| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| sunnicagrl |
Posted - 07/05/2006 : 10:44:48 PM
When is hot...too hot? Try shooting pool in a bar that temperature is in the 90's, with no air condition or free flowing air. To clarify, the bar is equipped with a working air conditioner that is turned on randomly. The bartenders are not allowed to turn on the air no matter how many people complain, or how hot it gets! All the teams fight for the one pool table near the swamp cooler, but only a few reap the rewards of that machine. Should my players have to sweat it out at this bar? Most league nights 95% of the patrons are APA members. We are not asking for the "Chill Factor." We are asking for maybe 2 hours of air during league nights to help encourage our players to stay after their matches and to bring friends to help support our local establishment. Due to the uncomfortablity factor my team members spend 70% of their time outside enjoying the night air. All of the teams complain and ask for the air, but I suppose I will be the one to post for helpful suggestions because we enjoy this bar and would like to support it even more! |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| lovin red |
Posted - 08/01/2006 : 09:33:02 AM
The heat hasn't spared anyone...one of our favorite restaurant/bar that we frequent couldn't even keep their place cool enough...I agree, quit complaining...it's hot Everywhere...except the Bowling Alley. They aren't keeping it cool because of the pool players...that's for sure! They have a lot of leagues in there every night and have for years.
We just got our Edison bill for our condo...we didn't use the AC more than 25% of the time because we knew the bill was going to be outrageous...and yes, our bill is literally 4 1/2 times MORE than normal. I'm just thankful I don't get charged the business rate! I know the money from my team (which is considered the drinking team of our area - other bars love it when our team is visiting!) doesn't even add a drop in the bucket for that expense. - Yes, economics will always play a factor in how a person runs their business, it doesn't mean that you business isn't appreciated, just that things are too expensive - even for you.
Thankfully it's cooling down and things are feeling better. It does get warm in our home bar and whether people know it or not, the AC had been on many times during that complaining period but as it was so hot outside with so many people inside the equipment available in our building wasn't efficient enough to keep it cool. Our bar owner does the best she can with the money we give her as bar patrons...she's not an ogre, she deals with the same exact heat the everyone is complaining about...she's there more than any of us.
I don't go to play pool because of the comfort of my pool hall, I go because I enjoy the game and the people I play with...Like I said before...You have to make your own comfort level and fun. If you can't handle the heat...go somewhere that makes you more comfortable.
I enjoy the times I do get out to play...even with the heat. Yes, I sweat and am physically uncomfortable, but this is Sunny Southern California, the best place to live. We have to deal with the bad times as well when they come, and complaining doesn't help...it just pisses other people off!!
DeAthena |
| Kerry Randolph |
Posted - 08/01/2006 : 08:55:08 AM
Well Torsten
I got a phone call from one of my players that shows up early for league to practice. She said the bartender told her we could not play there anymore. I talked to a manager that I have never seen before for about half an hour. He said we don't drink enough. We have several players on our team that are diabetic and can't drink alchohol, so they drink water. He told me it was not good business for the bar to pay for our pool when we were not buying enough drinks. So we went to a different location to play that night, and I found our new home the next day. That is the short version. I don't understand because there were many nights we were the only ones there. |
| trhxke |
Posted - 07/31/2006 : 12:05:33 PM
Well Kerry and Torsten, I too agree with your philosophy. We should concentrate on what the home base is doing for us and if it is not enough ask for what you want. Then if the establishment feels it is too much, look elsewhere. An APA team of 8 players with and 8 player opponent is between 10 and 16 (in the case of our team it usually turns out to be even more because our team mates invite their friends too) regular customers and that should be worth some concessions from any intelligent bar owner.
My personal feeling is that if you're team mates are not happy where they're at then it is you duty and privlege as a team Captain to take the team and go somewhere that you will be happy......period.
Tom Hardinger
www.BigRigToys.com
Your Internet Source for pool cues, darts and various colletibles. |
| Torsten |
Posted - 07/31/2006 : 11:42:17 AM
I agree with Kerry. We play at the Borderline on Mondays. They treat us incredibly well there; with respect, accomodation, and they always say thanks to us every day for the extra business we bring in there. Climate wise, we actually have the opposite going on. They air condition the place to resemble a meat locker, mainly because they have dance lessons most nights, and nobody wants to dance with someone who is sweating like a zoo animal... But anyway, I couldn't have said it better... focus on what places DO for you, not what they don't.
