The Private Equity Ensh!ittifcation is Real
A group of friends and I went to Bowlero for a night of fun. On the way over, I was excited, but I left the venue feeling somewhat ripped off. Bowling has shifted from an affordable, casual pastime to a premium, entertainment-focused experience, with prices rising substantially in recent years.
Firstly, the layout of the bowling alley has changed (at least at the Wheat Ridge location). Gone are the benches you might be accustomed to at each lane. Instead, there are tables near-ish the lanes, laid out in a zig-zag fashion. As you can imagine, some tables are closer to the lanes than others, and when we arrived another group was at our assigned table because it was closer to their lane. I don't fault the group at all - they just sat down close to their lane, but this system makes it problematic for people who just want to enjoy their night. The server ended up having to move two tables as a result, because... everyone was at the "wrong" tables near their respective lanes. The bench layout was much better in my opinion. No confusion. It makes little sense why they decided to get rid of those.
Secondly, the service was meh. There was definitely a shortage of servers, and it took very long to receive anything that was ordered. I don't fault our sever for this. Rather, I fault management for not staffing properly. Typical corporate/PE playbook.
Thirdly, playing two games cost me roughly $60 (for games + shoe rental + tax). If your birth year starts with a 1, then you probably scoffed at this amount. I certainly did. Don't even bother reserving a lane ahead of time, as it's even more expensive. It's also worth noting that the food (typical mediocre bowling alley food) and beverages are not cheap...
All in all, bowling used to be inexpensive and fun. Now it's only slightly fun. Lucky Strike Entertainment is buying all the bowling alleys, slapping a new coat of paint on the buildings, and then tripling the prices. The rampant pursuit of profits over everything really makes me dislike bowling. I probably will not visit a Bowlero again in a very, very long time. read more