Bowling in the Gutter

[Mistagear]

Is bowling in the gutter?

The following article was published in the first issue of the new Interfun Magazine (Issue 1, 2014). The entire issue and the article (on pages 28-31) can be found by clicking here.
You can find our CEO Randy White's reply to Roger Creamer at the end of this story. It was not published in Interfun and is being published here for the first time..
Is Bowling in the Gutter? (debate)
No way, says QubicaAMF's Roger Creamer, arguing a mix of family and sports bowling keeps the global industry healthy.
In one corner Randy White, CEO of the White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group, an international feasibility, design, production and consulting company specializing in leisure and entertainment venues, argues bowling operators need to embrace a new breed of bowler instead of clinging to old-school sports league standards. In the other corner Roger Creamer, who heads upQubicaAMF's Middle East office and a bowling 'missionary' of considerable fervor, argues bowling isn't in the gutter but that there is room for open play and sports bowling to happily co-exist. White prefixes his points on bowling with the heading: "Paradigm paralysis has bowling in the gutter", a point which Creamer contests with great passion.
Randy White, White Hutchinson
There's a disruption, a nascent revolution, underway in bowling that is starting to undermine the status quo that the old guard continues to defend. Unlike many bowling operators who are prisoners of the past and suffer from paradigm paralysis, new entrepreneurs, many with no history in bowling, are stepping in to offer new types of bowling experiences, which are bringing them success while older bowling alleys are become extinct. As evidence of this extinction, between mid-2008 and mid-2013, the number of commercial bowling centers in the U.S. declined by 14%, yet at the same time the population grew by 4%.
This revolution is being brought about by societal changes. The first and most significant change is that the customer market which leagues were comprised of, predominately an 8-hour shift worker on a regular schedule, is mostly history and along with it the old bread and butter of bowling, the league itself. People no longer are willing to make any type of long-term commitment, let alone for a large number of consecutive weeks. We now live in a time-pressured, spontaneous culture.
Leagues were based on the 'sport' of bowling. So bowling facilities and leagues had to meet USBC (United States Bowling Congress) stringent sanctioned league requirements, including offering ten-pin bowling with all its rules, equipment and maintenance requirements.
Today leagues are a minor market segment of bowling and are on a declining trajectory. Over the last 5 years, the number of USBC certified league bowlers in the U.S. has dropped 30% to 1.7 million, less than 5% of all bowlers. Even if uncertified leagues are included, league bowlers are still less than one-fourteenth (7%) of all bowlers. However, most new entertainment venues that offer bowling, typically with additional entertainment attractions, still build their bowling based on USBC sport bowling standards. Most bowling capital equipment suppliers continue to perpetuate this standard in their offerings, even in emerging economy countries where there is no ten-pin sport bowling tradition. The conventional wisdom of using these design standards is preventing bowling from achieving its full potential.
Another barrier to achieving full potentials is that most new centers, as well as renovated ones, continue to market to both leagues and casual bowlers, attempting to cater to two completely different customer segments. The centers are trying to dip their toes in the future while keeping a foot in the past and as a result end up nowhere near their potentials.
There can be no doubt that the future of bowling is the casual social customer (often referred to in the industry as the open-play bowler) who could care less about USBC standards. In fact, many aren't even concerned about their scores. They just want to have some fun while rolling a ball and socializing with friends or family. And fun for many, especially children and women, is not trying to throw that awkward heavy ten pin bowling ball with the three holes for your fingers. Talk about offering an unfriendly way to have fun.

