This will probably get me fired but I am willing to take the chance as I am so upset about it.
Rant on
Over the last couple of Days, AMF have proudly announced (via totalbowling) the arrival of the new Kegel Lane Walkers for 6 of the mainland centres and 2 ION's for 2 others. A total of approximately somewhere in the vacinity of 350 to 400 thousand dollars worth of equipment.
See these 2 posts:
http://www.totalbowling.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=172082#post172082
http://www.totalbowling.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=25511
Meanwhile, AMF Launceston which I have worked at for nearly 15 years and bowled in for 23 Years has Topcoat and Basecoat ripping off the lanes at a rapid rate of Knots. The Lanes are in desperate need of a Resurface (last one was in 1999 and 3 or 4 Recoats in that time) or replacement to the supposed 2nd hand Sythetic Lanes we were suppose to receive by Xmas in 2006. Some of the lanes are starting to peel in the Backends and Pindecks.
Dont get me wrong here, this is not sour grapes. I am very happy for the centres that have received these machines, it a great thing for them.
But, as a long time serving employee (and an even longer serving source of revenue for the company, ie paying customer) it is very dissapointing that my local centre which, over the years, I have spent a lot of time working, coaching, bowling, ball drilling, to try and make it a better place for the bowlers in Tasmania, is being treated with such disregard. Bowlers are telling me that they dont want to bowl in the centre anymore because of the condition of the lanes. When it gets to this point it, its almost beyond repair.
It brings back memories of AMF Moonah prior to its refit when Bennets Green was shut down. I won the State masters that year on lanes that virtually had no Coating (in the track area 5-15 board) from the Foul Line to the Pindeck. It was interesting to say the least. The centre should not have been allowed to get to that state of despair and I fear the same is going to happen to Lonny unless something happens fast.
I have been told many times since August 2006 that "The lanes are coming", but this is now nearly February 2008 and we still have nothing whilst a lot of centres have been upgraded, refurbed, built from new equipment, received new oiling machines, etc etc etc.
Every time I read "Whats the Score" there is a story on another centre which has been done up and looks fantastic, while my centre is stuck in time warp from the 80's. Old seating and ball returns, Monitor screens you can bearly read the numbers, a front counter which is covered in red & silver laminate that was put on when it was built by Olympic, a shoe mat you cant see the numbers on, and of course the lanes. Last year we received 8 lanes of flush mount bumpers so now we have 6 lanes with brown gutters and no bumpers, 8 lanes of pull up bumpers with grey gutters, and 8 lanes of pull out bumpers from on top of the cappings with brown gutters. It looks like 3 different centres in one.
The Centre Manger & Head Tech do as much as they possibly can to try and get funds to fix the place up, but are restricted by budgets and get pushed back everytime something of any significance is asked for. Its seems like the "She'll be right mate" attitude prevails. The latest I have heard is the centre is on the list to have something done with the lanes sometime this year, but a date has not been set because there other centres to do first. I am over people telling something in coming (ie Lanes by the end of 2006, Kegel Oiling machine by Fiscal year end 2007 etc). I will believe it when it arrives in the carpark on the truck.
Before someone gets on here and tries to shoot me down, I will admit (and have been told) that AMF Launceston is the lowest lineage and revenue AMF centre in the country so therefore doesnt rank very highly on the "Needs it now" list, but, AMF Launceston still makes a Net Profit each and every year. It doesn't run at loss like some of the other/bigger centres. This is because of a lot of factors which I am not going to go into, but, at the end of the day the customers who come to AMF Launceston to bowl (both league/tournament and Social) are still customers paying a whats seems to be a premium price for a product/service that we are not receiving and nobody is in a real hurry to want to fix.
I am not going to say anymore as I think my point has been made. Its just really disapointing.
Come on Roy M, Jordan R, David W, Greg R, Lloyd K, & anybody else who controls the purse strings. Please, Please, Please give AMF Launceston and the bowlers of Northern Tasmania a fair go and fix the Centre before the lanes get any worse.
