I just got home last night from this year's trip to Reno, my 22nd year doing Nationals.  It's always interesting to listen to the commentary given by those who run the booths.  Some of it is interesting, some outlandish, but it's always entertaining.  This year's crop of comments was particularly entertaining, so much so that I thought I would share a few of the highlights for consideration.  Some of these comments are so strange that I feel the need to promise you up front these were actual statements told to me by the booth staffers.  Believe me, you can't make this stuff up!  I have suppressed names and companies in order to protect the innocent...

 

"_________" is an absolute jerk.

 

"Dual angles are complete marketing hype and have no value whatsoever."

 

"You need to listen to me.  I have worked for this company for 20 years, and I have lunch with the guy who owns the company.  I don't know and can't tell you any of the Rg's or differentials in any of our equipment because none of it matters".

 

"There is no such thing as mass bias.  Stop and think about it.  A bowling ball is round, how can it have a mass bias"? I PROMISE he said and meant mass bias, this was NOT a cgnomaddah comment or discussion. We were talking about the 6-3/4 MB location.

 

In answer to my comment that a particular polished ball I was considering was well known for over/under OOB and needed to have the surface adjusted... "No, that's wrong, you never want to change the surface on a polished ball.  You will affect the reaction that it was designed for.  If you do not like the OOB of a polished ball, then buy a solid ball in the first place".

 

After hearing this year's group of comments, I am more convinced than ever that I did the right thing when I stopped buying balls at Nationals many years ago.

 

 

 

1. The NBS leases out the Lane 81 proshop to a man out of Las Vegas, NV.

2. His employees are those pictured in the Storm FB photo. They are there regardless of tournament/pba stop/womens tournament, etc.

3. They all have a long standing relationship with Storm Bowling. So, I can assume that when Storm comes to the Stadium and those guys are already working there, they man the Storm booth. 

 

My experiences with them have all been enjoyable...

I appreciate all the replies. Please understand that the post in no way indicates or infers that everyone in the booths has a negative customer service personna. The vast majority are positive... However, the comments and attitudes displayed during my experience were both blatant and against all acceptable standards of business or professional behavior. I think you'll agree that all companies have a responsibility to make sure they put their best customer service foot forward. In 35 years of trade shows, both behind and in front of the carpet, I can't think of a single, not one, experience as negative as what I saw this year. Judging from the number of replies and PMs, I think I'm not alone. Shouldn't the correct response be "Hey, if there's a problem, let's identify and fix it" rather than "I had a good experience..." ?