Play Meter

- THE LAST WORD Going with the flow C all me " Mr. Rigid" if you will, but I deplore change. Even if it's for the better-which is most often the case-I go down kicking and screaming. Perhaps that's why my vacation to France in June was so soul-satisfying. Walking amid ruins and 12th century castles was like a breath of fresh air . Change comes to France at glacier speed-my kind of country! I am , of course, not the only possessor of this trait. Millions of people are afflicted (blessed?) with a penchant for keeping things as they are. Some can get away with it , but unfortunately, in the coin-op industry, such a stance can be deadly. Many within the operating community would rather fight than switchmuch to their detriment. What really got me to thinking about this was a conversation I had with Mary Lavine of Bullseye Inc . in Madison, Wis., this month' s " Coinwoman Interview .'' I talked with Mary the morning after my return from Europe . Headspinning from jet lag , I braced myself for the typical interview with today's operator. I was waiting for such common laments as " things are worse than ever" or " manufacturers are killing us with a lack of product. ' ' 152 PLAY METER/August 1990 What a breath of fresh air she was. Her voice filled with enthusiasm, she said the following : ' 'A lot of operators are afraid of change. I'm optimistic that this is the decade for us . Any operator who isn 't willing to get after it and work is crazy! Our industry is giving us tools to be very successful. Many vendors have been in this business for a long time and don 't want to change, or they don't want to work hard anymore. Manufacturers of CD jukeboxes have given us an opportunity to get dollars instead of quarters, yet too many operators refuse to take advantage of it. I don't understand why ." How true. Many operators still refuse to consider CD jukeboxes , citing their higher price tag and a belief that locations don't want or don't need them. While they wait and wait for just the right time to take the plunge, their CD-juke competitors are raking in the dollar bills. Mary Lavine tested the waters four years ago, when CD jukeboxes were perceived an even riskier curiosity than they are today. Sure, it would' ve been safer to keep her vinyl boxes and wait for the other guy to lead . But she stared uncertainty in the face and filled her locations with CDs. The result? Mary's first set of CD boxes are already paid for . Vinyl is merely a fond memory in the rnindsofhercustomers. Mind you , we're talking about Madison , not a vast metropolis like New York City or Los Angeles. This same reticence applies to operating leagues . Listening to some operators talk , you 'd think setting up a league was more difficult and timeconsurning than calculating the U.S. census . They profess to not having the time , which translates as not having the willingness to put in any effort short of emptying the cashbox. Don't know how to get started? Hop on a plane to Wisconsin. I'm sure Mary would be happy to share a little of her expertise. Believe me , I know how hard it is to break the cycle of "everydayness, " to unshackle yourself from the chains of doing things like they ' ve always been done (gee, sounds a bit like a Jesse Jackson speech) . Take advantage of some nonvideo alternatives that are ripe for tapping . You might be pleasantly surprised. 0 Christopher Caire News Editor