Do bowling alleys ever compensate you for chipped balls?

[Aslan]

I'm gonna guess a giant "NO"...but I'm just wondering.

Sometime back in September my Frantic got caught in a ball return. It didn't damage it much...just left big black streaks all over it which eventually came out. But last weekend I was bowling and the ball return got jammed. When I finally go my ball (Rhythm) back...it had two gouges in it. Not "major"...we're talking 1/2 inch in length with minor depth. But still...I've maybe used that ball like 100 times tops...and now it looks like a vampire attacked it. So I was just wondering if anyone ever had a ball get messed up ENOUGH that they actually got the alley to compensate them somehow.

[zdawg]

I'm gonna guess a giant "NO"...but I'm just wondering.

Sometime back in September my Frantic got caught in a ball return. It didn't damage it much...just left big black streaks all over it which eventually came out. But last weekend I was bowling and the ball return got jammed. When I finally go my ball (Rhythm) back...it had two gouges in it. Not "major"...we're talking 1/2 inch in length with minor depth. But still...I've maybe used that ball like 100 times tops...and now it looks like a vampire attacked it. So I was just wondering if anyone ever had a ball get messed up ENOUGH that they actually got the alley to compensate them somehow.

I'm willing to bet the answer is no, and somewhere they have it written that they're not responsible for your own balls that you bring to the alley - mainly because the machines go through so much wear and tear I don't think they'd be willing to take the risk of everytime a ball gets scuffed up a bit (not saying yours fits this category) having people demanding they buy them a replacement.

[classygranny]

Around here most of the alleys will have your ball repaired if it is machine/equipment caused, but you have to report it at the time it happens. Most of them just have their in-house pro shops refinish. If it is too bad to repair, I'm not sure what they are doing now, but they use to give you the same ball, or comparable ball in exchange.

The key is that you have to report it at the time it happened...not even at the end of the night/session of bowling...right when it happens.

[mc_runner]

My teammate had the ball return badly scratch up the surface of his ball, the pro shop took it in and resurfaced at no charge. I think classygranny's probably right in that it's gonna be tough to get anything out of it if you didn't report it when it happened, though.

[striker12]

i already now the answer is no becuase last year when i went to 1 bowling alley to practice i threw my spare ball down and it got stuck and when it came back it has marks all over the ball not like 3 or 4 i mean 15-20 marks all over it and i just got the ball cleaned up too and when i looked above the fingers it has a big gouge in is 1 1/2 inch long 1/2 in wide and about a 1/2 deep and the bowling alley manager started to say that i did this to my bowling ball i said to him how about you call the pro shop i was just at he just resurfaced my ball he can tell you and he started to get all in swearing at me threating me and i was about to throw my bowling ball at him but instead i dropped the ball and punched him.

[josheaton16]

My house will repair balls that are seriously damaged by equipment. Meaning not just little scratched and minor stuff. With the one exception being plastic balls they will not repair those.

[tccstudent]

I have seen bowling alleys be like so what do you want us to do about it and I have seen bowling alleys replace the ball. Just depends on the alley and how bad the damage is.

[Aslan]

I shoulda said something at the time...but it was at a clinic and I guess I just felt like me complaining about a couple "little marks on my ball" would be looked at as whining. I mean the clinic was a good deal...2 hours of bowling for $10 with instruction from PBA level guys....so I guess I was just too embarrassed to say anything. However...later on in the day when I cleaned it and was putting it away...those dang marks were deeper than I thought. Oh well. Live and learn. I shoulda probably said something and they probably would have resurfaced it. Of course...then the ball is pre-maturely worn down from re-surfacing...but I guess it's a lose-lose situation.

[J Anderson]

I shoulda said something at the time...but it was at a clinic and I guess I just felt like me complaining about a couple "little marks on my ball" would be looked at as whining. I mean the clinic was a good deal...2 hours of bowling for $10 with instruction from PBA level guys....so I guess I was just too embarrassed to say anything. However...later on in the day when I cleaned it and was putting it away...those dang marks were deeper than I thought. Oh well. Live and learn. I shoulda probably said something and they probably would have resurfaced it. Of course...then the ball is pre-maturely worn down from re-surfacing...but I guess it's a lose-lose situation.

Consider this a learning experience, since if you keep on bowling it is likely to happen again. As others have said, as soon as you notice the chip, take it right up to the counter and report it. The better centers will try to do something for you, as well as sending the mechanic down to make sure there isn't something wrong with the ball return.

