Do you support your local bar/pool hall?

I support the pool halls I play at. The one that I spend most of my time at, has great food and great people working there. If I need something I can ask the room owner and he'll get it for me. Plus I'll wear just about anything, so I have t shirts for all the pool halls also.
 
Fast Lenny said:
Tournaments and table time is what they will get out of me,sometimes I do buy food and drink there but try to eat before or after.I wont buy cues or anything from a poolhall,why spend $200 on a cheap cue at the poolhall when you can find something on here thats good for that price.I try to help poolhalls out here and look forward to doing more live streamed pool events at their establishments and improving their business. :)


Dude you live in the same world I do, you are SMART with your G R E E N.:)
 
ShootingArts said:
I bought something from a local pool room once. The tool would have cost me four dollars and fifty cents online. I didn't ask the price just bought the tool. The price charged was nineteen fifty plus tax. I never batted an eye just calmly paid what was asked, and a tip! Enjoy it because it will be a blue day in hell when I buy something else in there that I can buy elsewhere.

Rip me once it is your fault, rip me twice it is mine. If a local pool room needs over four hundred percent profit on tools to survive it's time for them to die.

Hu
When theres no pool rooms in town you can always play online. Ive provided a link http://games.yahoo.com/all-games
 
A pool hall isn't a charity, it's a place of business.
They don't need my support, they need to work hard for my business (and my money), and work harder at keeping it.
If a pool hall goes out of business it's not the fault of the patrons, that responsibility lies on the shoulders of the owners.

If a pool hall is over charging for food and items, and the customers are to wise to pay for it, then it's the pool halls fault, not the customer.
This isn't the movies, a band of friends aren't going to form to save Average Joes Gym (oh shut up, you loved that movie).

I run my own business, how would it sound if I were to blame my customers for going off to a different designer that did just as good work and charged half the price? But they don't, because they know I offer a fair price for work that is well worth it.

I guess I must be lucky to be in this area, most of the pool halls down here charge a price that the customer is happily willing to pay, and in most cases if you're a regular the owner(s) will usually help you out.
 
Obviously there are always people out there gouging prices and not delivering service. In my post I was talking about the average pool room/bar not the exceptional ones.
 
AZE said:
A pool hall isn't a charity, it's a place of business.
They don't need my support, they need to work hard for my business (and my money), and work harder at keeping it.
If a pool hall goes out of business it's not the fault of the patrons, that responsibility lies on the shoulders of the owners.

If a pool hall is over charging for food and items, and the customers are to wise to pay for it, then it's the pool halls fault, not the customer.
This isn't the movies, a band of friends aren't going to form to save Average Joes Gym (oh shut up, you loved that movie).

I run my own business, how would it sound if I were to blame my customers for going off to a different designer that did just as good work and charged half the price? But they don't, because they know I offer a fair price for work that is well worth it.

I guess I must be lucky to be in this area, most of the pool halls down here charge a price that the customer is happily willing to pay, and in most cases if you're a regular the owner(s) will usually help you out.
This is the Post of the Day! (so far:p ) I agree wholeheartedly. Times are tough for everyone, not just pool halls. Your customers will remain loyal and continue to frequent your business only if you give them reason to. But in an ecomony like this, you can't blame anyone for looking for a better price. I refuse to go broke while I "support" my local pool room.
 
Interesting thread.

As far as buying cues, the only ones I will buy over the internet (after numerous questions) are VERY collectible cues being i can't see them in person if they are out of state.

For playing cues, I am willing to pay the extra bit to personally go in and audition the cue. And I get my monies worth..... I have been know to sit there for literally hours trying many cues and then whittling it down to the finals, then again testing, then take out the wallet. I have a patient store clerk by me.

As far as Pool Halls go, the only one close to my home charges WAY too much for a table, even in the daytime. (8.75 hr daytime for single practice, 11.00 hr single at night... NUTS!) I play in the league there, and thats great, but as far as private games i travel a bit more to get a decent rate. (Gas is starting to figure into the equation).

