IBI Magazine December 2009

FeaturesPROMOTION PORTFOLIO: MICHIGAN X 2

12 All’s fairTalk about timely. And talk about great publicity for bowling.

14 Winging itFor four Michigan bowling groups, an ambitious sports campaignis a first.

FINANCE16 Turning the boat

A year into the recession, it may be time for a fresh look at yourbusiness from the crow’s nest.By Ken Paton

HUMAN RESOURCES19 A memorable performance

A business is like a concert, your employees always on stage. Howdo you make sure they impress the audience?By Beth Standlee

COVER STORY22 Change agent

Wanda Arthur thought she’d work 10 years and never work again.Instead, she’s managed the Army’s $50 million bowling programfor 12 years and put Army bowling ahead in two critical areas forthe future.

NEWS FEATURE27 $340,000 astray from USBC local; assistant

manager is triedTwo criminal actions for embezzlement in a year and more thana half-million dollars gone are two very big red flags. How secure isyour league money?

MODERNIZATION34 Taking it to the limit

Spend limited bucks wisely and still get pulling power.By Kevin P. Mills, AIA

TRADE SHOW AND TELL37 East Coast hosts lively “bowling series”

International Bowling Industry | December 20094

Volume 17 | Number 12 | December 2009

Departments27 Industry Bulletins

31 Showcase

38 Datebook

40 Classified

22

ColumnsTHE ISSUE AT HAND

6 Special deliveryBy Scott Frager

THE INSIDE TRACK8 ...And all that

By Sandy Hansell

SALES PLANNER10 Pipelines

By Ray Tuttle

27

14


THE ISSUE AT HAND

Scott FragerPublisher and Editor

Like busy elves getting ready for Santa’s deliveries, we have been sawing and sandingand nailing and painting, in a manner of speaking. Not toys, but a new interactivewebsite that has brought social media to the industry for the first time.

Well, maybe it is like a toy because we’re having so much fun with it. So far, we have put up six community groups (for center managers, wanna-be owners,

proprietors, manufacturers, pro shops and NAIR members) and a gaggle of gabfests(discussions) have been started.

We have videos on the site that viewers have clicked to 2,279 times and watched fora total of 57 hours.

Marketing veteran Fred Kaplowitz blogs pointers on getting closer to yourmarket–absolutely essential how-to these days. BPAA past-president Joe Schumackerblogs his “30,000-foot perspective” on the industry and its challenges–issues we needto think about.

And you can get into any of the forums or discussions or blogs (start your own blog,if you want) and tell the bowling world what you think.

It’s all a way of getting to know people in our bowling community you’d never meetany other way. (It’s absolutely free to sign up, by the way.)

But we never like to stand still at IBI. We pride ourselves on trying the untried, onintroducing the new in things small and large. That goes for our website,www.BowlingIndustry.com. It also goes for the print edition of International BowlingIndustry magazine.

In 1993, we pioneered the serious, in-depth how-to stories that IBI has come to beknown for. We have broken many national and industry stories, and we’ve researchedand reported on trends inside and outside the four walls of a bowling center.

For 2010, some 17 years after our premier issue, IBI is evolving once again. We willproudly launch a new direction for what a trade magazine can be. A magazine designedto explore the richness of what makes our industry so unique. A magazine that weintend to be fascinating, dramatic, nostalgic–all the things your life in bowling is.

Watch for it in January, when Santa is going to make that special delivery to everyonein the business. ❑

Special delivery

13245 Riverside Dr., Suite 501 • Sherman Oaks, CA 91423(818) 789-2695(BOWL) • Fax (818) 789-2812

[email protected]

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: One copy of InternationalBowling Industry is sent free to every bowling center,independently owned pro shop and collegiate bowlingcenter in the U.S., and every military bowling center andpro shop worldwide. Publisher reserves the right to pro-vide free subscriptions to those individuals who meetpublication qualifications. Additional subscriptions maybe purchased for delivery in the U.S. for $50 per year.Subscriptions for Canada and Mexico are $65 per year,all other foreign subscriptions are $80 per year. All for-eign subscriptions should be paid in U.S. funds usingInternational Money Orders.POSTMASTER: Please send new as well as old addressto International Bowling Industry, 13245 RiversideDrive, Suite 501, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 USA. If pos-sible, please furnish address mailing label.Printed in U.S.A. Copyright 2009, B2B Media, Inc. Nopart of this magazine may be reprinted without the pub-lisher’s permission.

MEMBER AND/OR SUPPORTER OF:

www.bowlingindustry.com

PUBLISHER & EDITOR Scott [email protected]: scottfrager

ASSOCIATE Ron BurrusPUBLISHER [email protected]

MANAGING EDITOR Fred [email protected]

OFFICE MANAGER Patty [email protected]

SPECIAL PROJECTS Peppe [email protected]: peppesmith

INTERNATIONAL Paul LaneCORRESPONDENT

CORRESPONDENTS Sandy HansellRay Tuttle

CONTRIBUTORS Kevin P. Mills, AIAKen PatonBeth Standlee

ADMINISTRATIVE Victoria TahmizianASSISTANT [email protected]

ART DIRECTION Designworks& PRODUCTION www.dzynwrx.com

(818) 735-9424

FOUNDER Allen Crown (1933-2002)

The World’s Only MagazineDevoted Exclusively To

The Business Of Bowling


THE INSIDE TRACK by Sandy Hansell

As you will read elsewhere this month, change is coming tothis magazine. As part of that process, this will be the lastcolumn of this type to appear here.

Indeed, this piece is something of a milestone because itrepresents the completion of 15 years of pontificating in thesepages on various industry issues and developments. If we add the10 years before that during which I wrote monthly columns for thelong-departed Bowling Proprietor magazine, loyal industry denizenshave been subjected to a full quarter-century of blabbering, naggingand applauding from this perch.

Those 179 columns in IBI chronicled the history and evolutionof this industry over those years. Again and again, the emphasis wason the significant changes which were taking place in our world andthe pressing need for proprietors to adapt to those changes tosurvive and thrive.

Obviously, the most dramatic change we experienced during thisperiod was the steady decline in league participation, coupled withthe impressive growth of our open play and party business.

Ponder this chilling statistic: in the 1993-94 season, the ABC andWIBC certified 4,645,806 adult league bowlers; last season the USBCcertified 2,071,516 league bowlers –a decrease of over 55%. Ouch!To say that that development changed the fundamental nature ofthis industry is an understatement.

However, the good news is that during this time our industry dida magnificent job transforming itself from a 1960s-oriented businessbased primarily on league and tournament competition into a hipmodern location-based entertainment business, with all theadvantages and headaches attendant on that.

As part of that evolution, proprietors and investors dug deep intotheir pockets, unchained their imaginations, dreamed big dreamsand transformed most bowling centers from dark and dingy“bowling alleys” into colorful entertainment palaces. Many existingcenters also added a variety of new attractions and activities, whilea number of bold entrepreneurs constructed an array of newfamily entertainment centers and bowling boutiques, all of whichattracted hordes of new customers into our world.

With all this going on, proprietors also began to focus on otherpressing problems. For example, during this period millions ofpeople relocated (this was when houses could be sold!) and floodsof immigrants settled in many areas. Thus, many centers sawsignificant changes in the demographic composition of their localmarkets, which presented a host of new marketing and operationalchallenges for them.

Meanwhile, center staffs awakened to the ongoing need toactively and aggressively market and promote their businessesrather than just open the doors and wait for bowlers to walk in. Inmore recent times, most centers also began to utilize new technology(Internet, websites, e-mail blasts) to enhance their marketing andpromotional programs.

Most proprietors also realized the critical importance of hiringquality employees and the need to implement effective programsto hire, train and motivate them.

“When everything seems to be going against you,remember that the airplane takes off against thewind, not with it.”

–Henry Ford

International Bowling Industry | December 2009 9

THE INSIDE TRACK

And of course, we also witnessed the historic merger of the ABCand WIBC which became the USBC, and its relocation to theexciting new bowling campus in Arlington, TX, where a new era ofcooperation among all industry integers is being ushered in.

Unfortunately, by early 2008, the dark clouds began to blow in.Problems in the national economy and their impact on this industrysuddenly became a recurrent theme in these pages. And certainlyfor the last year, the agenda here has been topped by frequentconsideration of how centers can overcome the obstacles createdby widespread job losses among their customers, people’s reluctanceto spend money, the insanity of bankers and the overall negative

psychology pervading most of society. Indeed, we won’t shed any tears to see the year 2009 pass into

history; it was by far the worst year within the memory of any of usstill active in the business.

As we look ahead to the new year–indeed, as we face a newdecade–and beyond, many of those dark clouds still loom overhead.But we have plenty of reason to believe that better days are ahead.

For beginners, a host of favorable developments have noticeablyimproved the country’s overall business climate. One pertinent

example: the Disney Company, which is the 800-pound gorilla in ourworld of the entertainment business, is set to invest over $350million to convert its retail stores into “cozy entertainment hubs”featuring an array of recreational activities, totally new décor andinteractive technology. That’s big bucks even for a company aslarge as Disney–and a vote of confidence for where the nationaleconomy is headed.

Meanwhile, closer to home, we have proven over the last 15years that we, too, can change; that we, too, can adapt to newconditions; and that we, too, know how to sharpen our operationsand run better centers.

Bowling proprietors are a tough and resourceful bunch, andthis industry is home to a lot of smart and creative people. And let’sremember that bowling itself retains its long-standing universalappeal. We have a lot going for us. That’s why, despite the headwindsthat Mr. Ford pointed out, we can and we will move forward.

So in the months ahead, as conditions improve and our businessperks up, we will continue to have some fun together. This magazinestill will give me some space to comment, carp, educate (hopefully)and lead the cheers. Here’s hoping the year 2010 presages goodtimes for us all! ❑

An industry consultant, center broker, appraiser and financialadvisor, Sandy Hansell is president of Sandy Hansell and Associates,Inc., based in Southfield, MI. He can be reached at 800-222-9131.

Bowling proprietors: a toughand resourceful bunch.


Every bowling center is looking for high-quality, committed,ready-to-buy, money-in-hand new customers. Having foundgood prospects, developing them into those customers

and keeping them is difficult. They are hard to cultivate andharvest unless you have a formal sales system.

Many bowling businesses have not developed a measurable,fleshed-out sales process that can identify a high-quality prospectand systematically move them through a sales process intobecoming a paying customer. But any business that hopes forsuccess in the future needs to establish a new-businessdevelopment system that is effective and repeatable.

The good news is that your center, regardless of size, marketor business climate, can establish and implement a permanentnew-client sales system that works specifically for your business.This system can build new league bowlers, increase the numberof birthday parties, create new corporate party income, increaseholiday business, fill empty lanes and dramatically impact yourbottom line any time of the year.

We call that system a sales pipeline. Loosely defined, a salespipeline is a specific number of definite results in sequence thatthe salesman must produce in order to move a non-bowler into

spending regular money in your center. Each result is a benchmarkthat determines the next result the salesman needs to achieve.Each answers the question, “What can/must/will I do next tohelp make money (sell) with this contact?”

A good pipeline for a center reflects, among other things, itsparticular goals, needs or objectives, its available finances, itssales, marketing and management skills, experience and availability,and its market(s). The benchmarks need to be created andimplemented, and the results measured and analyzed, againstprojections and modified as indicated by the results.

At my company, we use six benchmarks. The salesman must–inthis order–engage the right people; make them feel comfortable;find out what they want by asking questions; show how he cangive them what they want; get their agreement for the next step;make sure they are satisfied.