[sprocket]

Hey Aslan are you sure neither of those gouges were caused by when you occasionally launch the ball straight into the gutter at 20mph? Balls are not designed to take that kind of abuse. ;)

[H3RBSKI]

this annoys me in both ends, my ball had a massive chunk taken out of it 3 days after having a full re surface! the alley (which is also my work) have offered to pay for it which is great. but their response was also. "there are so many nuts and bolts the ball will hit before it returns to you that its bound to happen"
now i was an amf tech for 2 years (recently just started again) and i know that in the 8290xl machines (the ones that scratched my ball) all the nuts and bolts that could hit the ball are cover or countersunk so this doesnt happen. so if the lane is doing this then its more than likely the centres techs not doing their job properly!

[Aslan]

as well as sending the mechanic down to make sure there isn't something wrong with the ball return.

In this instance…the mechanic was already there. The wheel in the return stopped spinning and my ball got stuck behind 2 other balls. The mechanic had to shut it off then manually spin the wheel so the balls came up…then he got it running again. No idea exactly how the hell mine got damaged so bad…but live and learn. Next time I'll say something and see if they can get resurfaced. Thanks.

[Hampe]

I think both alleys here will replace your ball if it's ruined (and not like 10 years old or something). If the damage is outside the track area, the pro shop will just touch it up a bit. But it's the same thing here, you have to report the damage immediately.

[Geneo2u]

the 2 houses i shoot at will resurface/repair the balls that get screwed up, its part of the deal with the inhouse pro shop. never herd of them replacing one though. I have had balls repaired but if the damage is in the track area the ball will never run the same again, at least thats my experience. My girl friend bought a ball last Tuesday and wouldn't you know it, first time out it came back with deep gouges in it, Good thing it was not in the track area..

[MICHAEL]

the 2 houses i shoot at will resurface/repair the balls that get screwed up, its part of the deal with the inhouse pro shop. never herd of them replacing one though. I have had balls repaired but if the damage is in the track area the ball will never run the same again, at least thats my experience. My girl friend bought a ball last Tuesday and wouldn't you know it, first time out it came back with deep gouges in it, Good thing it was not in the track area..

sorry to hear about Mary's new ball getting damaged!! What did she get? Very glad to hear it wasen't in the track area!

How do you like your new ball, and did you go with the tri-Grip?? I know you LIKED it a LOT on your marauder!!

[Aslan]

I have had balls repaired but if the damage is in the track area the ball will never run the same again, at least thats my experience. My girl friend bought a ball last Tuesday and wouldn't you know it, first time out it came back with deep gouges in it, Good thing it was not in the track area..

I'm not sure if I've thrown it enough to know where the track area is. I'll have to look at the oil left on it next time I bowl with it. I'm pretty sure at least one of the guages is going to be in the track area given the way they are separated. The only good news is maybe I'm not a good enough bowler where it'll matter!

[Pauley]

A few weeks ago my wife wanted to go bowling with a couple of friends on the weekend at night so it was glow/cosmic bowling. It was dark and I didn't even notice while cleaning at the end of the night, but a few days later when I went bowling again my ball had all sorts of scuffs and dings in it. None very deep at all but I didn't even try to talk to the alley, because I figured approching them saying "three days ago your machine scuffed my ball" would not get me far so I just spent the $20 to get my guy to refinish it for me.

[GoodGravy]

Last year I got my wife a new ball ( Disturbed... and it is awesome by the way) and in the 6th game she used it in the ball return hacked it up HUGE. It took all of 2 minutes for the house to issue a ball repair/replace ticket for us. The houses where I bowl, it the lane equipment damages your gear, you get it either repaired for free of if the damage is to extensive, replaced.

It seems silly for a house not to repair a ball. The actual cost in materials is only a few cents (assuming that the pro shop is stocked half way decent). The loss of good will and poor marketing would well make up for that..

[Aslan]

Good news!

I checked it last night before leagues (even though I didn't use it…just curiosity) and the two marks are NOT in the track area. I was shocked given their size and that there are 2 of them that they weren't…but nope. One is under where my palm goes and the other isn't in the track area.

Still a bummer…but less so than before.

[Mike White]

A lot of ball damage comes when the ball goes into the gutter just before hitting a 7, or 10.
The edge of the lane (down by the pins) is reinforced to protect it from pin impact, and the harder material can put some significant scratches on the ball.
Bigger marks usually come from the ball return process.

I spend a fair amount of time fixing lane damaged balls at no cost to the bowler, as long as it's clear the lane caused the issue.
If the damage is significant, the house pays me to buy a new ball, and I drill it at no charge.

[Aslan]

Normally I never really consider it because I never know if it was me or the equipment (like what Mike said). But these marks…are OBVIOUSLY ball return marks. They are exactly the same in depth, length, and appearance and directly acres from each other. Kinda like when you use a wrench and it leaves those jaw marks. And it resulted after the ball return broke down and 3 balls got stuck in there and the mechanic had to manually turn the wheel to get them out.

Oh well. I still had good shots with the ball afterwards so it didn't seem to really hurt it.