Food is moderately priced at both so it is not an issue.
 
I play at Bank Shot in Louisville most weekdays during lunch. They have a great deal for lunch where you get an hour of table time, a sandwich, and a drink for $6. It's just as cheap as eating somewhere like Subway and I get to shoot pool in the process. Not sure if that counts but that's how I "support" my local pool hall.
 
av84fun said:
NUMEROUS studies show that municipal water is AT LEAST as free of objectionable stuff as true spring water. The rest of the "purified" water is either distilled with minerals added back so it doesn't taste like crap or just "filtered" tap water that has already been filtered up to the state of the art...BY LAW.

Just buy a couple of those nipple bottles for convenience and refill it with tap water.

Bottled water at $12.00 a gallon (128 oz/gallon) is one of the biggest marketing con jobs of ALL TIME!!

(-:
Jim

a few points:

i'm well aware that tap water is of very high quality already - when i am in the house tbh it's the main thing i drink. if i'm out and am thirsty however unless i feel like a particular soft drink sometimes, i'd rather buy a bottle of mineral water than a bottle of coke. tastes better, quenches my thirst better, and is healthier.

as for filling up a bottle of tap water - if only it worked. once tap water has been sitting for a while it testes like crap. fresh out the tap it's fine, but out of a bottle - urrrgh.

so there's plenty of reason when you're out to buy a bottle of mineral water or spring water - it's the people who buy cases of the stuff and drink it at home who are mad.

EDIT:

Classsic english comedy only fools and horses did an episode on this subject - dell boy bottles his tap water and markets it as 'peckham spring'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4x75AZsmts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UUT3g4tDAo
 
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Regarding water, taste is subjective but where I used to live, Davis, CA., the tap water tastes like crap, in the humble opinion of 99% of the people who I talked to who've tried it. LOL.

The tap water there is really hard. If you leave some on a plate for a few days, you'll see the mineral deposits left as the water evaporates. It may not be bad for you, but it sure made me develop a taste for filtered water.

There's no way I'm going to pay 3 bucks for a bottle of water unless I'm desperate though. I just fill up a 5 gallon jug from the machine at the store for 39 cents a gallon. Compared to buying bottled water, it's way cheaper and it's supposedly better for the environment too.
 
I just got back from lunch at my favorite pool hall (Pacific Billiards). I try to eat there about once a week or so. They have a small menu but it's very good food and reasonably priced.

Dave
 
or perhaps . . .

chris_williams said:
When theres no pool rooms in town you can always play online. Ive provided a link http://games.yahoo.com/all-games


Or perhaps with the pool rooms like that one gone a decent room or two will step in to fill the gap. A new pool room opened up near my shop less than two years ago. They just over doubled their floor space. Another new pool room is being finished nearby now.

Of course since you think that 433% mark-up is reasonable I will gladly buy anything you want from another of my local pool rooms, mark it up that same percentage from wholesale, and ship it to you. That way you can support my local pool room too. Let me know what you want and I'll get a price to you.

Hu
 
I certainly do support them ...

It should be no surprise to most of you that my All Time Favorite Pool Hall is The Jointed Cue in Sactown ... What's not to like about this Icon of Pool and Billiards History ? ...

The Tables are always clean and the Balls are polished regularly ...

The Friendly Atmosphere is Absolutely Infectious ...

And, The Food ... Well, once you've eaten a Double Deluxe Cheeseburger with Fries you are Hooked for Life !!!
 
With all the alcohol i buy in there id say yes. And if im "supporting" my local pool hall they should put some money back into the place not just pocket it. Refelt the tables, fix the tv's and fix the AC (like i stated before)
 
ShootingArts said:
Or perhaps with the pool rooms like that one gone a decent room or two will step in to fill the gap. A new pool room opened up near my shop less than two years ago. They just over doubled their floor space. Another new pool room is being finished nearby now.

