What do people really want from a pool room?

ignomirello · May 30, 2011

What do people really want from a pool room?

1. To be treated like VIP's?
2, to play on good equipment?
3. To have tournamebts?
4. Play for a reasonable rate?
5. Control over how loud music plays?
6. not have a waiting list?
7. open for lunch?
8. other game tables?

pulzcul · May 30, 2011

They don't have to give me the VIP treatment. Just a little attention is ok. My big thing is the equipment. Tells me everything I need to know about the place. The rates are a close second. If its reasonable I'll play for hours and come back often. If its expensive I don't stay long and won't come back as much. In my area there's only bar tables and right now it's 75 cents a game. I complained about that until it went to a dollar or more in other cities. Not bragging but I can run a table in under 5 min. when I pay attention. Thats about $9 an hour @ .75. So yeah rates count. The music [ I hate most of the "modern" stuff ] is a big factor. If it gets real bad I will leave. Problem[for me at least] is we only have bars up here to play in. You can't complain about the noise if his customers are paying for it. Asking a drunk patron to turn his music down is like :banghead:. Other than that I'd just like it to be clean.

greyghost · May 30, 2011

numbers 2-4 are MOST IMPORTANT.........and #5 is also as I've been to some nice places to play that gaffed it all up with loud aggravating music that was never meant to be played in a pool hall to begin with.

A pool hall is a pool hall, not a rave,rap, lady gaga 200decibel club

jason · May 30, 2011

pulzcul said:
...but I can run a table in under 5 min. when I pay attention. Thats about $9 an hour @ .75. So yeah rates count.

Another example of "the better you get at pool the more you get punished".

Good players pay more than average players on a bar box.
Good players don't get action.
Good players aren't allowed to play in some tournaments.
Good players have to travel further and pay more expenses for tournaments.
Good players fall in to the trap of thinking there is a living to be made from pool.

The better you get at pool the worse it seems to get in many ways.

Tramp Steamer · May 30, 2011

Numbers 2, 4, and 7, pretty much does it for me. Lunch, of course, would be least important but maybe a little discount on table time for the hanger rounders would be good.

poolcuewarehous · May 30, 2011

What we like in a pool room

Most important
1# good environment
2# friendly staff,Knowledgeable and interested the game.
3# ambient music, i think when it is dead silent it makes it boring. and turned down low so that people still want to put money in the juke box.
3# level tables, and always have a couple of real nice tables for the good players.

Less important.
4# monthly tournaments
5# descent table rates for the players that want to improve there game, for the people that are always there, also for those that like to drink because if you give them cheap table, they will keep drinking.

Pool Cue Warehouse.com

manwon · May 30, 2011

ignomirello said:
What do people really want from a pool room?

1. To be treated like VIP's?
2, to play on good equipment?
3. To have tournamebts?
4. Play for a reasonable rate?
5. Control over how loud music plays?
6. not have a waiting list?
7. open for lunch?
8. other game tables?

While you covered many of the bases you missed a very important one. Today people are also very interested in the establishment being clean and safe, and safety is an absolute must.

Room owner

SpinDoctor · May 30, 2011

1. Good quality equipment that is well maintained
2. Reasonable rates

Everything else is less important to me.

vasilios · May 30, 2011

manwon said:
While you covered many of the bases you missed a very important one. Today people are also very interested in the establishment being clean and safe, and safety is an absolute must.

Room owner

believe it or not,the type of music and how you play it will compliment the clean and safe results.

bill

9BallPaul · May 30, 2011

Important to me is the presence of good players who like to gamble. Good equipment goes without saying.

But maybe most important of all: Characters. Treat yourself to a trip to the DCC to feel what it's like to be among a real pool crowd. I've been in pool rooms that have the same vibe nearly any day of the week. You know it when you find it.

That's one reason I like AZ -- it's a virtual hall.

wontonny · May 30, 2011

1. To be treated like VIP's? not entirely necessary, but just attention would be nice
2, to play on good equipment? very important
3. To have tournamebts?yes, not necessary to play in, but to watch
4. Play for a reasonable rate? this is what would get me to come in more often and for longer, also have a frequent visitors card/membership program to have incentives to come in more often
5. Control over how loud music plays? this isn't a huge issue, but have a limit to how many songs people can put in on the juke box. at a local bar, they USED to have free play on the juke on wednesdays and a regular (every day) visitor there put on "some" music, a friend and I put on some music. We didn't hear it until we left...3 hours later.
6. not have a waiting list?that's hard to do...
7. open for lunch?one thing my local pool room does it have free pool with the purchase of any lunch entree
8. other game tables?"This is Ames, mister."

manwon · May 30, 2011

vasilios said:
believe it or not,the type of music and how you play it will compliment the clean and safe results.

bill

Bill, I agree with you completely. I opened my Room in 2004 and this will be my 7th year in business. Now, I don't know about how much Music will effect your ability to play, ( Some like it quite, the old farts

) but it certainly have a major effect on the people who frequent a room.

