Author Topic: Experience at USBC booth... (Read 5676 times)

tenpinspro · « **on:** May 22, 2007, 05:52:51 AM »

Hey there guys/gals,

Just sharing my experience at the booth at the USBC open.

shipper50 and I walk up to the booth to try and weigh his ball. He uses "Tom Thumb" inserts but forgot them in his room at Circus and he had his knee swell up on him so I didn't want him to walk back and forth.

Initial encounter walking up to a blond at the booth:

Me: Hi, I'm Rick Leong from Ten Pins Pro Shop in Alameda, California and Track Staff. Can you tell me if Jason Wonders' email account is working correctly? I sent him an email about a month ago trying to ask for pro shop pricing for a Centaur AMB particle (I wanted to try and see if I could just open up the lanes (too late...bowled last week..) from what I heard about this ball).

Blond: (confused look on her face) I don't think we have a Jason Wonders working for us. You sure that's his name?

me: ummm..Yes....(confused look on my face now) uh..oh

Blond: Let me ask Frankie.....(goes into the back, talks to Frankie...comes back out)

Blond: Go talk to Frankie...

me: okay, thanks....(I proceed to the back where Frankie is drilling a ball) Introduce myself again...Hi Frankie, Is Jason's email working correctly? Does he still have that same account?

Frankie: Heard you had a problem with Jason.

me: No problem, just checking to see if his email account that's listed on the website is correct? I asked for yada,yada,yada....we all miss stuff from time to time being busy and all, I understand.

Frankie:I'll tell him he messed up....what do you need?

me:I wanted to try to the Centaur AMB...yada,yada

Frankie: Oh no, you don't need that...too much ball out here.

me: yeah maybe but Frankie you don't know my game. How much tilt I have or what my game is like these days...

Frankie: oh, you don't need that. You need that Ogre out there for $139.95...

me: Frankie, I'm in the business...I own a shop...(just told him that 20 seconds ago)

Frankie: oh, okay....I can give you this (yada, yada)

me:Ummmm.... (with no disrepect) Okay Frankie, thanks for your time....(tells the blond to give me his card, she does)

me: shipper, let's go to the Ebonite booth, that's my new family now.

Go to Ebonite, introduce myself to Mr Calhoon (great guy btw).

They said they didn't have "Tom Thumbs". Told us to see the Visionary booth. Told them we didn't get much help there but if we get the thumb insert, they'll help us weigh the ball (that's all me and ship wanted).

Second encounter at Visionary: Doh! I see some Tom Thumbs right in front of me(I was a little hung over from the day before).

me: Talking to the blond....excuse me, can I borrow this sleeve for a second and I'll return it?

Blond: Turns her head to watch the screen at the Banger booth...

me: excuse me...

shipper50: (started packing up his stuff) Rick, let's go...she heard you...

me: (being dingy)...huh?

shipper50: Let's go Rick, it's alright, we'll go somewhere else...

That in a very long typed out version of what happened....I apologize for the length but it sums up my experience at Visionary. I met and bowled with Rich and John in Wisconsin 20+ yrs or so ago (I like them and respect them very much)...I like their philosophy but this was not good....

--------------------
Rick Leong - Ten Pins Pro Shop
Vise Inserts Staff
Dexter Advisory Staff

Tag Team Coaching - Co-Founder

See profile for Track Ball videos

*El Presidente of the Track Legion

KDawg77 · « **Reply #1 on:** May 22, 2007, 02:04:05 PM »

Rick,

That's sorry to hear and disappointing. The only email I've used to contact Jason was VBPadvertising@AOL.COM throught the website. Hopefully, he'll see you posting here since he has the Q&A board.
--------------------
Texas is neither southern nor western. Texas is Texas - Senator William Blakley
http://www.myspace.com/lefthandedhammerpride
http://members.bowl.com/FindAMember/memberView.aspx?mp=418&ms=2006&s=2006-2007

triggerman · « **Reply #2 on:** May 22, 2007, 02:12:43 PM »

yeah disappointing to say the least Rick, I had a great conversation with Frankie (no blonde to deal with) did exactly what i asked of him and being a visionary shop, he gave me my pricing on the ball, and charged me for drilling, did a great job. Although you are right he is convinced of the ball to use out there, I inquired about a frankie may, an AMB centaur solid, and the ogre solid, his take was the centaur was the ball, but my mind was already made up and went with the ogre

must have been a busy day or the "on track staff" threw him lol, anyway he is a great guy and would have talked your arm off, sounds like misinformation from his counter girl and then him not having time to spend with you
--------------------
www.bowlingballexchange.com

Triggerman

F.O.S Loud, F.O.S. Proud

Lane #1 Baby

tenpinspro · « **Reply #3 on:** May 22, 2007, 03:49:41 PM »

Guys, you know me.

