Play Meter

Issue: 1976 April - Vol 2 Num 4

you have olved the cue tick tip
problem . I have tried m~ny type
of glue to keep th tip from
popping off, but I have found t hat
commo n hide g lu i the b t 0
far .
. .
Hid g lue work w 11 , but It I
ti ll not the p rfect glue to u e . It
would be nice to e an article on
thi probl m in the future and to
hear from ope r ator who have
olved it.
Jim Rinchuso
Assistant Foreman
Wilcox Amusement Co.
Pine Bluff, Ark.
I wi h to take thi opportunity
to thank you for Ii ting Dencal
orporation in your indu try
directory annual; it ha r ulted
in everal inquirier that were
conv rted to ale .
Ke p up the good work, a
your magazine i an a et to u
all.
Ernie D. Dennison
President
Dencal Corp.
Holliston , Mass.
Editor's Note: Joe Robbi(lS, . ex.-
ecutive vice president of f!rPoe Dst'?-
buting Inc. and a re.cognlzed leader. In
our industry, subrritted the folk)IMng
opinion artJde to us about the state of
t\I\.O of the coin-op business's. oId~
segrnents--pinba// and muSIC. HIS
thoughts on these subjects express
concern for one of those segrrmts and
II\,()nder over the other. V\t> hope you
enjoy sharing them )
.
I wish I could summarize the
state of the market in a brief
overview, but the picture is split
into different segments and the
pieces are not at all slrnilar.
For example, in spite of the
demise of Wurlitzer, the three
remaining competitors are not
setting any sales records .
Every effort has been made to
contain costs, the boxes are
better looking and better sound-
ing than ever, they work ex-
tremely reliably, and yet the
operator just doesn 't seem inclin-
ed to replace in quantity . And
trade-in prices are skyhigh .
So, why? Well, one jukebox
will take in the same as any
other-- or very close to the same .
They all sound good-- old or new.
So where is the incentive to buy
in quantity?
We need a breakthrough --
something that will put MORE
MONEY in the cash box , that
creates demand all the way up
from th e player to the store
owner to the operator to the
distributor to the manufacturer.
Let's hope we get it soon .
At the other end of the
spectrum , we see the flipper
pinball market just bursting with
sales and more sales . There
seems to be no end to the
insatiable demand, with the
domestic consumption rising
fast er than exports. And with
more and more closed markets
opening up in the USA , the
upward trend seems unstoppa -
ble .
What about the electronic
flipper ? Will it really capture the
fancy of the player? Will it really
earn more money? Will it really
minimize service costs? What a
fascinating future lies ahead for
this brightest of all sectors of our
business .
Yes, we are very happy with
the present and the future of
flippers , but we keep watching
that old love-- the jukebox --and
we just wonder how long before
the dynamic innovation comes
along and revives what was once
the very foundation of every
route .
-
AMERICA 'S LARGEST -
BILLIARD SUPPL Y HOUSE
nu: ()/'r.X ·\ TON, . ("f/()/O:
• In lpl' rial .\p ollo and I'n'mi l' r rU I"
• Imper ial 1\1,ll{i n hill iard hall.,
• Iml'l'l'ial ( 'I"t h and pool tabh' .,uppl.\'
Impl'rial .. . Your
CU t'
to hil{ hl'r rt'lurn!-'
Imperial Billiard Industries
79 Hackensack Str ee t
E . Ruth erf ord , .J . 07073
Phol) (201 ) 935-9330
2005 . I) F r nando Road
Los An 9 '1 ' 5 , Ca . 90065
Ph on ' (213) 221 1114
TOMORROW'S IDEAS
... TODAY
Consistently High Player App eal
• DISAPPEARING TARGETS - creat e
change in the playfield .
• SOLID STATE TECHNOLOGY - incl udes
large digital sc oring displays.
• INTERCHANGEABLE MODULAR COMPO-
NENTS (both electro -mechan ica l and
solid· slate) - for easy serviceability.
• HIGH SPEED D.C. SOLENOIDS.
The all new 2 player pin game
with 3 or 5 ball play and add-
a·ball or replay oplion s.
eII
l allied
leisure industries inc.
PO B o x 4928 • HIALEAH . FLA 330 14
1====IIII=iiiiiii!i
,
Call Toll F,ee 1·800· 327· 58 30
13

cOlnman of the month
Texan services
coin machines
with gumption
A Plsy Meter inteNiew with
Thomas CundieH,
Texas technician
Thomas Cundieff begged his way into the coin-op
amusement business 22 years ago and has been
growing with it ever since. In 1951;, a cigarette and
music route operator hired Cundieff because, as he
says, "I was so persistent . .. After the operator's son
went into the service, Cundieffs duties expanded
until he wound up running the route.
After five years with that operation, Cundieff
landed another job with B&B Vending Co. inDaUas,
Texas. Cundieff, who enjoys the business tremend-
ously, was approached one day at B&B and told,
"We need a mechanic and you're it."
"I didn't know the first thing about fixing a
machine, but they wanted me to be the mechanic
because I was dependable ." At first learning to
repair the machines was rough for Cundieff, but he
graduaUy progressed in his knowledge and experi-
ence to the point that today he is considered one of
the best coin-op technicians in Texas. He had no
formal education in electronics to prepare him for
the onslaught of electronic games, but taught
himself and is now taking a Kurz-Kasch correspon-
dence course.
Today, Cundieff is chief technician at O'Connor
Distributing Co. Inc. in Dallas and does everything
from driving trucks to equipment instaUations to
game and phonograph repairs. His hobby, strange-
ly enough, is working on games and phonographs.
" ome people think this is rediculous," Cundieff
said, "but it is something I reaUy enjoy. I take a lot
of pride in my work and when I fix something of my
own or for someone else, I want it to stay fixed . ..
Cundieff can't stand to see somebody hal/way fix
14
"I think servic is keeping the customer happy ... If
th y'r not happy wh n you l av there, you might as
well not have be n doing any s rvic at all . ..
something. "When a bolt is needed, but a piece of
bailing wire wiU do, I hate to see someone use the
bailing wire . ..
The mechanicaUy inclined grandfather of three
and his wife Sarah have five children ranging from
23 years old to three and the whole family is
involved in citizen's band chatter and maintenance.
During March, Play Meter talked to Cundieff about
his job and the changes that have occurred in
servicing coin amusement quipment.
PLA Y METER: Everyone agree that ervice i a
vital part of the bu ines . Jut how would you
d fin .. ervic "a it p rtain to your end of the
bu ine ?
CUNDIEFF: W 11, I think ervic i, fir t, keeping
the cu tomer happy. You can go out there and
throw om thing at om one and ell th m a bill of
good that you fixed a machin and it' working. If
they're not happy when you leave there, you might
a well not hav b en doing any ervic at all. You
might a well have b n out doing omething el e.
PLA Y METER: Who are your cu tom r ?
CUNDIEFF: ince ware a local di tributor and
al 0 have our own op rating concern, I'll find myself
working on our own equipm nt in our own
location . Other tim it ha b en nece ary to go
into th location of an op rator we old a new piece
you
of equipment that ha broken down. 0 I gu
could ay that I have a lot of different cu tomers.
PLAY METER: What ort of tr atment does an
out-or-town operator g t when he come into your
( , e n xt pag )

Download Page 11: PDF File | Image

Download Page 12 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.