GUEST COMMENTARY
Let's achieve unity
through communication
By joe Peters
Throughout the country you will find operators
in some places near bankruptcy , in other places
comfortably solvent , and in other places somewhere
in between . This makes it difficult not only to deter-
mine which pieces of equipment are providing the
greatest revenue , but also to diagnose our indus-
try 's condition . This is a problem for everyone in the
industry .
There continues to be confusion at all levels of
our industry .
Operators who invested heavily in the video
market are trying to milk the last quarter out of every
game . Operators who have diversified their equip-
ment are trying to get a handle on which pieces they
should buy. It is hard to say if any one piece of
equipment is outproducing the others nationwide .
Some videos are doing well. Pinballs are making a
slow-but-steady comback . Dart games are on the
increase, as are pay telephones . Jukeboxes and
pool tables are producing steady income.
Meantime , distributors , being the middlemen ,
simply want to sell whatever operators want to buy.
The manufacturers have made drastic cutbacks to
keep the ir doors open, looking for the certain game
that will help bring them back into the limelight.
It seems that throughout the country operators
feel some hostility and resentment toward the dis-
tributors and manufacturers . Operators feel that
during the video boom the manufacturers and dis-
tributors were often greedy and selfish . It is easy for
all of us to find a scapegoat. But I feel there was
blame on all fronts for the greed and selfishness ,
and now the matter is water under the bridge .
Life is too short and money is too hard to come
by to hold resentments throughout the industry . It is
time that this industry got back together to create a
strong market through unity . To do so will require
much work , devotion , forgiveness , and faith in each
other.
I believe the factories want to cooperate with
the distributors and operators and vice versa . Don 't
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you think it is time that we started looking ahead to
the future and the good things it can bring?
In the spring the Operator-Manufacturers
Alliance was organized by manufacturers and
operators to open a line of communication . We
cannot make headway in this industry without com -
munication among operators, distributors , and
manufacturers . The Operators-Manufacturers
All iance is a system of communication to help bond
this industry tog ether.
I strongly suggest that we start communicating
with each other th~ough our local distributors to the
factories or by calling Operator-Manufacturers
Alliance , which has established communication
lines with all the factories and would be happy to
pass on any complaint , service, or suggestion for
improving the industry .
In creating any new venture it always is difficult
at first to get people to respond , no matter how good
the product is . It seems we in the Operator-Manu-
facturers All iance are confronted with apathy
throughout the industry. Most operators applaud
the creation of OMA , but seem to be paying nothing
but lip service to the fulfillment of its objectives . Like
any other business , Operator-Manufacturers
Alliance needs money . The $100-a-year fee is a
small amount to pay for good communication from
operators to manufacturers .
If you have questions and want to discuss this
communication system , please call OMA . From
anywhere in the U .S. outside of Texas, dial first 1-
800-225-0227 and then our express calling number,
993417 . In Texas (except Fort Worth). dial 1-800-
222-1537 before the express calling number. In
Forth Worth , dial 926-3446.
We hope to hear from you soon . Let's achieve
unity through communication .
[Edi tor 's note: Joe Peters of Wildcat Chemical in
Fort Worth , Texas, is president of the Operators-
Manufacturers Alliance. ]
PLAY METER, November 15, 1985