Pictured Is Virtue Bowling Supplie's Craig Spencer.
Seven Years Ago, Virtue Bowling Supply, Brought A New Concept In Pro Shops To Arizona.
Seven Years Later, It Has Grown To Six Locations In The Valley. With Hopes Of Future Growth.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor - thetenpinexpress.com - Director Mesa Metro Association.
Mesa, AZ. - - - Its easy believe that seven years ago in February of 2013, a new pro shop made its debut at Brunswick Mesa, in Mesa, AZ. What is hard to believe is that it is still around, and thriving in 2020. It has since expanded to five other locations in the east, west and north valley.
The new concept in pro shops was originally brought to the east valley by PBA tour player Josh Blanchard, and was managed by Craig Spencer. Today, Craig serves as the sole proprietor of the six locations and Josh is the director of coaching and social media. During a customer appreciation day event at Bowlero Mesa on June 20, he took time with me to reflect on the growth of Virtue Bowling Supply.
When asked about the initial opening, he said, "We first opened in February of 2013. Our opening was a very difficult and stressful experience for me. There was tension between the center management and the operators I worked for prior and I got put in a very difficult position by center management. However, we got through it and I learned a lot.” When asked about his early goals he said, “In my first year, I just wanted to service customers and do what I loved. I had no intention of having other locations."
Virtue Bowling Supply took over the pro shop at Bowlero Mesa, that was once owned by Ron And Karl Simonis. The pro shop that the Simonis' owned was under a different name.
One of the first things he also wanted to do when Virtue at Bowlero Mesa was first opened, was set a new standard of customer service in the pro shop industry
"We were trying to develop new standards in terms of customer service and technical knowledge available to everyday league bowlers. At the time, no one watched people bowl before picking out a ball, they just asked them a series of questions and took an educated guess," said Craig, of the new standards he set. "We were one of the first shops, to my knowledge, to make watching people bowl a part of every ball purchase. We also were one of the first to have demo balls available in store (to watch new bowlers bowl before recommending a ball), and make demo events much more accessible. Josh being out on tour allowed us to get our customer's the most cutting edge technical information within the sport."
By being the new guy on the block, it took a while to be accepted by the new customer base. But, once bowlers saw what they could do in the pro shop business. The positive feedback began to start to roll in.
"There were a lot of people very excited about us opening. Josh Blanchard was an upcoming big name on the PBA tour, and it was really him opening the pro shop and I was just the guy running it," said Craig, of the opening of Virtue Bowling Supply. "Many people would walk in and ask me where the boss was (referring to Josh). I think most of Ron and Karl's customers were very comfortable with the transition, because I had been a staple in the store and in the center for many years."
Once Virtue Bowling Supply was accepted by its new customers, being able to retain them was the key to being successful. While he wasn't able to retain everyone after the transition took place, he was happy to gain the new faces he has obtained the last seven years.
"Well, in retail you can't retain everyone. We just try to retain more than we lose and try to gain new faces as we go," he said, of how important retention is, in the pro shop business. "I think we did pretty good at retaining a lot of customers. I do not think it was too difficult. We focused on really helping them enjoy bowling through technical knowledge, inventory, delivery times, overall organization and professionalism."
Although he can't pinpoint one aspect that has made him successful the last seven years. Learning from mistakes made during the early years, has been a very valuable teaching tool for him. Being successful is all about caring.
"We had our human moments and still do, but we try really hard to not focus so hard on getting customers to do everything "by the book". We listen to what the customer wants," said Craig, of customer service. "If they want something that we would not recommend, we tell them that, but we don't berate them or talk down to them for wanting something we don't recommend. Because we focus on them enjoying the sport, which often involves decisions that are not solely based on improvement. We live by the famous quote 'Customers don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.'"
While he cannot believe it has been seven years, February 2013, since Virtue Bowling Supply first opened its doors. He says it has been quite a ride thus far and cannot wait to see what the future holds.
"Honestly, no, I can't believe it. It has happened so fast and I feel incredibly grateful. I would say what has changed the most is my role and passion within the business. I started off passionate about my relationships with all of my customers," he said, of the beginning. "Now I am passionate about my relationship with all of my team members and store managers. I love helping them learn and get better at what I have dedicated my life to. They help me improve as well. Seven years ago, it was all about me. Now it is all about the team. I believe I can have a much larger impact on the sport with that model. It feels good to be “the guy”, but that isn’t scalable, and it’s hard to really have a big impact in bowling if you can’t scale your philosophy beyond one person."
He cannot believe he has become as successful as he has the last seven years either. But, to those of us who know him, we should not at all be surprised that he didn’t expect his own success.
"No, I definitely didn't at the very beginning. I wouldn't say it says much of anything besides that I enjoy the challenges and aspects of trying to build a team overall several locations," said Craig, of his success. "There are some pro shops that do the same amount of business with only one or two locations that we might do with six, so it's not so much about financial success as much as it is about finding personal fulfillment in the success. I find that fulfilment in our team and am able to do that with multiple locations."
