AMF now Aussie owned. Are we any better off?

[jockey]

Was wondering what bowlers opinions are on whether we are better or worse off now AMF Australia is in Aussie hands.

I don't think much has changed myself in fact the way the computer system change over was handled I think at present I lean towards worse off. Another thing influencing my current opinion is the fact the new pricing structure they introduced did nothing to show we are better off being owned by greedy Americans or as it looks at present greedy Australians.

I don't see how much current market research was done before these prices were introduced.

What do you think?

 

[kurt]

I think generally there is an industry rate certainly that would be the greedy Americans view, has there been a price increase I am not in Australia but in the UK, a game is £2 with league card or £3 without ($4.60-$6.90) how does this equate to Australia.

Regards
Kurt

 

[lordsan]

thats like the price for a coke in our bowling alleys

 

[TheGame]

the organising in amf centres has always been bad and is getting worse, would like to know where they get some of the dropkicks employed their managers included, maybe the new owners' should look at upgrading there staff for bowlers satisfaction

 

[tonx]

the organising in amf centres has always been bad and is getting worse, would like to know where they get some of the dropkicks employed their managers included, maybe the new owners' should look at upgrading there staff for bowlers satisfaction

your statement would mean more with your name put to it....


I think the managers of most AMF centres are doing a great job atm. There are a couple of kinks to work out, but the centres that I have been bowling at have been great recently. There is more and more social bowlers comming in for some fun, with the recruitment people trying to get them into leagues. This is a GOOD THING FOR BOWLING!!! The more the merrier!

Although you will get the occasional 'dropkick,' (that are idiots on purpose, always have been, always will be) Most employees are just doing their day job, and doing it very well, especially for award wages...

I think AMF is improving down here, with new oiling machines being ordered, more brands of bowling balls being ordered, and upgrading computer systems (altho very slowly,) the guys @ AMF are doing a great job!

congrats guys!

Andrew Tonkin

 

[da_cowman]

Just make the prices in the care remotely believeable. $3.90 for a large syrup Coke is stupid. Maccas is just down the road selling their Supersize for around $2.50. Why get it at the bowl? Also I believe we had a Coke Can Vending machine that DOUBLED IN PRICE when AMF took over our centre... I mean please...$3.00 for a can of coke. Make the prices competive. $2.50 for the large coke, yes i know its 20c cheaper then what the small is now but hey. Coke Cans should go for no more then $2... ever. Make the prices resonable and more people might start buying it regualrly instead of when there is no other option. (eg practicing late and Maccas is closed.) It not that hard is it???

Later Da Cowman!

 

[CV]

I think AMF need to concentrate a little more on keeping their good staff that genuinely put in an effort and are always trying to look out for the bowlers in their centre instead of keeping some of the ass-licks that are employed in some of the centres. Alot of the good staff are finding employment in independent centres. The question asked would seem to be WHY?

I'm hoping AMF can sort things out, for the sake of our sport.

 

[Sinful Sinister]

Like me l'm good staff
Even from my point of view the prices are a bit high, and organisation wise its getting there slowly a mean bowl australia didn't take over straight away marketing wise unforunately both companies (AMF and Bowl Aust) still act under their own banners and prices remain different and AMF bein higher. l mean now their tokens have gone up by a 50c so that way you by a token for a doller AMF makes money thats what it is all bout Money wouldn't have a problem if our pays went up too

But l think the prices are crazy and they should come down also managers are going through staff members and seeing whose bad and whose good. They need good staff that will work and get the job done not ppl that wanna get paid doing nothing. But next 12 months will tell story because by then the teething stage of new bosses would have settled down. So yeah till then.

 

[BrenH]

From a staff point of view its not up to us to set the prices for games, tokens, food and beverages etc. Its up to us to sell it!!!
Whether we agree with the current price structure or not our job is to sell the product.
The staff at a lot of centres deal with customer complaints about prices on a daily basis and every customer who disagrees with the price strucutre takes it out on the counter and cafe staff who are only selling what they are given to sell.

I know that since the buyout by Macquarie we have turned over several staff in the centre i work at. Management felt these staff members were underperforming in their jobs and have found some good staff to replace them.
There will always be staff who the customers feel are less than efficient and generally detrimental to the overall operation of the centre but that will always be the case.