But each center needs to create its own system because no twobusinesses are exactly alike. Most center owners and staff have littleexperience with pipelines because it’s a new customer-development tool, and center needs and opportunities vary. Forillustration, however, a simple pipeline might look like this:Preparatory steps:

(1) Identify your need/want/desire: Increase birthday partyincome.

(2) Identify ways of accomplishing it: More people per partyor increase price or more parties.

(3) Decide on one of those ways: The pipeline will be designedto increase the number of parties.The pipeline:

(1) The target market identified: 4- to 12-year-olds.� Purchase list of all kids by birthdates.� Mail a birthday invitation to each kid.

(2) If you receive the lift in birthday parties you wanted, youcan continue the major benchmark and mail each month to allkids in the market.

(3) If you do not get the results you wanted or want to increaseparties more, add more elements to the pipeline sales process.For example:

� Mail two pieces to each birthday prospect–two months out and one month out.

� Send a family an invitation to visit your center to bowl free and learn about your exciting birthday party offerings.

� Phone all birthday prospects (make sure you register with the national “do not call” people) and invite them to have the greatest party ever.

� Promote a different day or time or experience.

SALES PLANNER by Ray Tuttle

PipelinesThey will move you systematicallyfrom initial contact to close.


SALES PLANNER

A new league-building pipeline would contain more stepsand require different elements.

(4) Purchase a list of all business within a five-mile radius with10 or more employees.

(5) Contact each, asking for e-mail or fax andpermission to send them information aboutupcoming employee motivation bowl outingsand clubs.

(6) Group responses into categories of similarresponses and decide on the next-step sales activity.Suppose, for example, you are reviewing the week’stelephone calls to prospects. If:

� No answer from a given prospect, the next step is: Re-call.� Gatekeeper: Gather information.� Spoke to influencer: Make your presentation tailored toinfluencers, and discuss the appropriate next step in the sales process with him.

� Spoke to decision maker: Book dates (if the decision was favorable to your offer) or eliminate obstacles to booking event (if further steps need to be taken with him).

Each step (1)-(6) and each sub-step (bullet points) in thissimple pipeline is a direct response to the most recent contactwith the prospect. The response is always a clearly defined movethe salesman makes. And each step answers the question, “Whatcan (must) (will) I do next to help sell with this contact?”

Your sales pipeline can be a few or many steps, should includetime elements, and the sales process must be measured, inspectedand modified as warranted. Any effective sales cycle trackingstructure can be used to track your results and help indicate

what marketing tools and tactics need to be developed to buildthose new customers. And finally, an effective pipeline salesprocess should complement any existing marketing and saleseffort in your center and can dramatically improve any outsideor in-house advertising and marketing effort.

From league bowlers and kids’ parties to boosting holidaybusiness and filling vacant lanes, the pipeline system will help youfocus your sales efforts, keep you on track, save you time andeffort, and give you the best chance for successful closing. ❑

Ray Tuttle is president of Bowling Marketers of America, asales development marketing firm based in Waterbury, CT. Hecan be reached at 800-603-3985 or www.bmamkt.com; fax himat 888-250-2341.

Regardless of your size or the businessclimate, you can have a new-clientsystem that works specifically for you.


Dan Labrecque started a series ofjob fairs at his bowl, Nottke’s FamilyFun Center in Battle Creek, MI, in

September. He had personal reasons. In January 2009, Labrecque was drawing

a six-figure income by selling powder-coatpaint for a major supplier. Just the yearbefore, he had swung deals for coating theseats at all three MLB parks in New York.

“They flew in for my annual review,”Labrecque recounts, “and they said,‘Actually we’re not here to review you, we’rehere to lay you off.’ One day’s notice, oneday’s paid vacation. Benefits done, car done,phone done, everything done, even thoughI had three weeks vacation by contract.

“When it happens to you, it hits youright between the eyes. If I hadn’t hadNottke’s, it would have been devastating.”

In June, Labrecque got a call from Rusty

Hanna, who had moved on two yearsearlier after doing a stint as Nottke’smanager. Hanna was looking for a job andLabrecque put him on as a consultant whileHanna was searching.

The similar situationsof the two men gaveHanna the idea, saysLabrecque. He admits hewas cool at first about“doing something” for theunemployed in the area, but when Hanna,the persistent type, mentioned it on a lateroccasion, Labrecque had second thoughts.

Sitting down with his telephone, hestarted calling employment offices. Hespent an hour getting nothing but voice-mail messages. “Painful,” he says, but likeHanna, Labrecque doesn’t give up easily.The next day Michigan Works! answered

the phone, and the idea soon reached JobDeveloper/Recruiter Tamara Crooks.

Labrecque had decided he wanted todo 12 weekly job fairs at Nottke’s. Bowlingwould be free during the fair for anyone

without a job. Employers would be there“from all walks of life, from KelloggCompany [the cereal maker isheadquartered in Battle Creek] to thelocal restaurant to the communitycolleges to the Army–not just minimum-wage shops.”

Crooks liked the idea and the twodecided to partner. Crooks contacted area

PROMOTION PORTFOLIO

All’s FairTalk about timely. And talk about great publicity for bowling.

“It’s not your typical bowlingleague. I hope that you don’tshow up next week.”

13

PROMOTION PORTFOLIO

companies and swung about 60 into thefairs. Meanwhile Labrecque pickedWednesdays at 1 p.m. for the fairs, whenNottke’s is dead.

He called on local businesses, amongthem a business improvement group, arealty company and a community chest,and asked each for $1,000 sponsorship.He lined up seven sponsors.

Some companies he approachedweren’t looking for new workers, but likedwhat Labrecque was up to. They supplied$5,000 in prizes to be given away. Onecompany contributed 12 oil changes (oneper week) and a set of tires.

Michigan Works! prepared about 250posters that were put up around town atemployment offices and elsewhere jobseekers might be. The local newspaper rana story on the front page (has done threefront-page stories so far). TV and radiopicked it up.

Eighty job-hunters showed up the firstweek, 100 the second week, 170 the third;attendance is averaging 100, Labrecquereports. The employers are changedweekly, their names and dates available

on Nottke’s website. For the bowling center, attendees

give their name and email addresswhen they come in (used for the prizegiveaways)–info Nottke’s will use forfuture marketing.

And word began to spread. Atpress time, Mark Voight was set tolaunch the program at three of his14 centers. Hanna had presentedthe idea to Dave Osborn, aSouthern California proprietor, whowas going to present the idea to hiscounty proprietor group. Hannawas also trying to get the programstarted at the two centers he ismanaging in Arizona.

The Wall Street Journal wasscheduled to run a feature on thejob fairs. A French national TVstation had two reporters and acameraman, in country to see theU.S. after a year with Obama, talkto Labrecque.

Those bowling were getting a day away

from the stresses of being jobless. And 28people had been hired.

“Right up my alley,” Crooks had saidwhen Labrecque broached the idea to her.Now an enthusiastic Crooks sees the jobfair as a triple opportunity: “to relax, relievestress and look for employment all in thesame location.” Bowling centers, she says,are “very well suited” to the agenda.

“It’s not your typical bowling league,”Labrecque reflects. “I hope that you don’tshow up next week because I hope youhave a job. There’s no sanctions, no prizemoney, no format, just have fun. And ifyou’re home with little kids, bring yourkids too. It’s a day out.”

Labrecque calls the events “the positiveside of unemployment,” adding, “It’s apositive light for bowling. Mark Voightmade a good comment the other day. Hesaid, ‘You don’t know how many bowlerswe have here, league bowlers, that foundeach other at a bowling center and gotmarried. Now it’s going to be, ‘The bowlingcenter is where I found a job.’” ❑


Dan Labrecque


The Southeast Michigan proprietors’association (SEMBCA) had beentalking with the Red Wings, the

clamorously popular ice hockey team outof Detroit.

“Michigan is struggling, let’s face it,” saysJohn Casbar, a Southeast association andBowling Centers Association of Michigan(BCAM) director. “With our economy here,we’re trying to get bowlers to come in, andthese professional sports organizations aredoing the same.

“A perfect example: for the first time inseveral years the Detroit Pistons wereunable to have consecutive selloutsthey’ve enjoyed in the past, and the RedWings are looking as well to keep peoplein their seats.”

So Casbar, who is also marketing chair forthe Southeast association, was at the RedWings’ Fan Fest weekend last year, “lookingfor some way to get involved with the RedWings. I’m a little persistent, let’s say.”

Also memorable. Casbar was dressedas his alter ego, Pin Pal, the 9.5-foot-tallmascot of SEMBCA.

The Red Wings’ offer came in March,abetted by Red Wings man Howard Rosner.He knew SEMBCA from the promotions ithad been doing for five years with theDetroit Pistons, when Rosner had beenwith the basketball club. SEMBCAapproved the offer, and then on anothervote, took the promotion idea to BCAM,a statewide proprietor association. MetroDetroit USBC and Western Wayne USBCeventually came in as well.

The campaign marks the first time theRed Wings have allowed the busyconcourse at Joe Louis Arena, their homevenue, to be used for promotion purposes,Casbar says. The bowling groups have a

table and a TV where attendees get to doa little Wii bowling. During the samegames, PA announcements boom leaguesand bowling.

The Red Wings’ Facebook and Twitterpages are carrying bowling promos. Radiospots on bowling air on a Detroit sportsstation. Centers get two bannerspromoting the club, and the Red Wingsand the bowling associations can use eachother’s logos for purposes of the campaign.

Bowlers who join the 12-week RedWings Bowling Club get two tickets to ahome game, parking, two vouchers for ahot dog and fountain drink at the game,discount prices on tickets for family andfriends to the same game, a Red Wingsbowling towel. And the opportunity togo down to the ice immediately after thegame and shoot at the net.

Proprietors who sign on are includedin seven raffles (74 drawings): trips to theWings training camp, including hotel, golfand gift certificates; two trips to a regularseason away game (air, hotel, game tickets);use of a VIP Super Suite to a regular seasonhome game (includes 40 game tickets, F&B,parking); five autographed player jerseys;five game-used sticks; 25 autographedpucks; and 25 autographed photos.

Proprietor cost is $7.15 per lane, orabout $414 –about the same, Casbar says,as an ad in the weekend paper to promote58-lane Sunnybrook Golf Bowl Motel,where he is business, activity andmarketing director. The four associationsare splitting the $35,000 tab for thebowling side of the campaign. A secondRed Wings promotion will be offered inJanuary; lane fee for those who participatein the fall promo will be zero.

The promotion marks another “first,”

Casbar reports: the first time the twoproprietor groups and the two USBCassociations have partnered in a statewidepromotion.

If possible, he sounds even more excitedabout that than proprietor response: atpress time, 60 centers had signed on. ❑

PROMOTION PORTFOLIO

Pin Pal, the Southeast Michigan mascot,interrupts a briefing on Red Wings promotionat BCAM convention in July. The affable bowl-ing pin was there to present an autographedhockey stick to Pat Ciniello for the collection atthe International Bowling Museum and Hall ofFame. Ciniello is museum president. At podiumis Randy Shank, BCAM vice president andSEMBCA director, who conducted the briefingin company with BCAM president Roger Philipi.

Pin Pal’s jersey started out as regulation RedWings attire, size 4X (the largest), and wasaltered for shape and inclusion of ‘Pin Pal’ nameon the back. John Casbar has been doing the PinPal gig since the association bought the costumeabout five years ago.

Winging ItFor four Michigan bowling groups, an ambitious sports campaign is a first.


Bowling has historically been an industry that recessions,and even depressions, have little impact on. In the past,league bowlers have been willing to give up almost anything

to keep bowling. Today, many league and casual bowlers areequally as dedicated. Recent informal studies show that bowlingrevenue has been impacted much less by the current economicproblems than almost any other industry.