In my Room we play everything except Hip Hop, I found out early that for some reason the people this Music attracts bring far to much drama with them. Now this is not always true, but unfortunately it is true more times than not!!!!!

Take Care and great post.

SirNoobs · May 30, 2011

ignomirello said:
What do people really want from a pool room?

1. To be treated like VIP's?
2, to play on good equipment?
3. To have tournamebts?
4. Play for a reasonable rate?
5. Control over how loud music plays?
6. not have a waiting list?
7. open for lunch?
8. other game tables?

2, 4, 5, and 8. I'd like to play snooker at my pool hall and I'd like reasonable rates so I can practice all day without breaking the bank. As for music loudness, I don't mind the music being loud as long as it's like easy listening music.

The equipment is alright though some of the tables have rolls and some pockets take shots easier. Last week I had a difficult cut on a game ball and the shot looked good going in but when it hit the wall of the pocket it stopped dead. Sold out the game when my opponent was on the hill and I was one rack away from the hill.

Even my opponent thought the ball should've went in.

Matt90 · May 30, 2011

Good stuff

Places need to know this , especially the VIP part. No one has to kiss my .....
however at my local room there are a couple of waitresses that need to learn how to be NICE .Maybe life has not taught em what life needs to teach them yet but to put it plain I have been in ALOT nicer rooms with ALOT better looking waitresses that treated me like GOLD.A good example Diamond Billiards in Fort Myers ,Fl .Now back to my local room ,seems that they have promoted one no personality having waitress to some sort of manager a few nights a week .....WOW. If I am ever asked I will just speak my truth and say "she just ain't a people person ,not personal just a very good objective point of view" and if she asks me it will be something like "honey I am older than you and have seen this before , your looks will fade one day and maybe by then you will have developed some character, kindness, and a pleasing personality "
Thanks for posting this I needed to vent in a constructive way :grin:

manwon · May 30, 2011

Matt90 said:
Places need to know this , especially the VIP part. No one has to kiss my .....
however at my local room there are a couple of waitresses that need to learn how to be NICE .Maybe life has not taught em what life needs to teach them yet but to put it plain I have been in ALOT nicer rooms with ALOT better looking waitresses that treated me like GOLD.A good example Diamond Billiards in Fort Myers ,Fl .Now back to my local room ,seems that they have promoted one no personality having waitress to night manager .....WOW. If I am ever asked I will just speak my truth and say "she just ain't a people person ,not personal just a very good objective point of view" and if she asks me it will be something like "honey I am older than you and have seen this before , your looks will fade one day and maybe by then you will have developed some character, kindness, and a pleasing personality "
Thanks for posting this I needed to vent in a constructive way :grin:

If I were the Room Owner and my staff were not doing their job I would want to know. I think you made a very good point, VIP treatment is not important, but there is no excuse for a Wait staff not to be kind and courteous.

Like I said above I would talk to the room owner, because I doubt your the only who has had this experience and anyone who cares about their business will take interest in what their customers have to say.

JIMO

The Pool Hall · May 30, 2011

They want EVERYTHING a room owner DOES NOT have. Just that simple.

jason777r · May 30, 2011

This is a great thread by the way.

1. Clean and safe is at the top for me.
2. Good and well taken care of equipment with plenty of seating and room.
3. Have a staff that is friendly and knows pool etiquette. I can't stand it when you're down on a shot and the waitress is trying to speak to you.
4. Good pool specials. Take care of your pool hall junkies by offering a membership or discount of some sort.
5. No bands in a pool room. That is all too common around here and all of the pool players can't stand it.
6. Have a good weekly tournament with a break-n-run contest. The house adding 50-60% will bring in lots of players also.
7. Have a decent menu. Something besides a bag of chips and corndogs.
8. Have at least a nice 10 or 12ft snooker table. In my local room the snooker table has at least 4-6 players on it every afternoon from about noon to 4pm. Of course they are usually only charged $3 per person,but it makes the parking lot look better which helps bring in more customers. The table is also regularly used most evenings.

This is just my thoughts on what would make a nice room. Too bad there isn't one around here.
Jason

vasilios · May 30, 2011

manwon said:
Bill, I agree with you completely. I opened my Room in 2004 and this will be my 7th year in business. Now, I don't know about how much Music will effect your ability to play, ( Some like it quite, the old farts ) but it certainly have a major effect on the people who frequent a room.

In my Room we play everything except Hip Hop, I found out early that for some reason the people this Music attracts bring far to much drama with them. Now this is not always true, but unfortunately it is true more times than not!!!!!

Take Care and great post.

manwon

if you post your square footage,sound system with speaker count and tv count.i will be able to give you a guide to wire the room to be lady friendly.

bill

Spider1 · May 30, 2011

I think what 'pool players' want is not necessarily what 'recreational players' want. And guess which group spends more money?

cueandcushion · May 31, 2011

Spider1 said:
I think what 'pool players' want is not necessarily what 'recreational players' want. And guess which group spends more money?

^^^This ^^^

What do people really want from a pool room?

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