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Author Topic: Cracked balls  (Read 15844 times)

BeerLeague

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Cracked balls
« on: September 11, 2018, 08:54:09 PM »
In the past 12 months I have lost a Ride, a Snap Lock, and an iQ Tour.  They all cracked all the way around the ball.  They are stored in my finished, climate controlled basement on a ball rack when not in use.  I do not leave gear in the car overnite.

WTF is with all the Storm stuff randomly cracking?

 

BeerLeague

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #16 on: September 25, 2018, 10:24:28 AM »
Update ...

I emailed Storm customer service, sent them photos of my iQ Tour, explained my situation, and they promptly shipped me a new iQ Tour.  I need to pay to drill it, but I'm not worried about that.

It's nice to see a company stand behind their product even after it is out of their standard warranty period.

Bowling Dan77

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #17 on: September 28, 2018, 03:22:03 PM »
I too have a Storm IQ Tour that cracked, after only 5 weeks.  The local pro shop would not even take a cell phone picture and email the manufacturer.  The shop manager actually told me "I don't care" and walked away.  The tech told me "he's having a bad day", but that's no way to treat an existing customer.

Anyway I've called Storm Customer Service and am hoping they handle themselves professionally (unlike Orbdrillers in Mechanicsville, VA).  All I'm asking for is that the manufacturer stand behind their written warranty.  I've been bowling for 50 years and have never had a problem with cracking, but this is my first Storm product.  Hopefully I just got a bad ball.  I know I used a really bad shop but that won't happen again.

I'll post back as soon as Storm returns my call and I have an answer.
12 in a row - is that asking too much?

Bowling Dan77

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #18 on: October 01, 2018, 02:33:18 PM »
Well as others have experienced, Storm reviewed the pictures I sent and is replacing the ball.  I'm a Storm fan for life.

Too bad the shop that sold me the ball wouldn't take 60 seconds to snap a picture and send an email to Storm on their customer's behalf.  Their loss - I'm through with Orbdrillers in Mechanicsville.  Anyone can drill a ball... it takes a little bit of knowledge and experience to do it right and to stand by your customers.  And I was really looking forward to Small Claims Court which would have been an easy win.

Doesn't matter - Orbdrillers doesn't need my money.   
12 in a row - is that asking too much?

earlyrolling

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #19 on: October 01, 2018, 08:16:58 PM »
Brunswick announced anti-cracking technology today:

http://brunswickbowling.com/products/dot

milorafferty

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #20 on: October 01, 2018, 08:37:35 PM »
Now I've heard everything...
"If guns kill people, do pencils misspell words?"

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GentGnoll

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #21 on: October 01, 2018, 09:01:03 PM »
Curious. If This new technology holds true to what Brunswick claims, could we see Big B expand DOT to Radical and DV8? Or is it more a status-quo situation with Hammer and their carbon fiber cover-stocks with Ebonite?

Juggernaut

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #22 on: October 01, 2018, 09:17:30 PM »
Now I've heard everything...

 Gonna be like those “z spin” balls that all got drilled wrong by pro shops that had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

 Instead of learning first, they just throw it on the press and jam some holes in it, then blame the manufacturer for making it “the wrong way”.  (Yes, actually happened here)
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CoorZero

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #23 on: October 01, 2018, 09:26:44 PM »
Now I've heard everything...

 Gonna be like those “z spin” balls that all got drilled wrong by pro shops that had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

 Instead of learning first, they just throw it on the press and jam some holes in it, then blame the manufacturer for making it “the wrong way”.  (Yes, actually happened here)

That was my first thought after reading the linked page. Will be interesting to see what happens.

BowlingForDonuts

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #24 on: October 01, 2018, 11:08:13 PM »
Now I've heard everything...

 Gonna be like those “z spin” balls that all got drilled wrong by pro shops that had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

 Instead of learning first, they just throw it on the press and jam some holes in it, then blame the manufacturer for making it “the wrong way”.  (Yes, actually happened here)

Don't get me wrong love me some Visionary but even now with exception of the Gladiators I avoid the Z spin balls.  Visionary really screwed themselves over on those balls.  Plenty of yahoo drillers but Visionary's roll out well kinda sucked from what I have gathered and market punished them hard for it.
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charlest

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #25 on: October 02, 2018, 03:29:12 AM »
Now I've heard everything...

 Gonna be like those “z spin” balls that all got drilled wrong by pro shops that had absolutely no idea what they were doing.

