Pictured Is: USBC Midwestern Regional Manager Roger Petrin.
From The Rental Car Industry, And Back To The Game Of Bowling, Roger Petrin Believes Providing Good Customer Service Is The Key To Success.
Annual Arizona State Jamboree Was Hosted By Metro Phoenix This Year. Association Shoot-Out Took Place At Lakeview Lanes. Workshop At Arizona Theatre.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor The TenPinExpress.Com - Director Mesa Metro Association.
Sun City, AZ. - - - To those of us who have worked in the Customer Service sector, being thanked by a patron today still goes a long way. It usually signifies that a customer appreciated the attention provided to them, and the individual will more than likely return to patronize that particular business again.
Just ask Midwestern USBC Regional Manager Roger Petrin about the importance of providing good customer service.
"I have been working in the customer service sector for roughly five years now," he said, prior to the AZ State Jamboree Association Shoot-Out at Lakeview Lanes in Sun City on October 12. "I believe there has always been a sense of wanting to do a form of customer service, as I have always enjoyed helping others."
The association shoot-out was part of the annual Arizona State Jamboree that was hosted by Metro Phoenix. Nine of the 11 associations in the State of Arizona, attended the Jamboree this year. The workshop followed the shoot-out itself, and was held at the Arizona Theater in Peoria. Roger, this year. Pitch-hit for Western Regional Manager David Prange.
"I worked for Enterprise Car Rental for two-and-a-half years (2016-2019) in Wichita, KS. I was a Management Trainee for seven months, and quickly became an Assistant Branch Manager where I averaged a 90 percent overall customer service satisfaction rate," he said, of his transition from the rental car business back into bowling. "The customer service comparison from the rental car industry to the bowling industry is different, in the sense that I was working for a for-profit organization."
But, again, providing good customer service is the key to an individuals success in the customer service sector.
"Understanding the difference between providing great customer service and still making a profit on each rental is certainly a much higher stress situation," he added, on the difference of working in the rental car and bowling industry. "Working for USBC, though, it is still important to drive revenue. My position does not directly impact revenue as much, so it allows me to focus more directly on member/association needs."
The fleet size that he was running at the Wichita airport, originally had 400 vehicles in it. In his last six months with the company, his branch acquired the National/Alamo car brands and the fleet size then jumped to 900 vehicles within one month. He was managing a fleet value of $18,000,000.
"The most memorable moment I have from my two-and-half years with Enterprise, is the month where my branch posted a three month customer service score of 98 percent. Changes happen with everything, not just bowling," he said, of his tenure with Enterprise. "I always take each situation that comes up in bowling, one step at a time. Preparation is the key for me. Preparation is making sure I am constantly in contact with the other regional managers and learning from them at the same time. I also spend an hour each week, attending a public speaking group in order to help develop my public speaking skills. Mostly, it is knowing the information and studying the information, before giving a presentation at a jamboree."
He knew that he would become involved in the game of bowling for life, at age 11. He started bowling in a bumper bowling league that was sponsored by Mc Donalds, at AMF Carolina Lanes in Matthews, NC. The bowling center is still open today. From his first experience in the sport, he went on to take lessons to get better in the game. And began bowling in major tournaments, including seven Junior Golds.
He attended Sun Valley High School in Monroe, NC. And, another sport besides bowling that he excelled in, was tennis.
"I qualified a couple of times for the state tennis tournament in high school, and helped my team to an undefeated season my freshman year, as the number-two seeded player on the team," he says, of the other sport he excelled in, in high school. "I was not sure that I believed I would be better at bowling at that time, but I enjoyed bowling more ."
From high school, he went on to attend Wichita State University, from 2009-2013. WSU has historically produced a lot of the top bowlers, on the PBA and PWBA tour. That includes Mesa's Josh Blanchard.
"I first met Gordon Vadakin at one of the WSU Shocker Bowling Camps in the summer of 2008. That is when I decided to attend WSU. WSU recruits history for the program. However, WSU had to become one of the best collegiate programs by being very good at what they do," he said, of attending WSU and bowling for the Shockers. "The school supports the program and the coaching staff, which allows the coaches more autonomy to run the program in their vision. By having the vision and a plan in place, bowlers who attend the school recognize the value that they are receiving is more than bowling. This helps to retain and recruit high talent."
Being recruited and asked to bowl for WSU, is one huge honor. And being able to perform for the Shockers at a high level every match, is another factor that recruits have to conquer.
"Being part of the program was emotionally packed. When competing for a program like that, you feel honored to represent the team and having the opportunity to create lasting relationships with potential and current historic bowlers is awesome!," he said, of his experience in Kansas. "On the other hand, you are competing against those potential and historic bowlers for shots. And you need to be sharp on and off the lanes. Bowling for WSU helped me to sharpen my life, as I needed to be great in everything I did in order to compete."
He had success at WSU, which led to him having success on the PBA Tour. But, there is always one key figure that has played a huge role in his success on the lanes.
"My junior year of college, we finished second in the National Championship. After college, I bowled a lot! I ended up receiving the honor of PBA Southwest Regional Rookie-Of-The-Year, and was a nominee for Rookie-Of-The-Year on the National Tour," he said, of his accomplishments. "Work/Life balance is the key figure in all of this. I decided that having a family is important to me, and with that my personal bowling has taken a bit of a back seat. But, if I am not going to be competing, I might as well be serving in the game. Which is why I am excited to be back with the USBC."
But, there is one element that will help keep him in the game of bowling. It is his hope that his daughter will follow in his and his wife's footsteps and become a lifer in the game, too.
"I continue to remain in the game of bowling, because I love to compete," he said, of the game that has also brought him: the 2017 Oklahoma Masters Championship. One Kansas State Tournament Team Title. Seven 300 games, and five 800 series. "There will always be the drive for me to go out and make pressure shots. I have learned a lot from bowling, that has helped me with my personal life as well. As long as I am bowling, I feel I can continue to be my best in all aspects of life."
This is Roger's second tenure with the USBC. He served one year in the Youth Department 2015-2016, as a Northeast Youth Development Specialist.
"I truly believe in where bowling is headed. Membership has been decreasing since 1978 at roughly 5 percent. This past year, that number was 3.5 percent. I would like to see that number become zero," he said, of what direction he would like to see bowling take in the next five years. "Oddly enough, as that number decreases, we are seeing the number of bowling centers closing vs opening getting closer to equaling. Within the next five years there will be a tipping point, and we will hopefully continue to see improvements in member retention."
By being the USBC's Midwestern Regional Manager, his territory also includes Milwaukee, and St.Louis. St.Louis was the home to legends Don Carter and Dick Weber. Milwaukee (Glendale, WS) was the long time home of the American Bowling Congress (ABC), before the merger with the USBC in 2005.
"All of these cities are cold. There are not a lot of options in the winter time. Also, they have more bowling centers in this part of the country," he says, of his region. "That creates a lot more opportunities for leagues to occur at the preferred time of the day. Which impacts the number of bowlers in a positive way."
By being a pitch-hitter this year at the AZ State Jamboree. He also hit the ball out of the park, for those who where in attendance.
"Arizona was certainly a lot of fun! A lot warmer than Wichita, especially this time of year," he said, of his first trip into Arizona. "My initial impression of bowling in AZ vs bowling in KS, is there is not a huge difference."
Greater White Mountain will host the annual state meeting, and Casa Grande will host the jamboree in 2020.
Arizona State USBC News - October 22, 2019.