I'm afraid to ask, Kerry. Why'd ya get booted from your previous home?
"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy." |
| Kerry Randolph |
Posted - 07/29/2006 : 11:30:08 AM
My Monday night team in Ventura had the unpleasantness of being kicked out of our home bar (DJs sports bar). Fortunately I found another bar that was willing to take us in (GiGis). I went in there Sunday evening to play a little pool and it was a furnace. I stayed for a couple of hours and was sweating, but I am grateful that this place is willing to take us in on such short notice, and open the tables for us. The bartender told me that they even had shirts already made up for us, and we have not even played there yet. I for one am appreciative of all the places that allow us to play. I am taking my fan and hopefully it wont be too bad, but if it is we will gladly handle it. Besides we live in Southern California where the weather is alway fantastic.
If you don't think we have it pretty good here, just read the paper, or go online and check out how some people around the world have to live.
Try to think of what people do for you, not what they don't do for you. |
| BigSi |
Posted - 07/29/2006 : 01:50:47 AM
Hey Guys, Stop and Think... this is a Bar NOT a pool Hall, they are in the business of selling alcohol not table time! Quit your bitching'.Lol Simon |
| lovin red |
Posted - 07/20/2006 : 2:57:10 PM
Thanks Arlene! Couldn't have said it better! I agree, no place is perfect and costs are expensive.
You have to make your own fun and comfort zone where ever you go.
We miss you! |
| abales |
Posted - 07/18/2006 : 7:53:31 PM
Hi Everyone, this is Arlene Bales who used to live in Camarillo and who played on 3 different teams at the Lamp last year. I have been reading the message board (I try to stay in touch with my old pals in CA, since moving to Oregon) and have to say that the issue about how hot it is at the Lamplighter is quite interesting to me. I have played in APA in Ventura County since it began and have played in the Lamp many times prior to it's being owned by it's present owner. It has ALWAYS been hot in the Lamp, partially because of the fact that they have that "partial" wall at the front entrance that blocks the evening breeze from running through. I have also played in other establishments where it has been hot.
Now I play APA and BCA in Oregon. During the summer our weather is 90 to 100 degrees every day. All but one establishment that we play in, DO NOT turn on their air conditioning because of the high cost of the electricity. Many of our players go outside to cool off when they are not playing. It is an unfortunate circumstance and not one that anyone likes, including the establishment owners. But it is unfortunately a "fact-of-life" in running a business.
Having owned a business I am only too familiar with the cost of running the air-conditioning. It sometimes raised our cost of doing business from $600 to $1,000.00 per month. I can promise you that the league players never drank enough beer to cover that cost which is why many times when you played there, we did not have the air-conditioning on. For those of you who have neve owned a business of this type there is no way for you to understand that it is not nearly as profitable as you imagine it is.
I am not in CA now and cannot vouch for what is taking place, but from here it sure seems like a lot of "lop-sided" comments and accusations are being made that are pretty unfair. I hate to see everyone getting so wrapped up in something that seems to have escalated far beyond what it should have.
This surely is none of my business anymore, but I SOOOOOOOOO enjoyed all my friends in CA and playing in the APA and it saddens me to read such unkind comments about someone who has truly supported the APA for so many years by having as many teams as she could play on every single season, long before she ever thought of being a bar owner.
Hi to everyone. Sure hope all of you continue to play and compete in the APA. Hope to see you at one of the APA events in Las Vegas some time. We are sending 2 or 3 teams there this year (sadly to say, Clarence and I are not on any of the teams going).
Love to all,
Arlene |
| Phil |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 3:29:36 PM
quote:
Originally posted by cabarkeep
As much as you would like to beleive that these teams left because of the air situation, I TRUELY beleive there was more to it than that. But that's someone elses problem. As I have said, the air is on when there are 4-6 teams in the bar. I personally play in my own bar and have NEVER seen the temperature at 95. But whatever. It's really nice that other teams have chosen to go to the Bowling Alley, because it gives my other clientele a table to play on and room at the bar for cocktails. So I guess, Thank You! Revenues have gone up.