 Instead of learning first, they just throw it on the press and jam some holes in it, then blame the manufacturer for making it “the wrong way”.  (Yes, actually happened here)

Having gotten stuck by a couple of those Z-Spin balls, as far as I know, Visionary had zero idea what they did and never told anyone until several years later about these balls. They didn't even know they were Z-spin balls, until complaints started to pour in!!
"None are so blind as those who will not see."

bowler001

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #26 on: October 02, 2018, 11:21:36 AM »
DOT should be interesting. Will be nice to see a ball with the marking on it, along with CG and see how clear it is. Also my guess is they will color pin to match ball better so its less noticeable on bottom side of ball. Similar to how some plastics are done. Its not a bad idea. Only takes one cracked ball to lose customers. Most don't know they can warranty balls or its outside of warranty and instead choose to go and complain to friends about it.

vwDiesel

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #27 on: October 02, 2018, 11:41:40 AM »
To the OP:

Do you bowl league with any 2-handers? They caused it.  ;D
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Rightycomplex

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #28 on: October 02, 2018, 03:26:59 PM »
I too have a Storm IQ Tour that cracked, after only 5 weeks.  The local pro shop would not even take a cell phone picture and email the manufacturer.  The shop manager actually told me "I don't care" and walked away.  The tech told me "he's having a bad day", but that's no way to treat an existing customer.

Anyway I've called Storm Customer Service and am hoping they handle themselves professionally (unlike Orbdrillers in Mechanicsville, VA).  All I'm asking for is that the manufacturer stand behind their written warranty.  I've been bowling for 50 years and have never had a problem with cracking, but this is my first Storm product.  Hopefully I just got a bad ball.  I know I used a really bad shop but that won't happen again.

I'll post back as soon as Storm returns my call and I have an answer.

Well as others have experienced, Storm reviewed the pictures I sent and is replacing the ball.  I'm a Storm fan for life.

Too bad the shop that sold me the ball wouldn't take 60 seconds to snap a picture and send an email to Storm on their customer's behalf.  Their loss - I'm through with Orbdrillers in Mechanicsville.  Anyone can drill a ball... it takes a little bit of knowledge and experience to do it right and to stand by your customers.  And I was really looking forward to Small Claims Court which would have been an easy win.

Doesn't matter - Orbdrillers doesn't need my money.   

Ok.... so as an employee of Orbdrillers Pro Shop and knowing the whole story talking with reps and my boss at Orbdrillers, I’m going to handle this as professionally as possible. Storm replaced that ball because my boss called them personally and asked. The crack this gentleman refers to is in the bridge and no company warranty’s a cracked bridge with inserts in the ball. At best it can be drilled out and repaired. Storm themselves does not warranty a ball until it has cracked the whole way around. This gentleman wanted a replacement ball for a cracked bridge which is out of the hands of Orbdrillers Pro Shop. Had the ball split in half we would have been more than happy to replace it with another ball.

Since the customer was adamant about a replacement my boss went out of his way to contact our Storm district sales rep to get a resolution but informed him not to get his hopes up. To his surprise, they decided to replace the ball (he has screenshots of the conversation to prove what I am saying) At this point this gentleman became irate before the decision was made and caused a scene inside the shop forcing my bosses hand to ask him to leave. Since then, this gentleman, has gone on to create fictitious accounts all over the internet to slander our name as a shop. We at Orbdrillers are dedicated to customer satisfaction and am willing to go above and beyond for the customer. I don’t understand this gentleman’s angle but we will continue to welcome new customers and handle issues like this with class and professionalism as they come to us. We will do everything we can within the guidelines of the company’s warranty. I just felt like this needed to be said as it was brought to my attention and as one of the only members of our team with a BR account that could respond.
James C. Jones
Orbdrillers Pro Shop Holiday Bowl
Chester, Va.

Hammer Regional/Amateur Staff Member

www.facebook.com/orbdrillers
Orbdrillers.com
Hammerbowling.com

milorafferty

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #29 on: October 02, 2018, 04:04:35 PM »
I too have a Storm IQ Tour that cracked, after only 5 weeks.  The local pro shop would not even take a cell phone picture and email the manufacturer.  The shop manager actually told me "I don't care" and walked away.  The tech told me "he's having a bad day", but that's no way to treat an existing customer.

Anyway I've called Storm Customer Service and am hoping they handle themselves professionally (unlike Orbdrillers in Mechanicsville, VA).  All I'm asking for is that the manufacturer stand behind their written warranty.  I've been bowling for 50 years and have never had a problem with cracking, but this is my first Storm product.  Hopefully I just got a bad ball.  I know I used a really bad shop but that won't happen again.

I'll post back as soon as Storm returns my call and I have an answer.

Well as others have experienced, Storm reviewed the pictures I sent and is replacing the ball.  I'm a Storm fan for life.

Too bad the shop that sold me the ball wouldn't take 60 seconds to snap a picture and send an email to Storm on their customer's behalf.  Their loss - I'm through with Orbdrillers in Mechanicsville.  Anyone can drill a ball... it takes a little bit of knowledge and experience to do it right and to stand by your customers.  And I was really looking forward to Small Claims Court which would have been an easy win.

Doesn't matter - Orbdrillers doesn't need my money.   