And yet, some centers have temporarily lost revenue as aresult of a poor economy. Revenue can also decline because ofnon-economic problems such as street improvement that blocksthe entry to the center. Weather, either too good or too bad, cantemporarily drive bowlers from your center. Other problemscan be permanent, such as a new entertainment complex opening

nearby or legislative changes such as anti-smoking laws. How you deal with adecline in business may make thedifference between staying open, closing

your doors, or being forced to sell at aheavily discounted price.

There are four turns every business needs tomake when it gets dowsed in a rougher business

sea, whether the change is temporary or permanent.Let’s look at each one.

1. IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM.This at first may appear to be the easiest part of the process.

But often it turns out to be tougher than it seemed, and it can takea lot of time.

Major changes in your bowling center’s revenue may comegradually. If you don’t have good accounting records you willfind it much more difficult to identify that there is a problem, letalone what to do about it. Knowing that shoe rental revenue isup but open play revenue is down may be the first sign thatyour casual bowlers are not staying for as many games andtherefore are unhappy with their bowling experience. But waitingfor them to tell you so may make it too late for a quick and easychange. Determining that an employee is making your center lesswelcoming is hard if you simply rely on hearing it from yourbowlers. On the other hand, the influence on the center’s revenueis easy to measure–if your records are accurate and timely.

One of the easiest reports to pull from QuickBooks is acomparison report showing this month and this year comparedto last. This report will give you a good indication of wherethings are improving and where things are getting worse. Evenif revenue is up, by looking at the percentage of change you canfind useful information.

For example, if bar revenue has been 80% of bowling revenuefor several years and then starts to fall as a percentage, it couldbe that a bartender is helping himself to some of your hard-

FINANCE by Ken Paton

TURNINGTHE BOAT4 MOVES FOR THE BOWLING HELMSMANWHEN THE BUSINESS SEA GETS CHOPPY.


FINANCE

earned revenue. Or changing demographics in your market couldcause your non-bowling customers to look for a different placeto drink with a different atmosphere. Finding out before revenuestarts to seriously decline gives you more time to plan and execute

a solution to the problem while it’s not overwhelming. Financial statements can also be formatted to show the months

side-by-side through the year. By comparing one year to another,and to the past several years, you can more easily identify trendsthat are unique to one part of the year and are not large enoughto show on year-to-date reports.

Identifying trends from raw numbers is not always easy. Notevery proprietor can look at a financial statement and easily getall of the critical information from it. Converting your QuickBooksreports to an Excel spreadsheet and then using the “Chart” featurein Excel to build graphs may highlight a minor trend before it turnsinto a major problem.

To make a graph, click the “View” icon and then click on the“Chart” toolbar. The “Chart” toolbar allows you to develop severaldifferent types of charts and graphs to analyze data. Graphs areoften easier to read than raw financial statements and can be agood tool to identify trends. One of my clients has a series of chartsthat are taped to his office wall illustrating more than 20 years ofmonthly revenue. The trends are very easy to identify even ifyou are standing across the room.

Remember to compare similar revenue and costs, rather thanlook at everything as one big statement. For example, mostfinancial statements show food cost as a percentage of totalrevenue. A better approach is to compare food cost as apercentage of food revenue. This allows you to more easily see ifyour costs are high or low relative to revenue.

2. IDENTIFY THE SOLUTION.Proprietors with many years of experience may find a solution

to a particular problem easily. It is often the same problem thatthey have dealt with many times before. But even theseexperienced proprietors may find new, “outside of the box”solutions hard to come by.

Having a management team may help to identify solutions. The“team” may include the obvious members: your spouse, children,parents, accountant, attorney, and general manager as well as not-so-obvious members such as other proprietors or business ownersin other industries.

There are circumstances in which the entire problem and theentire solution are outside of your control. In this case, you may

not be able to do anything except wait out the events. But thisis extremely rare. Under most circumstances, the problem is atleast partially caused by your decisions, and any and all solutionscan be up to you and your staff to identify and implement.

If your solution requires major concessions froma lender, they may not be easy to get. One banker whois with a work out department in a large Midwestbank, said, “While there are several things we can doto help a problem loan, such as deferring payments,a period of interest-only payments, reduction ofinterest rate, etc., deferment of a few payments is

most common. However, we need to see a clearly definedproblem–or reason for the poor performance–and a clearlydefined, reasonably short-term solution to the problem, and wemust believe that deferment of payments will help solve theproblem, not just delay the inevitable.”

Each bank has its own policies for dealing with a delinquentaccount, or one that might become delinquent. The two mostcommon ways of deferring payments are to add the skippedpayments to the back of the loan, effectively pushing out the finalpayment but not changing the amount of the monthly payments.The other is to add the missing payments to the principal and re-amortize the loan. This will keep the date of the final payment thesame but will increase the monthly payments for the remaining

“The most important thing we look forin a borrower with a request for reliefis that he be credible.”


FINANCE

life of the loan. If you get to this point with your bank, they willtell you which they prefer.

3. COMMUNICATE THE PROBLEM AND THE SOLUTION.One loan officer for a bank in Portland, OR said, “The most

important thing we look for in a borrower with a request for reliefis that he be credible. We need to understand what happened andwhat the borrower is doing to solve the problem. Right now ourSpecial Assets department is buried with problem loans, and ifthe borrower can’t communicate the issues quickly and easily, wemight not be able to help with the solution.”

He went on to say, “If the borrower has a clear description of theproblem and a simple solution to it, a loan officer can often handlethe request and get a positive approval quickly. The loan doesn’tneed to go to Special Assets, which makes life easier for the borrowerand for the bank. If the borrower does not have a credibleexplanation and plan, we are likely to see [that] the best move forthe bank is to let him default and [we] foreclose on the property.”

Although the expression, “you have one opportunity to makea good first impression” is correct, you may also have only oneopportunity to show your banker that you can manage in badtimes as well as good. Banks will often bend over backwards,particularly in tough economic times, to help a borrower with ashort-term problem. But borrowers who blame all of the problemson outside influences or who don’t have a clear plan to solve theirproblem may be viewed as not able to make future payments,even with concessions from the bank.

The Oregon banker continued, “In addition to an explanation, welike to see projections that show the impact of the changes proposedto solve the problem. In addition, [the] assumptions [behind] theprojections are needed so we can understand the logic.”

The projections can follow the same format as your financialstatements, but show the future rather than the past. A breakdowninto revenue sources (league, open play, food, bar, etc.) is importantbecause the banker will want to see if your historic trends arecontinuing and if not, why not. Using a month-by-month formatwill also help because it will show the cash flow needs of the

business during the year. Since bowling is a seasonal industry, it isimportant to show how much cash the business generates in thestrong parts of the year compared to the weak parts.

It is not necessarily critical to have a specific request when youfirst contact your banker. If you identify the problem and thesolution(s) that you will implement inside your center, theprojections will show the shortfall and the months impacted. Once

your banker understands the problem you (and the bank) arefacing, he should be able to suggest a possible solution to the creditpeople within the bank, and then present you with their response.

A loan officer whose Southwest bank is facing many borrowersin default pointed out that your prior relationship with the bankand type of collateral may have a major impact on how flexiblethe bank might be.

“Several factors may be considered in making a decision on aproblem loan: how long the relationship has been in existence, ifthe previous payments were all made on time, and the type ofcollateral,” he said. “Many banks will be much less interested inforeclosing on a special-purpose building such as a bowlingcenter than on a general-purpose building such as an office orshopping center. Also, a borrower who has had a long relationshipwith the bank and has been timely on payments and informationis much more likely to get a favorable decision.”

He recommended getting in touch with the bank as early aspossible. “The bank may want to have a new appraisal done toconfirm the property’s value before making a decision or maywant to do a site visit to see if the assets have been kept in goodrepair. Since these steps take time, talking to the bank soonerrather than later is recommended.”

4. EXECUTE AND FOLLOW UP.Many bowling proprietors have a hard time changing the way

they operate. A high-stress environment can often make themmore resistant to change. Once you have identified the plan andcommunicated it to your team and to the bank, make sure thatyou follow through and ensure that everyone is following it.

You may find that the plan isn’t working as well as you hadhoped. If this happens, you need to go back to the beginning andmake sure that you have identified all of the problems anddeveloped the right plan. One proprietor clearly identified theproblem and a solution. His lack of success implementing thesolution was because there was a more serious problem that heoverlooked by stopping with the first problem he found.

Banks don’t expect that your business will go through the lifeof the loan without a few problems along the way. Theyunderstand that times change and businesses must changewith them. Your bank will expect you to anticipate mostof the problems you will face, and to deal with themwhile making your payments on time.

But they also understand that some problems comewithout warning. While they are your bank and not your

partner, most are still willing to work with their better customerswhen the unforeseen happens. You just need to make sure thatyou are one of their better customers when you need their help.❑

Ken Paton is a financial consultant to the bowling industry withmore than 30 years experience working with small business. Hepractices in Portland, OR, and can be reached at 503-645-5630.

Banks often bend over backwards intough economic times to help with ashort-term problem.


HUMAN RESOURCES

If you’re a performance-based employer,you have the right to hold your teammembers accountable, and you ought

to provide recognition for a job well done.You need a system that can addressperformance so that its measurement issimple and clear. With clarity, yourmanagers are in position to lead and tohelp employees understand what it meansto perform.

But too often, employers who, likeyou, want top performance from theirstaffs haven’t defined clearly what theywant. How could such an employer holdhis team accountable? Yet if he is silentand ignores non-performance, he sendsthe message that not only does hetolerate it, he approves it. Even worse, he

discourages the good performer. We’ve allwatched good employees sink to the levelof the weakest player on the team.

And too often performance reviewsare such a pain in the rear! You have to find

time to do them. Then you need to tellpeople how they are doing–good andbad. Finally, if you do a performancereview and the person does well, thenyou need to pay them more, and who hasmore money?

In this article, I’ll do my best to giveyou a method of getting around theseproblems in creating a performanceculture at your center (except the lastone–but we all really know that topperformers are worth the money theycost). You don’t have to have the attitudethat “if I ignore a performance problem,maybe it will go away”!

Let’s look first at the fundamentalperformance breakdowns. 1. The hiring process.

People can fool us in an interview. Wehire the first guy or gal that walks in thecenter because we’re desperate. Startthere. Set new standards for what anemployee must be. Create a checklist andif an applicant can’t meet your hiringstandard, then there’s probably not muchchance they’ll be a top performer on yourteam. Define the qualities of a topperformer and set that as your standard.

2. Job descriptions are vague or non-existent.

When you put the expectation inwriting, the document can become awritten contract of understanding andaccountability between you and your

by Beth Standlee

I’m not suggesting your new-hire trainingshould be 38 hours, but I do believe itshould be more than 38 minutes.

A memorableperformance

Your business is like a concert,your employees always on stage.How do you make sure theyimpress the audience?


HUMAN RESOURCES

team member. As a leader, it is easy to feellike the employee may not have enoughinformation or training to do the job well.This struggle can be tempered when youhave a job description that clearly definesthe role of your employee.3. Orientation procedures are limitedto paperwork and clock-in procedures.

Orientation is your time tocommunicate the values and goals of yourorganization and what it takes to be atop performer in your center. As a sidenote, Starbucks has a great performanceculture that is supported by a rigorousorientation and a new-hire model thatplaces an employee on shift only afterthey go through approximately 38 hoursof orientation and training. I’m notsuggesting your orientation and new-hiretraining should be 38 hours, but I dobelieve it should be more than 38 minutes.4. Minimal training.