Soon after the Bowlero Mesa location open, the following five locations opened in succession to complete his compliment of six locations. They were: Mesa East, AMF Union Hills, AMF Deer Valley (now moved to Glenfair), Antelope Lanes in Prescott Valley, and Plaza Bowl in Prescott Valley.
“Deer Valley closed in July of 2018. Glenfair needed a pro shop, and we already had the equipment and inventory. My staff still needed a job, so it was the most logical choice”, said Craig, of the move from Deer Valley to Glenfair in the fall of 2018.
"A longtime friend of mine, Jeff Row, approached me about getting into the business and learning the craft. Coincidentally, the center owner of both pro shops up north was also looking for someone to alleviate him of the responsibilities of the shop," added Craig, of how his fifth and sixth locations came into being and if they felt different. "The stars aligned, as they say, and after six months of training, and a month up north with Jeff, we had both stores remodeled, stocked and opened. It was hard being away from my wife and new babies at the time, but other than that, opening those locations didn’t feel any different than the other locations."
It has been an interesting spring/summer in Arizona, since bowling was shut down in the Cactus State by Covid-19 on March 16. The NBA was the first professional sports league to shut down on March 12. Then the: NFL, NHL, and MLB followed suit. While Arizona has since reopened partially on May 15, Craig has learned to deal with the unprecedented circumstances.
"It has been hectic and created tensions among the community we serve. However, we try to stay out of that," he said, of Covid-19. "We mainly care about our customer's bowling, and our employee's happiness in their jobs. During COVID, we just couldn't have as much of an impact in those areas."
He said he would entertain the thought of further expansion, if the opportunity would present itself. And if the center management would be eager to have them. He and his wife, Liz, also became parents of twin boys, Blake, and Kaleb just shy of two years ago.
"It has changed my perspective on when I am OK with working. I still enjoy my work and like to work a lot, but at certain times of the day, I block off time to spend with my family," he said, of becoming a dad. "Having kids doesn't feel like it has taken anything away from my professional life. It has only added to my personal life and made me more efficient in my professional life."
So, the next obvious question he was asked: Was when and if he plans on introducing his kids to bowling?
"Absolutely. I hope to introduce them to as many things as possible. I am sure they will bowl to some extent," he said, on when the time will be right to get the boys into bowling. "Whether or not they love it and get into as much as I have is still to be determined. I want them to find what they love, because I have seen how important that is."
The customer appreciation event at Bowlero Mesa on June 20, attracted a huge and enthusiastic crowd. A ball demo that featured Storm and Roto Grip bowling equipment, featured the latest releases the companies had to offer. The main event was an exhibition match between Josh Blanchard and Jakob Butturff. Buturff defeated Blanchard 258-247.
"Oh man, it's everything. Our area has so many great pro shops that are all fairly convenient. When customers choose us over them, or online retailers, it means everything to us," said Craig, of his appreciation for having a successful customer appreciation event. "We believe very much in investing into the community that invests into us. I think that is what sets us apart from our competitors. It is a symbiotic relationship with our customers, not a transactional one. We don't always accomplish that standard, but that is what we are always aiming for."
Craig is an accomplished bowler as well. According to bowl.com, his highest average to date came during the 2018-19 season. When he averaged 232 for 72 games. In the Ebonite Scratch Classic League at Lakeview Lanes in Sun City. He also has 19 300 games and 10 800 series to his credit. His highest 800 series was an 858 set bowled at Bowlero Glendale on 12/19/16.
"Bowling has made me realize that all of our activities as people are the most rewarding when they bring us closer to other people. We are social creatures (when compared to other animals) and our main purpose is to connect with other people," he said of what bowling has meant to him. "I enjoy bowling and the subtleties of it, but it wasn't until I got older that I realized the most valuable thing bowling provided me were all of these friends and memories over the years. Truly feeling like you are a part of a community is invaluable."
He also took his expertise of bowling one step further, by becoming a Metro Phoenix board member in 2019 and a USBC Silver Certified coach in 2018.
"I became a Phoenix board member in 2019, an IBPSIA (International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association) board member and state USBC board member in 2020," he said, of getting further involved in bowling. "It is important to me to invest time and energy into trying to help solve the sport’s problems. It is very easy to identify areas of improvement for the sport or industry, there is a line of people doing that on the daily. What is hard, is putting in the time to actually fix them."
He says he is very happy with the way things have been going the last seven years and would not have changed anything the last seven years.
"I am very happy. I am not one for regrets. You either win or you learn," he said, of being in the pro shop business for the last seven years. "I have made countless mistakes. However, I learned something from all of them."
State Of Arizona Bowling News - July 8, 2020.