AMF now Aussie owned. Are we any better off?

[TheGame]

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.

lets get it right You do not bust your arse full-Stop and yes I have worked at a amf centre

 

[TheGame]

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

you're dead right and not just the managers'

 

[Leggi_23]

Ok, something that roy said in his last post about blacktown.......

Blacktown was as far as bowlers knew, was a bowl australia centre even before MLG Took over AMF.

Do you blame the staff for comments, they have been treated bad since i have been bowling in a AMF centre...... that's been for awhile.

Listen to what they have to say and fix it....... then AMF may not loose bowlers

 

[Samael]

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.

So what you are saying is that a customer has to put up with incompetence because staff are inadequetly trained. Thats surposed to be ok? we are surposed to make allowances for that? If someone isnt qualified to hold a position they dont deserve it, if training is required it is managements responsibility and you should be giving them a kick up the arse for their short comings.

If this was any other business, telling a customer to cut them a little slack because staff are falling short just wouldnt happen. It's like a black hole exists within the bowling industry, there isnt any code of practice, no real duty of care and no real example of industry set practice, this is part of the problem.

 

[smalley2000]

I think that it is too early to judge if Australian Bowlers are worse or better off with AMF being under Australian Ownership. I think Roy has made an excellent point by stating that the improvements will not happen overnight.

I think that we need to let AMF to roll out there marketing plan and give them time to settle things down. It is only six months since the new ownership has taken place, this is not enough time to make judgements.

I have worked under Roy and have the upmost respect for him, I think that if he is given the right tools, then it is going to be good for Bowling in Australia. Lets see how the improvement to the quality of service goes over the next six to twelve months and see what happens to bowling after that. I agree with Roy that bowling can prosper as a sport under Macquarie Leisure, Lets Give It time to work before it is shoot down because I think that if that happens, then it will only be bad for our beloved sport.

I will also back up Roys comments on an open door policy, when I was working for Bowl Australia, I always knew if I had a problem I could talk to Roy about it and I have no doubt that he has helped many staff members over the years.

Yes, I know that I have been critical at some decisions made so far, but at the same time I am prepared to give AMF time to imporve. Hopeful we will see this improvement Roy has talked about in the next year.

Matthew Small

 

[TheGame]

I think that it is too early to judge if Australian Bowlers are worse or better off with AMF being under Australian Ownership. I think Roy has made an excellent point by stating that the improvements will not happen overnight.

I think that we need to let AMF to roll out there marketing plan and give them time to settle things down. It is only six months since the new ownership has taken place, this is not enough time to make judgements.

I have worked under Roy and have the upmost respect for him, I think that if he is given the right tools, then it is going to be good for Bowling in Australia. Lets see how the improvement to the quality of service goes over the next six to twelve months and see what happens to bowling after that. I agree with Roy that bowling can prosper as a sport under Macquarie Leisure, Lets Give It time to work before it is shoot down because I think that if that happens, then it will only be bad for our beloved sport.

I will also back up Roys comments on an open door policy, when I was working for Bowl Australia, I always knew if I had a problem I could talk to Roy about it and I have no doubt that he has helped many staff members over the years.

Yes, I know that I have been critical at some decisions made so far, but at the same time I am prepared to give AMF time to imporve. Hopeful we will see this improvement Roy has talked about in the next year.

Matthew Small

so you think 6 to 12 months will help I reckon you should pull your pants back up Matthew cause companies can dye in the arse in that period of time plus not one amf centre works together instead they are trying too hard to out do each other and who is paying for this the bowlers'

 

[tonx]

thegame: Noticing a trend that everyone that is for AMF at the moment has put their name to the post.

(provoking deliberately) Are you scared?

Businesses need more than 6 mths to completely turn around something going in a downward spiral. Bagging them isn't going to do anything to help that cause

Andrew Tonkin

 

[philby]

I read with interest all of the comments written here and i have to state one thing. Why do people not sign there names to there posts. Is it because they fear recrimination for there comments. I think so. But in reality this is a free world and the forum is a place were you should be able to state your feelings without recrimination.

Now will AMF be a better place with Roy and his team running things. I would hope so. They took over a company that had no goals, no direction and no real leadership. Will it be hard for them to succeed, my oath it will. It will take a minumum of 2 yrs to turn things around. I have to admit I was sceptical but the promises are starting to flow through already. A kegel at Keon Park, Numourous upgrades planned. You have to understand that these things come at a price. A simple upgrade of a computor system would cost them $100,000s of thousands of dollars. Remember there updating 46 centres not just your local centre.Work it out new computors, consols, paint schemes, staff training, and so on. It doesnt come for free. Have you ever got a quote to paint your house. Yer exactly, a fortune. Now imagine the cost of painting a bowl and most of it done out of hours i.e. midnight till dawn attracting extra wage costs.

Will Macquary and the new team make AMF a success, YES it will take time but it will happen and why am i so confident. Cos if it doesnt then bowling as we know it will not excist. No leagues, no tournements nothing, just social play. And i think the people running things know that without a vibrant and healthy league/tournement system in place tenpin bowling will disappear from the scene and that i do not want to see.

So please everybody give them time. Accept the changes that are taking place. They are happening for a reason. Dont bag the staff (and yes my wife works at AMF so my life will be much more bearable if shes happy) They are all trying as hard as they can. Remember they are dealing with new technology and trying to learn this while still providing you with service. Can they do it better. Of course they can but give it time.

Well thats my say and please people sign your name to your post cos we dont always know who you are.

regards
Phillip Allen
Keon Park Bowl

 

[Graham]

Remember there updating 46 centres not just your local centre.

