Sometimes I get so impressed or wound up up a company, product or service that I have to vent here on the blog. This time ‘Tenpin’ gets a rant.

A few years ago I used to go to Megabowl Chelmsford a lot. The bowling alley opened in the building once home to the ‘Queensway Furniture Store’ after Queensway went bust. The site is huge, and was once a great place to go. My mate Chris and I would spend entire days in Megabowl paying a flat fee for an all day bowling ticket. £7 each including shoes was a great deal.

Friday nights were also a good time to go bowling, it would be very busy, and lanes were in popular demand, but bowling prices were still fair and still very good value for money.

Then ‘Tenpin’ took over the branch.

Last night Justina and I went out with Sean (aka Damian) and Nicky to Tenpin to find that two games would cost £9.75 each.

We arrived at 9.00pm and were suitably ripped off.

At £39.50 for four people to bowl for just two games each for an hour or so, thats an absolute rip off. After trying very hard to knock them down in price, even trying to play the “I’m a student card” we eventually had to pay the £39.50 between us all rather than go elsewhere, Tenpin have a monopoly in Chelmsford and none of us wanted to drive to another town after driving to Chelmsford. Even the staff member selling us the tickets said “It is a rip off, I wouldn’t pay it”.

The annoying thing is, if we had arrived at 10.30pm we could have bowled unlimited between 10.30pm and 1.00am for £9.75 each. Hardly anyone was bowling at 9pm, it would have made sense to start ‘Unlimited Bowling’ at 9 rather than 10.30.

Tenpin was very very very empty. There was hardly anyone bowling in comparison to when Megabowl ran the place. I’d guesstimate that at 9pm 10% of the 40ish lanes were being used, at 10.30pm, about 2%.

So….. Tenpin, your prices are way too high, sort them out, you do not offer good value for money. I think you need to rethink your offer times. Megabowl was once packed on Friday nights, people have left, I wonder why? We wont be coming back.

For the record, here is a couple of phone camera movies…. the first one shows just how dead the place was at 10.30pm.

Tenpin, drop your prices, they stink.

 Tenpin Chelmsford Friday Night at 10.30pm (watch out for the tumbleweed): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
 Sean on the Dance Machine (ish): Play Now | Play in Popup | Download