When we fail to have an adequatetraining program, then we will be caughtin the trap of self-blame when anemployee underperforms. 5. Follow-up training.

My company is a training company.The thing that I have learned is thattraining never ends. You must have asystem in place that continues to teach anemployee new things. They can’t learneverything on the first day. 6. Lack of standardized systems ofreview that are relevant, frequent,and meaningful.

It is important to the employee, yourteam and your business to establish amodel for review. If you wait until a one-year performance review is due, thenyou’ve spent a whole year allowing anunderperformer to bring your teamdown to his or her level. Write-ups arenot necessarily effective performanceconversations or reviews. Everyone needsfeedback in order to perform at a higherlevel. Instead of the dreaded write-upthat is often done in haste and anger,why not replace it with regular,meaningful conversation that moves anemployee up or out?

If we look at each of these breakdownsand replace them with new performanceexpectations that are systematized andstandardized, then we have a strongfoundation for upgrading our staff.

1. When it comes to hiring, we believea job application, a casting-call methodof elimination, and an actual auditionfor potential new employees can makethe biggest difference in the quality ofyour staff.

We eliminate applicants before theyare even granted an interviewopportunity, based on standards thatare set with regard to smile, handshake,creativity–we base this part of theevaluation on random non-jobquestions such as “If you were asuperhero, who would you be andwhy?”–dress, confidence, and ability tothink on their feet.

Once an applicant has passed thescreening process, and assuming we liketheir application, they are invited to anaudition. The audition is a 90-minuteprocess that demands an applicantperform. This structured process helpsyou know whether or not your potentialnew hire can interact with the public, ifthey are team players, and whether theyare performance- and personality-drivenbefore you spend a dime on them. Payrolldollars add up. Mis-hiring and lack oftraining are two of the most expensivecosts of doing business.

Finally, testing and background checksare always a good way to confirm thatyou’ve made the best decision to place anew employee in position.

2. The job description needs to besuccinct and clear. Every job shouldinclude your definition of customerservice because every position requires alevel of great guest service. For example,this definition could be part of every jobdescription:

“Summary of this job:“Provides exceptional guest service

for our guests, ensuring that theirexperience exceeds their expectations.Responsibilities include, but are not

limited to:“Guest Service“� Ensure that guests’ expectations are

exceeded!“� Anticipate and solve any issues,

preferably before they arise.“� Invite guests to return.“� Maintain cleanliness throughout the

facility inside and out.“� Be present–choose a great attitude

–play–make someone’s day.”This guest service summary could then

be made specific with regard to individualpositions in the center.

3. When we help open new facilities,one of the first things we tackle is thenew-employee handbook because weuse this as a basis for the development oftheir orientation. Orientation is yourmost opportune time to help a new teammember understand your culture. What’syour story? How did you get intobusiness? Why are you still here? What areyour goals for your customer, your team,and yourself?

Communicate this message to yournew people. They’ll understand why theirjob is more than taking out the trash andempting ashtrays!

4. Training. I know that I’ve been guiltyof hiring the first guy who walked in thedoor. “Can you start today?” has beenfollowed by, “Here’s how you turn on thelane. Have great day”!

Expecting great performance out ofsomeone who has been marginally trainedis unrealistic. A new employee shouldshadow an experienced team memberfor 2-5 shifts depending on their position.Having the experienced employee shadowthe newbie helps build the latter’sconfidence that they can do the job whilemaking sure someone is there who canhelp if needed.

5. Follow-up training is essential. Wedeveloped a one-hour monthly trainingprogram called “Fun Training SeriousResults” to help managers and supervisorsunderstand how to deliver the bestmonthly training meeting. You can’tpossibly provide on-the-job training for


HUMAN RESOURCES

something like how to handle a difficultguest, but you can teach it in a follow-upclass that motivates and communicates toyour team every month.

6.Standardized systems for performancereview create an accountability standardthat you and your employee can live by.Today’s employee requires more instructionand more feedback more often.

When you think about performanceevaluation, review, and/or reprimand, youhave to put it into the context ofimproving your business and leading your

team. A great leader, Dwight D.Eisenhower, said, “You do not lead byhitting people over the head–that’sassault, not leadership.”

Set up systems that clearly communicateyour standards. Maybe you’ll have to defineyour standards first. Communicate thosestandards. Give clarity to the expectationsof the job at hand. Train, and hold yourselfand your staff accountable. When youfollow these steps, there’ll be little need forthe big stick! ❑

Beth Standlee is Chief Sales Officer ofTrainerTainment LLC, a sales-based trainingcompany focused on guest service, groupand event planning, training and leadership.This article was adapted from The GreatLeaders Series, a seminar-based trainingprogram by TrainerTainment. Support formsand documentation used at Standlee’scompany and provided to its customers areavailable at the Xpress Training portal onwww.trainertainment.net. Beth Standleemay be reached at 817-886-4840 [email protected].

It is a short distance, as interstate travel goes, from Beckley, WV to Alexandria,VA–a little over 300 miles.

It was a long distance from Beckley, WV to Alexandria, VA, including a six-year loop through Hawaii, for Wanda Arthur, manager of the U.S. Army’sbowling program.

But then, Arthur was a traveler from early in her working life. College inPhoenix, then a year each working in Colorado Springs, Phoenix again, LakeTahoe–none of it in bowling.

“I always said to myself, ‘I know I can work 10 years and I’ll never have to workagain,’ so I didn’t really get serious about working until I was 30.” That was inBeckley, where she built her own restaurant. The Citadel was the first orsecond Mexican eatery in the state.

Ten years as a restaurateur later, the family circumstances changed that drewher to West Virginia. She made a decision that started her traveling again, thistime south to Athens, WV, where two things happened.

She took a degree at Concord University (in travel industry managementwith concentrations in F&B, parks and resorts, and lodging). “I decided I betterquit fooling around and get my degree in food and beverage, now that I hadall this experience in running a restaurant.”

And she met the Army. The Army’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR)Command recruits at selected universities around the country. Offered a jobby a scouting MWR rep, she took it. She especially liked the idea that she couldwork in Hawaii. “They came, they offered, sounded good to me,” she says.

22

COVER STORY

CHANGEAGENTShe thought she would work 10 years and never workagain. Instead, she’s managed the Army’s $50 millionbowling program for 12 years and put the Army in thelead in two critical areas for the future.

The promotion is in the proof. Wanda Arthur (right) in her office withShirley Kappa, special events marketing specialist for the Army’s FamilyMorale, Welfare and Recreation Command. The two have workedtogether on bowling promotions for almost a decade.

Four-foot plush bowler behind Arthur was the grand prize at eachArmy center participating in a 2000 promotion. Kids completed apunch card and took home a 12-inch plush version of the character;completed cards went into a raffle for the big figure.

Cover and story photography by Eduardo Alejandro


opened up at MWR headquarters in Alexandria, she took it.“Where else can you work in one field, then completely change

careers?” she says after 19 years with the Army. “And the Army paysyou while you learn and pays for your training. It was atremendous opportunity. Even now, if I really wanted to, I couldswitch careers again, and many people do.”

� � �

Love traveling, love change of scene. Arthur’s new job was a bigchange. “A total turnaround,” she says.

Arriving at Army MWR headquarters in Alexandria, shewas supposed to go directly into developing a certificationprogram for managers of Army bowling centers. But this wasthe late ’90s, and the prospects for conducting business viathe Internet had her boss excited. Arthur joined a project

team to develop a website to showcase a model garrison (base)called Fort Excellence. The project benchmarked various MWR

COVER STORY

After a month of intensive classroom training at the MWRAcademy in Alexandria and hands-on “with the pots and pans”at Fort Ben Harrison in Indiana, Arthur was off to the Islands.There, she interned for two years at the officers’ club at SchofieldBarracks on Oahu.

If oceans were feminine and masculine, Arthur says, the Atlanticwould be masculine. “He’s sort of grumpy and rough and gray, andthe Pacific is blue and peaceful and very feminine. The Pacific isthe most beautiful ocean I’ve ever seen.” She saw it for another four

years, as manager of the Schofield Officers’ Club.When family matters intervened in her life again and a new job

“BPAA needs to change their name.They’re proprietors and managers.”

All that Wanda Arthur and veteran bowling coach BobRea intended to do was revamp BPAA’s in-school program forelementary school kids, written by Rea a few years ago.

In the end they had a turnkey, standalone program forArmy bowling center managers who want to learn from theground up how to coach kids of any age.

The 150-page lesson manual, written by Arthur and Rea,divides the instruction according to age groups 4 years andyounger, 5-8, and 9-12, with an additional section of advancedlessons. The lessons for 12-year-olds can be adapted for teens.The youngest bowlers learn on a bowling carpet, then graduateto real lanes as they grow older.

Titled simply “Youth Bowling,” the program is being releasedto Army centers along with Bowlopolis, the first integration ofbowler training for youngsters with the promotional thrust ofthe BPAA/USBC branding initiative.

After Arthur and Rea put in a dogged six months creatingthe manual, it became the textbook Rea used at this year’s BowlExpo for a class in beginning coaching for Army centermanagers.

“If the manager has never coached before,” Arthur explains,“he’s like the youngster learning the lessons. He’s learning tocoach very simple elements of the game of bowling that he cantake back and use in his center for a year or so. Then he cancome back to Bowl Expo and take a USBC Bronze class or a DickRitger class to learn coaching more rigorously.”

Part of certification training for Army bowling centermanagers, the Expo class also included lessons for coaching

disabled bowlers (in the Army’s Wounded Warriors program)and “Fun Tips” for open bowlers, both penned by celebratedcoach Dick Ritger and taught by Ritger and Rea.

So far, 28 Army centers are participating in Youth Bowling.Arthur’s goal for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 is to see thenumber hit 60. Eighty-five military managers have been trainedon coaching for the disabled.

KIDDIE RIDE


COVER STORY

facilities, including bowling, against theircivilian counterparts.

But the Army’s program manager forbowling was also managing golf, twoprograms where one would have beenenough of a workload. The Fort Excellencebowling project was handed off to Arthur.She knew nothing about bowling centersor the game, but the Army paid her way toresearch the industry at trade shows andallowed her to call on bowling suppliers,visit civilian centers, and meet the Air ForceNonappropriated Funds Purchasing Office(AFNAFPO), an immense purchasingagent used by all the military branches.

Quickly she was at work on managercertification.

She called on one chain operator toarrange training, but the chain did notwant to adapt its curriculum to meet Armyneeds “and I didn’t want their completetraining package. We already had greatsystems in place to teach businessmanagement through the Army’s MWRAcademy. We didn’t need them to teach uspersonnel or financial management. Andat that time we offered extensive trainingin food and beverage operations. I wantedan overall training curriculum that focusedon bowling operations.”

In Brunswick, she found the rightpartner. The company put together acurriculum that looked at “thehousekeeping” of a bowling center–HVACand enegy management, lane andequipment maintenance, and oversightof the mechanical staff. Brunswick hassupplied this one-week, core certificationtraining at Expo since (subsequentlyjoined by USBC, IBPSIA, Dick Ritger, BobRea, and Jayhawk).

Arthur sat in on BPAA boardmeetings–as a non-voting member, sinceshe had no authority to speak for theArmy. But she answered questions aboutmilitary bowling programs and had achance to learn the focus and direction ofthe industry.

Her F&B expertise fit “quite nicely” intoher new responsibilities. “Food andbeverage is a very, very large part of our

bowling program,” she explains. “In fact,when we started working with the BPAA,

people would question our food andbeverage numbers. But 50% of our $50million program is food and beverage. It’s

a tremendous part of the program, muchmore so than bowling in many locations.”

