Author Topic: Proshop ideas (Read 8940 times)

completebowler · « **on:** January 19, 2010, 10:18:30 PM »

Gonna be opening a proshop in the next few weeks and am looking for any tips/ideas/comments from other operators especially, but also thoughts from consumers on what they have experienced and what new ideas you would like to see.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Edited on 1/20/2010 8:42 AM

s1nger1 · « **Reply #16 on:** January 20, 2010, 11:25:52 AM »

This is one that gets me is when you have a customer that buys a ball of the internet. Treat them with respect and give them the same service you would had they bought the ball from you. You may earn yourself a new cutomer. Nothing sends me out the door faster than listening to an owner/operator talking down a customer "cause bought it from somewhere else".

born2bowl2 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 20, 2010, 11:36:44 AM »

quote:
This is one that gets me is when you have a customer that buys a ball of the internet. Treat them with respect and give them the same service you would had they bought the ball from you. You may earn yourself a new cutomer. Nothing sends me out the door faster than listening to an owner/operator talking down a customer "cause bought it from somewhere else".

Plus drilling an internet ball is purely profit. You make $40 or $50 for an hour of your time and a few pennies of electricity. I use to love drilling balls bought on-line

jls · « **Reply #18 on:** January 20, 2010, 12:05:53 PM »

quote:
quote:
This is one that gets me is when you have a customer that buys a ball of the internet. Treat them with respect and give them the same service you would had they bought the ball from you. You may earn yourself a new cutomer. Nothing sends me out the door faster than listening to an owner/operator talking down a customer "cause bought it from somewhere else".

Plus drilling an internet ball is purely profit. You make $40 or $50 for an hour of your time and a few pennies of electricity. I use to love drilling balls bought on-line

Triple AAA+++, I don't know where people get the idea that pro shops hate people with outside balls...

Drilling outside balls has been a big part of the pro shop business for the last 12 years... It's nothing new...

Sure all pro shops would love to sell the ball... But that isn't always going to be the case today.... If people think they can save buying online, they will....

And in some cases, I find that some who buy online, buy many new balls a year... Therefore a pro shop will end up doing a lot of business with them...

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jls

completebowler · « **Reply #19 on:** January 20, 2010, 12:41:09 PM »

Thanks so far for everything guys....keep it coming. Got some great ideas.
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jbruno6 · « **Reply #20 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:07:08 PM »

baccala's post was a good read

I guess the pro shop rats are all over.

I would put a nice sign for customers to read while browsing showing all types of drills, and what their relation is to ball motion. I tend to buy equipment just to try different layouts, and there HAS to be people like me everywhere (I hope). Something like the lanemasters drill spec sheet in a sign or banner:

http://marketing.lanemasters.com/LM_Ball%20Drilling%20Instructions_09.pdf

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A half ten is not a great shot. No, you shouldn't have carried it.

tgs300 · « **Reply #21 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:35:56 PM »

Adding to what Coolerman posted about recreational bowlers and changing shop hours...as a bowler who enjoys taking the family out to cosmic bowling for fun, I don''t think I''ve ever seen a proshop open later in the evening.

How hard would it be to add a couple of blacklights to the shop...and swap out the "hook monster" on the shelf for something that shows up under the blacklight?

Same with shoes....make the merchandise attractive to the bowlers that are there to cosmic bowl!

Edited on 1/20/2010 2:53 PM

Spider Man · « **Reply #22 on:** January 20, 2010, 01:38:29 PM »

Keep decent hours. 2 hrs a day doesn't cut it.

Don't hire the house hack to be your helper. Most avg. folks will be turned off by the hot shot.
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Scott Brown for US Senate

Imagine Whirled Peas

Doug Sterner · « **Reply #23 on:** January 20, 2010, 02:01:10 PM »

The best pieces of advice I can give you (in addition to what has been said):

1. Bend over backwards to help the junior bowlers..afterall they are your future business and many adults will throw their kids at you first to see how you operate before they trust you with their own equipment and purchases.

2. Do not try to carry everything on the market. Stock a few balls that you are confident in and know will work for most of the bowlers in your house. Once you establish yourself, expand with what people ask for. Stock a few popular shoes in the popular sizes.

3. DO NOT special order anything without it being paid for up front. This is the simplest way to get yourself behind on the bills.

4.Tthis goes along with #3...Do not put holes in the ball before the customer fully commits to the sale and agrees on the price. Do not let the ball leave the shop before you get paid for it.

5. Keep this in mind...you are providing a service for the customer that they cannot do for themselves. Do not sell yourself short. Do not work for free. If the sign says a resurfacing is $35 then charge $35. Loyal customer discounts can apply but again, don't sell yourself short.

6. This is the biggest of them all....make sure you have a firm agreement (in writing is always the best) with the owner of the center as to what your role is in terms of the day to day operations of the center. Some questions to consider getting answers to:
**How much is the rent? Will it drop over the summer when traffic is slow?
**Do they run "get a ball" leagues? How much are you going to get per ball to drill them?
**Does the center owner sell anything to the customers? Shoes, accessories, bags or even balls? My center owner started this crap with me this year. Started selling balls to his buddies for what I charge, pays me the drill fee and then keeps the rest for himself.
**Are you responsible for repairing lane damage as part of your rent or will you get paid for it?
**Do you get your own phone line, internet etc? Is there an option to accept credit cards for payment through the center?

