Dress Code for Gold Crown Billiards, Erie, PA

code of conduct

Recently, at a private club I belong to, the current board decided to edit the organizations code of conduct / rules. The intenet was to condense the, now 34 pages into a managable document. AN elder member suggested we Issue a single statement " conduct yourselves at all times like ladies and gentlemen". Unfortunately many younger members did not have understanding of the words - ladies and gentlemen, and the proposal was defeated.

Frenchy from the past I'll see you on the FATAL FLAW Thread
 
I sent a letter to the editor on this subject to the Billiards Digest. The letter was published in this month's issue (August). For those who are interested, read on...

To the Editor of Billiards Digest,

In the closing paragraphs of the June Chronicles, “Crime in the Halls,” Mike Shamos made several suggestions for how poolrooms can improve their image and at the same time, the image of the game. I have owned a room for 33 years and I can tell everyone that the most reliable method for operating a respectable room and garnering community acceptance is to institute and maintain a dress code. Not only do words and manners have meaning, attire also conveys a message. Forbidding offensive, disrespectful, and inappropriate clothing goes a long way toward changing the image of the game and setting standards for a poolroom. People tend to act in accordance with the way they are dressed. A simple dress code can actually clean up questionable customers and make them desirable customers. It can also be used as a filter at the front door to deny entry to trouble that a poolroom would never want.

The room itself must play its part and set a tone of consideration and dignity with a neat, clean, and attractive atmosphere without offensive music and vulgar language. Instituting a dress code requires more than just posting a sign of proscribed attire. Developing policy, educating staff, and administering regulations are also necessary.

Image has always been our Achilles heel. Here is a simple, straight-forward, and doable practice that has served my business well for more than three decades.

Sincerely,
Paul Schofield
Gold Crown Billiards
Erie, PA
 
Paul,

With all due respect, if your air-conditioner is not "up to snuff" during the hot summer months, then I would not be able to play in your room as here in Texas, I wear sleeveless shirts about nine months out of the year (and regular tees the other three months). I also wear shorts and sandals (which apparently are not in violation of your dress code) about the same months I go sleeveless. I am unfortunately "hot-natured". I am not some kind of punk. I am respectful to the game of pool, to the equipment and to the establishments in which I play. I am outgoing, friendly, and will open my wallet freely to help a poolhall survive. I am sorry that I am not welcome in your poolhall. You are losing many a fine customer by being nit-picky in you rules. It's your place though and you can darn well do as you please. Sorry to say I will never make your acquaintance beyond this forum.

Continued luck with your business and good shooting in the future for you, my friend!!!

Maniac
 
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join the real world

Although I live about 50 miles from Crown, we are visitors to Erie on many occasions. I have no problems what so ever with taking my children, grand children and friends to this POOL ROOM. The food is great, the service is superior, the atmosphere is clean / impecable, the manegment staff is excellent, well spoken and diligent. A long shot above the old pool halls. A truly fine business and a testimony to those who love this sport. The dress code and other amenities rub off very well.
 
J/K about the sign...... Way to go Paul. Nice to see a business doing things right. Your place. Your rules. Good place for family fun.
 

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hmmm

Maniac said:
Paul,

With all due respect, if your air-conditioner is not "up to snuff" during the hot summer months, then I would not be able to play in your room as here in Texas, I wear sleeveless shirts about nine months out of the year (and regular tees the other three months). I also wear shorts and sandals (which apparently are not in violation of your dress code) about the same months I go sleeveless. I am unfortunately "hot-natured". I am not some kind of punk. I am respectful to the game of pool, to the equipment and to the establishments in which I play. I am outgoing, friendly, and will open my wallet freely to help a poolhall survive. I am sorry that I am not welcome in your poolhall. You are losing many a fine customer by being nit-picky in you rules. It's your place though and you can darn well do as you please. Sorry to say I will never make your acquaintance beyond this forum.

Continued luck with your business and good shooting in the future for you, my friend!!!

Maniac
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Just curious how much cooler a t-shirt is with sleeves and one without sleeves. Is there a difference. The only place I wear sleevless shirt is at the beach....
 
ChicagoRJ said:
Just curious how much cooler a t-shirt is with sleeves and one without sleeves. Is there a difference. The only place I wear sleevless shirt is at the beach....
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There is a significant difference to a heavy-sweater like myself between sleeved/sleeveless tees in the summertime here in Texas. We don't get much breeze off of Lake Michigan down in these parts :thumbup: The poolhall owners down here don't run their air-conditioners low enough to cool down their establishments in the summer, and in the spring and fall, they think it's nice enough outside to keep their a/c's up higher than usual (meaning they rarely even kick-on :(). In the winter is when it's finally comfortable enough for me to shoot as the hall/bar owners are too tight-assed to turn up the heat, so most of the places I shoot pool at are just right ;)!!!

Maniac
 
Maniac said:
There is a significant difference to a heavy-sweater like myself between sleeved/sleeveless tees in the summertime here in Texas. We don't get much breeze off of Lake Michigan down in these parts :thumbup: The poolhall owners down here don't run their air-conditioners low enough to cool down their establishments in the summer, and in the spring and fall, they think it's nice enough outside to keep their a/c's up higher than usual (meaning they rarely even kick-on :(). In the winter is when it's finally comfortable enough for me to shoot as the hall/bar owners are too tight-assed to turn up the heat, so most of the places I shoot pool at are just right ;)!!!

Maniac
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Last night at Buffalo Billiards in Metairie, LA I saw one of our local players go outside and return with a "hoodie" covering him from the top of his head to below his waist. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

It's the hottest part of the summer and Buff's crowd was chillin'.
 