She sat in with MUBIG as well, findingtheir numbers more useful for herprogram than BPAA’s benchmark figures.

“When I was in business for myself, I didn’tthink I needed anybody to teach me howto make those decisions.”


All the experience drew together in Arthur’s contribution toa certification program that has two levels together totaling 400hours of training and seven years of on-the-job experience. TheArmy has run this certification program for its managers since2001. BPAA’s intensive, week-long management school wasopened in 2007.

Arthur thinks BPAA lagged behind because proprietors haveto think and act independently. “When I was in business formyself, I lived and died by the decisions I made, so of course I didn’tthink I needed anybody to teach me how to make those decisions.I think a lot of proprietors may take that position. But withmanagers, especially in a military environment, you always havesomeone who is charged with ensuring training is provided to helpthem with those decisions.”

Like BPAA past-president Joe Schumacker, she thinks managerswill become more visible in day-to-day control of center

operations. “BPAA needs to change their name, but I’ve beentelling them that since ’97. They’re not just proprietors. They’reproprietors and managers. The BPAA needs to get a certificationprogram up and running that is comparable with managementcertification programs in other industries.

“You can always get business training through a college,” shereflects, “but what you can’t get through the college, and what Ithink you can’t get online, is a lot of what I call bowling technicaltraining. When I went through the Army MWR training program,they sent me to cooking school. Did I ever cook? No. I ran anofficers’ club and had a chef. But they sent me there so I wasprepared to oversee the staff and the rest of the business operation.”

� � �

Through BPAA, Arthur got a look at civilian centers that weremuch more impressive than many in the Army. To some, such asindustry veteran Remo Picchietti, military centers were in greatshape compared to a lot of civilian bowls–as he told her often–butshe saw many Army centers as “rundown and in great need ofupgrades. When I started in ’97, bowling had that ‘old bowlingalley’ atmosphere, lots of smoke and few families. Bowling centerswere treated as cash cows. Very little was reinvested in them.”

When she clued-in Army MWR authorities, “Bam! All of asudden, eight centers were programmed for rebuild orrenovation. That was a big chunk of MWR money back in 2000,almost $40 million. It started a wave of bowling center upgradesArmy-wide.”

She campaigned for glow bowling in particular, and got push-

back. “When I first stood up in front of a group managers and said,‘You need to get into this glow bowling,’ they looked at me likea deer in headlights and said, ‘It’ll never last.’ Well, of course not,nothing lasts forever, but you ride it while you can.” A glowbowling and birthday party package was developed for Europe,where glow had just been installed in Army centers, but onlyfour managers showed up for the training.

Things have improved, she says. “Many training programs aremandatory now.” Meanwhile, “we never waste good training, sowe offered [it] to all military managers attending Bowl Expo in ’03and ’04.”

� � �

“Soldiers and their families are entitled to the same amenitiesand opportunities they would enjoy in the civilian sector,” Arthursays. The Army agrees. “That is not written down as a recruitingentitlement, but that’s the way Army MWR looks at it,” she adds.

The benefits are outlined in the Army FamilyCovenant, a program she and others in MWRworked on for years. One offering: anenhancement of Bowlopolis, created by herand veteran coach Bob Rea. A turnkey, age-graded coaching program for children, it’sdesigned to draw parents as well and to add tothe “quality family time” at Army bowling

centers. (Centers also partner with other MWR activities on thegarrison such as auto repair and craft centers to introduce familiesto other recreation options.)

� � �

The Arthur years are drawing short. Army MWR is moving toSan Antonio, a transition that will be completed by September2011, and she has chosen not to move with it because of businessinterests in the East. She may retire, she could stay with themilitary, even continue with bowling, go back to F&B or start anew career.

Whatever the decision, Arthur can look back and see how shehas set direction and established trends. The most importantdifference she has made?

“I think it’s the support I provided directly to our bowlingcenter managers–in a general sense and in the one-on-onerelationships I’ve developed with them and with leaders in theindustry. Of all the MWR managers in the Army, the bowlingmanagers were probably the least appreciated and the leasttrained when I entered the picture.

“Yes, it’s been the relationships with those managers out there,and any help I might have provided in helping them developtheir self-worth. Army bowling center managers who boughtinto the Army’s management programs, participated in Armycertification and other training opportunities, and who effectivelyoperated their centers are moving up to become Business DivisionChiefs and even MWR Directors at their garrisons. I like to thinkI played some small part in their success.” ❑

COVER STORY

“Bam! All of a sudden, eight centers wereprogrammed for rebuild or renovation.That was a big chunk of MWR moneyback in 2000, almost $40 million.”


NEWS FEATURE

Mary Jo Stouffer of Alpine Village, CA, , assistant managerof the North Los Angeles County Bowling Association(NLACBA) for three years, was on trial in a Los Angeles

federal court at press time, accused of diverting $340,000 over a two-year period.

The loss was discovered in April 2009 following an NLACBAtournament award banquet, when the prize checks started bouncing.

Stouffer allegedly stopped coming in to the office after the firstcheck was returned and did not respond to repeated phone callsabout the situation. A search of the association office by NLACBAdirectors failed to turn up original records to verify financial reportsshe had been making as a routine part of her job.

When the directors convened an emergency meeting around thefirst week in May, “things looked really suspicious,” said CraigGoodman, who has been a director of the association for three years.Ultimately the directors went to the police.

According to Goodman, records indicate that money waswithdrawn from the association almost daily and sometimes severaltimes a day for about two years. Another source said recovered bankstatements show transfers to several online gambling sites.

Asked if the case would prompt a reexamination of USBCsecurity procedures, USBC E.D. Stu Upson answered, “I think ourpolicies in terms of bonding and rules [are] pretty solid. I can’t sayat this point whether it’s going to cause us to reexamine things ornot–it’s a little bit too early to tell–but we’re taking it very seriously.”

$340,000 ASTRAY FROM USBC LOCAL;ASSISTANT MANAGER IS TRIED

In August, NLACBA was reimbursed $20,000 on the loss,according to Mike Spridco, Team Leader – Rules/Bonding at USBC.USBC covers a maximum of $10,000 per claimant per year unlessthe association or league requests bonding for a larger amount. Therequest is made by specifying in an online form or in writing thedollar coverage desired. USBC provides the additional bondingwithout charge, the cost of bonding covered by annual dues fromUSBC members. NLACBA did not request additional bonding ineither year of the losses, Spridco said.

In a similar series of events, Stephen Donahue of Weedsport,NY, manager of the New York State USBC association for 23 years,pleaded guilty late last year to embezzling $274,000. Over twoyears, Donahue spent the money to gamble at Turning Stone, anIndian casino in the central state area. “It pretty much wiped outthe association,” according to Mike Pettinella, a former bowlingcenter manager and bowling journalist who made the story publicand followed the case.

Kevin Dornberger, who was COO of USBC at the time, said thatafter the New York loss was discovered, “USBC gave them advice onseveral issues–protection of the remaining funds, election of newofficers and so forth–and we felt they more or less ignored ouradvice. That was part of the decision-making process [that brought]USBC to revoke the charter.” A subsequent suit against USBC by thestate association was settled by the formation of a new group, theEmpire State Bowling Association. Pettinella, a past local association

director, was elected its president. Beefed-up security procedures for the state group

since Pettinella’s election include four signatures on theaccount–three officers and the manager–with tworequired on checks. Pettinella has statements sent directlyto his home rather than to the association manager,and Internet banking allows Pettinella to verify theaccount in real time. In addition to an audit/financecommittee, the association will employ an independentaccountant for a yearly review of the books, he told IBI.

Dornberger said the Los Angeles events do not appearto “rise to the level of culpability as the New York Statesituation did because the L.A. folks have been muchmore amenable to follow-up on our recommendationson damage control.”

Dennis Caudle, bond claims analyst at USBC, saidmore than 90% of bond claims filed with his office“involve [a] scenario where the money is just not beingproperly monitored every month.” ❑

USBC locals request bonding amount in the lower left of this online screen.A state association usually makes its request in an informal letter onletterhead. Leagues submit the request on the “League Application” form.


Bowling Foundation to RestructureThe 15 directors of The Bowling Foundation (TBF) voted

early last month to dissolve the foundation’s current structureon Dec. 31.

Originally the educational wing of BPAA, TBF became theofficial charitable arm of the industry by agreement of BPAAand USBC in 2007.

The board’s move was made for economic and missionreasons. In a release, the board explained its decision by citing“a difficult economy and the need to become a more effectiveand efficient organization.” A newly formed board will “seek toredef ine the foundation’s mission and vision,” theannouncement said.

The new board, which will be seated officially on Dec. 31,consists of BPAA E.D. Steve Johnson, USBC E.D. Stu Upson,Bowlers to Veterans Link administrator Elizabeth Montoya,Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame E.D. Bill Supper, and aperson yet to be named to represent Susan G. Komen Bowl forthe Cure, a TBF partner.

Troy Greisen, hired in August 2008 as a paid executivedirector for TBF, stepped down after the vote. Programcoordinator Jennifer Lee remains as a paid staff member.

For the present, TBF will continue fundraising and fundgranting to further the sport, particularly youth bowling.

Saving BowlingFor a while, it looked like Gull Lake Ministries wouldn’t have

bowling after all.The religious retreat on the shore of Gull Lake, near

Kalamazoo, MI, is a site for all-inclusive family get-togethers inthe summer, conferences for seniors in fall and spring, and 150-200 retreats year-round, mostly for church groups. The ministry

serves about 10,000 people a year from all over the country.Not long ago, a $5 million donation by an anonymous family

was set to work building a 52,000-square-foot multi-purposebuilding. It includes a fireplace and snack shop, game and craft

INDUSTRY BULLETINS

Mike Hinkel may be retiring soon, the result of a possible saleof his Lumberjack Lanes in Springhill, LA, but his bowling centerwill not be the only legacy he leaves.

On Oct. 1, Hinkel e-mailed Kevin Dornberger, former USBCCOO, and Neil Stremmel, Vice President – National GoverningBody, to request an addition to the USBC playing rules. Hinkelwanted a statement that would explicitly allow proprietors toattend league meetings with the right to “speak and/or giveadvice” to ensure compliance with USBC rules.

“In the days of WIBC I had the same problem,” Hinkel wrote,describing an incident in which a WIBC field rep told leagueplayers that proprietors should not be present and heard atmeetings. Hinkel added, “I know I am not the only owner withthis problem.”

He argued that stating an explicit right would reduce phonecalls to USBC “for bad judgment in making rules” and that“without bad rules we could retain more bowlers.”

The next day Hinkel got a reply from Mike Spridco, leader ofthe Rules/Bonding Team. “USBC has no problem withproprietors being involved in the league meetings at theircenter,” Spridco wrote, but he outlined two problems withadding a requirement to the rule book. USBC would not be able

to overturn decisions based solely on a proprietor’s not beinginvited or not attending the meeting; and some proprietorsmight encourage non-compliant rules, resulting in more calls toUSBC and lost bowlers.

A few days later, Hinkel fired back, “I am looking for a simplestatement inside the rule book acknowledging that theproprietors do have rights. You must remember that a lot ofpeople read every inch of the rule book and if they can't see it, itmust not be so. Remember bowling proprietors spendhundreds of thousands to millions of dollars and it is just not themoney, most of us work 10 to 15 hours every day. Not one of usneeds to hear from a rule book reader that we have no right tobe involved in meetings or be involved in resolving a simple rulejust because it cannot be read in their almighty rule book thatwe can be involved.”

