The Freeway helps with Free Bowling!

Gas prices are rising, food is soaring, and we all are feeling the pinch of tougher economic times.  No matter who you are, money is becoming tighter and we need ways to keep ourselves entertained.  Freeway Lanes is proud to present it Kids Bowl Free Program this summer.

 

By going to www. kidsbowlfree.com parents can register their kids to get two free games of bowling per day, all summer long!  There will be many hours each day that your child can come in and get two Free games of bowling.  What about the parents?  Well they can register for a family pack.  For only $19.95 the parents can also get two games free….Every day!!!!

 

This is our way of giving back to our loyal customers that have supported us through the years.  We hope the community takes part in this program and comes into bowl!  No strings attached, we just want you to come our centers!

 

Thanks to the Bowler’s and employees for contributing to the Leukemia/Lymphoma society fundraising efforts.  My Wife and I have exceeded $10,000 before our own personal contribution of $1500 and we are still going!  The support has been overwhelming for this cause, and we really appreciate all the support.  If the Freeway can ever help you raise money for your personal cause, please contact us and we will do anything we can.  We continue to support all kinds of charities in the community, and feel it is part of our obligation as an organization.

 

Look for great new food items, fun summer leagues, and a lot of nice upgrades to the centers.  By June 1 we will have 8 new high definition projection screens in Solon!  These screens are huge and provide a great picture.  We will be offering a family pack that included Shoes, Bowling, Sliders, Pizza and all the pop you can drink during every Tribe game.  The sound will be loud, the picture will be clear, and the atmosphere will be exciting!

 

The Mentor renovation is really shaping up.  We hope to start construction sometime in the next 4 months.  It will be a beautiful facility that will service all our current customers better, and better serve the Mentor market.  Larry Demoss is the new general manager.  He is a friendly, genuine person that really cares about your experience.  Stop in and say hi, and see why he has the company nick name, the Silver Fox!

 

The Freeway is always happy to see its customers.  You are important to us.  Whether you are a league bowler, open bowler, party goer, or even a bar patron, we know you are what keeps us going, and we appreciate it.  You can always email me directly at glenn@freewaylanes.com if you have complaints, compliments, or just want to say “hey.”  I am always happy to hear from you.

 

Be Safe!  Be Well!  Go Bowling!  Now!

 

Glenn E. Gable

CEO

Freeway Lanes Bowling Group

 

The Freeway is Helping! Help us help others!

Last year we road Seattle to Portland for Team in Training which was 204 miles total.  This is my good friend Spike and me at Mile marker 100 of 112 miles that day eating creamsicles.  This is a local delicacy made in the middle of nowhere Oregon!  I crashed at mile 70, hence the bandages, ouch!

 

Over the next few months Freeway Lanes is mobilized to raise money for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. I represent Freeway Lanes in Team in Training, a division of the society. I participate in team sporting events that support each other, and help spread the commitment to the cause. My Wife and I are both riding our bicycles 100 miles around Lake Tahoe, and with five of our friends we are committed to raising over $25,000!

Freeway Lanes staff does their part by offering a 50/50 raffle to each of the nightly leagues. This year, there will not only be the 50% of the pot prize, but great prizes awarded at the end of the drive. Every time you buy a 50/50 you get a chance at other great prizes. The prizes will be announced shortly, but please help us by supporting this raffle. Each time you do 50% of your money goes to finding a cure against blood born cancers and lymphomas.

 My Wife will also be hosting a ladies wine tasting and shopping party at Freeway Lanes of Solon. Details will soon be posted on this site, and around the bowling center.

I am also hosting a Texas Holdem tournament at the beautiful Pine Lake Trout Club. $200 gets you an entrance into the tournament, a dinner, and beverages. It is a great setting and the top prize is always something to be proud of. Last year we had over 40 participants.

 I feel it is important to make personal commitments to help others. I am proud of all the organizations the Freeway Community helps. We made donations of money or services to over 40 different organizations last year! The bowlers, the employees, and owner’s all work together to make a difference in our own way. If you would like to make your own donation directly to the cause, please follow the following link:

 www.active.com/donate/tntnoh/tntnohgablesmcgee

Thank you for all your support, and God Bless you for your efforts.

Times Continue To Change

Everyone had heard that the only thing constant in business is Change, and the bowling business is certainly not immune to that. 2007 had been a year of big change at Freeway Lanes. We had the no smoking law come into effect and we logged one of the nicest summer’s on the books that we ever had. This combination created a revenue dip that was felt across the State.

It has been tough making changes to the company so that we could survive. The work force was reduced by over 11% and overall expenses have been reduced by 12%. It has not been easy, but we now see light at the end of the tunnel. Our reductions in revenue are smaller, and our reductions in expenses have started to help.

Now it is time to figure out how to get the business back on the growth track. Our next projects are at Wickliffe and Solon. Wickliffe, on December 7, we begin the installation of 84 lanes of new synthetics accompanied by 12 lanes of high end furniture on the wood lanes that are left. This will accommodate our party business in the 12 lanes, while accommodating the league bowler’s with a consistent surface. This will start on December 7, 2008. Solon is having the first 24 lanes replaced as well as a major TV upgrade in the bar.