In the future, I hope that all of you who play at the Lamp will address your issues to me personally. I'm not really sure why I have been attacked worse than the previous owners. I have made some good changes to the Lamplighter. Does this mean when it's cold you will all come back?? LOL And for further information, the air will be on from 7:30pm to 10pm. I hope this will keep all of you happy.
Can we close this issue now?
One more thing, it doesn't help to cool the place during the day with hopes it will keep the bar cool at night. Trust me, I've been involved with that bar for 12 yrs. It doesn't work.
Have a nice day! 
This is why I held off in responding to the posts on this topic.
As much as I would like to believe??? Let me tell you what I would like to believe. I would like to believe that there are no problems at all, that everyone is completely happy, and that life is good. What we are hearing indicates otherwise. We are hearing complaints from players about how hot it is in your bar, and we are hearing "good riddance" from you. Hardly utopia.
We are not taking any sides in this issue. It's not a matter of what we WANT to believe, it's a matter of what MOST of the teams, not just the ones with OTHER issues, have complained to us about. And when they complain to us, we tell them it's not our place, they need to take it up with the owners of the establishment. If they haven't, that's an issue between them and you.
Why are there more complaints now than there were before? That's hard to say. It could be personal issues manifesting themselves in something the players can complain about, or it could be that the bar is in fact hotter than it was in the past (five degrees can make a big difference). Or perhaps it is just a perception, the bar really isn't any hotter than it ever was, and now they just have the supercooled bowling alley for comparison. I don't know.
As for the discussion of the most efficient use of A/C, I was just offering that up as a suggestion, thinking perhaps it might be more cost-effective than trying to use the A/C after the room is already hot. Of course it won't keep the bar cool at night, adding 15-30 people at 98.6 degrees each will definitely cause a rise in temperature. But it might keep the resulting temperature from reaching the point that it's unbearable, at least for the period of time that the heat-producing entities are in the location. The starting temperature is important - basic laws of thermodynamics assure us that hot water does NOT freeze faster than cold water and cold water does NOT boil faster than hot water. Eventually, hot water will freeze and cold water will boil, but it takes longer.
In fact, when it's nicer outside than in, the use of a good vent fan (that blows the hot air out) and ceiling fans is a much better way of cooling off a room, and is way less expensive. Instead of trying to cool the hot air inside, expel it and draw in the cooler outside air with fans at the doorways. A swamp cooler is only half of that solution - sure it has a vent but you want a vent fan in the ceiling to blow out the hottest air. Besides, a swamp cooler adds humidity and if the outside air is already cooler it doesn't cool it much more, so a regular fan could work just as well or possibly even better (no added humidity). The swamp cooler at the Dutch Inn was enough because it was a monster with a giant fan - I believe the fan was a bigger factor than the evaporative cooling effect.
I'm just trying to help. I think everyone here has been quite respectful when speaking specifically about your bar, and those who have expressed strong opinions have expressed them in a general context. If everyone can remain civil, I see no problem with folks using this forum to hash out ideas that may solve the problem and benefit everyone, without costing you an arm and a leg. If it is not civil, I will lock the topic and/or delete posts at my discretion.
Phil
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| cabarkeep |
Posted - 07/12/2006 : 08:57:05 AM
As much as you would like to beleive that these teams left because of the air situation, I TRUELY beleive there was more to it than that. But that's someone elses problem. As I have said, the air is on when there are 4-6 teams in the bar. I personally play in my own bar and have NEVER seen the temperature at 95. But whatever. It's really nice that other teams have chosen to go to the Bowling Alley, because it gives my other clientele a table to play on and room at the bar for cocktails. So I guess, Thank You! Revenues have gone up.
In the future, I hope that all of you who play at the Lamp will address your issues to me personally. I'm not really sure why I have been attacked worse than the previous owners. I have made some good changes to the Lamplighter. Does this mean when it's cold you will all come back?? LOL And for further information, the air will be on from 7:30pm to 10pm. I hope this will keep all of you happy.
