up a nd ay, "Hey, I 10 t my quarter."?
YODLlN : We te ll them, "My boy, yo u mu t be
rig ht. ,. We do go along with them. I te ll t hem al 0 a
we're walki ng to the mac hine, "I g ive you my
re pect a nd I believe in your honesty. When I find I
can't tru t yo u, t he n I'll as k you not to play he re."
PLA Y METER: Do you find that t he teenager
re pond to t hi ?
YODLlN: I would ay t hat the percentage i at
least 80-85 pe r ce nt, which is extr e me ly hig h . Tho e
t hat will neve r re pond to a nyone ooner or later do
not come back to play. W haven't had to tell many
they're not welcome back. Tho e who aren't do get
the me age in variou way. They a re con tant ly
told we do no t allow t hi or t hat a nd we definitely
do not a llow moking, drinking or eati ng.
When omeone come in to play, I want t hem to
to uch a clea n mac hin e. We wa h and wax them eac h
day a nd ometime twice a day on aturd ays . This
not only work for customer s, it lets t h di t ribu tor
or buye r know when I t r ade in or r esell that he i
going to get a clea n a nd good machin e .
PLAY METER: Ar e yo u co nvinced t hat a waxed
a nd clean pingame with new rubber take in more
money?
YODLlN : Ab olutely. It increase player appeal to
begin with, but I do know t h at cu tomers
a ppreciate a res pon ive machin e a nd one t hat' not
coated wit h g rim e.
PLAY METER: You're obviously ope r ati ng on a
ve ry pe r onal ba i . Do you use any sophi ticated
method for evaluating t he perform ance of new
piece?
YODLlN: I know generally by how much cha nge I
II how much I'll take in.
We've learn ed t hi : When our average exceeds 25
per ce nt of t he change we've old, we know we 're
heading in to a bad t ime . For example, if we ell
$100 worth of cha nge a nd hav $125 when we em pty
t he machine, we're doing good. But if we sell t he
arne a moun t a nd end up with $150 or more in the
machin es, it' time to tighte n our belt beca use
t hey're bringing in their own change .
PLAY METER: This
fa cinating. You can
act ually pot t hat?
YODLlN : Ye .
PLA Y METER: In other words, when they pe nd
$150, but you only change $100 in bill , you know
t hat t h y hit t he piggy ba nk or Mommy hit t he
bottom of he r coin pur e?
YODLlN: Ye .
PLA Y METER: And t his is a working formula?
eat of t he pa nt , ye , but working?
YODLlN: Ab olutely.
PLAY METER: Are yo u resistant to cha r t ing a nd
g r ap hing?
YODLlN: 0, my pa r t ne r s and I do keep chart on
pecific eq uipm nt for a month or two.
PLAY METER: Wh at do you think is the optimum
ize of a mall mall a rcad e?
YODLlN: I conside r 1,200 feet excelle nt. You can
work with a li ttle a 1,000, de pe nding on your wall
pace.
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PLA Y METER: What about repairs and parts
to r age?
YODLlN: I have a little s pace et aside in each
location, but I know that when I expand I'm going
to need a perm a ne nt hop and a t ruck on the road.
PLAY METER: How often do you have your
moonlight mecha nic come in?
YODLlN: A little a po ible, but as often as
neces a ry . On pieces that ar e not t hat important to
the tota l r even ue , I'll perhaps save it for him and
not call him right out. I may let the game run
partially or s hu t it down and rope it off, but on
ot he r hig h-earning game, I'll have him in right
away.
PLA Y METER: What is your overriding philoso-
phy of yourself in relation to your chosen business
vocation? I'm very interested in your answer
becau e yo u've ort of hinted at it in our discussion?
YODLlN: I can't te ll you how to make a buck
because t hat depe nds on the individual, but the one
t hing t hat g uid es me, rather is that it's not a
q ue t ion of whether I want people to trust me,
rather it' t hat I, Izzy Yodlin, ever s ince I was a
little boy, never wanted to sto p trusting in other
people.
My co nt rol of this bu ines i on a very definite ,
po it ive hum an factor. It will never be by a machine
ay ing,' ot, dot, dot, this man is a crook." I have
not, a nd neve r will, run that kind of a cold ,
calculati ng business .
57