By Louis Boasberg
GUEST EDITORIAL
Bowling balls and pinb&lls
The February , 1980 issue of Bowling Proprietor, the
publication of th e Bowling Proprietor's Association
of America has a most interesting article e ntitled
"Pinball". The writer of the article is anonymous but he
evide ntally knows the bowling business and also knows
plenty about coin operated amuse ment games operating
in these same bowling alleys.
This article devotes much space to pinball and
amu3eme nt games a nd discusses th e qu estion of wheth er
or not a bowling alley sho uld own its own e q uipment ,
operating same and not using the services of an operator.
I believe I am more qualified to answer this
question insomuch as our company has operated in quife
a few local bowling alleys for many years, and I may be
egotistical by saying that I do not think that any of these
bowling alleys would want to operate any other way
except with New Orleans Novelty Company . In fact ,
some of these very· same alleys have tried in the past
operating their own equipment but without success .
So , I say to all bowling alley proprietors in answer to
this ownership question that if you have an operator who
is most progressive and aggressive at all times , who is
constantly on the lookout for new , intriguing, a nd better
equipment to make you money , who constantly changes
this e quipment and keeps it clean and in perfect working
order so that your revenue will be maintained at its
highest peak throughout the year - th en I can say witho ut
hesitation that there is no substitute for a good ,
professional operating compan y operating the amuse -
ment games in any bowling alley.
The management and owners of any large alley or
chain of alleys have enough to do running the bowling
alley and the various side lines such as bowling
equipment , snack .bars , vendors , kiddie rooms , cocktail
offici ~ !
10
lo unges, discotheques , and other endeavors , much less
having the added duty of taking on their coin-operated
amusement equipment-which in itself I can assure you
is a most specialized , demanding , and tough job.
In summing up the qu~stion whether or not a bowling
alley should purchase their own equipment , I can say
emphatically if the bowling alley has a bad operator who
does not give the alley superior service , superior
eq uipme nt , make frequent changes, expert percent-
aging , inspections , cleaning , and other things that make
for a good operation , then perhaps the bowling alley , if
they have the manpower and the time , might purchase
their own equipm ent.
But, if they have a good operator, there is no way in
th e world they can net more money owning their own
equipm ent. Of course , large bowling alleys and other
locations might have an ulterior motive in owning their
own equipme nt. If this ~s true , they are only fooling
the mselves. They are cheating themselves and doing
something that is not only wrong and illegal but is a bad
busin ess practice.
So, my final advice to all bowling alley proprietors is
get a good , progressive , hard working operating
co mpany . Let them operate honest and above board on
a percentage basis and make sure the precentage that is
accruing to the operator is at least fifty percent , which
would allow him to provide you with th e very best of
equipment and 'service.
Do not be fooled by some operator who offers you a
greater percentage , as he is speaking tor his oenetit , not
for your own . Do not deny your operator a legitimate
profit for his work and investment , and always remember
th ere is no substitute for know-how, hard work,
experience , and specialized .knowledge in any business ,
especially the coin machine business .
PLAY METER, June, 1980