The following day, Sprido wrote that a Commonly AskedQuestion to Rule 122 in the book could be added to say thatproprietors can attend league meetings. Spridco told IBI theQuestion will be posted on the USBC website as soon asupdating (as of press time) is completed. It will also be includedin the next edition of the rule book, to be printed in June, and ina pre-season e-mail blast that will go out in July.

Striking a Blow for Proprietors


line folks dress uniformly in black pants and logoed shirts.McCall, new in the bowling business, says he is not trying to

be “white-collar bowling.”Rather, he is taking his cue from veteran South Carolina

proprietor Howard Davis, who customarily wears a shirt andtie at work , says McCall . “We just wanted to bring aprofessional, cut-cut image to family entertainment,” he offers,referring to the attractions under the Planet Fun roof.

They include 32 lanes of bowling, an additional four lanesof mini-ball bowling (QubicaAMF’s Highway 66), nine holes ofmini golf , two-stor y laser tag arena , more than 100redemption games, a pro shop, a concession stand and a 130-seat casual dining restaurant called Starz Grille. He considered

rooms, and a retail store selling logo merchandise. More active folksenjoy a gym with full-size basketball court, a climbing wall, and apickle ball court (like tennis played with a plastic, slow-floating ball).

Four bowling lanes were planned, then seemed doomed by a30% rise in the price of steel. But in a week’s telephone time, theministry’s E.D., Daniel Wallace, inspired additional donations thatcould keep the bowling lanes in. New Center Consulting ofRochester Hills, MI did the rest with used machines and lanes,new scoring, monitors and masking from various manufacturers.

Gull Lake Ministries spokesman Jeremy Heavey said thebowling is already a hit. Opened in August along with the rest ofthe multi-purpose building, the four lanes were “packed” for therecent senior conference. Kids will be able to bowl next summerwhile their parents are participating in grown-up activities, and aschedule for the bowling lanes has been started for retreat groupsbecause bowling has been requested for almost every weekend.

“We’ve got programming for newborns to a 100-year-oldperson. We figured [bowling] would be one activity everybodycould do,” Heavey said.

Everything ShipshapeCustomers at Planet Fun, Brian McCall’s new FEC in Shallotte,

SC, aren’t allowed in wearing hoodies, numbers, or do-rags.Their hats have to face forward and their pants can’t sag belowthe waist. McCall’s management staff wears shirt and tie, and his

INDUSTRY BULLETINS

a boutique module, but decided thebowling ambience was suff icientlyupscale to be a lounge unto itself.

McCall’s ideas of professionalism andcustomer decorum may seem to belie hisbrief acquaintance with the FEC concept,which only goes back about four years.But they f it right in with his lifelongexperience in movie theaters. His familyhas been operating them since McCallwas 12 years old. From 1999 to 2007, theyowned 74 screens in seven locations inNorth and South Carolina and WestVirginia. They continue to operate a 10-screen cinema in Durham, NC.

“We have always been in theentertainment business and think thefamily entertainment side of it is

An Unusual Buy?The Michigan economy is not the

world’s best at the moment and BobSmoltz is 68 years old.

That might makes Smoltz’s recent buyof Bel-Mark Lanes, a 40-lane house inAnn Arbor, look a trifle odd, especiallysince business at his Ford Lanes inDearborn is very good. He’s almostdouble-shifted there and has “a goodbook of business” in corporate partiesand such. Smoltz was named 2009proprietor of the year by the BowlingCenters Association of Michigan.

But he says he likes a challenge.“’Retirement’ is not in my vocabulary. Ifyou stop, you sort of rust out, is mythought,” adds Smoltz, the owner of acenter that’s been in the family for 51years . He remembers as a youngstercarrying in the lumber for the lanes.

Smoltz and his two sons wanted toexpand their “base in the industry,” andcenter broker Sandy Hansell andAssociates connected them with Bel-Mark. The demographics, particularlythe University of Michigan’s Ann Arborcampus, population 42,000 students,appealed especially.

Well-experienced with putting “a lot oftender loving care and funds back into[Ford Lanes] over the years,” Smoltz hasstarted freshening the place even while heis deciding whether to reconfigure as atraditional center with a boutiquemodule or a full-blown FEC.

His older son, Mark, has been withSmoltz for 17 years and is generalmanager of both properties. Son Craigwas educated as an engineer, went towork in the auto industry “–you knowwhat’s happened to those jobs–” andnow helms Bel-Mark.

“We’re going to probably look at otherfacilities across the country and study thedemographics in this area a little morecarefully,” says the elder Smoltz. “Thecountry is in a little bit of difficulty butMichigan is even worse. We have to treadvery carefully and spend our dollarswisely to make all this happen.”

So much more the challenge.

30 International Bowling Industry | December 2009

In the style of the familiar nurseryrhyme, “With bowling balls and pins all ina row (more or less),” if you’re DonaldBernovich.

At home in Marquette Heights, IL and aspry 73, Bernovich has been collectingdiscarded balls and pins from Sunset

Lanes in nearby Pekin for years. They’reeverywhere around the property: ringingtrees, topping poles, just piled up hereand there (without glue; he relies entirelyon balancing the balls).

Jim Keith, who owns Sunset Lanesand another center, Four Seasons Bowl

in Canton, testifies to Bernovich’s loveof the game. Bernovich sponsorsteams, acts as league secretary, helpsout fellow bowlers who need a fewbucks for bowling, and bowls in fourleagues. “He absolutely loves thegame.” Keith tells us.

Fortunately for Bernovich, he stillhas time left over for his otherpassions, his bikes: a ’96 Harley-Davidson and an ’83 Yamaha.

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

INDUSTRY BULLETINS

evolving into the facility we just built.”Planet Fun opened in August.

He believes his bowling FEC, like moviesin bad times past, will weather the currentdownturn all right. “People will still go outand spend the $20-50 to get some qualitytime where they can play, eat and spend afew hours with their family,” he says.

And so far, McCall’s philosophy andhis attractions are paying off with hispublic. Leagues are off to a good start,with about 650 bowlers. Customers arecoming from as far away as rural areas45 miles distant. And young patrons he’sseen have started crying when mom anddad announced it was time to go home;they weren’t ready yet.

Mini GolfLiberty Lanes Family Fun Center in Cottage Grove, OR, www.libertylanesfamilyfuncenter.com, just added anindoor 18-hole professional miniature golf course with a variety of shots. Some of the obstacles includerotating bowling pins, windmill, lighthouse, castle and traffic light. The course was designed andmanufactured by Mini-Golf, Inc. Jessup, PA, a manufacturer of pre-fab courses for indoor and outdoor use.For more information, call 570-489-8623 or go to www.minigolfinc.com

Automatic Bumper SystemThe key word is flexibility and automatic is our standard. US Bowling’s Z-Bump system gives you theability to control your bumpers through any scoring system. This feature gives you the option tocontrol bumpers based on player’s preference! Our Z-Bump system has been tested and proven to bethe most flexible and durable bumper the industry has to offer. Backed by a comprehensive and liberalwarranty! For more information, call Brent Dyer, Director of Operations, 909-548-0644, email [email protected] or go to www.usbowling.com.

CleanersBrunswick is leading the industry with a line of environmentally smart products including Authority22 Lane Cleaner,Invincible Lane Cleaner, Judge Lane Cleaner and Universal Pin Cleaner. To learn how the BGreen line can benefit your center,contact your Brunswick Product Specialist today.

Center Network Systems UpgradesFrom Brunswick, new products and enhancements help you to increase your center’s revenue and control its costs. BrunswickVector CNS enhancements include Event Manager module, Mechanic’s System with wireless lane control/messagingcapabilities, Online Scoring, 3rd-party liquor control and game card interfaces, and a new Bowlopolis graphic environment.Upgrades now available to all management systems include Internet Reservations with social networking, TimePro LaborManagement System, high-definition LCD monitors, Brunswick Digital Signage, and numerous hardware upgrades to extendthe life of your system. For more information, contact your Brunswick Representative, call 800-YES-BOWL or 231-725-4966.

Themed Birthday PinsAre you looking for something special to offer your birthday guests? Themed Birthday Pins from QubicaAMF are theperfect thing! Kids love them! Themed Birthday Pins available for Oceano, Fairy Tales and Prehistorica BES Scoringenvironments. The pins are also a perfect addition to the Themed Birthday Party Solution and kids take them home asa reminder of the fun they had in your center. For more information on BES, Themed Birthday Pins or the ThemedBirthday Party Solution, email [email protected].

Video System ControllerNew Center Consulting in conjunction with D&J Marketing announces a Video Distribution System thatallows each of up to 84 TVs to display different channels or input and all controlled by a single device. Can beconnected to projection units and screens. For more information, call Glenn Hartshorn, 248-375-2751,glenn@newcenterconsulting, or go to www.newcenterconsulting.com.

InsuranceK&K Insurance offers expanded options through its Bowling Program, providing coverage for facilitiesincluding bowling, billiards, driving ranges, go-karts, kiddie rides, laser tag, miniature golf, video arcades, andother entertainment risks. Premium is based on gross receipts, offering competitive pricing for facilities basedon individual exposures. Coverage includes property, general liability, inland marine, crime, commercial auto,liquor liability and excess liability. For more information, call Sheila Morton, Sales Director, 800-440-5580 or goto www.kandkinsurance.com.


SHOWCASE


SHOWCASE

Capping “Cap” off the entertainment environment in your center and add new glow-in-the-dark capping fromBrunswick. The easy-opening capping system provides you with tool-free access to your ball return track.Available in a light gray color with dark gray pinstripe accents, glow-in-the-dark capping maintains existingrigid, durable PVC construction, and adds another dimension to the glow environment. For moreinformation, contact your Brunswick representative, call 800-YES-BOWL or 231-725-4966.

Telecom ServicesBowl a strike with savings that go directly to your bottom line! Birch Communications will save your businessmoney on all of your telecom services without sparing customer service. Birch, over the last 13 years, has builta reputation for delivering great service with a very strong commitment to customer satisfaction. For the bestvalue in local, long distance and high-speed Internet, ask about Birch’s value packages (with free long distance)that will provide you even more savings! For more information, call Sheri Gwatney at 877-300-4967 or [email protected].

Light SystemUS Bowling’s Z-Light LED lighting system provides high intensity and durability, allowing your division cappingto come alive! Our easy-to-use controls give you the complete flexibility to program specific lighting patternsand lighting sequences. You can set the mood with one of our pre-programmed lighting patterns or watch thelights dance around when programmed with music...create a lighting spectacle that will keep your customerscoming back for more. For more information, call Brent Dyer, Director of Operations, 909-548-0644, [email protected] or go to www.usbowling.com.

On-Lane RedemptionDriving your business, one ticket at a time! Redemption games are increasingly popular among today’s youth andopen play bowlers, and are shown to increase key areas of your business. The On-Lane Redemption System byQubicaAMF was designed to integrate with the Bowler Entertainment System and Conqueror Pro ManagementSystem, to provide a complete, customizable solution for managing your bowling center redemption activity.Contact a QubicaAMF Sales Representative today or visit our website at www.qubicaamf.com.

Redemption BowlingUS Steltronic, a leading provider of automatic scoring, gives you the opportunity to increase revenues by offering ticketredemption on all your lanes. Bowlers will always play longer if they have a chance to win great prizes. Great for partiesand even open play. This system is fully integrated with the US Steltronic Vision/Focus System. At US Steltronic, we cancreate and provide custom solutions for all your automatic scoring needs. For more information, call Gregg Pasdiora,909-287-0712.

Lane MaintenanceTRATS–The Real Answer to Success– creates more pin action in the back end of the flat gutters from the 4-5-6 row back.TRATS, from EBN Services, spells better pin carry, higher scores, and better customer satisfaction. Complies with all USBCregulations. For more information, call 888-435-6289.