I've probably "never" posted anything bad about anyone but this was not good..

--------------------
Rick Leong - Ten Pins Pro Shop
Vise Inserts Staff
Dexter Advisory Staff

Tag Team Coaching - Co-Founder

See profile for Track Ball videos

*El Presidente of the Track Legion

shipper50 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 22, 2007, 03:52:24 PM »

quote:
quote:
I am suprised the blonde wasn't mesmerized with your charms, Prez. You should have told her you were the Prez of the Track Legion.....and you had a nice cigar and a blue dress for her. LMAO

I am surprised she could see him standing in front of the counter.
--------------------
Tracy

TEXAS CONNECTION

She couldn't have missed me standing next to my little buddy. I mean I am 6'1 265 pounds of quivering passion

as my buddy Frog used to say.

I will also add, Rick had it right word for word. I think she was in another world from the way she acted.

Shipper

VBPadvertising · « **Reply #5 on:** May 22, 2007, 05:36:03 PM »

Hi Rick,

First of all, let me apologize for what happened in Reno. I can assure you that it is not the norm, and is not acceptable. This should never happen to anyone. I am not aware of who the blonde was you were speaking to, but I can only assume that it is someone that Frankie has hired for part time help to manage the shoe portion of the booth while Ramiro Sanchez or Ed Shuler have some time off. I will speak with Frankie, and express my disapproval of the way you were treated.

As far as the email goes, I'm not sure why I wouldn't have received it. I did a search of my entire email history, and I could not find an email from you (all emails are automatically saved on my computer). It is possible that for some reason AOL sent it to my spam folder, and I might have missed it before the system automatically deleted it. I am sorry I missed it.

I wish that you had given me the opportunity to try and rectify the situation prior to posting it on here, but I do understand how you could be frustrated with the situation. If there is anything that I can do for you, please feel free to contact me on my account here or my email at vbpadvertising@aol.com

On a side note, if anyone tries to email me, and I do not respond within a day or so (except maybe on the weekend), please try to email me again and change the subject line. I try to catch all of the legitimate emails that go to my spam folder, but sometimes it's hard to tell what is spam and what is an real email.

Jason Wonders
Visionary Bowling Products

Edited on 5/22/2007 5:36 PM

shipper50 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 22, 2007, 08:11:44 PM »

quote:
Very nice, Jason. You could have just overlooked it, but you decided to bring your attention to the situation and are in the process of trying to rectify it. I knew you would once you seen the post, as I have been watching you post back and forth to all the members on here, answering every single question too!

I like the way you do business and conduct yourself, Jason. That is the cherry on the top for most customers. I think that maybe Rick's incident is an isolated one and hope it is. I do see a tendency of the booth workers to be frustrated throughout the day, especially later in the days.

As far as the blonde, you can probably chalk her people skills to her age. This is not to say all young people are like this, because they aren't. But a lot are lacking proper social communicative skills.

They lack discipline from the authority figures in their lives.

But that is another story....lol!
--------------------
Marlene Sixkiller
May this Angelic Bowler
rest in peace.....1/5/39-10/29/04

Track Hitman
Fighting terrorism since 1492

Hustle (Big_Daddy_357) and Flow (ME aka, Daddilac, The Caddilac of Daddies!)

Unleashed Fury with No Mercy!!

I would bet she is at least 6-10 years old than you Six. That doesn't make it right and maybe she was having a bad day as the incident I had in the Ebonite booth.

Shipper

C-G ProShop-Carl · « **Reply #7 on:** May 23, 2007, 04:22:01 PM »

I want to add this:

I called Visionary in March. I left my number and never got a return phone call. I do not remember who it was that was supposed to return my call. I have spoken to someone from just about every company....this was the worse service I have had.

I did not call back. I feel that if my call was important they would have called me back.

-Carl
--------------------
Carl Hurd
C-G Pro Shop (owner/operator)
Youngstown Ohio

Tag Team Member #1

TAG TEAM COACHING!!!!!!/Co-Founder

C-G ProShop-Carl · « **Reply #8 on:** May 23, 2007, 04:23:34 PM »

I did not stop at the Visionary booth at Nats this year. All I can say is that I heard the ultimate disappointment in Rick's voice for being treated the way he was.

Consider this: he stopped to try to get some help for a bowler....one that could have been a Visionary customer in the future. I am sure that this has had a much larger impact on Shipper and his opinion of Visionary than it had on Rick.

