Welcome

I hope I can contribute positively to the growing universe of information about America's favorite indoor activity, bowling. If you go outside, more people fish than bowl. Oh well.

If you are among the almost 70 million Americans that bowled in 2006 (66-68 Million reported by a few different industry associations), you may be a birthday bowler, Thanksgiving day bowler, it's Saturday-Let's go bowling bowler, or the devoted weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly bowler. I hope to share information that will help the novice/new/beginner bowler to understand more about why they sometimes bowl so well, and sometimes bowl so poorly. Also I will touch upon the HUGH impact technology has had on the league bowling scene, with a spin on why you bowl or why you bowl less.

And why an outing to different bowling centers may result in different levels of enjoyment (we don't call them alleys anymore, Bowling Lounges -Yes, Family Entertainment Centers -absolutely).

So, if you always wondered how those league bowlers get invited to bowl in a regularly schedule program, lets start there. 300 Million people live in our country. Our best are Dominant on the World stage, but fewer bowlers, bowl league programs than they did in years past. If you wanted to give this league thing a try, call your local Center, ask for the League Coordinator or General Manager. Why them? One of my biggest pet peeves in this industry, the person answering the phone in a lot of Centers is among the least informed. You are looking to become a bowling Centers Best Customer, a regular. Your request for information should be the most valued communication, certainly at that time, but among the MOST IMPORTANT that day.

If you can communicate to the person answering the phone, that if you get on a league, the center will have enough money for phone answering person to get a raise! But if you lose another potential league bowler, Mr/Mrs/Ms phone answering person, YOUR FIRED!

You are about to be one of their best customers, maybe one of thousands, maybe one of only hundreds. If you are one of hundreds, more valuable ! So if a note is taken, often on the back of a match book, back of a league flyer (that probably could have answered some of your questions), a note pad made up of scrap paper, or the like, many Centers have NO formal procedures to communicate important incoming calls.

Your call is one of the MOST important. Be persistent. If not called back promptly, try them again. You may be on a long list of people looking to plug into a complex array of offerings, or just be a misplaced note under an invoice, behind a schedule, next to a parts catalog, with a sticky note that the day bartender needs Saturday off or the're quitting - again.

Often the harried manager(s)/owner are more like firemen this time of year. Putting out the bartender "fire," before they can get to the person who wants to give them money every week for awhile.