What else is there to do at your pool room?

Retail1LO

Retail1LO

Pass the sugar!!!
Silver Member
I've been shooting pool recreationally now for 12 years. I started at the end of highschool...and really...my college major was shooting pool. I spent more time in the rec room and the student union building playing $1 on the 5, $2 on the 9...than I did in front of a professor or book. I love the game...but I'm never going to be a world beater...and that's ok. I play for the competition...not for money or a livelihood. That being said...as much as I love shooting pool...I can only handle so much...then I'm bored and have to do something else. The only problem is...outside of a Megatouch, and a Golden Tee machine...there's nothing else to do. So when I'm bored of pool...well...it's time to leave. If there were a couple of dart boards, a shuffleboard table or even a ping pong table...I could have something else to do even when I bored of pool. For whatever reason...our room owner seems adverse to any such ideas...even though all of us regulars tell him we'd play these other games. I look at all the times the room is dead...and I'm the only one sitting at the counter with the houseman...and I think to myself just how ridiculous it is. I mean...you would think that every part, of every day of the week...that was typically downtime...you'd be thinking of SOMETHING...ANYTHING to bring people in. And when they do come in...you'd do what you could to keep them there. Fact is...the regulars...about 20 of us or so...are the only ones that keep this place in business. There's a ladies night on Monday evenings where women shoot for free from 6PM until close...but there's scarcely any women that no about it...much less turn up for it. Yet for us regulars...that are there all the time...there's never anything really extended to us. I'm not asking for freebies. Just for them to provide us with the types of things we enjoy. We've been trying to get them to order hooded sweatshirts with the poolroom's name and logo on it, like they do t-shirts...for years now. I mean...we've gotten over 30 people that said we'd buy one. Even if they made nothing off the shirts...it's free advertising when we wear them. Still...nothing. You'd think a pool room would diversify enough that it could entertain more than just pool players...and entertain the pool players MORE when they were done with pool. There just aren't enough die hards out there anymore to make it on pool alone IMO.
 
From our own experience. I know I get suggestions every single day of what I should do in my pool room. Rather than explain to people over and over about how I tried something and lost money on the experiment I tell them I am not interested.

Vote with your wallet.
I will seem "bitter" as Barack Obama would put it to give more than one example, but here it is. I was also told and lobbied by all my regulars to set up a pool table with new rubber, new cloth, triple shimmed pockets and move the table over to a corner so they could play ring games. They all bragged about all the money I would make because they play so many ring games on this table. So, we did it. They played ring games for 3 consecutive nights, then they were not speaking to each other and never played again.
This example of the players telling you what they will spend money on is typical in all rooms. I have talked to room owners all over the country and my place is not unique. I try new things all the time to bring in business and to increase revenue. Some things work some do not.

I do definitely agree with the tee shirt idea. I have seen so many of my regulars in other bars with my shirts on that advertise our pool room that its silly for $9 that the owner wouldnt do it. But, hey, maybe he has a bad history with someone that owns a shirt printing company??? Who knows.

Its easy to get burned out on the other side of the business, so try and understand that. When you make $37 after working 16 hours and you get 3 guys in your place complaining you arent putting in plasma tvs....???.. it wears on you.

Retail1LO- Pvt me your mailing address and I will be happy to give you a Cue & Cushion tee shirt. Don't forget your size. (If you are 3X or bigger it might take a while) This way you can advertise my St. Louis pool room. I do have some nice shirts if I do say so myself!! Thanks for venting and adding your input. Positive and negative all input does help owners in the long run.
 
PM sent with address. Can't wait to walk into my room with the shirt of another room. If anyone else wants to send me a 2XL shirt advertising their pool room...I'll be more than happy to advertise it for you on my 6'5" frame. LOL
 
Do you think a pool room would be financially rewarded if they put in video games, darts, and schuffle board? Would these games offer a pay back? Or would it detract from the pool games?
 
Dawgie said:
Do you think a pool room would be financially rewarded if they put in video games, darts, and schuffle board? Would these games offer a pay back? Or would it detract from the pool games?
Click to expand...


We have put in dart boards in the past and the income didn't even pay for the license fees and repairs. The vendor told us most bars make very little on dart boards because of the constant repairs from drunk people. They make their money on selling the alcohol. The vendors make the money on repairs and their % of income. We get asked all the time to put in darts...but you know...been there, done that. We made more money on a Ping Pong table with none of the repairs. I might have to put one back in. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top