alone so that some lowlife doesn't run off with all of our league prize money, which does happen to people more often than you'd care to think.
One of you mentioned the magnets, key chains, etc. It's funny, I worked for USBC when they decided to get rid of all of that stuff (patches, etc), and you would've thought the sky was falling by the way people reacted. Mind you, I haven't seen an adult member display a patch in more than a decade, yet people were crying left and right about how disappointed they were that those were going away. Fast-forward to this year, and now USBC wants to move away from being an awards provider, so they are going to lifetime awards for 300-800. Again, you would think that they threatened to kidnap our children in the night. People are bellyaching left and right about it. Most people agree that scores are out of hand - which is something else people blame USBC for even though nobody is forcing any of us to throw high-powered modern balls or to accept cake house shots from our proprietors - yet we want to be honored for every 300-800 that we throw. Again, this seems inconsistent. In one breath we say that scoring is way too easy and that any moron can shoot big numbers today, yet in the next we spit venom because we want to honored and provided with trophies and trinkets to celebrate each score we put up.
The organization is losing members every year. Meanwhile, costs of doing business are going up on their end as well, yet everyone wants them to provide what they always have even though they have far fewer bowlers contributing to the pot than we had in years past. How exactly is that supposed to work? The fact is, it can't.
Let me be clear about something. I worked for USBC a few years back, and I was laid off when the company was forced to enact a 15% RIF DUE TO BUDGETARY PROBLEMS. If anyone has a reason to have an ax to grind with the company, it would be me. Nevertheless, I don't because I understand it was something the company had to do, just like I understand that getting out of the awards distribution business is something they have to do. The organization doesn't exist in order to hand out rings. They exist in order to uphold the playing rules, bond your league funds, promote the sport, etc. If you want rings and trinkets that badly, pay more to your local association so that they can do it, or put more into your league prize fund. Hell, buy yourself a damned ring or trophy! The point is, a sport's national governing body doesn't exist to hand out awards. Does the USGA send you a ring when you break par or get a hole-in-one? Nope. Why do we expect different of the USBC? The answer is because that's what it used to do, and some people can't get themselves out of the past!
Another funny element of this is that most of the complaints people have about all that USBC does or does not do for them are actually problems connected to an underperforming local association. When the local reps don't do their jobs well, everyone suffers, and it gives the whole organization a bad image. If you don't like the way your local association is operating, get involved. Try to get a position with the group so that you can be a part of making things better. If you don't do that. If you just sit on the sidelines whining and complaining, you're doing nothing to make the situation better.
I'm not trying to claim that USBC has always made the right calls in every situation. It hasn't. Mistakes have been made in the past, but bowlers have been complicit in many of those decisions. Still, the people working for that organization, by and large, love bowling and truly want the sport to grow and thrive, and I damn sure guarantee you that they aren't raking in big bucks and living the high life off of your membership dues! If you say otherwise, you're simply talking out of your rear because there is zero truth to that statement.
Sorry for the rant, which is obviously going to be viewed as an attack on certain individuals. That truly isn't my intent. I don't really even know these users. Still, I get sick and tired of reading same ignorant, mindless BS that is slung at USBC on sites like these. Don't throw stones. If you want things to get better, get involved and help make them better! Whining and complaining get us nowhere!
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As a general rule here, the consumer (bowler), is paying the same or more every year, and receiving less and less in the form of benefits. I don't know how you can expect anyone who is getting less and paying more to be satisfied with that process? Are you really surprised by that. Are you surprised that people would complain about that? If your taxes go up and your benefits get cut, do you go onto a government forum and talk about how well they are handling the poor economy?
You make a good point about the amount of bowlers decreasing, and I know that directly effects the total revenue that the USBC takes in, but it also costs them less to govern less people. There will be less prizes to be payed out, less scores to monitor, less paperwork to oversee, etc. Probably, it isn't proportional, but as your customer base shrinks, so must the size of the business shrink.
In regards to the magnets, etc ... I am sure that there were some complaints when they were discontinued, but there were a lot more people who didn't care. If I asked everyone in my association if they cared about the removal of those inexpensive award, I would guess over 95% wouldn't give a crap.
Yes the USBC bonding is helpful. But it is insurance. It should be a money-maker for the USBC, not a money-loser. If the USBC is actually losing money on insuring the league, then they are mismanaging the company and deserve to be criticized. Are you telling me that the USBC is losing money by bonding leagues? Really?
The thing that I didn't like about this activation is that there is no communication about why I have to do it. I mean I just filled out a card with all the information they need. I sent them my check, just like I have done for 20 years. Now all of a sudden I have to go on-line and fill out the same information. You tell me why? Because I sure don't know why I need to do this now?