Ok.... so as an employee of Orbdrillers Pro Shop and knowing the whole story talking with reps and my boss at Orbdrillers, I’m going to handle this as professionally as possible. Storm replaced that ball because my boss called them personally and asked. The crack this gentleman refers to is in the bridge and no company warranty’s a cracked bridge with inserts in the ball. At best it can be drilled out and repaired. Storm themselves does not warranty a ball until it has cracked the whole way around. This gentleman wanted a replacement ball for a cracked bridge which is out of the hands of Orbdrillers Pro Shop. Had the ball split in half we would have been more than happy to replace it with another ball.

Since the customer was adamant about a replacement my boss went out of his way to contact our Storm district sales rep to get a resolution but informed him not to get his hopes up. To his surprise, they decided to replace the ball (he has screenshots of the conversation to prove what I am saying) At this point this gentleman became irate before the decision was made and caused a scene inside the shop forcing my bosses hand to ask him to leave. Since then, this gentleman, has gone on to create fictitious accounts all over the internet to slander our name as a shop. We at Orbdrillers are dedicated to customer satisfaction and am willing to go above and beyond for the customer. I don’t understand this gentleman’s angle but we will continue to welcome new customers and handle issues like this with class and professionalism as they come to us. We will do everything we can within the guidelines of the company’s warranty. I just felt like this needed to be said as it was brought to my attention and as one of the only members of our team with a BR account that could respond.

Thanks for sharing the other side of that story James. It did seem a little odd for an established pro shop to have that level of customer service.

To Bowling Dan77; you are a new user here and no offense against you but Rightycomplex has a solid reputation on this site.
"If guns kill people, do pencils misspell words?"

"If you don't stand for our flag, then don't expect me to give a damn about your feelings."

Rightycomplex

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #30 on: October 02, 2018, 05:28:29 PM »
I too have a Storm IQ Tour that cracked, after only 5 weeks.  The local pro shop would not even take a cell phone picture and email the manufacturer.  The shop manager actually told me "I don't care" and walked away.  The tech told me "he's having a bad day", but that's no way to treat an existing customer.

Anyway I've called Storm Customer Service and am hoping they handle themselves professionally (unlike Orbdrillers in Mechanicsville, VA).  All I'm asking for is that the manufacturer stand behind their written warranty.  I've been bowling for 50 years and have never had a problem with cracking, but this is my first Storm product.  Hopefully I just got a bad ball.  I know I used a really bad shop but that won't happen again.

I'll post back as soon as Storm returns my call and I have an answer.

Well as others have experienced, Storm reviewed the pictures I sent and is replacing the ball.  I'm a Storm fan for life.

Too bad the shop that sold me the ball wouldn't take 60 seconds to snap a picture and send an email to Storm on their customer's behalf.  Their loss - I'm through with Orbdrillers in Mechanicsville.  Anyone can drill a ball... it takes a little bit of knowledge and experience to do it right and to stand by your customers.  And I was really looking forward to Small Claims Court which would have been an easy win.

Doesn't matter - Orbdrillers doesn't need my money.   

Ok.... so as an employee of Orbdrillers Pro Shop and knowing the whole story talking with reps and my boss at Orbdrillers, I’m going to handle this as professionally as possible. Storm replaced that ball because my boss called them personally and asked. The crack this gentleman refers to is in the bridge and no company warranty’s a cracked bridge with inserts in the ball. At best it can be drilled out and repaired. Storm themselves does not warranty a ball until it has cracked the whole way around. This gentleman wanted a replacement ball for a cracked bridge which is out of the hands of Orbdrillers Pro Shop. Had the ball split in half we would have been more than happy to replace it with another ball.

Since the customer was adamant about a replacement my boss went out of his way to contact our Storm district sales rep to get a resolution but informed him not to get his hopes up. To his surprise, they decided to replace the ball (he has screenshots of the conversation to prove what I am saying) At this point this gentleman became irate before the decision was made and caused a scene inside the shop forcing my bosses hand to ask him to leave. Since then, this gentleman, has gone on to create fictitious accounts all over the internet to slander our name as a shop. We at Orbdrillers are dedicated to customer satisfaction and am willing to go above and beyond for the customer. I don’t understand this gentleman’s angle but we will continue to welcome new customers and handle issues like this with class and professionalism as they come to us. We will do everything we can within the guidelines of the company’s warranty. I just felt like this needed to be said as it was brought to my attention and as one of the only members of our team with a BR account that could respond.

Thanks for sharing the other side of that story James. It did seem a little odd for an established pro shop to have that level of customer service.

To Bowling Dan77; you are a new user here and no offense against you but Rightycomplex has a solid reputation on this site.

Thank you Milo. That means a lot. And I’m more than willing to be this gentleman’s PSO without knowing him or being in the shop that day. All I can go by is what I was told by both My Boss and Storm.
James C. Jones
Orbdrillers Pro Shop Holiday Bowl
Chester, Va.

Hammer Regional/Amateur Staff Member

www.facebook.com/orbdrillers
Orbdrillers.com
Hammerbowling.com