Of course since you think that 433% mark-up is reasonable I will gladly buy anything you want from another of my local pool rooms, mark it up that same percentage from wholesale, and ship it to you. That way you can support my local pool room too. Let me know what you want and I'll get a price to you.

Hu
If you have a paypal account maybe I could send you $10 and you and your local pool room could makeup
 
So bad the Dog won't touch it...

Back when my wife and I lived in Garland, Texas (suburb of Dallas for you foreigners), the tap water was so bad it made my dog sick. No, really. Our dog would throw up about once a day. We tried everything. We changed its food several times, stopped giving him scraps from the table, took him to the vet (who couldn't find anything wrong; said it was just a nervous stomach), but nothing helped.

I don't know what made us start giving him bottled water. I guess because we both drank it, or filtered water, because we couldn't stand the taste of the tap. After he started drinking bottled water, the vomiting ceased. Being the skeptic in the family, I peformed an experiment where I gave him tap water again. Sure enough, he hurled.

To let you know how bad the Garland water was, it had what my wife calls "floatees" in it. Nasty stuff. Whoever said water is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, never lived in Garland.
 
save your money

chris_williams said:
If you have a paypal account maybe I could send you $10 and you and your local pool room could makeup

I have a pool hall that is closer, has far better prices on everything, better tables, and better people to deal with. I have one still closer than that however the tables aren't as good and the people who run the place wouldn't know what "ethics" meant if they looked it up in the dictionary. I drive right by that one to go twenty minutes further to play pool.

At the end of the day I'll support quality pool halls. The rest simply pollute the landscape and take a certain amount of business from the quality pool halls. It may be in pool's best interest if they did die. I like good quality equipment and a good environment to play in. I love the funky old pool halls that still survive too. I have no use for the halls that are intent on ripping off pool players. In the end the people running a pool hall make or break the hall.

Hu
 
I support the room I mostly play in by *playing* there. I spend $16/week on each of 2 different leagues. I also practice there some. At a minimum I'm already spending something like 2K/year supporting my room. Why I would want to spend $10 on 3 *tiny* sliders + fries is beyond me, I eat before, or after (or run out to the subway up the block for a quick 6" sub). I try and avoid drinking at all costs - $6.50 (with $1 league discount) is a bit much for a well drink...
 
chris_williams said:
Or do you
1) Stop at a fast food joint on the way because your not paying the prices at the pool room

2) Search online for the best price on cues/accessories or buy out of someones trunk that is a half rate dealer to save $10.

I see posts like Mike Janis' "another pool room falls victim to the smoking ban" I mean no disrespect to Mr. Janis but there has to be more to it than a smoking ban. It is from lack of customer participation. Pool rooms are closing every day. There are more ways to support the pool room than paying pool time.

The same goes with tournaments. Most of the tournaments that are not in pool rooms (hotels and convetion centers) rely on hotel kickbacks and food and beverage rebates to make any money. The players get upset when the promoter takes a registration fee but have no problem going out to Mcdonalds or stay at another hotel 5 miles away to save a couple of dollars.

Just for the record, I am not a pool room or a bar owner and only promote 1-2 small events a year. I apologize if this post seems negative as that wasnt the intention. It was more for a reminder that we all (myself included) can do more to support the people who support our sport.
Chris Williams

A very nice post that makes a good point. With no smoking in many places, the pool rooms with no bars in them are getting shafted. The one I go to is the only place without a bar in the state. They are about to shut down due to no attendance, and put in some more food sales and upped the prices on drinks. That is the only way to make enough money to pay rent and utilities, much less make a profit for many places. I always make a point of getting something, and bring my son there to play, hang out and eat snacks all day. They do not over-charge for equpment, every stick I have seen them sell has been at a good discount from list. I figure a day of pool there on the all day or night special is at MOST $18 from open to close, why not spend the extra .50 cents a drink to help them out as well?

Before they even had hot dogs and coffee and such I always asked the manager/owner why he does not add them. People were bringing in coffee all the time, money that could be spent there just as well.
 
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