JoeyA said:
Last night at Buffalo Billiards in Metairie, LA I saw one of our local players go outside and return with a "hoodie" covering him from the top of his head to below his waist. brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

It's the hottest part of the summer and Buff's crowd was chillin'.
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That's my kind of room owner :thumbup:!!!

Maniac
 
It's nice to know there are poolrooms where, if you don't know the rules to a particular game they can teach you. If you don't know how to draw the CB, they can teach you that. And, if you don't know what proper presentable attire is, well, they can teach you that as well.

I'm sure Paul has plenty people passing by his poolroom who don't care to learn how to draw a CB or how to play pool for that matter.

I'm sure Paul doesn't loose sleep over those people passing by and not entering his room. I'm also pretty sure the ones who don't care to learn what presentable dress is don't bother him either if they keep on walking. Especially after 33 yrs of business.

Great job Paul!
 
Maniac said:
Paul,

With all due respect, if your air-conditioner is not "up to snuff" during the hot summer months, then I would not be able to play in your room
Maniac
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Air conditioner? We have 8 roof-top units varying in size from 5-10 ton. At one point this summer, I left all units running around the clock for 3 weeks. It stayed so hot and humid that if I turned the units off at night, the facility would have heated up and gotten so damp and sticky, I would have been unable to get the temperature and humidity back down to a comfortable level the next day.
 
Paul Schofield said:
Air conditioner? We have 8 roof-top units varying in size from 5-10 ton. At one point this summer, I left all units running around the clock for 3 weeks. It stayed so hot and humid that if I turned the units off at night, the facility would have heated up and gotten so damp and sticky, I would have been unable to get the temperature and humidity back down to a comfortable level the next day.
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I'm not interested in how many units you have up-and-running, I'm interested in what the temperature is INSIDE the poolhall. Anything over 75 degrees is starting to feel warm to me (did I mention that I am VERY hot-natured?) :D I've got no problem wearing shirts with short sleeves as long as the poolhall has a nice, cool temperature inside. I have quit going to one of the best poolhalls in Ft. Worth recently because it's so hot and humid inside, I can't get my game in gear. I just can't seem to mentally focus when I start feeling hot and bothered. Like I said earlier, I wear shorts (the cargo type) and sleeveless/tank tops (not cutoffs, the factory-made kind), and sandals about 8-9 months out of the year, and here in Texas it's pretty standard dress for a LOT of the poolhalls patrons, and very accepted by almost all poolhalls. I usually like to find a good hall with a very good working air-conditioning system with decent tables and spend my time/money there.

I was just trying to let you see that I would be a very good customer for you IF you kept your room cool enough (of course, I'd have to live near your town). If not, then I wouldn't be welcome there as I have to dress to the conditions. You may be missing out on many a fine customer with your dress code, but it's Rome, and when in Rome..........

I do respect what you are trying to accomplish with your rules though!!!

Maniac
 
Maniac said:
I'm not interested in how many units you have up-and-running, I'm interested in what the temperature is INSIDE the poolhall. Anything over 75 degrees is starting to feel warm to me (did I mention that I am VERY hot-natured?)Maniac
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71 degrees
 
On a semi related note, aside from poolroom rules, sometimes working in the heat and sweating a lot I find going without a top or with sleeveless shirts terribly annoying as the sweat just drips down my underarms and along the sides of my body. (sorry for the graphic description) A T-shirt with sleeves prevents any of that from happening. I was surprised to read you felt it more comfortable with a sleeveless shirt in warm conditions regardless.
 
If I still lived in Jamestown, I'd make the drive on a regular basis to play at your place. It looks great, but what's with the post-office boxes?
 
3andstop said:
On a semi related note, aside from poolroom rules, sometimes working in the heat and sweating a lot I find going without a top or with sleeveless shirts terribly annoying as the sweat just drips down my underarms and along the sides of my body. (sorry for the graphic description) A T-shirt with sleeves prevents any of that from happening. I was surprised to read you felt it more comfortable with a sleeveless shirt in warm conditions regardless.
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By going into a place sleeveless, I am trying to stay cool enough as to NOT START SWEATING. Preventative maintenance, so to speak. If I've already started sweating, it's too late for me. The more cloth I have covering my skin, the hotter I get. I'm not concerned with where my sweat runs, I'm more concerned with NOT getting overheated. Shoes (any kind) are my biggest bugaboo. My feet feel like they are on fire after an hour or so in a pair of shoes, thus the sandals.

I only wear pants to church, weddings, and funerals, or in the coldest months of winter (even then I wear shorts alot).

I'm sorry if you don't understand my problem. I overheat very easily. I cannot properly describe it, but if you had my problem, you'd understand it better perhaps. I can tell you this, when I feel overheated I am useless at pool. Just cannot play, PERIOD.

Maniac (sitting in my 70-degree den as I type)
 
Maniac said:
I do respect what you are trying to accomplish with your rules though!!!

Maniac
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I don't think you understand. This is a 33 year old room with a 33 year old dress code. I am not trying to accomplish something. It's over. It's mission accomplished.

The dress code is the foundation for a tone of mutual respect. As a result, Gold Crown has a different kind of customer than is usually found in a poolroom. I will give an example: Two weeks ago we hosted our 8th regional event (Nine-Ball tournament http://www.goldcrownbilliardseriepa.com/tri-state-open/). Twenty-nine regular customers volunteered to assist us in hosting the event. The volunteers accepted entries, kept score, ran the tournament chart, brushed tables, cleaned balls, and performed many tasks related to the tournament. This is unprecedented for a poolroom. Twenty-nine volunteers! This does not happen with the usual poolroom crowd.
 
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