Play Meter

MAILBOX s u s p i c i o u s. Foraa they t h e ywent wentout o u ton onthe t h e27th." 2 7 t h. suspicious. For w h o l e d a y I t r y t o J u l y 1 ‑ d i t t o , d i t t o , d i t t o .If i n a l l yg e t whole day I try to July 1-ditto, ditto, ditto. I finally get − c o n t a c tthem, them，自 ficontact n a l l y g e t t i n g J o h nally getting Johnn l a tein i n the t h e day. d a y . late W h a t s t h e w o r d w i t h my M i s s i l e C o m What's the word with my Missile Com-‑ mand b o a r d s ,II a s k .He Hereplied r e p l i e dthat t h a tthey t h e y mand boards, ask. h a d b r o k e n d o w n d u r i n g t e s 加 g a n d 出 e y had broken down during testing and they needed t odo dosome somemore morework workon onthem. t h e m .II needed to r e m i n d e d J o h n t h a t h e h a d a l r e a d y t o l d reminded John that he had already told m e t h a t o n e b o a r d w a s O K . O h , t h a t me that one board was OK. "Oh, that'ss r i g h t .II w i l l U . P . S. 出a t one t o youtoday." t o d a y I t s e e ms 凶 ＜ e I a m t h e l a s t p e r s o n i n t h e It seems like I am the last person in the right. will U.P.S. that one to you O n J u n e 6 I b e g a n c a l l i n g a g a i n s i n c e w o r l dto t olearn l e a r nabout a b o u tthe t h edealings deal i n g sof o faa On June 6 I began calling again since world i naa U . P . S . t w o ‑ d a y z o n e a n d h a v e n Imin companyi nF l o r i d ac a l l e dBoard/ W o r k s . I'm U.P.S. two-day zone and haven'tt company in Florida called Board/Works. s e e n my f i r s tboard b o a r dyet. y e t .No Nodice, d i c e ,can't c a nt g e t J u s t i n c a s e s o m e o n e e l s e m i g h t h a v e Just in case someone else might have seen my first get a h u m a n , n o t e v e n t o r e t u r n my c a l l s . m i s s e d t h e b o a t , I w o u l d l i k e t o r e l a t e m y missed the boat, I would like to relate my a human, not even to return my calls. Thenext ne x tday dayII t r yagain a g a i nuntil u n t i llate l a t ein m f i r s tdealings d e a l i n g swith w i t hthem. t he m . first The try 仕ommy t h e d a y w i t h n o l u c k . I t r y a g a i n O n M a y 1 , I c a l e d t h e i r 8 0 0 n u m b e r On May 1, I called their 800 number the day with no luck. I try again from my I ts Johnwho whotells t e l l sme methat t h a t home.Bingo! B i n g o !It's s e r v i c e s home. andtalked t a l ke dto t oJohn Johnabout a b o u ttheir t h e i rservices. John and t h e b o a r d m u s t h a v e g o t t e n l o s t a n d j u s 巴t o l d m e t h e y h a d 2 4 ‑ h o u r t u r n a r o u n d H He told me they had 24-hour turnaround the board must have gotten lost and justt a ssoon s o o nas a stheir t h e i rcomputers compu te r swere wereback b a c kup up andthat t h a ttheir t h e i rrates r a t e svaried. v a r i e d. t o l dhim himII as and II told h e w o u l d t r a c e i t 出1 d l e t m e k n o w w h a ts h a d a c o u p l e o f o l d M i s s i l e C o m m α n d had a couple of old Missile Command he would trace it and let me know what's g o i n g o n b o a r d s t h a t I n e e d e d r 巴p a i r e d .H e s a i d , boards that I needed repaired. He said, going on. Ten d a y s l a t e r w i t h no b o a r d i n h a n d , Noproblem, p r o b l e m ,we