Meet Bill Snoberger

By Stephanie Davis

Each month IBI’s “Inside Line” highlights a team member from one of our loyal advertisers. It’s always fun to learn a little something new about people who make things happen at their company and for the industry. This month we talked with Bill Snoberger, national sales manager at US Bowling.

IBI: How long have you been in the bowling industry?

Bill: I have been a bowler all my life. I joined my first bantam league back when I was 7. Fast forward to 1976 when I was at a bowling tournament and got to talking to Mickey Colletti, who founded the famous Junior Amateur Tour. Mickey was the pro shop operator and part-time deskman at the legendary Hollywood Star Lanes and was looking for extra front desk help at the center. I eagerly took the job and that was my foray into the actual “make my living” from the bowling business; that was 47 years ago!

IBI: How long have you been with US Bowling? What is your current position?

Bill: I started with US Bowling in January 2017. When US Bowling acquired the assets of Murrey International where I had been working since 1983, I met with Daroll and David Frewing and they asked me to remain on and become their national sales manager. They immediately made me feel like family from the day I started. People can take a lesson from this. It is always best to take the high road with your competitors. You never know when you might be meeting face-to-face about life-changing circumstances like this.

IBI: What makes US Bowling unique?

Bill: Professionalism! Being the largest family-owned business in the bowling industry, we have to be better than our competition. Years ago, there was a company that had a slogan, “Quality goes in before the name goes on.” That describes US Bowling to a tee. Daroll and David are still hands-on every day. I mean EVERY DAY. They care in making certain everything we manufacture is manufactured to the best it can be. If there is a way to make it better, we are always striving for perfection. Our customer service is unsurpassed. If an inquiry comes in and it wasn’t responded to promptly, our sales staff will get a note from Daroll asking for details on why. I don’t believe there is another company in the business that brings so much experience from a manufacturing, marketing, and sales perspective.

IBI: What new programs or initiatives are you working on?

Bill: US Bowling has been aggressively perfecting our 24 Volt Automatic String Pinsetter. A very safe, energy efficient, low maintenance pinsetter. Realizing how bowling centers are struggling to find talented backend personnel, having a reliable string pinsetter that can be maintained by enthusiastic customer service personnel is exactly what the industry needs. Plus, with only about 80 moving parts on the 24 Volt string pinsetter, the parts inventory nightmare is a thing of the past. Combining our Pulse Entertainment Scoring system with our 24 Volt string pinsetters has become the industry’s winning combination.

We have people on staff who are constantly updating some of the coolest Pulse Entertainment scoring graphics ever developed. Of all our scoring graphics, the 1980s-themed line of graphics are the coolest thing I’ve seen. What’s old is definitely new again.

IBI: What are the trends in 2023?

Bill: Back in October 2022, I was invited to speak to the Southern California Bowling Proprietors about this exact topic. There is a major change on the horizon. It really has to do with the emergence of the string pinsetter. With the USBC on the verge of sanctioning our 24 Volt String Pinsetters for league and tournament play, it’s going to change the industry.

Our industry has gone from almost 8 million sanctioned league bowlers in 1997 to just about 1 million in 2022. Our industry has changed and the revenue stream is changing as well. Leagues are still a vital part of a center’s income, but it can’t be all of it. Centers are having to weigh their options for the future.

IBI: What do you like most about your job?

Bill: I love the people I work with at US Bowling. Starting at the top and going down, it’s a group of completely dedicated people. We have staff that comes into the factory on weekends, on their own time, to get work done. I enjoy hearing customers soak in my words and have a better understanding of the business they are about to embark on. I love how they go from being cautiously optimistic and apprehensive when I first spoke with them to being so excited, they can’t hide their newfound enthusiasm to get this new project done.

IBI: When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your time?

Bill: I really enjoy spending as much time as I can with my fiancée Mary. We’ve been together going on 30 years and have the same interests. Our bowling friends set us up on a blind date thinking we might be good together; boy were they right! We love going to live concerts, whether it’s Bruce Springsteen at the Sports Arena or a yacht rock band at the local park, we love live music. Mary and I have been Dodger season ticket holders for 15 years. I will rush home the 37 miles from Chino to Glendale, change into my Dodger regalia, and make the 15-minute drive over to Dodger Stadium. Rinse and repeat 60+ times per year.

IBI: What would our readers be surprised to learn about you?

Bill: I have 13 sanctioned 300 games when shooting 300 still got your name mentioned in the local bowling paper. When I was 16, I went on a three-week bowling exhibition with six boys and six girls to Australia and Hawaii.•