Poor Service - 1 less bowler
- Thread starter Andrew S.
- Start date
S
swonky
I cant believe that I am coming to Southgates defence but here goes.
All centres have there misshaps.
Southgate is a good centre, I have been bowling there ever since I started, they have had days where the havent oiled, or machine after machine broke down. But its a part of life. They are a good centre, good to juniours and league bowlers,
I went there today and practice, my lane was fine, but the lane next to wasnt, it broke down 3 times, the only things was about 4 pairs broke down the poor guy next to me had to wait 5 minutes, not long, the only reason the lane man took so long was because the other 3 pairs were league, and league got priority
All centres have there day, but dont give up on bowling, go back to southgate another time, it will be different.
PS: Tell me when you go down and i'll join you for a practice, so we can get the 2 lanes ;-)
All centres have there misshaps.
Southgate is a good centre, I have been bowling there ever since I started, they have had days where the havent oiled, or machine after machine broke down. But its a part of life. They are a good centre, good to juniours and league bowlers,
I went there today and practice, my lane was fine, but the lane next to wasnt, it broke down 3 times, the only things was about 4 pairs broke down the poor guy next to me had to wait 5 minutes, not long, the only reason the lane man took so long was because the other 3 pairs were league, and league got priority
All centres have there day, but dont give up on bowling, go back to southgate another time, it will be different.
PS: Tell me when you go down and i'll join you for a practice, so we can get the 2 lanes ;-)
D
-d-_-b-
gday mate,
Like james i am also a southgate junior and yeahi have had times where i haven't been impressed with the lane. James will most definitely remember my falling out with management there however i am happy to say things have improved. You are not a sook like some others say however i do beleive that you have to remember that a bowling alley is a business too. And from what i hear, and from merely observing what goes on there bowling alleys are no where near as profitable as they used to be.
Bowling has the misfortune of a constant cost just to keep the ball return running, unlike say tennis where it is a basic upkeep. This leads to comparatively high overheads, so if things were tight money wise it may be understandable as to why you were only allow one lane, esp if it wasn't the manager who you spoke to. As to the condition these things happen, it wasn't the staff who had a party down there and spilt popcorn everywhere so they wont know unless you tell them, if it was really so bad why didn't you just ask for a different lane.
Bowling is a great sport and it is a serious shame to see someone leaving due to a few bad experiences. If you really love the game you would stick at it, because just leaving the game and posting a message up here wont achieve anywhere near as much as you could by sticking at it and perhaps havin a chat with the manager
Kozzi
also if ya do decide to have a bowl again let me know, Swonkys not much comp. hehehehe
Like james i am also a southgate junior and yeahi have had times where i haven't been impressed with the lane. James will most definitely remember my falling out with management there however i am happy to say things have improved. You are not a sook like some others say however i do beleive that you have to remember that a bowling alley is a business too. And from what i hear, and from merely observing what goes on there bowling alleys are no where near as profitable as they used to be.
Bowling has the misfortune of a constant cost just to keep the ball return running, unlike say tennis where it is a basic upkeep. This leads to comparatively high overheads, so if things were tight money wise it may be understandable as to why you were only allow one lane, esp if it wasn't the manager who you spoke to. As to the condition these things happen, it wasn't the staff who had a party down there and spilt popcorn everywhere so they wont know unless you tell them, if it was really so bad why didn't you just ask for a different lane.
Bowling is a great sport and it is a serious shame to see someone leaving due to a few bad experiences. If you really love the game you would stick at it, because just leaving the game and posting a message up here wont achieve anywhere near as much as you could by sticking at it and perhaps havin a chat with the manager
Kozzi
also if ya do decide to have a bowl again let me know, Swonkys not much comp. hehehehe
S
swonky
NOT MUCH COMPETITION?!?
Who's the one wearing the state shirt my friend! *gets a big head*
Your only a lefty anyway, never bowled on the real side of the lane!?! have you Stuart?
I challenge you to a match!
Your arse is grass!
Who's the one wearing the state shirt my friend! *gets a big head*
Your only a lefty anyway, never bowled on the real side of the lane!?! have you Stuart?
I challenge you to a match!
Your arse is grass!
Hey every1, just thought I'd post my $0.02 worth!!
I find myself more agreeing with CT. As one of you other guys mentioned, bowling alleys are businesses and the first rule of business is 'the customer is always right!'. Why should bowlers who fork out thousands of dollars a year to play the game they love and bowl in tournaments put up with substandard service.
I accept that incidents such as this can happen. But if they do, management or staff should go out of their way to fix things. AMF centres are having far two many of these 'incidents' and if this continues many more bowlers will be lost.
