Merivale Bowling Centre
Five-pin bowling center · Ottawa, Eastern Ontario
A 48-lane centre that tells customers 'please no phone calls' and offers no online reservation is leaving serious weeknight revenue on the table.
Why they need it
Merivale is a 48-lane, computerized-scoring bowling centre with a full restaurant and arcade, yet its own website tells the general public that lanes are strictly first-come-first-served and explicitly asks customers not to call - there is no way for a family or a work group to reserve a lane online for a Friday night. For a venue this size, that is a large amount of predictable weeknight and weekend revenue being left to walk-in luck instead of being pre-sold. An online lane reservation and waitlist system (so customers can see real-time lane availability and book instantly, with the centre's existing computerized scoring feeding live status) combined with a self-serve group/league sign-up form to replace the current manual 14-day prepayment process would let Merivale capture bookings it is currently turning away by design.
Tech gaps
No online reservation system of any kind for the general public - the site actively discourages phone calls and offers no booking form; group events require a manual 14-day prepayment process with no self-serve option; no email address published anywhere on the site, only a phone extension and a contact form
Current tech
48 lanes with computerized scoring and an arcade, plus a fully licensed restaurant; general admission is strictly first-come-first-served with the site stating 'please no phone calls'; group bookings of 20+ require full prepayment 14 days in advance handled manually
Selling a web app
PlaybookA purpose-built application for one workflow that runs the business, quoting, ordering, booking, or reporting.
- Find the spreadsheet. There is always a spreadsheet everyone depends on.
- One workflow, done properly, in the first release.
- Hosted, backed up, and theirs.
Objections (1)
- “Can't we just use a template?”
- Templates are the reason the spreadsheet exists. If a template fit, you would already be on it.