Considering it is roughly 6 months since the company was bought i think its far too early to tell whether or not this is a good thing. Give the new management a minimum of 12 - 18 months to make their changes and then lets ask the same question.
Until then.

As Tonx said Posts do mean more with a name attached.
Brendan Hanton

 

[Leggi_23]

I use to bowl in an AMF center, I have recently move to an independant center, and you know what, the staff can't do enough to help and that includes the actual manager who is in the center every night when there leagues are running even though there are many things to be done.

The cost is much better to the bowler, even the cafe food is better and not as costly.... League bowlers get special rates at bowling and discounts in the pro-shop and he cafe, which all helps in the long run.....

If AMF want to keep bowlers and not keep loosing them, they need to do something fast, BUT they need to win the trust back from the bowlers first, WHICH will take a dam long time................

I for one will not bowl AMF unless in an event, which is another topic all together.....

Roy has alot to answer for..............................

 

[stormy]

I think generally there is an industry rate certainly that would be the greedy Americans view, has there been a price increase I am not in Australia but in the UK, a game is £2 with league card or £3 without ($4.60-$6.90) how does this equate to Australia.

Regards
Kurt

In Canberra one game costs $13 and 3 games $22 which equates to 5.50 - 9.60 pounds. Prices are for social bowlers and it does include shoe hire for the fist game.
To bowl league it cost $5.50 per game or $16.50 for 3 games, add prize fund it could then reach $22.00 or 9.60pounds per league. (AMF & Bowl Aust) the other centre is independent and is therefore cheaper.

Colin

 

[steve]

Yeah well it's all well and good to put s**t on the staff & managers at the center's but have you actually worked at center level and thought about it from our point of view we bust our arse's to keep our bowlers happy and it just dosent seem to matter. As was said we have no controll over pricing but committment to bowlers seems to be over looked. With all the changes that have taken place in the last six months Ithink most of us have done extremley well. I am a senior assistant manager at a center in sydney and can tell you when the new computer scoring system was put in we had half a days training on it and were expected to be experts at the end of that half a day. Mabey if some bowlers were a little more sympathetic to what staff put up with not only from league bowler but from d***head social bowlers it would be ok but we battle on with smiles on our faces cause you know what I love what I do and wouldn't give it up for the world.

 

[Resurrection]

I have worked at centre level and lets put it this was some of the Assistant Managers I have worked with or seen in action from a bowlers point of view, you would have to swear that the only way they got the job was that they were the only applicant. By the same token I have worked with some AM's that were brilliant and never got given the chance, instead Moron Managers get given the shot and make it hell on earth for the techs.

Matthew Lambrick

 

[steve]

Yeah I have to agree moron managers are hell on earth I happen to work with one he is a total contol freak and put no trust in the staff he has behind him even though most of us have worked in the center longer and know our bowlers better than he ever will. But even so dont put s**t on all the staff some are only as good as the training they have been given as I said I love what I do and am good at what i do and mabey bowlers should appreciate that.

 

[Rowey the li'l lefty]

If AMF weren't so greed money-wise, they would probably get a lot more credability. They're losing a battle fast. The biggest problem they have is the absolutely ridiculous prices they put on things. I'm wondering if they'll ever at the least fix their money problem

Bubyee

Rowey

 

[Phluff]

Was wondering what bowlers opinions are on whether we are better or worse off now AMF Australia is in Aussie hands.
.
.
What do you think?

I think in the long run that we will be far better off. The changes currently going through the AMF network may be a pain now, but will make life alot better once complete. The new owners have invested in a company that needs alot of work to make it successfull again.
It isn't enough to have a centre with good lanes and a high scoring condition. Bowling centres today must compete with alot of other industries to gain bowlers, both league and social. We have chains like Strike and Kingpin offering boutique lanes that are a hit with social bowlers while league numbers have been in decline for a long time.

Likewise, the cost of bowling, along with everything else, is always going to change. You can't serriously sit there and complain about the difference in price between now and 1998. While the price rise may be more than you thought, it was always going to happen across all centres sooner or later. A corporate image is about uniformity, in prices as well as image. Is it too expensive? Feet through the door will answer that one.

What AMF centres have needed for a while is a change in direction and someone to drag them into the current decade. I think that Roy is just the man to do this, and that if you give it time to take effect you will see how good it is. I know that league bowlers will love the kegal's and Prodigy in each centre, much as the bowlers at Keon Park are already. Once it's all installed fully, they will enjoy Computer Score's ease of use and reliability. Give it time. Six months is NOT alot of time to change direction of a company like AMF.

