STIKEZONE or AMF

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hey people its sam fisher here.

firstly rowey i believe before posting facts on here you should get them correct as "frawls" is my dad and i know for a fact that he is not getting his food and accomadation paid for plus $90,000 so that is wrong to start with. and i dont believe its something you shoukd be posting on an australian wide forum unless they facts are true.

as for the selling of the business like froggy said there was more then just 1 owner of the business and of the 4 owners it was a joint decision to sell. and as 01kay stated there were many many more personal reasons as to why the bowl was sold.

frawls didnt just pack his bags and leave to get the coaching job in kuaite it was actually a dream of his to coach overseas and that dream is wat he is fullfilling now.

speaking of amf and how they have changed strikezone....well we would all have to realise sooner or later that slight things would change. there are still familiar faces around and i believe strikezone is now operating more like a business then it ever has before. take into account that amf own many centres around australia and all the other centres have same or similar prices so you cant expect strikezone to be any different. to many amf prices are expensive but maybe you should re evalute the fact that maybe strikezone before amf were too cheap. before amf took over strikezone was more of a family business and you could get away with much more...now the centre is owned by a larger company and all workers have rules that they have to work by instead of it being such a cruisy job as it was before, which is once again for the better as strikezone is so much more organized.

although when amf first bought the bowl i was hesitant of the fact but i believe they have done a great job maintaining it and as strikezone is now owned by amf you are to expect price changes and cafe stock to change so they are more similar and in contrast to all other centres. if amf run 1 centre a certain way then all other centres are run the same thats the reason strikezone has changed a little but its for the better.

sorry if anyone has taken offence to this post but its kinda annoying when the true facts arnt posted....im not having a go at anyone so please dont take it the wrong way. and i think its good people are talking about wat they think as everyone is entitled to their own opinion. i look forward to everyone elses opinons to be posted.

take care and stay smiling luv sammy :p :D
 
by the way this aint my nick name im using dales sign in....lol im not a man hehe :oops:
 
Hi Graham,

By virtue of the fact that we had a heap of calls from the Public prior to the FREE day AND took bookings, I don't think the result would have been much different at a buck a game.
We used to have a summer card at $100 for 100 games and only sold a handful...but then too it was restricted to the summer school holidays. I still maintain that whilst price per game is a consideration (more so to the League bowler, and rightly so) it IS NOT the ONLY consideration. We still live in a world where the public are smart and they will weigh up value for money. In relation to our Sport we rate exceptionally well when compared to other Sports/Leisure.
 
More Rumours at Strikezone

Just a rumour i heard about the possible departure of the
head mechanic at strikezone ...Dennis is apparently looking elswhere. What will happen to the running of Major events at strikezone if thats the case,after the great job he did at the south pacific in Melbourne.There is more to being a mechanic than just fixing machines etc... lane conditions and what oil patterns to set down for individual tourneys play a big part also.
 
yeh i agree with the lane conditions. today wen i bowled the lanes were sooooo dry.i hate it when there like that
 
ilive2bowl said:
We used to have a summer card at $100 for 100 games and only sold a handful...but then too it was restricted to the summer school holidays. I still maintain that whilst price per game is a consideration (more so to the League bowler, and rightly so) it IS NOT the ONLY consideration. We still live in a world where the public are smart and they will weigh up value for money.
Click to expand...

Hi ilive2bowl,

I can understand what you're saying and can definately see where you're coming from. However...how many people did you expect to fork out $100 all at one time for a practice card? Yes they are very good rates - but I think you'll find (or did find) that people aren't going to pay that upfront whether league or social. A few will (as a few did), but most won't (i.e. all those people that didn't). When I was bowling at an independent bowl a year or so ago, I was getting practice games at $2.75 a game. That's a good price - that's more like 1980's prices. I admit that this is league practice rates but no AMF centre that I've bowled in has matched that. Another centre that I think has to be applauded is Caboolture Bowl - that place is fantastic, the staff are great and very efficient, the lanes are excellent, and compared to some other centres, the game rates are very comparable. Not to mention the way they treat their league bowlers - I think anyone would agree that allowing bowlers to practice - with pins - for over 30 mins quite often - is extraordinary.

"whilst price per game is a consideration (more so to the League bowler, and rightly so) it IS NOT the ONLY consideration. We still live in a world where the public are smart and they will weigh up value for money" - I find this statement a little contradictory. Yes the public are generally smart and yes they will weigh up value FOR MONEY - every single cent that they earned that week will be weighed up against a bowling centre's prices, whether your's, AMF's, or another independent centre's prices. Countless times I have seen a pair or group of social bowlers come into a local AMF centre here and have wanted 2 social games....that was until they found out the price of 2 social games. More often than not they say one of two things - "stuff that, that's rediculous" or "we'll just go with one game thanks". It's simple maths to see that the centre is losing out on revenue. "But they save slightly if they buy 2 games instead of one" NO they don't. They'll save money by not bowling the 2nd game - and chances are they won't be coming back through that centre's doors any time soon - and worse is that the word spreads. As Willey said before - there is nothing worse than an empty lane. You still have to pay all the fixed costs which don't change.