I know it's a lot to think about but I have really gotten hosed in the last year from my center owner. I never thought about 1/2 of this crap until it happened to me.

I am a small town shop in a 24 lane house. Don't hesitate to drop me an email or PM if you need help with stuff. I am always willing to help out so my same mistakes don't get repeated.

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Doug Sterner
Doug's Pro Shop
Owego, NY
http://dougsproshop@aol.com
www.dougsproshop.net
Lane 1 Buzzsaw...The Official Power Tool Of Bowling
For Real Time Interactive Bowling Conversation:
BowlingChat.net

thefreestyler1 · « **Reply #24 on:** January 20, 2010, 02:03:08 PM »

Running some sort of "rewards" program, I think, would be an incentive for buyers to get a few bucks back on their purchase and ensure they return to your shop to buy more. I really liked that KKBowl was doing that, and now that's all I buy from. Plus they've always treated me very well and have a nice, knowledgable staff. They inform me about what types of drilling options I can go with and overall theyare just plain helpful. I live in CA and I go to Nevada to buy my balls, so that shows you how far customer service can go

Doug Sterner · « **Reply #25 on:** January 20, 2010, 02:10:21 PM »

OH almost forgot a big one for me....

Do not be afraid of used equipment. Many of my on-shelf display balls are used balls that I have picked up from guys on here.

I plug them up, resurface them and use them for displays. This accomplishes several things...

1. lowers your overhead while expanding the number of balls you have available
2. provides the customer a chance to get a higher priced ball for less money

and the big one...

3. you get to show off your skills at plugging and refinishing. If you show people that you are willing to take the time to match the plug color to the ball AND resurface the ball to look like new, that will go a long way to showing them your competency level

I'll add more as I think of stuff for you....
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Doug Sterner
Doug's Pro Shop
Owego, NY
http://dougsproshop@aol.com
www.dougsproshop.net
Lane 1 Buzzsaw...The Official Power Tool Of Bowling
For Real Time Interactive Bowling Conversation:
BowlingChat.net

completebowler · « **Reply #26 on:** January 20, 2010, 02:36:58 PM »

quote:
OH almost forgot a big one for me....

Do not be afraid of used equipment. Many of my on-shelf display balls are used balls that I have picked up from guys on here.

I plug them up, resurface them and use them for displays. This accomplishes several things...

1. lowers your overhead while expanding the number of balls you have available
2. provides the customer a chance to get a higher priced ball for less money

and the big one...

3. you get to show off your skills at plugging and refinishing. If you show people that you are willing to take the time to match the plug color to the ball AND resurface the ball to look like new, that will go a long way to showing them your competency level

I'll add more as I think of stuff for you....
--------------------
Doug Sterner
Doug's Pro Shop
Owego, NY
http://dougsproshop@aol.com
www.dougsproshop.net
Lane 1 Buzzsaw...The Official Power Tool Of Bowling
For Real Time Interactive Bowling Conversation:
BowlingChat.net

Thanks for the ideas Doug...had definitely planned on the used ball aspect as we own a few hundred balls between us.

You have some good rules to stick by and I may have some more detailed questions down the line concerning how the various merchandise tends to do. Will probably look you up in a few weeks.
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OddBalls · « **Reply #27 on:** January 20, 2010, 02:38:04 PM »

I like Doug's idea for the used balls..

I split the selling price of the ball with the pro shop and he keeps all of the "labor" cost (He said he'd love me more if I threw #15). He does a good business in this.

Also, don't try and oversell a ball to someone who can't/won't/doesn't know how to use it. I've seen this happen a lot..

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Yes. it's I, the Inverted One..

Wilbert · « **Reply #28 on:** January 21, 2010, 10:34:22 AM »

Customer service keeps the people coming to you vs the internet.

You have to be aware that the internet is one of your competitors just like the guy down the block. So pricing is an issure to many people.

Be able to speak in terms the beginner/average bowler can understand. RG, differential, flare doesn't mean anything to a lot of people.

Know the customer's style/experience before you drill him a ball. If you don't, you might end up putting the pin next to a person ring finger for flare and later find out he throws a backup ball.

completebowler · « **Reply #29 on:** January 21, 2010, 11:30:31 AM »

Thanks again to all that contributed. I picked up quite a few good ideas.

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Pinbuster · « **Reply #30 on:** January 21, 2010, 12:31:11 PM »

Do quality work and don''t be afraid to charge for it.

Give full attention to the current customer, the next guy in will get their turn.

A large percentage of your first time customers will be buying their first ball and another good percentage will have fit problems.

Learn to fit bowlers so they don''t have pain and have consistent release regardless of style, without having to experiment several times. A ball that doesn''t fit is worthless. Some are driven purely by price but only few will leave you if you fix their pain(s).

Edited on 1/21/2010 1:57 PM

Author Topic: Proshop ideas (Read 8940 times)

completebowler

Proshop ideas

s1nger1

Re: Proshop ideas

born2bowl2

Re: Proshop ideas

jls

Re: Proshop ideas

completebowler

Re: Proshop ideas

jbruno6

Re: Proshop ideas

tgs300

Re: Proshop ideas

Spider Man

Re: Proshop ideas

Doug Sterner

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thefreestyler1

Re: Proshop ideas

Doug Sterner

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completebowler

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OddBalls

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Wilbert

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completebowler

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Pinbuster

Re: Proshop ideas