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Team USA is also funded with a portion of our National dues (which is $10). I suspect the cost of the Team USA program is nearly as large as the Awards program.
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Gene this is not about attacking anybody, this is straight observation.
once again I say look at the financials of this "company" you tell me where they are spending the money because it sure isn't on the members, and I hear thru the grapevine that upper management is making 6 figures. If anybody can confirm or deny this, it would be an interesting side note to the statement that," that they aren't raking in big bucks and living the high life off of your membership dues"
well I haven't researched the "new" execs but just a few years ago the salaries of the top 7 were posted in a different thread and apparently they were living high on the hog off our dues.
ROGER A. DALKIN CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
GREENDALE, WI 250,671. 25,410. 0.
JACK A. MORDINI VP - MEMBERSHIP PRODUCTS/SERVICES
NEW BERLIN, WI 208,299. 24,434. 0.
ROSEANN KUHN VP - TOURNAMENTS/EVENTS
FRANKLIN, WI 163,587. 15,033. 0.
TIMOTHY PAYNE VP - DELIVERY
WAUWATOSA, WI 131,549. 19,544. 0.
KEVIN DORNBERGER CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
GREENDALE, WI 153,650. 21,110. 0.
TOM CLARK VP - MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS
MUSKEGO, WI 117,912. 16,923. 0
this looks like salary and bonus, so unless you are deluded or was just not aware,they did make this amount of compensation and its just way too much
recent financials... new ones should be up soon http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net/usbcongress/bowl/aboutusbc/pdfs/usbc_2011_2012_financial-statement-final.pdf
oh p.s. the bonding is great but it doesn't keep an unscrupulous secretary from stealing it. We had it happen twice in our town, we are talking in the ballpark of $30k
Not sure if they got the money back, but a "deal" was made so whoopee
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USBC is not great and it never will be. Bowling in this country is not at the same interest as many foreign countries.
What is important is USBC got their super facilaty built and at a time when construction cost was at an all time high. Now lets help them continue to fund their projects and pretend its in our interest.
Hey keep an eye out in the mail for more dvds and credit card offers still to come.
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There have been some interesting replies to my rant. I wanted to reply sooner, but I hate typing long responses on my phone.
To dR3W: No, I don't like it when I'm asked to pay more when I'm getting less; however, I honestly don't expect a whole hell of a lot when I'm paying less than $2/month. So my question is, what do you want, expect, or think we (bowlers) deserve for the $1.75 a month USBC gets from us? This is an honest question because I often hear bowlers complain about all that USBC isn't doing with "our money," but I never hear them say what they think the organization should be doing with it.
Also, I don't think that awards costs and numbers have gone down as membership has gone down. As we all know, even though the organization has far fewer members than it did in years past, the number of award scores being shot has gone way up due to the powerful balls and the soft conditions they're thrown on. That was one of the biggest problems and reasons why they've finally gone to lifetime awards.
To Johnny cee: Again, if you are a standard member, you're paying $1.75 a month for your membership. Where do you want that money to go? How do you want it to be spent? What should they be doing with it that they're not now?
Now, you posted salary figures, and, yes, if those numbers are accurate, some of their upper level execs were making very good money. I say were because most of the people on that list are no longer with the company. In fact, I'm not sure any of them are. I don't know what the current execs make, and I probably wouldn't comment on it if I did because I don't necessarily think it appropriate; however, here's what I will say. First, upper level employees at most companies make pretty good salaries. Plus, many of the people on that list had been with the company for many, many years, decades in several cases. I doubt they started anywhere near that pay grade. Isn't that the way it works in most jobs? Teachers who start off making $30,000/year can end up making $85-100,000/year if they keep getting more schooling and keep working up the pay scale. Does that mean that our tax dollars are being wasted and teachers are living high off the hog on "our money?"
Moving on, let me tell you what I know from my own time with USBC. I was hired in 2007, and I didn't make anything close to a six-figure salary, and I don't believe many other people in the building did either. I can also tell you that shortly after I was hired, a company-wide salary freeze was put into place, and benefits were cut and the costs of them increased. Did any of us like it? Of course we didn't, but we all understood that it had to be done because we were putting out a lot more money than we had coming in. You know what was great? When that happened, nobody cried, whined, and jumped ship. Why? The people in that building love the sport and truly want to see it grow and prosper. Nevertheless, shortly after that, my position was eliminated as were those of roughly 15% of the building's work force because they simply couldn't afford to keep us on any longer. Obviously, I was crushed. I had moved roughly a thousand miles (from Illinois to Texas) to be a part of this organization, and then one day I was just let go. I was crushed because working for USBC was something of a dream job for me, but did I bash the company up and down and say how awful it is? No, I didn't because I understood why it had to be done.
