Bowling Alley Attendant

Bowling Alley Attendant

Strikeman300

New York, NY

Male, 35

For a few years in high school I was a lead attendant at a bowling alley. Responsibilities included everything from taking payment for the various package offerings, handing out shoes, dealing with mechanical issues with the lanes and solving any and all problems that arose.

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Last Answer on January 18, 2013

Best Rated

Not that I'm complaining, but how come bowling alleys don't require shoe-swaps any more when renting shoes?

Asked by busterbrown almost 13 years ago

Quite the opposite. Employees didn't want to be constantly touching YOUR shoes! Plus, and probably most importantly, it saves a ton of time at check-out to not have to be hunting for peoples shoes as they leave. Finally, the liability of holding onto someone else's shoes resulted in some nasty confrontations..."where are my shoes?"

How come the "Service" buttons don't work 99% of the time and I have to go chase an attendant down when my lane is screwed up?

Asked by Arghhhhh almost 13 years ago

Depends on the lanes. A good place has a guy full-time running around in the back, behind the machines (especially during peak hours). BTW - This guy is usually a pretty weird dude, to be perfectly honest. When the service button is pressed, a light goes on behind the lane and he'll know to address the problem. The most typical problem is that a pin will get stuck in the ball retrieval hole and the balls will get clogged up back there. League bowlers are usually furious at this stage.

I once saw a girl get her thumb stuck in the ball and go flying a good 20 ft down the lane -- ouch. What is the craziest bowling alley mishap you've ever witnessed?

Asked by Bailey almost 13 years ago

That's a great one. Seen that before too. The worst once of that nature I saw also took half the fingernail too. OUCH! The craziest (best?) mishaps I've seen ALWAYS involve drunks. In this case, Mr. Drunk learned the hard way why bowling shoes are so smooth on the bottom. As he aggressively approached the lanes for his shot, his front foot stuck and he faceplanted on the lane. Buzzer sounds. Laughter ensues.

You ever pull pranks on each other to pass the time? A bowling alley seems rife with potential...

Asked by GK almost 13 years ago

Typical pranks were played on bowlers by messing with their names on the computer. Someone with the initials "AB" might roll a strike and see "@ss Bandit" up there on the screen.

What were the best bowling team names you saw?

Asked by PinPals almost 13 years ago

Sorry - don't remember too many. There was always a cadre of people with dirty team names, which were funny, but the real bowling names were usually the best...like "Strike U Down", No Spares on Board, The Seven-Ten Chicks, Gutterlovers. Great question!

Are the bowling balls ever cleaned?

Asked by Slambatta almost 13 years ago

Gulp. No. Not that I can remember. Like the shoes, having your own ball is super pimp and you'd be surprised at how cheap they are AND how much better you bowl when a ball is fitted to your hand. More often then not, people end up using a ball that's too heavy just to get a good grip and the weight ruins your delivery.

Better bowling movie: Kingpin or Lebowski, and why?

Asked by theDUDE almost 13 years ago

Both are great flicks. But really, nobody f**ks with the Jesus.