Crane PrizesFrom Redemption Plus, colorful, high-flying Super Space Balls that bounce up to 50 feet! They’re a proven winner withsmall or medium claws, either used on their own or mixed with puffer balls, plush or other assorted balls. The average forthis kit has been reduced to only $2.50, so get ’em while they’re hot! Ask about ‘ 100 mm 60 pc Crane Kit 313607.’ Orderscan be placed by visiting www.hipprizes.com or calling 888-564-7587.


In every project it is critical that you have a Master Plandeveloped to determine the ultimate goals you wish toaccomplish for your facility. The Master Plan will determine the

highest and best use of your entire center and how much the totalremodel will eventually cost. This analysis is best provided by anarchitect who understands your business and specializes in thedesign of bowling/entertainment centers.

There are three concepts to guide remodeling yourcenter. A total remodel yields the best return on investment.Next is a phased remodel that still allows you to achieve theMaster Plan. Finally, do a limited remodel if your budget istruly limited, not allowing you to eventually remodel theentire center. The table on page 36 is a guide to remodeloptions broken out by approximate per-lane cost.

Once you have determined which concept meets yourshort- and long-term goals, the answer and direction canbe put into motion. For the purposes of this article, it isassumed that a full remodel is not an option, so howshould you spend the money? A limited budget, bydefinition, will provide a limited solution. This typicallymeans that you can afford either a carpet-and-paintsolution throughout the center or you can focus on oneparticular area such as the concourse, bar, café or arcade.

ConcourseThere are numerous pieces and parts to fully remodel

any area of your building. This includes the floor finishes, walls,ceiling/lighting, counters, equipment, furniture, mechanical,electrical and plumbing.

But if you want to update your core business, the remodelshould focus on the concourse area. The budget for a fullconcourse remodel will be between $10,000 and $15,000 perlane bed. If your budget is $2,000 to $5,000 per lane bed, prioritiesmust be set; the remodel will be restricted to cosmetic solutions.

Start any concourse remodel with carpet and paint. Makesure you repair damaged or maintenance items such as stainedceiling tiles, worn carpet, or damaged stair treads, and resolve ADAissues. The limited remodel will not achieve the full “wow” effectbut it will be an improvement.

The cost of each item in the concourse environment varies

depending on the quality of the product. New carpeting, forexample, can have a strong effect on the look of the concoursearea and will vary from $2 to $4 per square foot. Although betterquality carpet costs more, it will last longer, look better and willbe easier to maintain during its useful life. Consider using a “green”product as you replace old carpeting.

For wall treatments, paint is the lowest-cost solution, easy tomaintain/repair and can create a colorful and dramatic effect.Paint costs about 50 cents to $1 per square foot of wall surface,where wall covering is two to three times that cost. Painting is anitem you may want to do yourself.

Sidewalls are a very important opportunity in the space.Simply removing old worn carpet and painting the wall orinstalling graphic wall fabric can have a dramatic effect on theroom. This is also a good location for spending money on specialfeatures such as column details with added lighting, which will cost

MODERNIZATION by Kevin P. Mills, AIA

Taking it to the limitSpend limited money wisely and still get pulling power.

The Bowler, LaVale, MD, owner Alan Douglas. Concourse redesignused existing bowling furniture, raised the ceiling for a new dramaticspace and included new sidewalls. Floor, wall and ceiling finisheswere redone.

35

about $5,000-$15,000 per sidewall.Boutique/soft seating has become a popular option in the

last few years. This can either be a bowling manufacturer’s solutionor standard industry furniture. The cost will range from $2,000 to$4,000 per lane bed. Along with a new furniture layout, many centersare raising the settee floor to reduce the number of steps and/or tosolve ADA issues at a cost of $1,000 to $1,500 per lane bed.

New raised ceiling areas over the concourse with a newlighting design will dramatically enhance the “wow” factor.Full remodels range from $2,000 to $5,000 per lane bed. Duringa limited remodel, the old stained ceiling tiles should be replacedand lights repaired or replaced.

Although it is hard to say that remodeled restrooms makeyou more money, they are critical to your image. At minimum,money should be spent to freshen the restrooms with attentionto the detailed cleaning of the room and repair of broken and/ordamaged items.

A new exhaust fan should be considered to improve the


Reception counters are one of the patron’s first impressionsof your center. A major remodel typically replaces and/or relocatesthe entire unit. At a minimum, it is critical that all junk and clutterbe removed to improve the presentation. Consider incorporatingflat-screens for pricing and information for customers. A commonremodel for a new counter is $15,000 to $30,000.

Off the ConcourseRemodeling your food service area can be a major

expenditure, ranging from $100,000 to $400,000. It is importantto offer the best-quality menu to support other areas of yourbusiness such as birthday parties and corporate events. Aremodel here may be as simple as adding a few pieces ofequipment such as pizza ovens, or as extensive as a majoroverhaul of the food operation.

On a limited budget, provide a clean, professional and healthyimage. Many of our centers are incorporating flat-screen TVsfor the menu boards to improve the presentation.

Rose Bowl, Montrose, CO, current owner John Bullington. Liquorbar, snack bar and reception counter were combined into onearea to improve presentation and employee utilization.

Farmingdale Lanes, Farmingdale, NY, owner John LaSpina.

MODERNIZATION


ventillation. Any significant remodel must address ADA issues,which typically require enlarging the rooms and can cost $50,000to $100,000.

In bars and lounges, it is important to get rid of dark, brownand dingy environments that depend on free beer-sign décor andold television technology for the theme of the room.

As with the concourse area, start with new flooring, wall andceiling finishes to freshen the space. Also incorporate newtechnology with large flat-screens, at about $1,500-$3,000 each,for patrons’ viewing pleasure.

Again, do the simple things like removing the bar equipmentand deep-cleaning the area to eliminate the odor of stale beer.Remove all the junk and clutter that has accumulated over timeand reinstall just the good equipment you will be using.

Next, replace old and worn furniture. New tables and chairswill vary from $800 to $1,200 per four-top unit. Consider a mixof low tables and hi-top tables. Pay particular attention to thesturdiness and durability of the tables and chairs.

Finally, if the budget allows, redesign the lighting system in thespace. The new design should utilize a variety of lighting fixturessuch as wall sconces, accent lighting, indirect light coves andgeneral lighting. It is very important to have individual control ofeach light source to create varied lighting schemes for the room.The lighting budget should be $10,000 to $20,000 for a 1,500-square-foot lounge or bar.

If you are lucky enough to find vacant or poorly utilizedspace in your building, consider adding a new venue. CorumLanes on Long Island, NY recently converted an old billiard/lockerarea into a new small-ball party area. The floor, wall and ceilingfinishes were remodeled, new furniture added and games installedfor about $150,000. The new room has added another venue forthe proprietor to generate income.

MODERNIZATION

$5- to $7,500Renovation of interior finishes such ascarpet, paint, wall covering, plasticlaminates, lighting upgrades (freshenexisting facility). No exterior work.

Finishes as above, minor interior alterations(such as new walls), new counterscasework, restroom upgrades, concourseflooring upgrades. Exterior: new signageand limited painting.

Finishes as above, major interior alterationsto relocate venues/functions, rebuildrestrooms. Exterior: new lighting, parkinglot upgrades.

All the above, all new lighting, ceilings,special interior detailing/features. Exterior:major renovation including newarchitectural features.

Completely renovates center including allnew walls, venues, functions, completemechanical, electrical, plumbing upgrades.All furniture and fixtures included.

New center build, interior included.

$7- to $15,000

$12- to $20,000

$17- to $30,000

$25- to $30,000

$100- to $150,000

Remodel Design and Construction GuideApproximate Cost per Lane*

*Based on a 24-lane center.Not included are bowling equipment costs such as scoring, furniture, lane

overlays, returns, glow bowling equipment, masking, bumpers, and miscellaneousitems such as balls and shoes.

Also not included are development expenses such as design fees, legal fees,taxes, local fees, financing cost, land if any, construction, specialty equipment/games,and operating cost.

Don’t forget the exterior, which is the patron’s first impressionof your center. At minimum, paint the exterior ($10,000 to$20,000) and incorporate quality signage ($5,000 to $10,000).Improve the entry identity if possible and incorporate accentlighting if the budget allows. Total remodels of the exterior rangefrom $100,000 to $400,000.

It should be obvious that improving your center is a majorundertaking that requires considerable thought and capitalexpenditure. You must balance the budget with the appropriatesolution and the desired results. If a limited budget is a fact of life,you must be very careful how you spend the available funds.Replace old and worn items, solve ADA issues, deep-clean the placeand remove junk and clutter. Make sure the game is as good as youcan offer, and then improve your revenue producing venues. ❑

Kevin P. Mills, AIA, is a principal of Architectural Concepts, aDenver, Colorado-based company specializing in architecture andinterior design for the bowling industry. He can be reached at 303-830-8002 x301, [email protected], or fax 303-830-2819.

Rose Bowl


While the Yankeesand Phillies sluggedit out 40 miles

away for baseball’s nationalcrown, bowling businessleaders and suppliers weretagging bases at the East CoastBowling Centers Conventionin Atlantic City, Nov. 2-4.

The show returned to theTrump Taj Mahal on theboardwalk after its maidenouting there last year. Convention chair Jack Moran unofficiallypronounced the turnout a little stronger than last year because,he said, word had spread about the venue change to the Taj.

Steve Johnson and Stu Upson, respectively BPAA and USBCE.D., made two tandem presentations. Their “State of the Industry”and “Integration Update” addresses underscored the freshnessof their leadership and the integration of the two organizationsat the International Bowling Campus in Arlington. Some observersmused on whether the “Steve and Stu Show” would become aregular feature of industry conventions.

Something of a surprise was the appearance of Johnson’spredecessor, John Berglund, in the lineup. Two weeks from startinghis retirement with a new home and business–a perfumery–onSt. Martin in the Caribbean, Berglund was presented with a“bitterwsweet” award by John LaSpina, past ECBCC chair andcurrent Bowl Expo chairman. The award, LaSpina said, honoringBerglund for his service to the industry, was bitter in Berglund’sgoing, sweet in the help Berglund provided with the transition toSteve Johnson’s tenure.

EASTCOAST HOSTSLIVELY “BOWLINGSERIES”

A couple of points before the trade show. At left, BobCox of AMF Bowling Centers; Pat Ciniello, president ofQubicaAMF Worldwide, LLC; John Walker, presidentand CEO, QubicaAMF; and Jay Buhl, vice presidentof sales for the Americas at the QubicaAMF booth.

E.D. Stu Upson of USBC talking aboutindustry integration. He shared thepodium with BPAA’s new E.D.,Steve Johnson.

Proprietor Wally Hall withLime Energy’s Tracy Hansen

and Ben McCallum.

Another notable, BPAA treasurer Tom Martino, made heart-felt remarks in accepting the Landgraf Memorial Award forindustry contributions from the Metropolitan Bowling Writersat its annual meeting during the convention.

Among the topics in 17 hours of seminars and workshops atthe show were saving money in the bar, relationship marketing,risk management, in-center fundraising, social media, centermaintenance, and youth programs.

A seminar on government plans for health care (ambitious)and its potential impact on business (huge) was presented byKristen Eastlick of Berman Associates, BPPA’s Washingtonlobbyist. It was attended by nine proprietors and two membersof the press.. ❑

TRADE SHOW AND TELL


DATEBOOK

December3-6 Jayhawk Pro Shop Training

Class, Jayhawk BowlingSupplies, Lawrence, KS. Kristal orRuss, 800-255-6436,www.jayhawkbowling.com.