And why do we need those monster pinsetters with their multitude of parts that require a full time mechanic to keep them operating? The casual bowler could care less about what spots the pins as long as it works. And those long lanes that take up so much real estate, the casual bowler could care less if they meet USBC length standards. Heck, to keep the casual bowler safe as they often go over the foul line, they could care less if the first foot or so of the lane is even oiled. And speaking about length, the casual bowler could care less about the exact length of the approach.
The USBC standards that continue to be followed as bowling's standard are a major obstacle to meeting the potential bowling has to attract casual customers. A few innovative bowling entrepreneurs have seen the light. They are using string pinsetters; they are shortening the lanes and approaches. We are even seeing new centers under development that are looking back into the history of bowling before the USBC (formerly ABC) dominated bowling and are bringing back duckpin bowling, a truly friendly form of bowling for all players that uses a much smaller, much lighter, palmable ball. In fact, 184 older duckpin and candlepin (which also uses a small ball) centers have survived the proliferation of ten-pin bowling in the U.S. due to its user friendliness. Our company has centers under development in both the U.S. and SE Asia that will have duckpin bowling with string pinsetters on shortened lanes and approaches.
There's another societal change that new successful developers understand: today bowling has a lot more competition. With all the very affordable in-home digital entertainment options available that no longer require you to leave home to enjoy great social entertainment options with your family or friends, the bar has been raised for what it takes to attract customers. The new developers also understand that there has been a social stratification of out-of-home entertainment with a market share shift to the higher socioeconomic and aspirational customers. What this means is that you have to offer a luxury experience in an upscale atmosphere to win today. Unfortunately, most existing bowling owners who try to move into the future by renovating their facilities still target the fast shrinking middle socioeconomic market with non-luxury remodels and so-so food, missing their greatest market opportunity.
The new entrepreneurs don't even consider themselves in the bowling business. They see bowling only as a part of a larger synergistic socialization mix that includes an upscale atmosphere, contemporary food and beverage offerings, great hospitality and service, and often, other forms of entertainment. For them, bowling revenue is no longer in the majority.
To find success, more bowling centers need to free themselves from USBC-design-and-operations-paralysis and design and operate to attract contemporary casual customers.

 

[Mistagear]