-Carl

--------------------
Carl Hurd
C-G Pro Shop (owner/operator)
Youngstown Ohio

Tag Team Member #1

TAG TEAM COACHING!!!!!!/Co-Founder

VBPadvertising · « **Reply #9 on:** May 23, 2007, 04:43:51 PM »

Hi Carl,

I am sorry that you feel that way, because I did return your phone call. According to my notes, you called me on March 5, 2007 at 2:22 pm, requesting a seed ball. I returned the phone call on March 6th and left a message on either a voice mail system or answering machine (notes just say "left message"). I attempted again on March 7th, but did not leave a message that time. I regret to say that from looking at my notes, March 7th was the last attempt I made, and I must have forgotten to follow up beyond that point.

I can assure you that these attempts to contact you were made. If you would like me to call you tomorrow, just let me know and I will try calling the number I have on file.

Sincerely,
Jason Wonders
Visionary Bowling Products

Bar5003 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 23, 2007, 04:53:47 PM »

I have been dealing with Jason & Company for just a short amount of time here, but what i have seen so far is a professional, organized, and customer service oriented company. Jason came off right away as a very diligent individual, taking pride in his company and his livelyhood! I figured he would respond to this and i was correct...

Its a shame that there was this bad experience, as i have heard MANY good experiences with the visionary booth, but i am sure that Jason will do everything in his power to rectify the situation.
--------------------

~Britton~

Visit my website www.amf300reviews.com

Edited on 5/23/2007 4:52 PM

rackattack · « **Reply #11 on:** May 23, 2007, 08:04:04 PM »

Vent:

quote:
I called Visionary in March. I left my number and never got a return phone call. I do not remember who it was that was supposed to return my call. I have spoken to someone from just about every company....this was the worse service I have had.

I did not call back. I feel that if my call was important they would have called me back.

Reply:

quote:
Hi Carl,

I am sorry that you feel that way, because I did return your phone call. According to my notes, you called me on March 5, 2007 at 2:22 pm, requesting a seed ball. I returned the phone call on March 6th and left a message on either a voice mail system or answering machine (notes just say "left message"). I attempted again on March 7th, but did not leave a message that time. I regret to say that from looking at my notes, March 7th was the last attempt I made, and I must have forgotten to follow up beyond that point.

I can assure you that these attempts to contact you were made. If you would like me to call you tomorrow, just let me know and I will try calling the number I have on file.

Sincerely,
Jason Wonders
Visionary Bowling Products

Carl it looks maybe YOU should have called back.Might have gotten that freebee.
--------------------
It's all about the X

imjouster · « **Reply #12 on:** May 23, 2007, 08:56:47 PM »

I have been dealing with Visionary since a little before the Violet Gargoyle came out (about 3 years). And I must say I have NEVER had a bad experience. I have called Jason and Jeff numerous times and they are always quick to return my phone calls and are 2 of the friendliest guys I know. It is a shame that they had this problem at the booth this year (I wasn't there). I also feel bad for Carl because there was obviously some miscomunication and now Carl sounds soured on what is IMHO the friendliest and most professional bowling ball company around right now.

I'm writting this response because I want anybody who may have had any problems with visionary to give them another chance. I can personally guarantee that they will not dissapoint you.

Jeremy
--------------------
"Strive to be perfect, that is afterall the only way to become perfect."

"If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans."

Taken from Desiderata

Proud user of Columbia 300 and Visionary Bowling Products

JOE FALCO · « **Reply #13 on:** May 23, 2007, 10:00:19 PM »

Probable I don't belong here commenting as I never had CUSTOMER SERVICE contact with VISIONARY .. guess the reason is I've never had problems.

I now have three VISIONARY balls including the OGRE SOLID and PEARL .. I think they make terriffic bowling balls. As far as CUSTOMER SERVICE I've been reading questions and answers to/from JASON WONDERS and I think the guy is doing GREAT!

There's been too many positive things said about VISIONARY and I'm convinced this was an isolated case that happened in RENO!
--------------------
Hit them light and watch them fight
J O E - F A L C O

rackattack · « **Reply #14 on:** May 23, 2007, 10:33:20 PM »

Isn't Cecil in the booth this year?Last year he checked out my gear(only one out of four was Visionary)and resurfaced two of them.The man saved my weekend.

The Charcoal Executioner he set up for me turned out to be the money ball in Corpus Cristi.The Storm he set up was it for doubles.

The airport snowed in the weekend I scheduled this year and I missed Reno but one of my highlights is always the Visionary and Brunswick Booths.
--------------------
It's all about the X

Author Topic: Experience at USBC booth... (Read 5676 times)

tenpinspro

Experience at USBC booth...

KDawg77

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

triggerman

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

tenpinspro

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

shipper50

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

VBPadvertising

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

shipper50

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

C-G ProShop-Carl

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

C-G ProShop-Carl

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

VBPadvertising

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

Bar5003

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

rackattack

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

imjouster

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

JOE FALCO

Re: Experience at USBC booth...

rackattack

Re: Experience at USBC booth...