Leisure Bowling Lanes — Local services in Oshawa

UPDATE: I just received a response from the owner, and I must address a few inaccuracies. I was shocked by the claims made, as they don't align with my experience or the truth.

First of all, I wasn’t holding the drink. The drink was brought in by someone in our group, and when we were approached by staff, we were simply told that our lane was being shut down. Upon asking why, we were told it was due to "outside alcohol," which was not the case for us. When I was approached about the drink, I immediately offered to surrender the drink that one of my group members had brought in, as I did not want to cause any issues. Despite my willingness to resolve the situation, we were met with verbal aggression from the staff, and we were made to leave.

The owner claims I said that the drink was already there when we arrived, and that I was questioned about drinking someone else’s leftover drink. This is a lie. I was never asked if the drink was mine, nor did I claim it was there when we arrived. I offered to surrender the drink immediately because I did not want to cause any problems. Instead of a fair and reasonable approach, I was met with hostility and told to leave without further discussion.

The response from the owner also mentions my group being "in the wrong," but it’s clear that the situation was handled unfairly, with no consideration for the circumstances. My group, which consisted of two women and four Black men, did not exhibit any aggressive behavior. In fact, the men in my group kept their composure, knowing all too well that speaking up in such situations is often misinterpreted. As for the "yelling" mentioned in the owner’s response, while I was definitely frustrated and angry when leaving, I did not scream or escalate the situation further.

The owner also claimed that I told one of the bartenders that she had a “pathetic minimum wage job.” While I did make that comment in frustration, it was a reaction to the unprofessional behavior I experienced, not a baseless insult. I stand by what I said, but I do acknowledge that it came from my frustration with the situation, which could have been handled much better.

It’s disappointing that the owner’s response ignores the real issue here: we were treated unfairly, and there was a clear lack of professionalism in the way this situation was handled. Furthermore, if you read other reviews on Google, you’ll notice that many customers, including myself, have had similar negative experiences with rude and unprofessional staff.

What’s even more frustrating is that I was denied the grace period that Ontario liquor laws offer, where patrons can voluntarily surrender outside alcohol. The business immediately decided to shut down our lane and kick us out, without offering any chance for compliance.

I want to make it clear that I was not trying to disrupt the business or cause trouble — I simply wanted to have a good time with my group. However, the way we were treated was unacceptable, and I now feel this situation was rooted in discrimination.

I will continue to share my experience, as it’s important for others to know what to expect if they choose to visit this establishment. I hope the management takes the opportunity to reflect on this incident and understand the impact of...

DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY HERE!! My GodSon was celebrating his 8th birthday with his friends but that got interrupted by the mean service and attitudes from staff. They had no regard for the children being around by using profanity and at the main desk for everyone to hear and see. I asked to speak with management to which i was told there was not one on duty. Due to my persistence... one magically appeared. When speaking with this elderly woman i then began to realise that her staff mimics her behavior as she too were very dismissive and rude. While giving my concerns about food being left out for the children to eat in an open area by the main door without our knowledge or their staff supervision, she told me "whatever, you should have been there already" what kind of response is that to give a paying customer (which were my words to the "manager") a 2nd lady decided to chime in by using profanity and telling us to pay and get out. So after exchanging some very much needed words for her that is what we did and left. In short... DONT SPEND YOUR MONEY HERE!! They care nothing about their customers and dont deserve to be in business or managing a business. There are only so many bowling establishments left and this one should not be employed by this staff. I communicated with FIVE STAFF STAFF MEMBERS!!!! and everyone was just as rude, dismissive and worthless as the last. NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!! They can keep the 1 star because they had bowling lanes and balls......

Leisure lanes is the only bowling area near me that doesn't damage your balls. Nebs fun world's ball return takes out chunks of your bowling balls otherwise I would go there.

This place is extremely outdated and has a few annoying attributes:

They have a "Pro Shop" but it is hardly open and carries very few items. I went with my boyfriend looking to buy personal bowling balls and bowling shoes. They had a mediocre selection of balls and had no available shoes in either of our sizes(both regular sized shoes (8fem 10male).

If you are consuming any drinks or food, you have to go to a very small table with 3 chairs up a few stairs from the lanes. There are small tables and chairs by the lanes but the cupholders have been reduced to holes. This can make the experience rather lackluster as you are constantly moving up and down the stairs if you are in a smaller group. There are not enough tables for every lane either. On busy days/nights this can be increasingly annoying as your group may have to share space with other people on a 2Fx2f table.

Following the consumables, they do not allow you to bring in your own water. I spent $7.50 on two 750ml water bottles.

Overall, I have been to much better bowling alleys. This alley does not appear to have owners that want...