Roger Creamer, QubicaAMF
Asked if I would like to respond and give an opposing view to Randy White's "Paradigm (not sure if I understand what the word "paradigm" means) paralysis has bowling in the gutter", my first view that is totally opposed to Randy's is that "…bowling is in the gutter." But as I read through Randy's other comments and observations, I found that on a number of aspects I do not have a view that is opposite.
The statistics that Randy quotes are accurate but somewhat misleading. It is true that membership of USBC has declined and I will take Randy's word for what he claims is a 30 per cent fall off. Similar declines have been seen in other countries where "sport" bowling used to be strong. I do however dispute that 1.7 million USBC members are "less than five per cent of all (US) bowlers." They are far, far, far less than five per cent. Randy is suggesting that there are something over 34 million bowlers in the US, when in fact the number is twice or maybe more than three times that number-that bowl at least once a year. However, what Randy's numbers do not show is that the 1.7 million USBC members and another 1.35 million or so non-members are in bowling centres most weeks of the years, sometimes several times and bowling on each visit a multiple of games.
A typical league bowler will bowl 100 or more games per year and a considerable number would bowl that in a quarter of that time. While many of the 60, 70,80 or whatever million open play bowlers will not break into double figures. The exact number may be in dispute, but not by much, 50 per cent of all games bowled in the US are bowled in either leagues or tournaments by member and non-members of the USBC. Put another way, by Randy's numbers, half of all games bowled are done by only seven per cent of all bowlers. They don't participate in string machine centres and only on the USBC laid down standard lanes.
I have no argument with Randy's claim the "societal" changes have had a profound impact on the bowling business. He's right in that the number of people prepared to commit themselves to turning up at their local bowling centre at a particular time, on the same night every week for around 34 weeks is few. I love the business that I'm in and used to play at international level but now I couldn't or wouldn't make that sort of commitment.
Despite Randy's claim, there are substantial numbers that want to compete and the creative bowling centre operator has continues to satisfy these demands with shorter seasons and innovative formats.
And how can a bowling centre achieve its "full potential" if five per cent (Randy's numbers not mine) are told they are not wanted because they want to compete? Last year over 70 millions Americans bowled at least once during the course of the year. If the industry lost the three or so million competitive bowlers it would need to find around 35 million more open play bowlers to place them or face an almost total collapse.
"Open play" bowlers are not interested in USBC standards, correct, and the majority probably don't even know what the letters stand for anyway. Yes, they do want to have fun with the family or friends but no, they don't want to do that not knowing the score. By its very nature bowling is competitive. I have run bowling centre management classes for years. I have often said in front of a class that bowling per se is boring. Roll a ball and knock down some pins only for some annoying mechanism to stand them up again, return the ball and demand you do the same thing again. It is only when people and scoring are added to the game does it become "fun".
There is certainly room for a shorter lane game with lighter and smaller balls. But those products are readily available without the need to bastardise the traditional game of ten-pin bowling. A few examples exist where short lane games are installed alongside full-size bowling and in every instance the full-size version is the bigger attraction even among women and children who Randy claims are unable to have fun with the heavier ball and the longer lane.
Bowling certainly has more competition than it has ever had but when it is considered just how much competition together with the current challenging economic conditions many other businesses could be completely wiped out. Fourteen percent reduction on the number of centres (in the US), that's not so bad. What Randy fails to mention is that the bowling business continues to expand in almost every other market outside of the US.
This is a healthy debate and there are a number of things that Randy writes with which I totally agree. Bowling centres do need to seriously consider the constantly changing environment in which they operate and need to continually adjust their offering accordingly.
I am an employee of a leading manufacturer of bowling products and I will quickly add that the preceding and what follows are my thoughts and not those of my employer. This year on February 1 I will have been in the bowling business for 50 years, in both bowling centre operations and products and in 40 or more countries. I therefore think I've earned the right to have an opinion. I'm not embarrassed to admit being an old timer but I work with some of the most innovative products that are exceptionally easy and relaxing to use and keep the game of bowling fun, exciting with extended social reach.
The future success of the bowling centre business does not rely wholly and solely on the "open play" customer, but nor do I believer or ever did, that it should be dominated by sport. Randy's views, not surprisingly, are US-biased but look outside and there is a very clear picture of the formula for success. Where bowling came to a country for the first time and was driven by sport it boomed and quickly died. When it was introduced exclusively as a leisure activity, it did exactly the same-failed.
Success relied upon getting both of the two primary customer segments open play and competitive. It could be achieved in one bowling centre that wants to accommodate both sport and leisure customers or it can be achieved by two centres close to each other where one concentrates on one segment while the other serves the other.
Something that Randy does not refer to is that there are too many bowling centres in many parts of the world that I would not enter with my pet crocodile let alone my family-and thankfully a number of those disappeared among the 14 per cent of bowling centre closures in the US. But that is another debate for another time.
that appeal to the casual bowler come on-line.

 

[Mistagear]

Randy's reply to Roger (not a part of InterFun's original article)
Roger, congratulations on your 50 years in the bowling industry. However, I wish you had looked up the meaning of paradigm before replying, as much of your reply clearly demonstrates the conventional wisdom of bowling's old guard that continues to hold back so much of the industry from its full potential.
First off, for the statistics you argue I am wrong on, The Sports & Fitness Associationconducts very statistically significant surveys (42,363 on-line interviews) on the number of U.S. bowlers every year. Their data shows that there were only 48,600 people age 6 or older who bowled one or more times in 2012. This is very consistent with a similar annual nationwide survey by the National Sporting Goods Association that found 46,400 bowlers age 7 and older in 2012. No Roger, as much as you and QubicaAMF may wish there were 64 to 96 million bowlers, the number is far less.
Concerning how many games league bowlers bowl versus casual bowlers, the data doesn't support that "50 percent of all games bowled in the US are bowled in either leagues or tournaments by member and non-members of USBC." The data shows that only 10% of bowlers bowl 30 or more times a year. Furthermore, it's not the number of games bowled that equates to a center's revenues and profitability, but rather the revenue per game bowled. The per game revenue from league and tournament bowlers is far less than from casual bowlers, as they get a discounted per game bowling rate, bring their own bowling shoes and eat and drink far less. And sport bowling requires the bowling houses to have those complex free-fall pinsetters that have over 1,500 moving parts and require the expense of hiring a full-time mechanic to keep them running properly.