In the meantime, I'll remain bowling at my centre and only venture to an AMF to enter a tournament. Just cause I think it's headed in a better direction, doesn't mean it's the bowling chain for me!

 

[Dj bruv on da mix]

Do you Honestly think amf are losing the battle???... Nah i dont think so, there are not to many Companies out there that will shell out HUGE dollars for a business that is not viable and has not preformed, You do the maths, i think we get looked after ok... i Know that paying around $30 (dont qoute me) for 3 games... or as a league bowler 4 games 15.00.... They are here to make a profit just like the rest of us, Amf has a a good product, but there is no doubt that it Could and Should be a better product!!!.... You Pay peanuts You will get monkeys!!...

Mark Foster

 

[Rig]

AMF will be far better off because it is actually controlled from here, instead of America. For a long time, the Australian business of AMF helped prop up the whole AMF empire, because we do pay more for our prices. I will have you guys know that the wages are at least twice to three times the cost here as in the states, and the UK. It does cost a hell of a lot more in Australia to run a bowl than in the states. Alcohol revenue in the states offsets bowling costs in the states to keep the prices of games low. It is easy to charge $4 a game and charge $4 a beer. Profit is easy.

The Australian bowling culture is different than in America. The conditions are harder here, (in most centres) and the Aussie culture is that you play hard, and competitivly in league. Not a hit and a giggle like in the states to a degree. Australian Liquor Licence requires that we can only serve alcohol with a meal in most centres, and with duty of care and liability, it is easier to not have the alcohol. It does come at a cost, and that is higher cost to play. I don't like it, and I love bowling. I bowl in an independant centre, and it costs us $4 a game for league players to practice. I think that is fair. I don't know what AMF charges, but it used to be similar to that.

I think that AMF will get better and better. The investment in Computer Score is great for all of the bowlers. It really is. Let the staff get trained on it and give them a break. Not only is it visually appealling, but the standing sheets given are good. The system also allows for brackets, and web based integration, so that your scores can be seen online. Look at www.newcastlesuperstrike.com and see how they do it on the web. I know is a small thing, but it is pretty cool.

The sport needs all of our patience at the moment, and our support. This whole forum has turned into a big bitch session lately, and maybe, just maybe we ought to give just a little slack for a couple of months, and let Roy and his team roll out his changes. Maybe we should just have a topic on constructive suggestions to AMF.

Bowling is a great great game. It is like golf for lazy people. We hit up the ball and it comes back to us! How cool is that????

 

[Jennie]

Bowling is a great great game. It is like golf for lazy people. We hit up the ball and it comes back to us! How cool is that????

Rig,

I agree that is a great game ... however I have been telling my doctor that I was getting plenty of exercise bowling - I just hope that she doesn't see your last comment!

Jennie

 

[ilive2bowl]

I usually don't comment on subjects such as this...but it is important for all of our staff and valued League/ Tournament bowlers to understand that AMF will, under my stewardship, be run on the basis of respect - respect for our staff at all levels and respect for our most valued customers. This does not mean that underperformance will not be addressed - it must and should. Our company operate 46 centres and each of those have their own personality as influenced by that centre's management team. I get really upset when a staff member 'bags' the company as I run an open door policy and strive to achieve fairness throughout the chain and if there is an internal problem I (or the regional manager) should hear of it. Our customers are really not interested in internal issues - they demand (and are entitled) to the very best service we are capable of delivering. However, there will always be people (who for their own reasons) can simply not be satisfied.
To answer the question directly.......I would not have returned to AMF had there not been a change to Australian ownership. I believe that under Macquarie Leisure's ownership of this business, bowling will prosper as a Sport - we are working tirelessly to improve the quality of our service - starting with major refurbishment works being undertaken to improve the operation of the equipment and improvement in lane conditioning and moving on to upgrading the look and feel of the centres across the chain. Obviously this can't be achieved overnight but the process has begun and will continue until all AMF centres meet all of the expectations of our customers.
The two centres currently under development at Woodville in Adelaide and Blacktown in Sydney will showcase the Sport of bowling in the most magnificent way and set the benchmark for developments to come -
The entry by Macquarie Leisure into bowling is an enormous boost for bowling in Australia - this will be seen in tangible ways.