Unfortunately had a really bad experience here today.
We were a party of 9 for a birthday, upon arrival only 1 of our 2 lanes was ready for us. We didn't see this as an issue and waited 15 minutes for the other people to finish their game.
During our games the lanes froze twice due to security measures of the balls not hitting the sensor (there wasn't enough light balls for our party so they were being collected to use before hitting the sensor) these were actioned promptly by us, the first service call for this issue was attended very quickly but the second took a while and ended up in me searching the venue for someone to fix the issue.
We had pre-ordered food which was sub par quality to say the least, but never do expect much from bowling venues food wise, however we received 2 child's burgers in place of the adults "champion burgers".
When our end time came the lane was instantly cut off during my daughter turn, as she threw her ball the barrier came down in front of the pins. We approached reception to ask what was going on as the next people then moved into the lane, we were told that they would put our last 2 rounds on for the 4 children to complete, however this didn't happen and the receptionist was extremely rude and abrupt.
The manager then came over and explained we had ran out of time because we sat down to eat. This wasn't entirely true and he even stated that earlier in the session, earlier on over ear piece he said that we were still playing whilst eating, the food was on a table next to us and the children sat down in-between turns, we never fully ceased bowling.
We were also informed by the manager that we were given an extra 20 minutes to account for the delayed start and safety stops, again this was untrue as at exactly 1240 (our end time), mid bowl, 1 lane was closed off and reset for a new party so clearly no time was allocated to us for things out of our control, instead we were blamed for eating pre ordered food that they gave to us 20 minutes into our 1hr 40min session.
We were also informed that each 2 ball bowl turn should only take 60 seconds per player, which is fine if it didn't take a good 45 seconds for the pins to be readjusted in-between bowls. Also these are children albeit 10, they are not slow but there appears to be no grace when it comes to large parties and potentially slower players.
When questioning why the party before us wasn't cut off when we should have started we was told "everyone's circumstances are different" yet instead of asking if we were okay and pre warned about going over time we were just told that we were being slow, we would've finished our game in time if it wasn't for the late start and and safety stops.
We were also told that our second lane could have started at the original start time however, we didn't see it fair that half of the children start bowling prior to the others, nor did we think starting and finishing at the same time would be an issue. We came as a group and wanted to bowl as a group.
We were given a free voucher from the manager who said "if it meant we left happy". The voucher is at times we wouldn't be able to make (no Saturdays, 6pm Sun-6pm Fri, no bank holidays, no school holidays) and to be used within 3 months, the voucher is a waste of paper and it feels that it was a gesture to avoid conflict and complaints rather than a gesture of good will and sincere apology.
I am extremely unhappy with the situation today really did dampen the birthday girls spirits. I also don't think blaming it on the busy half term is appropriate as you will be aware this is a busy time and should be able to manage the demand by now.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
Tenpin is one of the UK's biggest bowling and indoor entertainment providers, with over 1000 bowling lanes across 58 venues. Alongside bowling Tenpin offers an unrivalled range of indoor activities including karaoke, escape rooms, laser tag, arcades, interactive darts, pool, table tennis, as well as a fantastic food and drinks menu. From date nights, days or nights out with family, friends or work colleagues, or kids' birthday parties, there's fun for kids big and small in Tenpin. There's incredible value to be found with bowling, karaoke, escape room and laser tag deals available every day of the week. Check out our offers on our website today.See more