Duckpin balls​

​

Roger, concerning what you call "short lane games," I don't think you understand what duckpin bowling is. It's not mini-bowling that you appear to be referring to. Duckpin bowling is on full width and length lanes. The difference is that the duck pins are smaller and the ball is smaller, lighter and palmable, similar to a candlepin bowling ball, so it is much more user friendly. It was one of the original forms of bowling back in the 1800s. Today there are still approximately 150 duckpin and candlepin bowling centers in the U.S. that continue to be very popular for casual bowling, especially by women and children (read more about the duckpin bowling).
I totally disagree with you Roger that "success relies upon getting both the two primary customer segments open play and competitive. It could be achieved in one bowling center that wants to accommodate both sport and leisure customers." Those are two completely different types of customers with two completely different values, wants and needs. When you try to focus on two completely different types of customers, you can't end up maximizing the appeal to both as you have to compromise the ideal experience for both. Today success is achieved by focusing on the causal social customers. Yes, Roger, as you suggest, the answer is that you can have two different centers in the same area, one that concentrates on casual bowlers and the other that concentrates on sport bowlers. The problem is that it doesn't make sense to concentrate on the rapidly declining sport segment (13+ times a year bowlers are down by almost one-third in 5 years and all indications are that rate of decline will continue) unless you own one of the older bowling alleys that can't attract the modern causal social bowlers who demand a far more upscale environment with quality contemporary food and beverage. Hopefully the sport-focused alleys won't be one of the ones where Roger won't visit with his pet crocodile. The problem is that many of the older alleys are not crocodile-friendly to the casual bowlers either, which is temporarily resulting in a five-year 13% decline in their participation (far less than for the sport bowlers). That decline should stop once more of the new upscale centers

 

[jimcross]

Good God! I'm Not Sure if bowling's in the gutter, but I'm having trouble trying to rise from it, having read all that.

 

[amagill]

You actually read all that Jim? You must have a lot of time on your hands.

 

[AJD]

Summary for those without time to read:

New way with apps: good
Old traditional sport: bad

And heaven forbid if you want to take the sport seriously and abide by all the necessary (old guard?) rules and specifications! Randy White seems to think that these are stifling bowling. Heck, lets just make it all up as we go along?
- Ball too heavy? Let's all use foam (Nerf-style) bowling balls. Or perhaps one the size of a cricket ball.
- Can't knock all the pins down? Let's reduce the number. Perhaps three in a row.
- Lanes too long? Let's all bowl on half length lanes - should do wonders for averages as well.
- Too awkward with that underarm shot? Let's allow an overarm shot. Might have to put nets up around the lane to avoid cross-play.
- Foul line getting in the way? Just remove it altogether! Why not let the bowler walk up to the pins?

Even in local knock-about cricket the basic rules and specs are followed. Otherwise it is just not cricket. Sure, the backyard pitch is smaller, but if the local council's (school's, sporting club's) facilities are used, they will be built to spec.

(I feel better now)

 

[Mistagear]

I just returned from Bowl Expo, my impressions during the trade show.
A disproportionate amount of area for the show, occupied by amusement industry trade displays (for a bowling industry show)
Much activity/interest during the show was centred around "sideshow alley"
Of the bowl industry supplier displays, many Co's seem like they are struggling to survive in the industry, also had little interest paid during the show.
Many Bowling Alley owners I spoke to, keen to express how they (have already/are going to soon) diversify their business towards amusement based incomes.
Several "new" to Bowl Expo Co's are manufacturing string machines with mini lanes.
Without exception, all contributors are selling bowling as "fun" not as a genuine sport.