7-8 BCA of Wisconsin Mid-WinterRetreat, Hilton Garden Inn,Milwaukee Park Place. GaryHartel, 262-783-4292, 800-229-3098.

7-18 Brunswick Factory A-2Pinsetter Training Program,Town & Country Bowl, Rock Island,IL. Frank Miroballi, 540-325-7684, [email protected].

January 201023-27 BPAA’s Bowling Summit,

International Bowling Campus,Arlington, TX. 800-343-1329.

April6 Illinois State BPA board

meeting, Marriott Hotel; andConference Center, Bloomington-Normal. Bill Duff, 847-982-1305or [email protected].

May24 Illinois State BPA board

meeting, Holiday Inn & Suites,Bloomington. Bill Duff, 847-982-1305 or [email protected].

Call(818) 789-2695

Fax(818) 789-2812

E-mailyour ad to:

[email protected]

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International

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UPSTATE NEW YORK: 8-lane center/commercial building built in 1992.Synthetic lanes, new automatic scoring,kitchen and room to expand! Reduced tosell @ $375,000. Call (315) 376-3611.

WESTERN COLORADO: 12-laneBrunswick center with A-2s, wood laneswith synthetic overlay, 11,000 s/f buildingon 1+ acre. Business, equipment & realestate $740,000. Possible owner finance.(970) 625-0680.

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EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA: 6-laneBrunswick center, bar & grill, drive-thruliquor store in small college town. Also,3 apartment buildings with 40 units,good rental history. Call (701) 330-7757or (701) 430-1490.

TEXAS: 40 lanes with reconditionedpinsetters, new synthetics & upgradedscoring. Building in top shape includingremodeled bar. Good revenue & cashflow. Ken Paton (503) 645-5630.

IOWA: 32-lane center with EVERY-THING including good building with aremodeled bar and four acres! Strongleagues, food and bar. Priced right. KenPaton @ (503) 645-5630.

16-lane center in Southern Coloradomountains. Great condition. 18,000 s/fbuilding w/ restaurant & lounge. Pavedparking 100 + vehicles. Establishedleagues & tournaments. $950,000 ormake offer. Kipp (719) 852-0155.

NW KANSAS: 12-lane center. AS-80s,Lane Shield, snack bar, pro shop, game& pool rooms. See pics and info @www.colbyhomeland.com or contactRock @ (785) 462-8255.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

Qubica AMF TMS Synthetic LaneSystem (8 lanes) w/ Glow Highwaypattern & Conqueror ScoringSystem. Contact Mario Valadez [email protected].

Used synthetic lanes and used lanemachines...call for details: (248) 375-2751.

NEW & USED Pro Shop Equipment.Jayhawk Bowling Supply. 800-255-6436 or jayhawkbowling.com.

24-lane Brunswick A-2 package. Automaticoverhead scoring. Brunswick 2000 returns;wood approaches. In operation through2003 season. Available immediately. Makeoffer. (906) 786-1600. Ask for Denis.Pinsetter Parts New from ALL majormanufacturers. HUGE IN STOCK inven-tory. USED Brunswick Scoring parts,AS90 cameras, processors, lane cables,monitors, and PC boards. Order online@ 888SBIBOWL.com or (888) 724-2695. The Mechanics Choice!

MANAGER WANTED

MANAGER/LEAGUE COORDINATOR:Experienced in league development & allfacets of center activity. Email resume to:[email protected] WWW.BOWLINGWEBDOCTOR.COM


CLASSIFIED

WWW.BOWLINGDIGITAL.COM

FAX YOUR ORDER TO US AT:530-432-2933

Orange County Security Consultants10285 Ironclad Road, Rough & Ready, CA 95975

•Keys & ComboLocks for allTypes ofLockers.

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CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-700-4KEYINTʼL 530-432-1027

(570) 346-5559

CENTERS FOR SALE

CENTRAL NEW YORK: 12-lane centeron 2.2 acres w/ attached 3-bedroomapartment. 20 years old in A-1 condition!82-70 equipment. Wood lanes. Originalowner. Call Gary (315) 245-1577.

WISCONSIN: Well-established, 4-lanecenter w/ auto-scoring & up-dated bar.Good condition. $210,000. Possiblehome for sale for new owner behindbusiness. Shelley Finnessy, ColdwellBanker Brenizer (715) 829-5230; email:[email protected].

CENTRAL WISCONSIN: 12 lanes, autoscoring, Anvilane synthetics, 82-70s.Great food sales. Yearly tournament.Attached, large 3 bedroom apartment w/fireplace. $550K. (715) 223-8230.

SOUTHERN INDIANA (close toIndianapolis): 18-lane Brunswick centerwith lounge, liquor license & movie theateron 4+ acres. Turnkey business. Ownerretiring. Great investment! (765) 349-1312.

CENTERS FOR SALE

CENTRAL IDAHO: 8-lane center andrestaurant in central Idaho mountains. Smalltown. Only center within 60-mile radius.Brunswick A-2 machines; Anvilane lanebeds; automatic scoring. (208) 879-4448.

SOUTHWEST KANSAS: well-main-tained 8-lane center, A-2s, full-servicerestaurant. Includes business and realestate. Nice, smaller community. Ownerretiring. $212,000. Leave message(620) 397-5828.

Southern Colorado: 8-lane centerincludes land & all equipment. New TwelveStrike scoring, lane laminate, excellentcondition. Family owned 45 years. Retiring.Contact Ron or Fred (719) 738-1077.

WISCONSIN: Exceptional InvestmentOpportunity. Mayville center with full bar& food, pool tables & game room.Apartment & storage area. Fred Kaping,First Weber Group (920) 210-8245.

818-789-2695SELL IT FAST IN IBI


CLASSIFIED

2021 Bridge StreetJessup, PA 18434570-489-8623www.minigolfinc.com

MINIATURE GOLF COURSESIndoor/Outdoor. ImmediateInstallation. $5,900.00 & up.

PROPRIETORS WITH AMF 82-70S.S. & M.P. MACHINES

Save $$ on Chassis & P.C. BoardExchange & Repair!

A reasonable alternative forChassis and P.C. Board Exchanges

MIKE BARRETTCall for Price List

Tel: (714) 871-7843 • Fax: (714) 522-0576

BUY SELL

AMF • BRUNSWICK EQUIPMENTCOMPLETE PACKAGES

WORLDʼS LARGEST NEW – USED SPARE PARTS INVENTORY

Danny & Daryl TuckerDanny & Daryl TuckerTucker Bowling Equipment Co. Bowling Parts, Inc.609 N.E. 3rd St. P.O. Box 801Tulia, Texas 79088 Tulia, Texas 79088Call (806) 995-4018 Call (806) 995-3635Fax (806) 995-4767 Email - [email protected]

www.bowlingpartsandequipment.com

WWW.BOWLINGDIGITAL.COM

AMF and some BRUNSWICK PC boardrepair/exchange. 6-month warranty, fastturnaround. Call or write: WB8YJF Service

5586 Babbitt Road, New Albany, Ohio 43054Toll Free: 888-902-BOWL (2695)

Ph./Fax: (614) 855-3022 (Jon)E-mail: [email protected]

Visit us on the WEB!http://home.earthlink.net/~wb8yjf/

CENTERS FOR SALE

MINNESOTA: AMF 12-lane center incollege town of Crookston w/ full bar,auto scoring. Totally remodeled 2005.Additional property for expansion.Possible contract for deed. Call Steve(218) 759-0037.SE WISCONSIN: 12-lane Brunswickcenter including building, real estate & 7acres. Raised dance floor, grill, proshop, arcade, tanning room and more.Reasonably priced. Owner retiring.(920) 398-8023.

WESTERN IOWA. Lucrative, modernfamily entertainment center. Sports bar,restaurant, bowling, pro shop. Karaoke,DJ, live music. Active leagues. No com-petition. Lincoln Group (319) 352-0132.

SOUTHERN NEVADA: 8-lane center.Only center in town of 15,000. 30 min-utes from Las Vegas. AMF 82-70s,newer Twelve Strike scoring. R/E leased.Will consider lease/option with qualifiedperson. REDUCED TO $175,000. CallSteve @ (702) 293-2368; [email protected].

NE NEVADA: New 2001. 16 lanes,19,200 square feet, 1.68 acres paved,sound & lighting, lounge w/ gaming,arcade, full service snack bar & pro shop.Call (775) 934-1539.


CLASSIFIED

CENTERS FOR SALE

PENNSYLVANIA: 20-lane AMF centeron 6 acres, 1 acre parking lot, full bar,recently added 13,200 s/f outdoor beachbar, sand volley ball court & entertain-ment stage. (724) 301-2318.WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA: Oneof the top five places to move!Remodeled 32-lane center. Good num-bers. $3.9 gets it all. Fax qualifiedinquiries to (828) 253-0362.

NEW YORK STATE: Thousand Islandregion. 8-lane Brunswick center w/ cos-mic bowling, auto scoring. Establishedleagues + many improvements.$309,000. Call Jill @ Lori Gervera RealEstate (315) 771-9302.CENTRAL ILLINOIS: 8-lane center withAMF 82-70s, full service restaurant, proshop. Plus pool tables, Karaokemachine, DJ system. PRICED TO SELL.Includes RE. (217) 351-5152 [email protected].

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINS(Resort area): 15,000 s/f, 8-lane state-of-the-art Brunswick center. Includes golfmachine, billiards & two additional expan-sion spaces + historic bar. OWC. ArlieHolland, Coldwell Banker (530) 596-3303.

CENTERS FOR SALE

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: 16-lanecenter w/ synthetic lanes, 82-70s,19,000 s/f building w/ lots of parking.Newly remodeled bar & large kitchen.Owner retiring. (530) 598-2133.

SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING: 12lanes + café & lounge, 2 acres w/ 5 bed-room home. Full liquor & fireworkslicenses. Outside Salt Lake City area.Dennis @ Uinta Realty, Inc. (888) 804-4805 or [email protected]: busy 32-lane center, realestate included. Great location in one offastest growing counties in metro Atlanta.5 years new with all the amenities.Excellent numbers. Call (770) 356-8751.

SW WISCONSIN: 10 lanes, new auto-matic scoring/sound. Bar/grill. Greatleagues, local tournaments, excellent pin-setters. Supportive community. 2 acres offmain highway. $299,995. (608) 341-9056.

DR RUSEL M SUTCLIFFE1620 N US HWY 1 STE 3

JUPITER, FL. 33469561-746-3500

Email: [email protected]

3 FT INFLATABLEBOWLING PIN BALLOONS

AdvertisingBirthday favors • Awards

Attention getters • Decorations

$4.00 each or $350.00 per 100 box.Free desk display pin and indelible

markers with 100 pin order

POSITION WANTED

SALES & MARKETING OR MANAGER.“I started 24 new leagues and signed upmore than 700 new league bowlers in fouryears!” Excellent references. Call Andy(507) 527-2551 or Matt (507) 696-1151. WWW.BOWLINGDIGITAL.COM

46

REMEMBER WHEN

An optimistic year. Or atleast a year of optimisticbowlers, if the young

lady with the rather relaxedrelease and the vigorous handmovements is any indication.

Or maybe it was asurprising year, judging bythe gentleman’s reaction towhat was surely a strike.

ABC/WIBC sanctionedlanes numbered 165,101in 11,363 establishmentsthat year and BPAA had5,321 centers thattotaled 100,716 laneswhen this ad ran in alarge format magazine–Life, we’re thinking. ❑

1964


Documents

IBI Magazine December 2009