BallReviews
Regional Action => SouthWest => Topic started by: bowl400 on December 31, 2013, 05:22:41 PM
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At least one nightmare is over for those of us NoCal AMF league bowlers who had to suffer these last several years. We shall see if another one is starting or hope against hope, things might actually get better.
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What was the nightmare?
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Poor management that drove bowlers away.
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At what center? Sorry...I don't know your whole story and your posts are very vague. I live in NoCal so it would be nice to know what centers to avoid.
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Not any one center. Referring to management of an area. Sorry to be so vague, don't want to end up on any new s**t lists.
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Where in Nor Cal are you? Everything is fine where I bowl. I'm in Sacramento by the way.
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Maybe I can help.
It is AMF centers or the fool operations manager at Strikes Unlimited? Doesn't matter. Bowlmor will screw up AMF's leagues. Their business plan guaranties that they will fail. But AMF Rocklin Lanes has WAY better management than that Dickwad running Strikes Unlimited also located in Rocklin. That tool(Clarence or Ken) had the nerve to tell me that he doesn't care about the bowlers safety and that I was the problem and not the sticky settee areas. I'm a little bitter? Yes. And I'm not the only one that feels this way.
Ken R.
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Maybe I can help.
It is AMF centers or the fool operations manager at Strikes Unlimited? Doesn't matter. Bowlmor will screw up AMF's leagues. Their business plan guaranties that they will fail. But AMF Rocklin Lanes has WAY better management than that Dickwad running Strikes Unlimited also located in Rocklin. That tool(Clarence or Ken) had the nerve to tell me that he doesn't care about the bowlers safety and that I was the problem and not the sticky settee areas. I'm a little bitter? Yes. And I'm not the only one that feels this way.
Ken R.
How will bowlmor screw up leagues Ken? I'm lucky I bowl at Rocklin AMF.
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The person responsible for the Bay Area and Sacramento was replaced from what I have heard.
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This is an interesting thread, as I'm also in the Sacramento area, though I did the bulk of my bowling at Mardi Gras.
I will say that some writing was on the wall when these alleys were putting more money towards remodeling the bar and putting in TVs and screens than replacing 40-year old pinsetters, which they obviously had the money to do, but didn't.
I've only been out to AMF Rocklin once, and that was during the city tournament 6 years ago; I haven't been out there since, so I can't really judge.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there were only 5 - 6 AMF alleys in the area, at least going back to 2003 (when I moved here):
Alpine Valley
Land Park
Mardi Gras
Rocklin
Woodland
Crestview
Half of those are gone, leaving Mardi Gras, Rocklin, and Land Park open. Bowlmor's business strategy may kill the others.
My understanding is that Strikes Unlimited and Strikes Elk Grove have nothing to do with AMF/Bowlmor at all, so they are out of the picture, along with:
Fireside
Country Club
Capitol
Lake
If Bowlmor is indeed under new management in this area, it will be interesting to see what happens, and if they do something different than Bowlmor's strategy, otherwise, expect more of an exodus after this season ends.
BL.
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This is an interesting thread, as I'm also in the Sacramento area, though I did the bulk of my bowling at Mardi Gras.
I will say that some writing was on the wall when these alleys were putting more money towards remodeling the bar and putting in TVs and screens than replacing 40-year old pinsetters, which they obviously had the money to do, but didn't.
I've only been out to AMF Rocklin once, and that was during the city tournament 6 years ago; I haven't been out there since, so I can't really judge.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there were only 5 - 6 AMF alleys in the area, at least going back to 2003 (when I moved here):
Alpine Valley
Land Park
Mardi Gras
Rocklin
Woodland
Crestview
Half of those are gone, leaving Mardi Gras, Rocklin, and Land Park open. Bowlmor's business strategy may kill the others.
My understanding is that Strikes Unlimited and Strikes Elk Grove have nothing to do with AMF/Bowlmor at all, so they are out of the picture, along with:
Fireside
Country Club
Capitol
Lake
If Bowlmor is indeed under new management in this area, it will be interesting to see what happens, and if they do something different than Bowlmor's strategy, otherwise, expect more of an exodus after this season ends.
BL.
But How is bowlmor going to ruin leagues? You have to remember its not just league bowlers that go to the centers. It was a smart move to fix the bar area first being they make more money during open bowling and a lot of them go to the bar and spend more money. I've bowled at all the centers you've listed except one (Lake Bowl).
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This is an interesting thread, as I'm also in the Sacramento area, though I did the bulk of my bowling at Mardi Gras.
I will say that some writing was on the wall when these alleys were putting more money towards remodeling the bar and putting in TVs and screens than replacing 40-year old pinsetters, which they obviously had the money to do, but didn't.