Does not take much imagination to join the dots, bowling is becoming part of the Amusement industry and will not be long before lanes are being removed to make way for new amusement machines. Unfortunately, bowling as sport is disappearing.
Might already be too late to reverse the trend.

PS. I dont think Apps were mentioned, nothing to do with the article

 

[Roysa]

I don't think Bowling as a Sport will die in my lifetime... It wont get back to the numbers of the 70's and 80's if you like but it wont die.

 

[jimcross]

I don't think Bowling as a Sport will die in my lifetime... It wont get back to the numbers of the 70's and 80's if you like but it wont die.

Hey, Roy----give us a bit of a clue how old you are, so we can get some idea how long we might have ! For instance might want to flog our bowling gear before the last centres dissappear.

 

[Roysa]

I'd suggest your age is more relevant than mine if that's your concern Jim

 

[willey]

Bowling has been through tough times before. In the 60's after a whirlwind start to Bowling in Australia, it died around the recession in 1966, Brunswick made the decision to pull out of Bowling in Australia.

It took many years until it started to pick up again, I believe it was due to prices of Games, the prices stayed around 50 cents per game, with 25 cents for children, for many years and they only ever increased the prices by 5 cents and many years later 10 cents at the most.

The Centres were Gold mines in their heyday but they cooked the Goose when they kept increasing prices. To give you an example, when the GST was to be introduced, AMF in their wisdom had their usual increase at Christmas time than they increased again just before the introduction of the GST, which further increased the prices by 10%, but they topped it off with another increase at the next Christmas break. That's when the Downward Spiral started, I used to observe the open bowler customers walk to the Counter with their Family and ask for 2 games each, when the friendly Control person would ring it all up than inform them that it would be $80 dollars thanks, the usual reply was we will only have 1 game each thanks, that was the last time you ever seen them, these bowlers never expected to pay more than $5 a game and I still do not believe they should to this day be paying any more for a game.

Other bad things I seen with pricing over the years was many Centres did not have a Children's price after 6 o'clock at night everybody was charged Adult prices, Bennetts Green, where I worked for 10 years, had a policy of charging from 6 o'clock on a Saturday night extra for Moonlight bowling even though the Moonlight didn't start till 8 o'clock, years later they wondered why Saturday night was the worst night of the week, Doh. The silliness of having Childrens Games nearly the same as Adults, even to this day my Son took his 3year old Daughter bowling at Warners Bay, he came home complaining it cost him $26 dollars for 1 game each, he's never going to go back again, how many people are we going to scare away from the game before they come and try again. It's all about supply and demand if the business model does not meet the Customers expectations than your out of Business.

My observations were mainly through AMF Centres, my last Center I worked at was Mayfield Bowl, the bowlers there were still charged the same price for a game as AMF's newest Center, even though it still had the original Wooden Lanes and Overlane Ball Returns, that would have looked old in a Flintstones Cartoon.

The unfortunate thing about this was while AMF was shooting the Goose, (they stopped all discounting before they sold the Company) all the Independent Centres followed them down the slippery slope as if they knew what they were doing not realising AMF had a different Agenda. I expect those Centres who wake up to fact that they are charging too much will renew the Sport, if people come back and find it affordable you will probably get repeat Business.

Just my opinions and observations.

willey

 

[jimcross]

I'd suggest your age is more relevant than mine if that's your concern Jim

Roy - I was only selflessly thinking of others. I am quite safe There will always be a centre for me to use. Come on now, think of the greater good, and 'fess up.