You guys over there in Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane etc are so lucky, you have a choice as to where you bowl, so CT, as the other guys said, don't just turn your back on the game, find a centre that will treat you with a little more respect as a paying customer!!! It's an option that not all of us have!!!
That's all from me!!
I find myself more agreeing with CT. As one of you other guys mentioned, bowling alleys are businesses and the first rule of business is 'the customer is always right!'. Why should bowlers who fork out thousands of dollars a year to play the game they love and bowl in tournaments put up with substandard service.
I accept that incidents such as this can happen. But if they do, management or staff should go out of their way to fix things. AMF centres are having far two many of these 'incidents' and if this continues many more bowlers will be lost.
You guys over there in Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane etc are so lucky, you have a choice as to where you bowl, so CT, as the other guys said, don't just turn your back on the game, find a centre that will treat you with a little more respect as a paying customer!!! It's an option that not all of us have!!!
That's all from me!!
D
-d-_-b-
Staying on the topic,
yeah scooter you do have a point, just like anything if you are not happy with it then change, same with alleys, i dont go to southgate for practice as i know at enfield i can get a practice lane going for as long as i bowl for which is great.
you just have to do the same, find a lane you like and that looks after you.
Off the topic
james ur on. I know i'll get killed but you aint touching my arse heheeh
cya sat league man
yeah scooter you do have a point, just like anything if you are not happy with it then change, same with alleys, i dont go to southgate for practice as i know at enfield i can get a practice lane going for as long as i bowl for which is great.
you just have to do the same, find a lane you like and that looks after you.
Off the topic
james ur on. I know i'll get killed but you aint touching my arse heheeh
cya sat league man
wchester
Bowling Tragic
earlier in this thread db said:
"As to the condition these things happen, it wasn't the staff who had a party down there and spilt popcorn everywhere so they wont know unless you tell them, if it was really so bad why didn't you just ask for a different lane."
All the employees should be aware of what'd going on down in the settees and clean up after each lane is vacated.
If this isn't possible, then blame it on a shortage of staff and AMF is the one who ultimately will pay the price.
"As to the condition these things happen, it wasn't the staff who had a party down there and spilt popcorn everywhere so they wont know unless you tell them, if it was really so bad why didn't you just ask for a different lane."
All the employees should be aware of what'd going on down in the settees and clean up after each lane is vacated.
If this isn't possible, then blame it on a shortage of staff and AMF is the one who ultimately will pay the price.
W
webba
I would like you tell my experiences at Southgate.
I started bowling in a league there 18 months ago. In that time I have got to know the staff there (only by their nametags) and I can honestly say in my 18 years of bowling in NSW mainly, but also around the country, I have NEVER come across a more group of friendly and helpful staff in a bowling center. Sure they have troubles with their machines, but what center dosn"t? One time only a few weeks back, we bowled in our singles league and the lanes were PATHETIC, 60 feet of oil,no ball reaction, pin slides from here to kingdom come. It turned out the oiling machine had packed it in without the mechinacs knowledge. The next week when we returned, thanks to the Managers (Matthew)concern for for his patrons, he refunded every bowler in the league $20.00 game fees for the inconvienence and also appologised for the misshap. I know I for one and most bowlers in the league appreaciated the guesture which obviously didn"t have to be done, but was.
Mabey if you wern"t happy with what happened to you, you should have voiced your oppinions to the duty manager or made corrispondence to the Manager. Through my experiences at Southgate, I could almost assure you that something would have been done to alliviate your displeasure.
I have no alliances with this Bowling center, only that I practice there on Thursdays and bowl a league there on Fridays. Its not often you find a Bowl with a Manager and staff so helpful, friendly and courtious,(I have been to a few) and when you find one, I feel it should be praised for the many things it does and not for the odd mishap.
ANDREW LLOYD
I started bowling in a league there 18 months ago. In that time I have got to know the staff there (only by their nametags) and I can honestly say in my 18 years of bowling in NSW mainly, but also around the country, I have NEVER come across a more group of friendly and helpful staff in a bowling center. Sure they have troubles with their machines, but what center dosn"t? One time only a few weeks back, we bowled in our singles league and the lanes were PATHETIC, 60 feet of oil,no ball reaction, pin slides from here to kingdom come. It turned out the oiling machine had packed it in without the mechinacs knowledge. The next week when we returned, thanks to the Managers (Matthew)concern for for his patrons, he refunded every bowler in the league $20.00 game fees for the inconvienence and also appologised for the misshap. I know I for one and most bowlers in the league appreaciated the guesture which obviously didn"t have to be done, but was.
Mabey if you wern"t happy with what happened to you, you should have voiced your oppinions to the duty manager or made corrispondence to the Manager. Through my experiences at Southgate, I could almost assure you that something would have been done to alliviate your displeasure.
