| rev:text
| - It is disappointing to frequent a bowling center for several years, participate in leagues, purchase and get my bowling equipment serviced there, tip my servers generously....and then be taken for granted.
It started about a year or two ago with some little things. Policy changes. Little inconveniences. I used to be able to give my credit card at the check-in counter one time and be able to pay for my bowling, food and bar service. I used to be able to rent a lane by the hour. I used to be able to stop in on just about any weekday around 4-4:30 after work and get a lane to roll a few practice games. Prices were reasonable. Servers visited you on the lane to take food and drink orders. Good, prompt, friendly service. If I got there a little late and the lanes were being prepared for league, they would usually make an exception and give me a lane.
Then they made it so that you had to pay by the game. Then you were forced to pre-pay your bowling and you had to pay separately for bowling and for food/drinks. Then they raised prices--nearly $20 for one person for 3 games. Then it became difficult to even get a lane on a weekday after work.
The last straw for me happened yesterday. I stopped in around 4pm and asked for a lane. At first, the young woman at the counter told me that they could give me one, but I would have to be off the lane by 4:30, to which I was incredulous and a bit peeved considering how early it was. Then they said that one would be available in a few minutes and implied I wouldn't be kicked off early. Now...leagues normally start at 6-6:30 at this bowling center, and I was wondering why they needed the lanes two hours in advance when it only takes about an hour to strip and oil them, and why couldn't they give me one for the amount of time it takes to bowl three games (this was never a problem in the past)? So I asked when leagues started and she wouldn't tell me. So I waited in the bar for 15-20 minutes expecting to be alerted that my lane was ready. Nope. Had to walk back over to the desk to ask about it and was told to get in line behind a few other customers, who, by the way, had just arrived. So I walked back to the bar, grabbed my drink glasses and bowling bag and stood in line to pay for my lane.
Started bowling. Waited for a server to refill my drink. No servers visited me even though there was a day league bowling next to me and normally there were servers. Fine--so I walked back over to the bar, got my refill, and walked back to my lane. Repeated this a few times. Wasted a little time, but not a big deal. I was in no hurry. That is until the aforementioned young woman from the front counter advised me that I needed to hurry up and finish my game--they needed the lane for leagues. Thanks. Would have been nice if you had told me that from the start. So I finished my last five frames, announced to the front counter staff that I wouldn't be back, and left in the proverbial huff.
Now, I'm not a VIP and I don't expect to be treated like one. And I admit, after re-reading the above paragraph. it's what we'd call, in the vernacular, a "first world problem." But I paid for my games, *I'M* the customer, and I do not want to be rushed, molested, hassled, or interrupted as I bowl. I'd like to walk into my bowling center--the one I've patronized exclusively for the last several years--and simply get a lane, food and drink and enjoy the mini-vacation I occasionally, and lately, irregularly, get from work and life's responsibilities.
I have other examples of poor service, especially with the way that leagues are managed, but I'll leave it at this for this review.
Brunswick: You've raised your prices and the quality of your service has diminished. Now you treat your regular customers as an afterthought? And you expect to keep them?
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)