 

[Roysa]

Let's just say bowling has 50 years left. By then imagine the gear we can use on the 18 foot lanes

 

[Phluff]

Willey: You want $5 or less game rates? Fine, just convince the government to reduce wages and convince utility companies to stop increasing rates. The rise in prices has nothing to do with a grab for money and everything to do with the fact entry level casual rates are almost double what they were 12 years ago. The reason that "old" center charges the same as a brand new one is they don't get a discount on wages/utilities/parts just because they aren't shiny and new, if anything it costs them more to run.

Regarding the main articles.... bowling as a sport will not disappear. It might not be the lions share of the games, but there will always be people who want to compete. The thing is that those people are no longer enough to keep centers alive by themselves so they must look to alternate revenue sources. Amusement machines, laser tag, trampolines, string machines, half lanes and pool tables will all play their part. Yes, some centers will target only social, but that's not a sign of the end of days.

 

[willey]

Phluff, I know what wages are like now, the period I wrote about happened years ago, so many increases but my wage did not hardly change for 15 years whilst working in Newcastle. Example in 1990 I earned $615 per week or $15.50 an hour, when I left Mayfield in 2005, 4 days a week as a Casual, guess what I was earning $15.50 an hour, so where is the justification of all those game increases, the people working in bowling Centres did not get pay rises, the Head Servicemen working down the back did not get the same pay, I know the head mechanic working in the biggest Centre in Sydney at Parramatta was the lowest paid of all and was threatened with dismissal if he didn't like it, so the Supervisor moved him to Fairfield, because he was not appreciated by his Manager or Her Regional Supervisor.

I was earning a good wage in 1990 as I was Supervising 5 Centres down the back, 2 in Newcastle and 3 in Sydney. I returned to just being a Head Serviceman in 1992, Six years I asked for a pay increase but I never got one and it was hard when I was earning more than the Manager, so She was no help to me, She couldn't even get herself an increase. Like the Mechanics the Managers were all paid at different rates and I'm talking hundreds of Dollars more than the others.

I did finally get an increase in1998, only a modest $30, I used to bowl in a couple of Leagues a week in the early 90's but I refused to bowl when I waited so long for a pay rise, so the Centre lost out for their Scrooge attitude. That year I left and went to Mackay Bowl for less money but I needed a change, I wasn't appreciated, and I only had to work 5 days a week, which seemed a like a holiday compared to working 6 days a week for half my life. Unfortunately I had to leave Mackay as the place was sold whilst I was there and the new Owners had no idea, it was like working in a Mental Asylum. The head mechanic had no idea (not me ) the lane conditions were terrible, all the Bowlers complained, some Bowlers would drive over 100 k's away to Bowl in better conditions. I had to leave, tried to get a job in Mackay but not to be. So I rang a Friend to get back with AMF and they offered me Mayfield ( the worst running Centre in all of AMF ) that's o/k I can fix any Machines. I came back on the wage I left in 1998 or should have been, this was the year 2000, but they only paid me the 1990 wage again, $15.50 an hour.

I own my own Business now, I have to pay my 14 yearold Grandaughter $17.55 per hour on Sundays and that,s another thing with bowling Centres they never paid Penalty rates for the Casuals on Sunday, I was still on $15.50 an hour on Sunday, I don't know if they do now as I have been out of the Centres for 9 years.

The problems of most Centres today is the have too many empty lanes and the most expensive thing in a bowling Centre is an" Empty Lane" so if you can fill the Centre with $5 games a typical 24 lane Centre will run at 120 games an Hour which equals $600 an Hour, than run for 6 hours and your looking at $3600 a shift with only 2-3 Staff, if you don't think you can pay the bills with those numbers than your in the wrong business. You are not going to fill the Centre charging my 3 year old Granddaughter nearly $15 a game your only headed for Extinction.

Again just my opinion
willey

 

[BigDaz]

im a casual at Taree bowl and make just over $21 an hour. I run the control mostly during my shifts, all pro shop work, tech shifts occasionally and also the learning the snackbar.

