Wilson sisters . Just the right amount
of guitars and horns are the key this
time around . Since the original by
New Orleans' own Neville may have
been more regional than national,
the time may be right to garner a
whole new audience for this timeless
classic . Besides, Ann, Nancy, and
the guys are a little overdue , to say
the least . The vocals are tremendous
- 9 out of 10 possibilities.
The Horizontal Bop- Bob Segar
- Capitoi/PR0-9542
The album Against The Wind has
produced two relatively laid -back
hits for Segar, and I guess all
concerned figured it was time for
Motor City Bob to do a little rock'n'
rollin'. This one has been a favorite of
audiences across America on the
recent fall tour , and all it is is
harmless straight -ahead rock 'n'roll.
It 's all about what the title implies
subtly ... think about it; 8 out of 10 or
better .
Girls Can Get It-
Dr. Hook -
Casablanca/ NB2314
In the spirit of their latest and last
Capitol stuff, Ray Sawyer and friends
spread their own brand of musical
happiness. The whole premise of the
lyrics is that girls don't have to try ,
because love always seems to find
them . The feel is easy and the
instrumentation , vocals, and back -
up singers all seem to come together
gracefully as usual. My copy was
very warped and sounded strange ; I
hope you have better luck ... Uh-oh,
Matthews breaks another one
(crack) ... 9 out of 10, at least.
I Made It Through The Rain -
Barry Manilow - Arista/ AS 0566.
There ' s something about a
Manilow song. Whether Barry writes
it or not. In this case he's one of the
lyrical co -writers . Manilow also
produced the record . I guess the
main thing is that it has that recog -
nizable "stamp," if you will. All of his
songs seem to be perfect material for
a soundtrack , whether it be a movie
or someone's life story or situation .
To relate: that 's what his music's all
about. Something simple, yet
musically intricate . This one 's no
exception . The key changes, the
strings , the angelic background
v ocals - they 're all here . Well
produced by Mr. Manilow, to boot.
Definite number -one potential. .. and
it 's been a while since I've felt that
strongly about one of his tunes .
Therefore , 10 out of 10.
#
Technician wages survey
continued from page 1
technician) : Someone with consid -
erable experience in electronic
diagnosis and repair .
1) AA Degree in electronics or
equivalent experience
2) Must have a good working
knowledge of both analog and digital
circuits
3) Be able to use an oscilloscope , volt
ohmmeter , frequency counters , and
other test equipment
4) Must be able to read schematics,
logic diagrams, and flow char ts, and
apply this to the repair of cir cuit
boards
5) Should be able to research parts
and find substitutions as required
6) Must have good diagnostic ability.
These job descriptions were not
intended to be exhaustive, but were
set up in order to provide three
distinct skill levels . For each
position , the questionnaire asked the
respondent to indicate a minimum
and maximum hourly wage that
should be paid based upon the job
description for the position.
Forty-seven companies, or 29 per
cent from the initial letters, re -
sponded to the survey, and all but
two of the respon dents provided
wage ranges.
Based upon the results of the
survey, the average minimum/maxi -
mum hourly rates for each position
are as follows :
Technician trainee-
M inimum ,
$4 .36 ; maximum, $5.65
Senior technician- $5 .68 mini -
mum ; $7 .00 maximum
Electronic tech - $7.71 minimum,
$10.53 maximum .
(A breakdown of responses by
states is available from Sega .)
In addition to the basic statistical
information which the respondents
provided , a number of their
comments related to the hourly
wage rates and the responsibilities of
the technical service personnel.
First,due to the varying geographic
areas involved in the survey
(companies from 21 states and two
Canadian provinces responded) , no
strict interpretation can be given to
the wage rates , lvary noted. The
rates vary from state to state as well
as between the rural and urban areas
of the same state .
A second variable in reviewing the
wage rates is whether a labor union is
involved or whether the servicing of
the games is done by outside
technicians on a contract basis. Both
of these factors will influence the
hourly wage for any given area.
Other conditions influencing the
rates are whether the operator
happens to be a "street operator" or
runs an arcade, and the size of the
person's operation .
Also having an influence on the
wage rates are varying fringe benefits
offered by different companies .
Among the most commonly men -
tioned fringe benefits, as reported by
the respondents, were year -end
bonuses , pension plans , profit -
sharing, major medical coverage ,
hospitalization, vacations , uniforms,
and service vehicles. A ll of these
items contribute to a technician's
" total compensation".
Finally , some of the general
comments by the respondents may
be of interest. One M ichigan
operator indicated that he "found it
hard or difficult to find anyone that
falls into the " C " category (bench
technician or electronic technician)
for game and equipment repair ."
In relation to this important " C"
category , a Texan respondent said,
" Bench techs ' ability varies greatly.
A good one may be worth more than
three times what a fair or poor one is
worth. " Even though an electronics
degree is one element of the bench
technicians' (C) job description as
outlined in the survey, one N ew
York distributor stated that he is
"able to keep people without
degrees longer than those with
degrees." Lastly, there are intangible
factors in a technician's job which go
beyond the specific skills outlined in
a job description .
Another respondent from Texas
said, "Due to continued contact with
customers both in person and by
phone, a technician in a small
company must have the ability to be
personable and helpful to a custom -
er." These attitude "skills" do have
an influence on the technicians'
hourly rate, as one Louisiana
distributor indicates: "In addition to
an employee's technical knowledge,
his attitude , reliability, and leader-
ship abilities will certainly help
determine his hourly rate ."
The Sega Centers officer ex -
pressed appreciation to the individu -
als and companies which had the .
interest and took the time to respond
to the survey. The hope is that the
results outlined here will be of some
value to the industry as a whole and
that it will simply serve as a first step
toward constructing more complete
job descriptions and wage scales for
the people who keep the equipment
running smoothly,said lvary.