In terms of quality, experience and all that - quality can't be obtained if you don't have the numbers walking through that front door and buying off your centre. Centres need to make bowling more popular amongst the public and the best way a centre can do this is by charging reasonable prices. What's a reasonable price? It's the price that maximizes market demand against profits. Now I'm sorry, but i don't see this happening in most AMF centres and I've got a decent idea about their economic performance when matched against their daily game numbers. Game numbers today on average are so sad it's rediculous compared to what they were 10-12 years ago. This isn't a reflection of a lifestyle change - it's called pricing yourself out of the market.

In saying all of this - this post and my original post are specifically aimed at where AMF Australia is at currently. I am not talking about independents or BowlAustralia. For the record, I have been to Canberra International Bowl and will be again in December and I think it's a wonderful venue and something that all centres should be striving towards in terms of professional service and quality.

I just hope that AMF Australia and it's new owners do something now - rather than wait for the industry to fall apart around it. As I said in my original post - the sport of bowling won't die, but if this issue is not addressed then I fear that it could do major damage to the sport and to be honest the sport is not all that healthy now.
 
I think those that have all the answers should get together and open up a bowling centre and show everyone else the right way to run things.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
This post is for general interest but specifically for 'timmee'.
The pricing debate is extremely important as are your views. It is ONLY through open discussion such as published on this Board that both Proprietors and Customers can gain a win win situation.
I am sure that AMF have done a comprehensive price vs volume analysis and have structured their prices accordingly. I know too that many 'regular' bowlers can and do gain pricing privileges that are not otherwise available to the public generally. As I have said previously it is trying to strike a balance between volume and price as measured against fixed and variable operating costs so that the business continues to provide a quality service to its clientele and remain profitable at the same time.
Thanks too, timmee, for your kind comments regarding Canberra International Bowl - I know that the entire BowlAustralia team strive to provide a quality and professional service and I am extremely proud of this facility and their input into making The Brunswick Australia Cup the prestige event that it is.
 
Timmee

I agree with Willey and Tiger - I couldn't agree more with what you've said in your two posts. Spot on. The disposable leisure $ does have competition out there and people do look for value for money (read "value for entertainment"). This includes league bowling: if leagues get too expensive, people will bowl less leagues = less money coming into bowling centres. The corollary also applies. Well said.

Feral
 
guys... this is Dale. NOW FIRSTLY let me say, that it aint Strikezone or AMF, Strikezone is AMF so stop seperating them, we are all AMF Bowlers and i am proud to say that i am an AMF staff member. They treat you great and thats all i can say. They are a great business and i am the first to say that i was hesitant about the take over, but GUYS it was great. If we were a top of the line centre before the takeover we are certainly a world class centre now. Nothing much has changed and the new staff members fit in you cant even tell the difference. So now that is out of the way... Who is looking forward to ROLL OFFS? i cant wait!!! well ciao guys!
:lol: mwa

Dale
 
its been a few weeks now from the buying of it and i hav to say its been maybe even better wit amf staff there aswell.And the basketball game there is sooooooooo sweet.I rock at it 8) .Anyway i think andrew frawley made a nice move :)
 
how could it be if its owned by someone else.for example:
icee price is higher which makes it different
 
Wow!!! No offence, but get over urselves!!!!
Strikezone was awesome when i came down for nationals, and im sure its still a great centre! What is the point of baggin the crap out of it????? Ur just making it worse by asking STRIKEZONE or AMF!!!! Just be happy with what u have, and move on because u aint goin to change the fact that it is now owned by AMF!!!
Anyways, thats just my 2 cents!
 
I heard that they charge 7 or 8 bucks for a tba practice,where my alley and many others only charge $3.50

STRIKEZONE-Even though i havent bowled there
 
too many exclamation marks there Hamish.

I loved Strikezone while I was there for nationals this year, and I doubt that the service I received there will change now its AMF
 
Hmmmm...
It's a little frustrating reading threads such as this one, listening to people pretend to know what they're talking about, when in fact they have no idea. Personally, I've never bowled at Strikezone, however, im sure at some time in the very near future i will be lucky enough to do so. From what I've heard from some very close friends who did compete at the junior nationals this year, the centre is amazing, a real benchmark in terms of bowling centres in Australia. Some of u guys speak so lowly of the takeover. You're patrons of one of the top centres in Australia. You obviously have absolutely no appreciation for that.
 
Fletcher, we do not charge that much! Our prectise games are $3.50 for adults and $4.00 for adults.
As for our service...it has not changed. As I have said before, we are the same staff (with a few new faces), providing the same service and customer relations as before.
I wish everyone would just get over it...Im beginning to think this is dragging a bit long...as is the topic on ACT&Southern shield team... :?
 
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