Can we close this issue now?
One more thing, it doesn't help to cool the place during the day with hopes it will keep the bar cool at night. Trust me, I've been involved with that bar for 12 yrs. It doesn't work.
Have a nice day! |
| Phil |
Posted - 07/11/2006 : 4:24:27 PM
Yes, we have heard the complaints from many of the teams in Camarillo. No, it is not our place to tell a location how to run their business. At the beginning of this session, several teams moved out of this location to the bowling alley, and the A/C issue had a lot to do with it. As a previous poster said, unhappy customers take their business elsewhere. If the owner of a location is willing to live with that consequence, it's their decision.
That said, there are ways to use the A/C efficiently and keep the costs down. Trying to cool down a room that's already hot is not an efficient use of the system. The previous owners DID use the A/C, but they used it early in the day, BEFORE it got hot outside. This kept it cool inside during the hot hours. At night the A/C was off, but since the room never got too hot during the day, it was never sweltering inside. Warm, yes, but never 95 degrees hot. In all fairness, electricity is much more expensive now than it was then.
We used to use this same tactic in our house. Open the windows at night and let the cool air in, then close them in the morning before it got hot outside. The house was comfortable almost all the time, except on the hottest of days. But alas, one day we got A/C and that all changed...
Phil
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| trhxke |
Posted - 07/11/2006 : 12:08:36 PM
Customers should NOT have to tell a bar owner that the A/C needs to be turned on and if the bartenders are NOT allowed to turn it on then that is ridiculous!
Take the team to a place that appreciates the business and when the bar owner ask why you moved....then....you can try to educate him on customer service if you have nothing better to do.
I have other things to do myself.
Running a team is a handful with out trying to run the bar too....unless it is your bar, of course then the profit factor would make it worth the trouble of providing customer comfort and incouraging additional customers to come in on league night. Seems like a "NO BRAINER" to me.
Tom Hardinger
www.BigRigToys.com
Your Internet Source for pool cues, darts and various colletibles. |
| Derailed |
Posted - 07/11/2006 : 11:50:34 AM
When economics trump customer service, customers go elsewhere.
Maybe ownership should ask around, complaints are readily available, and voiced every single league night.
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| sunnicagrl |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 3:06:36 PM
I cannot speak of what other bars have done because I have only been in the league for about 3 years. I just thought it was time for one of us to speak up about an issue that every Camarillo pool player faces on a hot night. I have always been the one to finally say something. I thought the forum page would be a great place to come up with ideas. I have even consulted the previous owners about the air conditioning and the price they paid on a hot night. I know it's not the cheapest expense, I was just hoping for a compromise between the owner and APA members playing at the bar 2-3 times a week. I am sorry that I did not go directly to you first. We have only been there twice under new ownership when the air was turned on and more than once we were one of 6 teams fighting for fresh air. We were just one of 2 teams the other night and my thermometer read 95%, next to the swamp cooler. I talked with each bartender and they all relayed the message of no air and I even consulted our local APA who had told me they were aware of the issue. I understand that we "don't pay your electric bill," but almost every one of my team members do drink and they help support your bar through league nights. They just don't stick around long enough to run up their tabs anymore. |
| cabarkeep |
Posted - 07/07/2006 : 11:04:59 AM
On behalf of my bar, since it seems that is the bar being tagged, it would be nice if I was approached personally. I have turned the air on when we've had 4 or more teams in the bar. Most of the teams in my bar don't drink. How am I suppose to support Southern Cal Edison if teams aren't supporting me? I installed a swamp cooler that REALLY works well. But I suppose you can't please everyone. I've even over heard my bar being called "the inferno pit of hell". Nice. Hopfully that person will stay out of my bar for good. I try to accomodate all of you, but as I've learned in my 44 yrs of life, you can't please everyone. The Lamplighter has ALWAYS been hot and the other owners NEVER turned on the air. That never seemed to be a problem. The Dutch never had air conditioning, they had a swamp cooler also. No one complained or made digs at the owners. It is not any different now than it was before I became the owner of the Lamplighter. Whatever!  |
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