More and more it feels like I'm just the guy that puts holes in the ball.  People come in with requests, demands, or instructions, and any questions they ask just further set or fuel their nearly predetermined idea of what they want.  For a while there I actually started feeling like a professional, or somebody who was making a difference, but as soon as you start butting heads with people, your stomach drops.  If people want knowledge, a pro shop is apparently the last place they go.  They'll ask other coaches, other people, pop on here with questions, but they won't trust their pro shop.  All I keep hearing is, "this is what I want," or "this is the way I hold the ball," or "I want to do it this way."  I'm not happy or content being the monkey on the press, but at the same time I'm in no position to try and influence a change. 

I know I yammer on about the same crap all the time, but I find things a lot easier to take if I have no misconceptions or unrealistic expectations about my situations.  So what do you really want from your pro shop operator?  I'm not saying pro shop guys all know what they're doing by any stretch, but I suppose I don't get why everybody thinks they know more than professionals who do something for a living, and honestly I'm bitter about it.  I don't spend dozens of hours a week thinking, reading, learning, and writing about bowling just to drill someone's thumbhole 3 sizes too big because they like to grip it, yet still complain about that thumb being twice the size of their other one, and won't let me do a thing about it.  I'm sure that sounds arrogant, but it's just insanely frustrating when people won't let you help, it's like dealing with one teenager after another. 

Lol if she's making decisions from a book, she's doing it wrong . .

Well my pro shop I wish would suggest on somethings instead of just going ahead and doing. One she knows what she's talking about but she's reading what the book says. I bought a ball for what I wanted to be a ball to get drilled to the max but instead she drills it to go long. Instead of doing what I asked she did what she thought was right for me which turned out completely wrong. So I now get my balls drilled by the owner of my bowling alley. Some pro shop operators think they know to much, when really all they think they know is what the one paragraph they read from a book.

Ultimately what it comes down to, is when you find someone that gets you the same fit on every ball you drill, and you like the guy that's drilling your equipment, it's worth whatever price he or she is charging you.  I order online, when I want a piece that is nearly impossible to find anywhere.  eBay is a great place to find discontinued stuff, but if it's available from the distributor, I'm ordering it from my guy.

Is it more expensive?  A little bit.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely.  I don't know about the rest of you guys, but any time I buy a bowling ball, it actually pays for itself and then some.  I don't look at a bowling ball as an expense, I look at it as an investment.  If it costs me an extra $20 from what I'd paid to get it online and drilled, then that $20 is the tip he gets from all the money I know I'm going to win.  A good fitting ball gives me that confidence and it hasn't let me down yet.

I pay the extra money to help my guy stay in business.  It took me many years to find someone that did a good job, and now I want to make sure he's there when I need him.

I don't care if he charged full price on the stuff, the fit alone is worth it.  I just had a new ball drilled a month ago.  It's paid for itself nearly 20 x's over what I paid.  Yea I'd say the extra few dollars I paid for it was definitely worth it.

Ultimately what it comes down to, is when you find someone that gets you the same fit on every ball you drill, and you like the guy that's drilling your equipment, it's worth whatever price he or she is charging you.  I order online, when I want a piece that is nearly impossible to find anywhere.  eBay is a great place to find discontinued stuff, but if it's available from the distributor, I'm ordering it from my guy.

Is it more expensive?  A little bit.  Is it worth it?  Absolutely.  I don't know about the rest of you guys, but any time I buy a bowling ball, it actually pays for itself and then some.  I don't look at a bowling ball as an expense, I look at it as an investment.  If it costs me an extra $20 from what I'd paid to get it online and drilled, then that $20 is the tip he gets from all the money I know I'm going to win.  A good fitting ball gives me that confidence and it hasn't let me down yet.

I pay the extra money to help my guy stay in business.  It took me many years to find someone that did a good job, and now I want to make sure he's there when I need him.

I don't care if he charged full price on the stuff, the fit alone is worth it.  I just had a new ball drilled a month ago.  It's paid for itself nearly 20 x's over what I paid.  Yea I'd say the extra few dollars I paid for it was definitely worth it.

One of the best posts that I have read.

In addition to bowling, I love freshwater fishing. There is a small family owned tackle shop not far from my home. I will ALWAYS start there for my purchases. If they do have a product in stock and cannot order it for me, only then will I look online or go to one of the franchise operations. Will I pay more at my local retail store? Of course I will. But I will also get some priceless tips on what is working on the local waters, etc. This wonderful store has been around for several generations, but the business is probably on borrowed time because of the internet. It will be a sad day for me when it closes.

Spider's comments on a good fitting ball are 100% dead on.