Up Front
Give locations . the facts
"I'll bet you a ride to work I can beat you on that
video game over there ," the man said to his friend as
they sat in their favorite tavern having a few beers
after work. "Maybe," his friend replied , "but I
guarantee I can beat you any day on the pinball
machine ."
"I know the answer to that one!" the guy told
the girl playing the countertop trivia game at the bar.
"OK," she replied, "I give up, what is it? Hey, you
wanna play this with me?"
" Those your quarters on the pool table? " the
young man asked another.
"Yeah, you wanna play? I was hopin ' to find
someone to challenge ," came back the answer.
"I love that song," said the girl moving closer to
her date at the bar. "I like it too," he said , " let's go
look at the jukebox and play some more ."
"Hey, where can I sign up for that tournament? "
the man throwing darts asked the bartender.
Ah, a night in the local tavern .
That tavern owner certainly is lucky to have
games and a jukebox to entertain his customers .
The two friends may have left after one round, but
they decided to play a few games of video and
pinball . The countertop trivia brought together two
strangers sitting at the bar. Each had been thinking
of leaving before becoming engrossed in trivia
games-and several more drinks . The tunes from
the jukebox create an atmosphere that appeals to
the bar's clientele . The tavern has had more busy
weeknights selling beer and snacks since it started
its electronic-darts tournaments. And the pool table
attracts not only players, but patrons who enjoy
watching the competition.
Yes, that bar owner is lucky to have those
games. I wonder how much he has to pay someone
to put those games in his place?
Is it laughable to think of a location owner
paying an operator to put in games? It is if you are an
operator who puts the games in . Location owners
don't pay to have games; they're paid by operators
to allow the games in.
Hmm, let me get this straight. The operator puts
out the money to buy the games, buys trucks to haul
them to the location, is on call for service day and
night, replaces lost pool balls and broken cue sticks ,
recovers the pool table, cleans the jukebox and
games, repairs cigarette-burn damage , replaces
games regularly, changes records on the jukebox
regularly (finding oldies the location's customers
requested) , and may even put in a cigarette machine
as a convenience for the bar's customers.
After all that work and financial investment,
when the operator makes a weekly trip to empty the
cash box , he hands part of the income to the loca-
tion owner, who already has reaped indirect profits
fro m the operator's equipment.
What other service does a bar owner get that
pays him? Probably none . But many location
owners think they are being ripped off because the
operator is getting half the money from his own
machines! Then comes the demand-"You better
give me at least 60 percent of the money out of those
machines , or I'll find someone who will ."
So t he operator faces an all-too-familiar
situation .
When fly-by-night operators were common in
the industry , they didn 't see why they shouldn't give
locations the latest games and 60 to 70 percent.
" Heck , we 're making money, " they bellowed. "I read
in my Wall Street Journal that video games were
ma king $1 ,000 a week ."
Professional operators knew they couldn't do
t hat and stay in business, because they also knew
games took work to maintain and revenue claims
were inflated . But the fly-by-nights left a wake of
locat ions that demand more than they deserve
because at one time they got it.
You professional operators now must present
the facts to locations spoiled by amateurs who never
should have been in the business . Don 't let your
locations believe your service isn't worth what you
earn from your own machines.
You 're the ones taking the risk , putting out the
money, and providing the service . To rephrase a
popular commercial , " good operators may cost a
little more , but they're worth it."
~vi(!~
Ed itorial Director