wecan c a ndo dothem themfor f o r$50 $50to t o Ten days later with no board in hand, II "No t r y c a l i n g a g a i n a n d a g a i n . I c o u l d n $60each, e a c h ,but b u tsince s i n c 巴t h e yare a r eolder o l d e riti twill w i l l try calling again and again. I couldn'tt $60 they e v e ng tt h r o u g hf r o mhome!F i n a l l yon t a k e t h r e e o r f o u r d a y s t o t u r n t h e m . " take three or four days to turn them." II even gete through from home! Finally on J u n e 2 0 I t r y c a l l i n g a n d e v e n t h e a n s w e r s e n t t h e m t h a t d a y . sent them that day. June 20 I try calling and even the answeri n g m a c h i n e i s n o t p i c k i n g u p . I l e t i t r i n A f t e r a c o u p l e o f w e e k s w i t h n o w o r d After a couple of weeks with no word ing machine is not picking up. I let it ringg a b o u t40 40times 回1 e s b e f o r eRon Ronanswers. a n s w e r s .Ron, Ron, 什omt he mII be g a n t r y i n g ocontact c o n t a c t t h e m . about before from them began trying tot them. Is a y,Iamt r yi ngt of i n do u twhath a p ‑ T h i s i s w h e n I r e a l i z e d h o w l u c k y I h a d This is when I realized how lucky I had I say, I am trying to find out what happ e n e d t o m y M i s s i l e C o m m α n d b o a r d t h a t b e e n t o t a l k t o a h u m a n b e i n g t h a t v e r y been to talk to a human being that very pened to my Missile Command board that 3 . I d o n t k n o w b u t w a s s h i p p e d o n J u n e f i r s t t i m e . N o w a l l I c o u l d g e t w a s a n a n first time. Now all I could get was an an- was shipped on June 3. "I don't know but r 巴p 創r e do nefor f o ryou youand andII w i l lsend s e nditi t s w e r i n g m a c h i n e. l e f t m u l t i p l emessages; m e s s a g e s ; II repaired one will swering machine. II left multiple o u t t o d a y a n d c h e c k o n t h e o t h e r o n e n o o n e e v e r c a l l e d m e b a c k . no one ever called me back. out today and check on the other one whenour o u rcomputers c o m p u t e r scome comeback backup." u p . hadbeen be entrying t r y i n gfor f o raaweek weekwhen whenII when II had Huh! d e c i d e d t o u s e m y h o m e p h o n e a n d w h a t Huh! decided to use my home phone and what J u ne 25, J u ne 2 6 , J u ne 27, and J u n e doyou youknow, know,John J o h nanswers. a n s w e r s .John, J o h n, s a y, June 25, June 26, June 27, and June do II say, 2 8 I p l a c e d c a l l s a n d l e f t m e s s a g e s . O n I m c a l l i n g a b o u t m y M i s s i l e C o m m a n d I'm calling about my Missile Command 28 I placed calls and left messages. On t h e28th 28thII ge t Ronwho whotells t e ls methat t h a t he b o a r d s. Oh, wehave haveone oneready r e a d ybut b u t t h e the get Ron me he boards. "Oh, we the f o u n d t h e f i r s t b o a r d a n d r e p a i r e d t o t h e r i s b e i n g t e s t e d f o r 2 4 h o u r s . Y o u other is being tested for 24 hours. You found the first board and repaired iti ( t h o u g h t i t w a s a l r e a d y f i x e d ？ ？ ？ ） I s e n t w o u l d n t w a n t u s t o s e n d i t b a c k a n d h a v e wouldn't want us to send it back and have (thought it was already fixed ??? ) "I sent them b o t h b a c k o you by U . P . S . y e s t e r d a y tbreak b r e a kdown downright r i g h taway, away, wouldyou?" y o u ?' them both back tot you by U.P.S. yesterday iti would 巴l i e v e ， ＇R o n s a i d . b Bynowi tsJ u n e3 ,andIm g e t t i n g II believe,"Ron said. "Let me check ... yep, C h e c kbefore b e f o r eyou y o ubuy b u y Check 帽 By now it's June 3, and I'm getting Ke 出 a ndgo g othrough t h r o u g hmy mysong s o n g anddance. d a n c e . Keith and and Cant he l pyou, y o u ,but b u tI'll I ' l lhave haveRon Roncall c a l lyou you "Can't help b a c k， ＇ h s a i d . back," hee said. J u l y 8 , J u ly9, 9 ,July J u l y10, 1 0, J u l y11 1 1II July 8, July July l e a v e m e s s a g e s u n t i l , f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e leave messages until, for the first time s i n c e I h a d b e g u n c a l l i n g t h i s n u m b e r since I had begun calling this number,, t h eline l i newas wasbusy. b u s y .Time Timefor f o rthe t h eauto a u t odid i ‑ the a l e r s o I c a n c a t c h s o m e o n e b e f o r aler so I can catch someone beforee t h e ywalk walkaway awayfrom fromthe t h ephone. p h o n e .EureE u r e ‑ they I tsRon Ronand andIItell t e l lhim himthat t h a tIIstill s t i l l k a !It's ka! havent g o t t e nmy myboards, b o a r d s, t heones o n e syou you haven't gotten the Im s a i d y o u s h i p p e d o n J u n e 2 7 t h . said you shipped on June 27th. "I'm g o i n g t o f i r e u p t h e c o m p u t e r a n d t r a ce going to fire up the computer and trace t h i s f o r y o u . C a l l me b a c k i n h a l f a this for you. Call me back in half ann R i gh t ! h o u r .Right! hour." I d i d t r y t ocall c alback backand andon onJuly J u l y17 1 7II I did try to f i n a l l ygot g o tRon Ronon onthe t h e p h o n e .Ron, Ron, s a y , finally phone. II say, I m s t i l l l o o k i n g f o r t h o s e M i s s i l e C o m I'm still looking for those Missile Com-‑ mandboards. boards ."You Youshould s h o u l dhave havegotten g o t t e n mand ， R o n t e l l s me . I f o u n d t h e m b y n o w them by now," Ron tells me. "I found them l a s tweek weekin i naa h o l d i n gpen penin i nBaton B a t o n them last holding R o u g e a n d U . P . S . s a i d t h e y w o u l d s e n d Rouge and U.P.S. said they would send themto t oyou youthat t ha tday. d a y .When Whe nour o u rcomputc o m p u t ‑ them e r c o m e s b a c k u p I ' l l t r a c e t h e m a g a i n . er comes back up I'll trace them again." S u r e ! Sure! B nowII t h i n kit's i ts t i me t osee s e eifi f a n y ‑ Byynow think time to anyo n e e l s e h a s c o m p 凶n e da b o u t t h i s c o m one else has complained about this com-‑ panys c a le dac o u p l eo t r a d emaga‑ pany sooII called a couple off trade magaz i n e s . H e r e s w h a t t h e y s a i d : zines. Here's what they said: Wehad hadcomplaints c o m p l a i n t son onthem themand and "We h a v e n t a c c e p t e d a n y a d s f r o m t h e m i n haven't accepted any ads from them in y e a r s . " rs. yea Bums!We Wehaven't havent a c c e p t e dads a d sfrom 仕om "Bums! accepted t h e m i n o v e r a y e a r . Y o u h a v e a n y d e a l ‑ them in over a year. You have any deal巴m , d i d y o u ? U h ‑ O h . i n g s w i t h t h ings with them, did you? Uh-Oh. ThenII t al kedto t oaafellow