The move from Milwaukee to Arlington was a good thing. It brought bowling's two sides, the bowlers and the proprietors, together and forced them to start working with each other instead of against each other. It was an expensive move, it came at a horrible time for the economy, and it wasn't without growing pains, but it was the right move for the sport of bowling. Since those two organizations have been housed under the same roof, there has been unprecedented communication and partnership to try to get things moving in the right direction.
In regard to the ITRC, which has been a bone of contention with bowlers since it was built, that too has been a very good thing for bowling. Yes, it was terribly expensive, so I understand why it looks bad to have built it when and how they did; however, what many of you don't realize is what that facility has done and is doing for the sport. It's drawing coaches and bowlers from all over the world, which is increasing interest in the sport as well as enhancing the level of expertise that its coaches possess and can pass along to young bowlers. It has also hosted several big time youth events such as the Bowling Combine. That's where USBC is putting its eggs these days, folks. They're putting it with the youth. If we can show youth members the value of the sport, coach them properly, show them that there's scholarship money out there, etc., maybe we can hook a new generation of bowlers and get things moving in the right direction again. I don't know if it's going to work, but I believe that they're doing the right thing by trying. Lord knows it's probably too late to placate all of us old, crotchety bowlers.
The last thing I pose is what alternative do we have? Sure, you can bowl in non-certified leagues, but what is that going to make things better than they are now? Do we want to have bowling be a total free-for-all where no group or organization is doing anything to promote or grow the sport? We can go that route, but you're not going to convince me that it's going to make things better. At least with USBC we have a dedicated group of people working toward that goal and trying things. Again, sometimes they make mistakes and do the wrong things. There's no denying that. However, for $1.75/month, I'm willing to give them a shot because without them, I think organized bowling will die even more quickly than it is right now.
I'm not saying that any of us should be writing testimonials about how great USBC is and all of the wonderful things that it has done. However, who if we turn our backs on the organization, who is going to pick up the flag and TRY to move bowling forward? Who is going to look out for the sport then? Who is going to try to promote it? If you can answer those questions reasonably, I'll listen, but I think I already know the answer because people love to talk, but very few are willing to act!
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Gene
Very well written with a lot of caring thought.
I've always been on the fence about USBC (ABC), but you are 100% correct about most organizations that people complain and never have a solution for the problem.
It all comes down to money or lack of it. In the USBC case it's a lack of it and to get the ship headed in the right direction, they either cut cost or increase revenue.
Seems like they have decided to cut cost. I for one see no problem with the new awards program and would be willing to see a increase in cost for membership.
Gene, thanks for your input, it was well done.
Bob
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So, has anyone answered the OP's question on why we have to activate our card? Gene?
My main gripe is with the USBC website. Very user-unfriendly and has been since it's inception. Example: I saw a post elsewhere on this site about the youngest girl to roll a 300 that had a link to the story on bowl.com so when I went and clicked on that link, the story was there, however, so was a floating linkbar on the left side of the page that stayed in the way of reading the story. This linkbar was for USBC's links to Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Couldn't they put it somewhere where it would not interfere with reading the page? Or made it so that it could either be moved or closed?
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@MI2... I answered with my 1st post.. Its for marketing purposes.
@gene... your position hangs on that this is a company that operates on our $2 bucks a person and that if we had any good ideas we should give them. Well isn't that what the 6 figure execs are hired to do?
also this is not a company that produces anything, it doesn't make a product you can touch it can only market "things" because it doesn't sell a product its main source of income is my entry fee when I bowl their tournaments. I stated before they take 50% right out of the entry fee for the Open Championships. You think this is reasonable?
They don't hold these tournaments out the goodness of their collective hearts, Sure you say there are logistics and costs involved in setting up a tournament as large as the Championships every year, well that's why the cities bid on it, but you would know that since you worked for the USBC. So if the cities have paid the USBC for the right to have the tournament why are they still taking so much of the prize fund? Does this sound right to you? Does it sound right to anybody?
Bowling is in the predicament it is in because of the USBC and the ABC before it, you call it a company, well most companies that has management that performed as poorly as the USBC management has performed would be canned by now. You were canned as a result of the poor management, but upper management still has their positions. You seem indifferent to this fact. If it was a public company as we all own $2 shares in we could have had the board and management replaced, that would be my solution.
I don't mind paying a CEO 6 figures if he actually gave some return on investment, "grow the sport" as the marketing dept says, if the right team was in place we should see membership grow not continue to drop, bowing would not be considered a "game" at lower levels, an honor score would mean something.
This aside I stated the only gripe I have with the USBC is the Open Championships, and it remains my only gripe.