I liken this to eating an elephant - it needs to be done one bit at a time.

 

[tonx]

I liken this to eating an elephant - it needs to be done one bit at a time.

u been eating elephants again Graham?

 

[BrenH]

Mmmmmmm Elephant

 

[granat]

That's the second biggest lunchbox I ever saw!

 

[TheGame]

thegame: Noticing a trend that everyone that is for AMF at the moment has put their name to the post.

(provoking deliberately) Are you scared?

Businesses need more than 6 mths to completely turn around something going in a downward spiral. Bagging them isn't going to do anything to help that cause

Andrew Tonkin

so if I put my name in will all the amf problems go away (NO) and stating a fact is not Bagging dude get it right

 

[lordsan]

To be honest seeing the lane conditions at cannon hill and mt gravatt lately i think we a better off, and i think they are trying to improve everything they are spending money and swapping staff to set an enviroment for league and tournement bowlers while making it enjoyable for the social bowlers who pay a far greater prices then we do, give it a year or two and you guys will notice the changes.

 

[tenpinyo]

Yeh i reckon the changes are beginnin to be noticable already with lanes conditions improving at top ryde already, even though it was a bowl aus centre already. The prob it seems though for a while is that amf centres only wished to please their social bowlers even if their league bowlers were not happy. Under Roy though i think that this could an prob will change. Roy understands that league bowlers know what they are talkin about usually and that it is these people that truly need to be satisfied, not drop kick social bowlers that like destroying the lanes by throwing 8Lb balls 35ft down the lanes on the full.

Yes change is goin to take time, and we just need to put up with it if we want better centres to bowl at in the future. So if u want better centres to bowl in then shut up and stop whinging about the short term set backs that are happening.

Joel Ninyo

 

[jockey]

I posted this topic to see how everyone felt about this. Afterall even though it has only been six months I thought we had not seen a lot of positives in that time.

However after reading Roys and all the other replies I agree that maybe we owe him the chance to get everything in place. I also thank Roy for posting to the forum.

I will offer the following advice and suggestions to Roy.

I think the initial price structure that was put in place in all the AMF centres (especially the practice rate) was too high to achieve results in the time frame that most companies would find acceptable.

The Computer Score implementation has been poorly handled from a bowler and IT professional perspective. I would have thought integration with existing lane consoles would have been an absolute must in the implementation policy. It certainly would have eliminated alot of the angst showed by bowlers and spared the counter staff the unwarranted abuse they all received in the process. Not to mention the disruptions and delays to leagues, that has and still are occurring.

Though rebranding would be costly now I suggest that this would be the next step in the redevelopment of the product in this country. The two groups should become one under the banner of Bowl Australia. This would clearly Identify the centres as Australian.

Changes in policies to ensure that all centres work as a whole company rather than the current situation whereby they seem to be competing against each other for custom.

I hope this advice has been constructive and a help.

I agree with others who have posted here that if you are not going to put your name to your posts then you shouldn't post at all to any forum.

I look forward to seeing the Macquarie group allowing bowling to prosper as a sport in this country but will reserve my judgement for another 12 months.

 

[kzar]

Hi Terry,

It's Kathy fromQueensland. I believe it's pretty much the same but Tony Goodwin is making some great changes and pulling the centre staff intoline which is great. I can see the difference as a bowler.

Hope to see you at ECCC this year.

Kathy

 

[mongoliantreesloth]

I don't know whether this is relevant but we've just finished a have-a-ball league and for two games per week we were charged $16, including shoe hire. Covers the cost of the ball as well I guess.

This evening we were told our new league would still be $16 per week, however we would now have to pay shoe hire on top of that, and no freebie ball or whatever at the end of it. "Piss-take" I thought.

What we've now settled on is $16 per week for two games, and each person gets a "free" pair of shoes at some point during the league.

If we hadn't complained we would now be paying more, for less.

I don't know whether this is a result of the takeover but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

 

[holden]

it doesnt make that much difference for the simple fact no matter what they do they will never please everybody. for example lane conditions for league i bowl in sveral cash leagues and sub most other nights and bowl a lot of tourneys aswell and the conditions vary from day to day. when you have a large sized league with lots of different styles of bowling it makes it next to impossible to suit the condition to all of them. esspecially those who wont move out of their comfort zone or the ones who say there s no backend but the ball starts hooking at the 20 foot mark thanks to synthetic lanes. then if they put more oil down you get carry down within three frames and start leaving more off spot pins. either way amf have their work cut out for them!!!

ill shut up now

good luck!!!!! :-$

 

[sallylicious]

Having worked for both AMF and an independant owner, for this transition to work the new owners of AMF should treat each centre as if it was their only centre. The problem I found with AMF was that you had GODS in their ivory towers making decisions without seeing or visiting each centre. We were made to put in practice some awful deals that were ok for the big Sydney centres were their clientel matched their demands but were not appropriate for our socio or economic climate,which meant that our revenue did not come up to their standards and therefore we were given ultimatums and bad ratings.Now we are independant and actually can see and talk to our owner(who by the way is very approachable), I met some of the previous managers or owners of AMF 4 the first time only when they came to collect their stuff b4 the new owner took over.Our new owner takes the time to listen to any suggestion we have and many of our suggestions are now in practice, it also helps to have a Manager that is also approachable because she started out as one of us, just a grunt, and has worked her way up.

So please listen to your staff. they are the ones who deal with both social and league bowlers every day and what they say and see can make or break a business, they do have valid opinions and comments .

By the way this is Sandra and not Sally.