I agree the prices are very high, and have had customers haggle or just refuse to pay/play. its a shame but i dont think it can ever go back. At the end of the day, when theres so much to do at home with ipads, computers. games, internet, tv etc etc, why would you want to pay that sort of money when u can have a similarly good time at home with your family? thats my theory, its not the TBA/ATBC's fault. Times change and so do our priorities.

Ive seen the bills and costs of running a 12 lane bowling centre first hand, and can understand why the prices are what they are.

I think bowling alleys will become like resturants, being that some flourish and stay popular and some die out, and sometimes its not bad management causing problems, something as simple as where u are situated, town, region etc can determine the fate of the business imho.

 

[Mistagear]

If a Bowling Centre is increasingly geared to selling fun to younger customers, how long before they look at the space their lanes are occupying as potential space to add more amusement based assets ? Especially when you look at running costs to keep a traditional bowling lane compared to a string machine which has 2 small electric motors and requires no serviceman on duty, the string machine becomes a more cost effective proposition both from a running cost as well as allowing a lower game price whilst retaining greater gross profits. They occupy less than half the floor space, so you can have more string lanes than traditional and also have more room for the latest "game machine"
At some point the traditional owners will be outnumbered by the "new" bowling operator, (amusement centres) as the traditional owners are closing down (there is definitely a trend in this direction happening in US ) and when you consider that Bowling as an industry has been selling bowling as "fun" for the past 40 yrs, why would the general public ever be interested in a sport called bowling ? Bowing is already thought of by the public as somewhere you take the kids for their Birthday party or somewhere to entertain them on a wet weekend. You dont need full length lanes with oil, or servicemen or USBC or TBA etc, for any of that.
There will be a critical mass point occur, some time in the near distant future... and whilst bowling as sport might not disappear totally, it will quickly be pushed to near extinction much more easily than many on this forum would believe..
My opinion only

 

[Phluff]

Wiley: Current entry level rate is just over $21/hr. Add payroll taxes and super and it's more like $26. Utilities run at close to $10k a month for many centers and we haven't even touched on stock/parts/rent/insurance. Sure, empty lanes are the most expensive thing, and offering cheap games will fill those lanes, but where are these people coming from? Offering $5 games during the day isn't going to magically bring people into the building. Kids are at school and those who don't have jobs don't have the disposable income even at such a game rate. As for evenings, most centers still have at least 70%+ occupancy with leagues sun-thur. Perhaps the solution is to only open on weekends and from 5pm -11pm Mon-Fri and close over summer when everyone is outdoors. Fire half the work force, only keeping bare minimum, and reduce costs enough to lower game rates.

Mistagear: While there is no doubt that in certain markets those alternative modes of bowling will outshine regular lanes, there will always be a market for the real thing. You wouldn't build a league based center in a CBD these days just as you wouldn't build a social only based center in a country town. The future isn't one or the other, it's recognizing the importance of other revenue streams and maintaining a balance to suit your demographic. Trends come and go and it's those who shift that survive. Take the Laser Tag market for example. 20 years ago there were a few arenas around, then it became popular and they increased, then it died off and most shut down, A few years ago it began in bowling centers and took off, centers removed some lanes and added it as an option. Move to today and while it's still a great option to have, it's not the same earner it was. Another trend, Trampoline parks, are springing up all over Australia at the moment but realistically, they will be halved in a few years then probably halved again as people move on. This has already begun to happen in the US where it began 3 years before us.

You say at some point owners of "traditional" centers will remove full length and put in the mini versions, yet the option to do so has been there for the better part of two decades and hasn't happened yet. I know of places in Sydney and Melbourne (not "traditional" bowling centers) who did install half lane versions, some as far back as 8 years ago, and it's no goldmine today. The simple fact is social bowlers now have many options for entertainment yet an ever diminishing amount of disposable income, so rather than multiple activities each week, it's a rotational once-in-a-while system more often than not. Changing whats on offer at your local bowl isn't going to magically fix that. League bowlers on the other hand are a competitive bunch who, while maybe not doing the 2-3 leagues a week that they used to, still enjoy their weekly "traditional" games.