I've only been out to AMF Rocklin once, and that was during the city tournament 6 years ago; I haven't been out there since, so I can't really judge.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there were only 5 - 6 AMF alleys in the area, at least going back to 2003 (when I moved here):
Alpine Valley
Land Park
Mardi Gras
Rocklin
Woodland
Crestview
Half of those are gone, leaving Mardi Gras, Rocklin, and Land Park open. Bowlmor's business strategy may kill the others.
My understanding is that Strikes Unlimited and Strikes Elk Grove have nothing to do with AMF/Bowlmor at all, so they are out of the picture, along with:
Fireside
Country Club
Capitol
Lake
If Bowlmor is indeed under new management in this area, it will be interesting to see what happens, and if they do something different than Bowlmor's strategy, otherwise, expect more of an exodus after this season ends.
BL.
But How is bowlmor going to ruin leagues? You have to remember its not just league bowlers that go to the centers. It was a smart move to fix the bar area first being they make more money during open bowling and a lot of them go to the bar and spend more money. I've bowled at all the centers you've listed except one (Lake Bowl).
- For some alleys in question, they have changed the hours of operation. Some have started to open later in the day (around 4pm). That would effectively kill any senior leagues that would occur during the day (some have leagues at 1pm). They wouldn't be able to bowl their 3 games in less than 2 hours and get out of the way for possible redressing of the lanes before other leagues start (at 6 or 6:30pm).
- Repeat customers. Bowlmor's strategy is to make money off the open bowlers, which gets them into the house. But it does nothing for keeping their repeat business, and that is what brings in their money consistently. By keeping leagues there and keeping the prices low or comparable to the market in that area, you keep your repeating bed of customers that always come in. Raising the lineage and lowering your operating hours is going to LOSE you customers, to the point where the open bowlers will not be able to make up the difference.
- Close pro shops. A few people here who have posted in the Bowlmor threads in the past year have indicated that Bowlmor wants the pro shops in the AMF houses out. That not only eliminates quick access to any accessory, new gear, or coaching at any time. Also, whenever a ball is damaged by the alley, they hand that off to the pro shop to handle, as they sure as hell don't want to give refunds. With no pro shop and aging pinsetters, who will handle ball damage that the alley is responsible for?
A quick search for "bowlmor" in this forum will get you a lot of information on what has happened at various Bowlmor locations, and what could potentially happen.
BL.
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But How is bowlmor going to ruin leagues? You have to remember its not just league bowlers that go to the centers. It was a smart move to fix the bar area first being they make more money during open bowling and a lot of them go to the bar and spend more money. I've bowled at all the centers you've listed except one (Lake Bowl).
Check out the history of Bowlmor on their own website:
In 1994, Darden Business School Graduate Tom Shannon attended a birthday party at the then dilapidated and financially strapped Bowlmor Lanes. The young entrepreneur was instantly inspired by its character and history. Shannon, although not knowing right away what kind of challenges the current owners of Bowlmor Lanes were dealing with, knew that this was the type of place he wanted to use his creativity and instincts to transform. After three years of research and planning on how to build a viable business out of bowling, Shannon secured financing and purchased Bowlmor Lanes. His vision was to inject the tired business with hip design elements, dramatic architecture and a complete remodel of the internal operations. In essence, Shannon’s goal was to make bowling cool again.
The revamp of Bowlmor Lanes saw the installation of video screens, glow-in-the-dark lanes and lane-side food and drink service. Shannon eliminated leagues, a bowling staple that he had been told paid the rent, to ease out regulars who did not cotton to the fancy trappings or the higher prices. His vision soon became a reality.
By 1999, Bowlmor Lanes became the highest-grossing bowling alley in the United States. Today, Bowlmor Union Square stands as the longest continuously running bowling alley on the East Coast. Following the incredible success of Bowlmor Lanes in New York City, Shannon knew that he could bring the Bowlmor concept across the country ...
http://www.bowlmor.com/ (http://www.bowlmor.com/)
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Probably the reason for the late opening hours is that they believe that bowling entertainment is for Parties, Night Life, and Events, most of which does better late at night.
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You have to admit that Mr Shannon was right about his vision. And besides, open play bowlers don't bitch near as much as league bowlers. ;D
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Here are some news articles about Bowlmor and league bowling.
9 Jul 13 - CEO says leagues are safe.
http://www.examiner.com/article/ceo-of-bowlmor-amf-says-league-bowling-very-safe (http://www.examiner.com/article/ceo-of-bowlmor-amf-says-league-bowling-very-safe)
31 Aug 13 - More league closings.
http://www.examiner.com/article/more-league-closings-reported-wake-of-bowlmor-amf-bowling-merger (http://www.examiner.com/article/more-league-closings-reported-wake-of-bowlmor-amf-bowling-merger)
1 Sep 13 - Daytime leagues.
http://www.examiner.com/article/ceo-tom-shannon-offers-hope-for-amf-daytime-league-bowlers (http://www.examiner.com/article/ceo-tom-shannon-offers-hope-for-amf-daytime-league-bowlers)