Taji Ameen has visited countless one-star businesses, from tattoo shops to hair salons, to address popular customer concerns. In this never-before-seen, lost episode of his beloved VICE series One Star Reviews, he traveled to a 24-hour bowling alley in New York to confront the owners about some concerning customer complaints.
Whitestone Lanes is located in Queens, New York, and has quite a few negative reviews, including—but not limited to—the following:
- “Literally the most disgusting place I have ever been to.”
- “The shoes stink and they have a bad attitude.”
- “They wouldn’t let us bring in a birthday cake.”
- “There have been shootings inside and outside this place.”
With the promise of smelly shoes and an ambient threat of gun violence looming over his head, Taji headed to Queens to give the owner a chance to defend the alley and its alleged anti-birthday cake policy, among other things.
But when Taji arrived for his bowling games, he was pleasantly surprised by the high-quality, accommodating customer service. And while his bowling game wasn’t exactly strong, his investigative journalism certainly was on point.
Unsurprisingly, the owner of Whitestone Lanes, Marco, had a ton of rebuttals for the negative claims.
In terms of cleanliness concerns, he said the alley has two cleaners each night to sanitize the building. He also denied the (alleged) indoor shooting that occurred there, stating it happened outside and was not affiliated with the bowling alley.
The owner’s response to the anti-birthday cake issue was simple: “There just has to be advance notice.”
So, is Whitestone Lanes really as bad as its reviews paint it out to be? According to Taji, not at all.
“My findings proved each of these complaints completely negative, and my chat with Marco was the icing on the cake,” he said.
Below, catch Taji’s most iconic moments in a One Star Reviews marathon, and keep your eyes peeled for more fresh stuff coming soon from VICE and Taji.
The post One Star Reviews Is Coming Back! Here’s America’s Worst-Rated Bowling Alley. appeared first on VICE.
The post One Star Reviews Is Coming Back! Here’s America’s Worst-Rated Bowling Alley. appeared first on VICE.