 

[Mistagear]

"there will always be a market for the real thing."............. I bet Kodak said that too
" it's recognizing the importance of other revenue streams and maintaining a balance to suit your demographic." ........ I think that is whats happening, but if sport bowling continues to decline (40yr trend continues) a tipping point will occur.
"the option to do so has been there for the better part of two decades and hasn't happened yet" ...... option yes, need, not yet.
League bowlers on the other hand are a competitive bunch who, while maybe not doing the 2-3 leagues a week that they used to, still enjoy their weekly "traditional" games. ......... BPAA , USBC and TBA member numbers continue to decline (40yr trend) towards a tipping point for bowling.

I'm only interested in finding a solution to bowling's lack of relevance in the current day,. First step is to acknowledge the urgency of the problem, then change whatever is needed to make bowling relevant again and make the necessary changes as quickly as possible.
I'm happy to meet and discuss this, seems important subject to me

 

[willey]

Phluff, I know the minimum wage is $640 a week with a pay rise to commence starting in July, I have 7 Girls working in my Shop, not all at the same time thank God, but the wages in a Bowling Centre are miniscule to the potential turnover of a Centre running at 40 linage.

I don't know how old you are as you don't put it in your profile, but I can go back to the 60's, I seen no business happening when I started working in the 60's it was Dead, to cut costs we would turn out half the lights at night to save power, turn off the men,s auto flushes at the end of shift, as for parts we could not even get any, a carpet in the early 70's cost $400, we had pieces of carpets in the machines with a piece of 4x2 with a steel rod sticking out to keep the pieces apart, we could not even get Distributor belt joiners we had to open up the old one's and refit. When I started at Fairfield the Lanes were Black down to the Arrows, the Approaches were black. The Lanes had no oil on them, which is not as bad as it seems as a Lane with no oil on it is very good to bowl on very consistent and it didn't change one iota. As for putting in Smaller bowling or Lazer Tag over existing lanes is not new Enfield Bowl had lanes 1-4 built over and a large Slot Car Track was put in which was very popular at the time but it came out as bowling became popular again.

The increases in the popularity of bowling was very gradual, it didn't happen over night, I still believe the demand increased because the price was right at the time and the increases over time were miniscule. This is the way it has to be again and as I wrote before it is NEVER going to happen whilst a Centre is charging my 3 year old Granddaughter nearly $15 a GAME, my Son will never take his Daughter Bowling again unless he hears that it is a lot Cheaper. I just cannot believe how the bowling industry with their outlandish pricing policy turned so many potential customers away for so many years.

I will give you a couple of examples of how prices change behavior, 1997 I visited Mackay Bowl, I have relatives living there, I took my equipment and went down had a couple of games, than noticed in Centre advertising they had $1 games on a Sunday night, so I booked 3 lanes and took the whole family and relations, we bowled 55 games between us, the place was Full, 18 lanes flat chat for hours , talking to the Couple that leased the Centre, they said they were going to stop the special as nobody practised any other night, they stopped it and did no business on Sunday night again, they didn't try to increase the price gradually just to keep it going no just stopped it. Example 2, Mayfield Bowl again on Sunday night, 3 games for $10, only on after 9 o/clock pm, Booked out every Sunday with 22 lanes running flat chat with people booking when lanes became vacant, they did well over 200 games after 9 every Sunday but about 2003 when AMF was selling their Centres in Australia there was a edict from America that there was to be no more discounting, Guess what no more people on a Sunday night at Mayfield, in fact they never did 200 games in total on Sunday night till I left in mid 2005, I will say it again they never did 200 games from 2003 till 2005 on Sunday nights combined, they usually had 2 lanes going at best, plenty of time to clean the lanes and we could close early.

So price does matter. It will change the behavior of people immediately.

willey