I have no alliances with this Bowling center, only that I practice there on Thursdays and bowl a league there on Fridays. Its not often you find a Bowl with a Manager and staff so helpful, friendly and courtious,(I have been to a few) and when you find one, I feel it should be praised for the many things it does and not for the odd mishap.
ANDREW LLOYD
Well....It certainly does seem like the "company" syndrome, is slowly making it's way around Australia. It's a shame that THE major bowling company in Australia doesn't take care of their customers as good as they should.
As Scooter said, you guys are lucky. If you don't like your centre, you go to another. Let's look at Tassie for a second. Hobart has one centre, owned by that "great" company, as well as Launceston. Devonport is a little 14 laner, privately owned, about 1:30 from Launceston, and 3 hours from Hobart. Burnie is also privately owned, and is about an hour futher down the road than Devonport. So the absolute minimum from Hobart is an 1:45 trip (that's on the speed limit) to Launceston.
Now, as quite a few of you people know, I have made quite a few comments about AMF Moonah (oops, I mentioned the company name). I was told by another bowler tonight at Moonah, that quite alot of staff and management there have seen, or at least heard about what I have written on here. That's fine by me. I know how the company works, as I worked there for 3 years. The company could NOT care less about our centre, unless we don't make budget, recruiting targets, ect ect. The one thing that really gets on my nerves though is this....A number of staff (and I know who you are, but I will not mention names on here) at Moonah, would rather indulge in spreading rumours and back stabbing, than do their best for the bowl. Now, as far as my comments on here, I have been told, again through the grapevine, is nothing but sour grapes. That could be nothing further from the truth. If there is something I don't like, I'll let you know, but if there is something that I think is a great idea, or I like, I'll tell you that too. I'm not afraid to sign my name to comments that I make. It's my opinion. I'm sure, that if you ever talked to bowlers that call Moonah their HOME centre, I'm sure 95% of them would agree with me. It's just that they don't have the "balls" to say anything. That's fine...it's up to you.
So next time someone has a complaint about a centre in Melbourne, Sydney or wherever there is no more than 45 mins travelling time between centres, think yourself lucky, because a lot of people around this country, don't have that chance.
As Scooter said, you guys are lucky. If you don't like your centre, you go to another. Let's look at Tassie for a second. Hobart has one centre, owned by that "great" company, as well as Launceston. Devonport is a little 14 laner, privately owned, about 1:30 from Launceston, and 3 hours from Hobart. Burnie is also privately owned, and is about an hour futher down the road than Devonport. So the absolute minimum from Hobart is an 1:45 trip (that's on the speed limit) to Launceston.
Now, as quite a few of you people know, I have made quite a few comments about AMF Moonah (oops, I mentioned the company name). I was told by another bowler tonight at Moonah, that quite alot of staff and management there have seen, or at least heard about what I have written on here. That's fine by me. I know how the company works, as I worked there for 3 years. The company could NOT care less about our centre, unless we don't make budget, recruiting targets, ect ect. The one thing that really gets on my nerves though is this....A number of staff (and I know who you are, but I will not mention names on here) at Moonah, would rather indulge in spreading rumours and back stabbing, than do their best for the bowl. Now, as far as my comments on here, I have been told, again through the grapevine, is nothing but sour grapes. That could be nothing further from the truth. If there is something I don't like, I'll let you know, but if there is something that I think is a great idea, or I like, I'll tell you that too. I'm not afraid to sign my name to comments that I make. It's my opinion. I'm sure, that if you ever talked to bowlers that call Moonah their HOME centre, I'm sure 95% of them would agree with me. It's just that they don't have the "balls" to say anything. That's fine...it's up to you.
So next time someone has a complaint about a centre in Melbourne, Sydney or wherever there is no more than 45 mins travelling time between centres, think yourself lucky, because a lot of people around this country, don't have that chance.
I'd just like to tell you a story from my latest visit to an AMF centre. The centre in question here is Southgate in southern Sydney. The story goes, I am league bowler and have been for the past 10 years, i was also a common entrant in many of NSW grand prix events. I rang up southgate, booked some lanes went on down to get in some practice for an upcoming event. When i arrive i'm told that i am not permitted to have 2 lanes to practice on unless there are atleast 2 people bowling, this despite the fact that 20 of the 24 lanes are free and there are no bookings for the next 2 hours. After explaining the reason for wanting 2 lanes i am still refused. I accept the 1 lane and go to bowl. The players area is littered with popcorn and spilt soft drink all over the floor. I do my best to clean it up then start bowling. 2 games in my ball gets stuck down the back, so i press the call button. 8 minutes later the mechanic arrives. 5 more times in this game the same thing happens. Next game it happens again, upon return of my ball i pack up and leave the centre, ring up and cancel my league and i have now retired from the sport of bowling at the ripe old age of 25. Now this story i'm sure is all too common, can someone give me a reason why we should have to put up with it? Its not just an isolated case, as was put by some of Tasmanian bowlers, in there centre they get delayed by hours at a time. When is enough going to be enough? How many bowlers are going to walk out before they realise? Its not the fact that they lose my $15 a week in league that will matter to them, but i thought maybe the $3000+ i spend on tournaments each year might have counted for something. Just thought i'd have my 1 bitch about it, another lost bowler to add to the list.