Recently all 425 employees where given a questionnaire on what could be done better at Freeway Lanes. We had many good suggestions, and we are taking many action to correct problems identified by the employees. We are listening, and we try to fit these improvements into the model to make a better place for our entire community. Thanks for taking the time to fill these out, we will be doing it again next September. If any customer or employee has a direct suggestion you can email or call me directly, I always have an ear for improvements for the company.

The 10 weeks of free bowling for new bowler’s at Wickliffe and Solon was a smashing success. We attracted over 460 new bowler’s between the centers! This promotion will not be run next year, but we may see it back for 2009-10 season. Thank you for all the bowler’s that signed up and the employee’s who supported it. We saw a lot of people who had left us return, as well as a lot of new faces.

Our safety record across the chain has improved dramatically. The efforts we have made to reduce accidents is really showing up, and this helps us over all in reputation, cost savings and most importantly, LESS PEOPLE HURT! Thanks for the continued efforts of all the people of Freeway Lanes!

Remember to talk to our customers, find out their needs, and give them the service they deserve. The holidays are around the corner, and it is a great time to really go the extra mile and show everyone we care. Look for our new customer service statement to be unveiled in December, and be sure that the more turbulent times are behind us. Happy Holidays to all, and God Bless you and your loved ones.

No Smoking on the Freeway

The smoking laws have been with us since December 7 of 2006.  The enforcement of the smoking laws has only started in past two weeks.  We have very mixed feelings about the smoking ban as a company.  We are here to serve you, the customer, and not letting our customer’s smoke inside has proved to be an inconvenience, and hard on our business.  For the first quarter of 2007 we were down 818 cases of just Bud Light!!!!  To do the math for you that is almost a $50,000 decrease in sales in one beer alone!  It has been tough, but as we begin to construct our new patios and have warm weather, it has brought some customers back in.  April was our first sign of life in a slight increase in bar business.

 For all the smoker’s out there, we apoligize for this massive, forced inconvenience.  We appreciate your business and are trying to plan other ways to accomodate you. 

While we may not agree with the smoking ban, the one positive outcome is a cleaner environment for our employees and patrons.  We can only hope there will be some positive fall out from this in the medium and long term of the business.

In the mean time the down turn in business has presented us with some tough choices.  We have had to scale back on employees while spending capital to make improvements to accomodate this new law.  It is the first time in 11 years the Freeway has had a negative growth quarter, and we are adjusting as fast as we can.

 I throw this out there to explain to everyone a large problem that you might not have known even existed.  Many thought the smoking ban would be healthy for the business, but as for now it has negatively affected all us on the Freeway.  Sometimes I get emails and calls asking “Why the heck would you do that?”  This blog lets me reach more people and explain our reasoning.  If you would like to email directly please do so at the address below.  Be Safe, Enjoy the nice weather, and check out our ‘Smokin” new patio at Solon, soon to be at Parma, and then Wickliffe!

Cheers!

Glenn E. Gable

Glenn@freewaylanes.com

Employee Wellness

We all work in entertainment.  When people are in our facilities, they expect friendly, happy people to help them with whatever they need.  It is our job to make sure the experience is positive, and that means we all need to be positive.  Being positive is good for all of us, specially you!  Smile, be outgoing, and help exceed our customer’s expectations!

This year Freeway Lanes started a 401K for all full time employees.  We provide a match of 15% of what the employee puts in.  The match, coupled with great investment choices, provides nice returns that can really add up over time.  If there are employees out there not taking advantage of this program, the time to sign up is now.  The 401K program will follow you from job to job, as long as the employer has another 401k.  If the employer does not you can convert it to a personal IRA that will continue to grow tax free!  So you save 15% or so on taxes, you get a 15% match from the Freeway, and that means every dollar you put in you get an automatic 30% return!  Start saving today! 

 Do any employees have ideas to make our work environment better?  Ideas to create new business?  Through Myspace or this blog, please feel free to give me comments.  If any customer’s happen to read this, I would love to hear from you as well.  Also open for suggestions for blog content.

When I started writing this I decided to let customer’s and employees alike see this.  I thought it is important for customer’s to see the Freeway Team’s sense of community, and to understand problems we face as a company.  BE SAFE!

 Glenn

Safety on The Freeway

Nothing is worse that hearing a customer or an employee has been hurt while inside a Freeway Lanes. First and foremost is the concern for the person. Are they ok?  How bad is it? Will they return? Then the concern that we are an entertainment center, and it is really is not entertaining to get hurt! How does this affect the overall morale or the productivity of the environment?

After all the bad feelings happen, then you have to look at the ramifications. Safety has become the fourth larges expense in Freeway Lanes. It is time to analyze and figure out how to make our environments safer. We spend 1/10 as much saving for our retirement as we do on safety! We spend 1/2 as much as the complete building maintenance. Can we all think of money better spent that on accidents? I think we call can, and should put our minds down to this.

It is starting at the top with a new safety and security manual. I will be attending safety meetings with any employees who want to have one. We will be reviewing all accidents and near misses with the employees and staff involved. I am open to any ideas to improve our record and make The Freeway a better place, and invite you to email or blog me with ideas. Nothing is too small or insignificant. Let’s look at it all, and try to make a difference.