Rant off
Cheers
Hayden George
Rant on
Over the last couple of Days, AMF have proudly announced (via totalbowling) the arrival of the new Kegel Lane Walkers for 6 of the mainland centres and 2 ION's for 2 others. A total of approximately somewhere in the vacinity of 350 to 400 thousand dollars worth of equipment.
See these 2 posts:
http://www.totalbowling.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=172082#post172082
http://www.totalbowling.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=25511
Meanwhile, AMF Launceston which I have worked at for nearly 15 years and bowled in for 23 Years has Topcoat and Basecoat ripping off the lanes at a rapid rate of Knots. The Lanes are in desperate need of a Resurface (last one was in 1999 and 3 or 4 Recoats in that time) or replacement to the supposed 2nd hand Sythetic Lanes we were suppose to receive by Xmas in 2006. Some of the lanes are starting to peel in the Backends and Pindecks.
Dont get me wrong here, this is not sour grapes. I am very happy for the centres that have received these machines, it a great thing for them.
But, as a long time serving employee (and an even longer serving source of revenue for the company, ie paying customer) it is very dissapointing that my local centre which, over the years, I have spent a lot of time working, coaching, bowling, ball drilling, to try and make it a better place for the bowlers in Tasmania, is being treated with such disregard. Bowlers are telling me that they dont want to bowl in the centre anymore because of the condition of the lanes. When it gets to this point it, its almost beyond repair.
It brings back memories of AMF Moonah prior to its refit when Bennets Green was shut down. I won the State masters that year on lanes that virtually had no Coating (in the track area 5-15 board) from the Foul Line to the Pindeck. It was interesting to say the least. The centre should not have been allowed to get to that state of despair and I fear the same is going to happen to Lonny unless something happens fast.
I have been told many times since August 2006 that "The lanes are coming", but this is now nearly February 2008 and we still have nothing whilst a lot of centres have been upgraded, refurbed, built from new equipment, received new oiling machines, etc etc etc.
Every time I read "Whats the Score" there is a story on another centre which has been done up and looks fantastic, while my centre is stuck in time warp from the 80's. Old seating and ball returns, Monitor screens you can bearly read the numbers, a front counter which is covered in red & silver laminate that was put on when it was built by Olympic, a shoe mat you cant see the numbers on, and of course the lanes. Last year we received 8 lanes of flush mount bumpers so now we have 6 lanes with brown gutters and no bumpers, 8 lanes of pull up bumpers with grey gutters, and 8 lanes of pull out bumpers from on top of the cappings with brown gutters. It looks like 3 different centres in one.
The Centre Manger & Head Tech do as much as they possibly can to try and get funds to fix the place up, but are restricted by budgets and get pushed back everytime something of any significance is asked for. Its seems like the "She'll be right mate" attitude prevails. The latest I have heard is the centre is on the list to have something done with the lanes sometime this year, but a date has not been set because there other centres to do first. I am over people telling something in coming (ie Lanes by the end of 2006, Kegel Oiling machine by Fiscal year end 2007 etc). I will believe it when it arrives in the carpark on the truck.
Before someone gets on here and tries to shoot me down, I will admit (and have been told) that AMF Launceston is the lowest lineage and revenue AMF centre in the country so therefore doesnt rank very highly on the "Needs it now" list, but, AMF Launceston still makes a Net Profit each and every year. It doesn't run at loss like some of the other/bigger centres. This is because of a lot of factors which I am not going to go into, but, at the end of the day the customers who come to AMF Launceston to bowl (both league/tournament and Social) are still customers paying a whats seems to be a premium price for a product/service that we are not receiving and nobody is in a real hurry to want to fix.
I am not going to say anymore as I think my point has been made. Its just really disapointing.
Come on Roy M, Jordan R, David W, Greg R, Lloyd K, & anybody else who controls the purse strings. Please, Please, Please give AMF Launceston and the bowlers of Northern Tasmania a fair go and fix the Centre before the lanes get any worse.
Rant off
Cheers
Hayden George