P
patrick
hi there everyone.
i would have to agree with androo, thank yourselves lucky (city people) that you have a variety of centers to choose from! i am also in a rural town and i have 2 choices, lismore or ballina. anything else is at least an hour and a half away.
but i think CT you really shouldnt let this incident end your bowling career! its really not worth it... i have heard of much worse things happening!
scooter im afraid to say your wrong about the cusomter ALWAYS being right! a lot of times i have found them to be wrong.. but as was drilled into us in my job, the customer isnt always right... but THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS THE CUSTOMER!
from all i have heard AMF really do need to stop worrying about their holiday bonus packets at the end of the year and start caring about the bowlers... too many people are complaining and it doesnt convey a good image for our sport!
just MY opinion...
bye
p.s. people say that some of the AMF managers read this forum, so why dont we recieve feedback or see improvements on the faults screamed out by their livelyhood?!!?!
i would have to agree with androo, thank yourselves lucky (city people) that you have a variety of centers to choose from! i am also in a rural town and i have 2 choices, lismore or ballina. anything else is at least an hour and a half away.
but i think CT you really shouldnt let this incident end your bowling career! its really not worth it... i have heard of much worse things happening!
scooter im afraid to say your wrong about the cusomter ALWAYS being right! a lot of times i have found them to be wrong.. but as was drilled into us in my job, the customer isnt always right... but THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS THE CUSTOMER!
from all i have heard AMF really do need to stop worrying about their holiday bonus packets at the end of the year and start caring about the bowlers... too many people are complaining and it doesnt convey a good image for our sport!
just MY opinion...
bye
p.s. people say that some of the AMF managers read this forum, so why dont we recieve feedback or see improvements on the faults screamed out by their livelyhood?!!?!
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, ">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hercules:
p.s. people say that some of the AMF managers read this forum, so why dont we recieve feedback or see improvements on the faults screamed out by their livelyhood?!!?!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Because they're scared.
p.s. people say that some of the AMF managers read this forum, so why dont we recieve feedback or see improvements on the faults screamed out by their livelyhood?!!?!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Because they're scared.
hercules,
you are right in the true sense of things ... of course the customer is not always right literally ....BUT ... businesses are there to look after customer not the other way round, and even if the customer is difficult, or making a request that is just not possible, the staff still need to be seen to be doing the right thing for the customer. That was my point.
Cheers
you are right in the true sense of things ... of course the customer is not always right literally ....BUT ... businesses are there to look after customer not the other way round, and even if the customer is difficult, or making a request that is just not possible, the staff still need to be seen to be doing the right thing for the customer. That was my point.
Cheers
P
patrick
yeh sorry scooter you are right!!
... i skipped over it real fast cos i was trying to do a million other things at once..
hahaha
its all good
its all good
Graham
Staff member
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, ">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by hercules:
p.s. people say that some of the AMF managers read this forum, so why dont we recieve feedback or see improvements on the faults screamed out by their livelyhood?!!?!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well it is true .. it does get read and from what I know any problems get acted upon fairly promptly.
p.s. people say that some of the AMF managers read this forum, so why dont we recieve feedback or see improvements on the faults screamed out by their livelyhood?!!?!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well it is true .. it does get read and from what I know any problems get acted upon fairly promptly.
Well after reading all the posts it seems i'm not alone in my thoughts on the way AMF treat their customers. As to the comments that i am a sook, i don't think so. Why should i have to walk into a bowling alley and be treated to that kind of thing?? After much thought i did return to Southgate and i'm gald to say that it was a much improved experience, mainly thanks to a different staff member behind the desk who was extremely helpful. AMF really need to do more training with their staff to deliver a more consistent service level rather than great one day, **** house the next. AMF are quite lucky in some respecets that there are so many bowlers who the love the game so much that they take all the **** that goes on and still come back (me included). Perhaps educating their staff in the bowling industry might help, a lot of the staff don't know how the scoring system works!! In defence of the other staff, there are some really knowledgable people working throughout the industry which aren't being given the thanks they deserve. That's my two cents worth, see you all in Canberra
