Play Meter

f ROM THE EDITOR Kicking tires Y our car has had one too many trips to the shop. The mechanic has put more miles on it than you have in the last several months. You know that it's about time to get a new one. But you've been putting off that visit to the local new car showroom because no matter how confident you are in your ability to perform your job and deal with your customers, nothing can reduce you to a pile of insecurities like buying a new car. Actually, it's not so much buying the car that's so traumatic, it's knowing that you can't just walk in and buy it. You have to make that "perfect deal" with a salesman you don't trust from the minute he shakes your hand and offers to show you anything you want. "Would you buy a used car from this man? " seems to dominate your thoughts as you watch the salesman's Cheshire-cat smile form just seconds before he reaches you. Do you suddenly wonder why it was so funny to see Wiley Coyote turn into a big lollipop with "sucker" written all over it? The salesman knows that if you've gone so far as to step into his web ... er, I mean, car lot ... then you are at least thinking about buying. Now all of his best salesman tactics are honing in on you. You may have already promised yourself that he's not going to get the best of you and have your strategy all worked out. You've read all the consumer magazines , talked to your friends who have recently bought cars, and you're ready to negotiate. You think the worst. You look over at that "trusting" face, while he plays with your adorable kids. This is his job; he sells cars every single day. He's run into every kind of customer. He knows you a lot better than you think. He's familiar with every strategy and he's read every consumer report. He's even studied the Reader's Digest article on how to buy a new car. He's ready. It's his job to sell you a car for as much as PLAY METER 10 AUGUST1992 you're willing to pay. You spot a car you really like. If you're like most guys, this falls into the realm of shopping and you want to get it over with fast. If your wife is along she looks at it as shopping, too, only she wants to look at some more car lots and more cars. "Honey, there are millions of cars in the city. How do we know that this one is the right one?" she asks. Wait! You recall that this is how she buys shoes and don 't intend to visit every car lot in the city, only to return to the first one and buy the car · you liked in the first place. Negotiations begin. You want to know how little he'll really take for the car, so you ma ke an offer. He shakes his head and smugly tells you that the manager might not go that low. "I'll go talk to him," he says. He comes back and is "surprised" that the manager said he'll take an amount that's about halfway (pretty convenient) between what you offered and the sticker price. And on and on you go. When the deal is finally hammered out, you glow in your victory. However, it's not long after you drive away that you just know that the salesman should be nominated for an acting award for his performance. All logic tells you that the car was worth it. You love the car, your wife is happy, the notes are rea sonable, and you ever got them to throw in some Uoor mats. But still. .. there's that nagging feeling that you were taken. It's a perception of car salesman as lower than low on the human being scale. Actually, you probably did get a pretty good deal and the salesman deserves to make a living. It's just that feeling. Operators have had this same sensation for years when buying equipment. Did they get a good deal? Even if they are happy with the game and making great money on it, there's that feeling. Right now, operators seem very disappointed that Capcom has introduced Street Fighter II: Champion Edition as a kit when promises were made that it would only be a dedicated game . Purchases were made on those assurances. Capcom's Brian Duke is a cherished friend who I've laughed and cried with over the many years we 've been friends. He agonized over this because he had been told the game would not be a kit and, in turn, told his customers the same thing. When it was announced that the game would, in fact, now be available as a kit, Brian said he was dead set against it and didn't hesitate to say so. However, after talking with his customers and realizing how many problems were being caused by copies, he agreed that it was in the best interest of the industry. I believe him. And yes, I would buy a car frqm him. It's unfortunate how easy it is to think the worst-about car salesman and coin machine manufacturers. It's more of a perception in many cases. This industry needs some trust among its members , especially during the rough times we're going through. It was pouring down rain yesterday with gale force winds, making for a really depressing, nasty day. But no matter how horrible it became, I knew that the sun would pop through eventually. Never once did I figure it would thunder and lightning forever. Our industry is under a thunderstorm watch right now, but we have to band together and weather it out. No matter how bad it is, you know what? The sun will be out before you know it. D Valerie Cognevich Editor