Lake Wylie Bow N' Bounce
“The EDGE String Pinspotters have given me peace of mind. They transformed something that was a major source of heartburn into something that is no longer an issue.” – Darrin Skinner
Lake Wylie Bowl N’ Bounce is the preeminent entertainment destination in Lake Wylie, a community near Charlotte, North Carolina. Owner Darrin Skinner opened his FEC in 2012. Today, in addition to 16 lanes of bowling, he offers 70 arcade games, 24 vests of laser tag, bounce attractions, a soft play built-in structure, along with F&B offerings. The bowling portion of the business represents 30% of total revenue. About 90% of bowling revenue is recreational bowling, the remaining 10% league play.
The Challenge
Darrin’s biggest challenge stemmed from his free-fall pinspotters. Maintaining them was not only a large expense; it had become a big headache for him as well. “While bowling represented about 30% of my revenue, it was over 50% of my facility maintenance costs and was a source of personal frustration,” Darrin says. “I could not find many experienced technicians, and the few good ones I did find were expensive. Additionally, I wasspending an average of $10K per yearin partsjustto keep my pinspotters running. I had a whole room full of pinspotter parts, and it wastying up valuable cash.” Along with impacting his bottom line, Darrin’s pinspotter problems were hurting the customer experience. “As a league bowler in my own center, I was seeing firsthand the impact my pinspotter problems were having on our guests.”