Hartfield Lanes — Local services in Berkley

Unprofessional, Disorganized, and Poorly Managed

Hartfield Lanes used to be a great place to bowl, but their management has taken a serious dive— and after my experience, I won’t be back.

My team and I have had a lot of fun bowling together, which makes the way this situation was handled even more disappointing. Instead of addressing concerns professionally and in person, an unnamed manager waited until 10 PM or later on Tuesday nights after league play to text me about supposed issues. No phone call, no face-to-face discussion—just outlandish accusations sent late at night on a weeknight. That alone speaks volumes about how this place is run.

They never introduced themselves, never approached us directly, and ultimately removed my entire team over a $60 discrepancy— even though two of my teammates had overpaid by $50 in total.

To make matters worse, they sent me a security camera screenshot of a teammate, claiming they were sneaking in alcohol—but provided zero evidence of them possessing, drinking, or even being near a bottle. Just a random image of them sitting at a table, as if that somehow proved anything. Baseless accusations, no proof, yet they ran with it.

Even more concerning, both times I was contacted recently, the issues involved the same two teammates—who both happen to be African American. The way management singled them out, made unnecessary remarks, and talked down about them felt completely inappropriate and disrespectful. And when I tried to clear things up, I was met with, “We don’t need people like this in our business, we have plenty of paying bowlers.”

After speaking with my teammates, we all agreed that had they simply come to us during league play, this issue could have been resolved on the spot. Instead, they chose passive-aggressive, cowardly behavior, hiding behind late-night texts instead of a simple conversation. If that’s the kind of management you’re looking for, Hartfield is the place for you.

Well, just like they claim to have better bowlers to bring in, we have better bowling alleys to take our business to—ones that actually value their league players and know how to run a smooth, professional operation. We bowl league at Astro Lanes and Bowl One and have never had such issues. We always have a great time at both and highly recommend checking them out instead of wasting your time navigating the downfall of a former legendary bowling alley like Hartfield Lanes.

The staff does their best, but this manager needs to go ASAP. We never once complained about having to move lanes multiple times because they couldn’t fix them, yet when it came to addressing an actual issue, they couldn’t even have a conversation with us in person. That says everything.

If Hartfield would like to dispute any of this, I have screenshots of our entire conversation as evidence.

Just a heads-up to anyone considering league play here: it’s going downhill fast, and there are much better places to bowl.

Would...

The bartender upstairs on the right side of the bar (all black hair, glasses, tats- fresh sleeve, facial piercings) should not be bartending by herself. It legit took 6 frames to get one white claw. Our group had to rotate in and out between players to wait at the bar. She apologized for the wait, but everyone in the line was irritated (as we were discussing it while waiting). As a server I understand more than anyone, however there was no reason for her to be this bad other than being inexperienced or just not caring about the job. My bf got mad because she claimed he "cut the line" at the bar... which idk what bar counter has a single file line, ever. However, I apologized to her on his behalf if he offended her. He was wrong in his approach, but was justified to be angry. She was soooo bad all night.

When I brought it up to the owner while leaving, he didn't want to listen to my reasonable issue. His solution was to go to the left side of the bowling alley to get a drink if she was being too slow. First off, this was my first time here so had no idea there was another bar. Second, why should I go to the left bar if our lane is on the right side? Third, if a customer complains about slow service and giving resolutions like not letting her serve alone and getting her help... but your response as an owner is "what do you think your complaining is going to accomplish?" Then there's clearly a leadership issue here. Your bartender is hurting your sales, her tips, and upsetting many customers for being incredibly slow. Then gaslighting customers when they get angry? Either train her better, put her on a slower shift, or schedule 2 bartenders for a bar that's half full (literally because no one could go to the other bar side as that wasn't where the single file line was). I was being respectful and understanding while the staff decided to not listen and escalate the issue. The owner didn't even take the time to realize the bartender that asked my bf to leave (black hair with blonde face frame that has been there for years apparently) wasn't the bartender I was talking about. Idek where that girl came from.

Do better. Ill never be back and the owner made it clear he doesn't need us back either. Idc because it's not my business I have to keep alive and there's better places than this one. And if issues continue then this place will collapse on its own. I'm just sharing my experience so if this is a place you are considering- hence checking the reviews- then...

I’ve been coming to Hartfield for years . Plenty of times with a lot of my family for family night and once with friends . Twice i didn’t bowl but was able to still sit and eat. Today me and my family went to celebrate my sister’s birthdays there was 7 of us ! My mother and grandma couldn’t bowl one had a bad hand one is 75 she can’t hold the ball . A Caucasian male with a long pony tail claimed we had to pay for two lanes for them to sit there ! I explained we had five bowlers but it was no point because they cannot bowl! He said his supervisor said we can’t do that . Asked for the supervisor he claimed the supervisor wasn’t there . I said okay is any manager here he said “ he was the manager “ . He said we cannot bowl if we didn’t pay for another lane . My step father felt it was racism because others were just sitting not bowling what was the problem with two older ppl doing it ! And then he said if we felt it was racism he wouldn’t service us ! I’ve never dealt with this in my life ! We went to plum hollow and received amazing treatment ! They didn’t mind my grandma and mom not playing . And was more welcoming ! Please do better !! I was excited to bowl here and was let down...