Software AND Customer Service done right

I wanted to mention a software product and the person that publishes it. But first you need to know that I have been the secretary/treasurer of my bowling league for the last three years. I have done, all in all, a decent job. It is a difficult task and it takes a great deal of organization to keep on top of things. But it is also fun and it pays a decent amount of money at the end of the season; the money I have received from my secreatry's duties have gone to pay for Kayla's tuition or for bills.

On my first year as secretary I wanted to buy an appropriate software package that would do what I needed to do. I looked into what was available then and I was not happy with what I found. The closest match was a program called Bowl101. Randy Stowe is the owner and programmer that came up with Bowl101. When you have a problem or question you get him. That is pretty neat. I wrote to Randy with some questions back then and he was honest about the programs abilities. He told me that a future version of the program would work they way I needed it.

I developed a decent system of controlling the league finances via an Excel spreadsheet. I sued and refined that system for two years. It worked well. However, it was missing an important part: keeping track of scores and, especially, awards earned by bowlers!

This year I tried Bowl101 again (and I looked at other packages too). Randy allows you five full weeks of unrestricted use of the Bowl101 program — including support for any questions or problems. When I ran into a snag, he called me (surprised me!) and we worked on the problem together — as a team! After four weeks of use I sent Randy some money and he sent me the registration information needed to continue using Bowl101. It was very easy to do and he personally wrote to thank me for the comments I submitted.

Although I am an avid supporter of Open Source and freeware, I certainly understand that not everything in life is free. Randy definitely ensures that you are making an informed decision with his product. And the software works as perfectly as any program ever does!

So cheers to Randy and Bowl101 for a great job and a great product!

Thanks to Randy's program I am doing a much better job in my roles as secretary/treasurer and having a lot more fun at it!