f e l l o woperator o p e r a t o r Then talked w h o t o l d me h e h a d s e n t t h e m a b o a r d who told me he had sent them a board o v e ray e a ragoands t ild i d n have haveiti t over a year ago and still didn'tt b a c k .Ig u e s smyb o a r d sa rei nt h a tb i g back. I guess my boards are in that big h o l d i n gpen penin i nthe t hesky s k ybut buthopefully h o p e f u l l yII holding c a n s a v e o t h e r s f r o m t h a t e n d i n g . I am can save others from that ending. I am sendi ngt h e s eramblingsbecauset he sending these ramblings because the o n l ypl a c eIcanf i n dt h i scompanyl i s ‑ only place I can find this company list-t edis i sin i nthe t h e1996 1996Play P l a yMeter MeterDirectoD i r e c t o ‑ ed r ywhich whichII usedto t ocontact c o n t a c tthem themin i nthe t h e ry used f i r s t p l a c e . first place. B. Robe r t s B. Roberts [ E d i t o rs n o t e :When ¥ ! V ' h e n we r e c e i v e d t h i s l e t ‑ [Editor's note: we received this lett e r w e d i d n t p l α n t o p r i n t t h e e n t i r e t h i n ter we didn't plan to print the entire thingg α nddecided d e c i d e dto t ogive g i v eBoard/Works Bo α r d ／防匂r k st h eopop and the p o r t u n i旬t oe x p！ α i nt he i rs i d eoft h es t o r y . portunity to explain their side of the story. η u f o r t u n a t e ， 勿 wehada b o u ta smuchl uc Unfortunately, we had about as much luckk α sMr. M r .Roberts R o b e r t sin i ncontacting c o n t a c t i n g t h e m .We 閃r edo, do, as them. i n f a c t , h a v e t h e m l i s t e d i n o u r D i r e c t o ψ b u t in fact, have them listed in our Directory, but t h e r eis i sno nofax faxnumber. n u m b e r .IItried t r i e dthe t h eregular r e g u l α r there numberand andthe t h e t o l l サe enumber number r e p e a t e d 勿 number toll-free repeatedly t o n o α v a i l . I t r e m α i n e d b u s y o r u n a n s w e r e d to no avail. It remained busy or unanswered.. 円令 invite i n v i t eBoard/Works Board /Worksto t oreply r e p l yto t othe t h e We l e t t e r . I f w e h e α r f r o m t h e m ，間 lp r i n t t h e i letter. If we hear from them, we'll print theirr αn t i m e ,t h i sぉαpe φct c o m m e n t s .I t h eme comments. Innthe meantime, this is a perfect o p p o r t u n i t y t o r e m i n d e v e r y o n e t o c h e c k opportunity to remind everyone to check c a r i φ l 勿 b φ r e d e a l i n g w i t h α n y c o m p α n y . J carefully before dealing with any company.] SHUFFLEBOARDIS I SBACK! BACK! SHUFFLEBOARD 。 。 Increaseyour your inc m e40% 4 o / owith with income Increase 。 urnew HANDICAPSCORING". SCORING our new "HANDICAP GAMEOVER 0.0 ・ ・ ( P a t e n t p e n d i n g ) (Patent pending) CHAMPIONSHIP CHAMPIONSHIP LINE LINE ORIGINALP OLYMERFINISH FINISH ORIGINAL POLYMER CUSTOML OGOS CUSTOM LOGOS CUSTOM STAINS also available ... C a l l Call GAMETIME GAMETIME ・ ・ THEBULLET BULLET THE 1 5LENGTH LENGTH "ARMOUR ARMOURTOP" TOP 15' F o r D e t a i l s For Details • FINANCING FINANCINGAVAILABLE AVAILABLE ( 8 0 0 ) 8 2 6 ・ 7 8 5 6 (800) 826-7856 7 1 0 0Burns B u r ns S t. Richland R ic h la n dH i l l s, Te x a s76118 7 6 1 1 8· FAX FAX(817) ( 81 7 )595-1506 5 9 5 ‑ 1 5 0 6 7100 St Hills, Texas ・ P L A Y M E T E R PLAY METER ・ 1 6 16 N O V E M B E R1996 1 9 9 6 NOVEMBER