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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 )