Atari Coin Connection

Operator of the '80s: Stephen Goot, Atlanta, Georgia
Stephen Goot entered the
coin-operated games business
about seven years ago when he
recognized a need for a source
of inexpensive entertainment in
the hotels that he supplied with
audio-visual equipment. (Total
Audio Visual Services is primarily
a business which rents projec-
tors, screens and other visual
aids for trade shows, conven-
tions, and other meetings.) He
began his game route with 26
Pong® games, which he in-
stalled in hotels and local bowl-
ing centers. He still has five of
his original accounts.
What makes Stephen Goot
unconventional is the way he op-
erates his game route. He's a
success story on how to run a
business your way by giving
your customers what they want
and out-doing your competitors.
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New Locations
The TAV service team, ready for action.
letters every six to eight weeks
to advertise specials.
"Every piece on my route is
for sale at anytime," Stephen
told us, "but I do like to keep a
minimum of each of the top
pieces at all times."
Equipment Turnover
Stephen also sells coin-oper-
Probably the most unique as- . ated games to the home market.
pect of the operation is the very Most of this equipment is sold
fast rate of equipment turnover. during a large sale he holds '·
Out of the 250 machines on
twice a year. The game sale is
about 40 stops, Stephen pur-
advertised to consumers in the
chases 160 to 180 new games
sports section of the newspaper.
each year. He buys at least one
Contracts
unit of just about every game
that is introduced to the market.
Stephen insists on having a
Every 12 months he turns over
signed contract with each of his
about two-thirds of his inventory. locations. Most of his contracts
In this way Stephen supplies
are for from three to five years.
each of his locations with the
With seven days notice he can
best current games and keeps a cancel any contract, for any rea-
constant turnover of equipment. son; the location has no option
to cancel. He does not allow the
Preferring to sell games be-
fore they lose their trade-in
location to demand specific
value, Stephen sells a lot of his
pieces of equipment, he alone
inventory to other operators who decides on the games to install;
have been referred to him by
however, Stephen's locations
distributors. He also maintains a are guaranteed an increase in
mailing list of 100 to 150 opera-
revenues generated each time
he rotates equipment.
tors in the Southeastern United
States, to which he mails news-
The same basic contract is
- - -•- ...
Atari, Inc.
1265 Borregas Avenue
Sunnyvale, California 94086
1IIVS
the next morning."
Total Audio Visual is prepared
for on site repairs on almost any
potential technical failure in the
field. Each of his three repair
trucks are designed to be full-
line service centers, carrying
everything from pinball playfield
glass to monitors, and all sorts
of video and pinball replacement
parts. From these vehicles the
servicement can repair 90% of
all mechanical and electrical fail-
ures in the field.
used for all locations. Some sites
are on a graduated commission
based on the average take per
machine per week. For instance,
the location may get only 45 %
of the take if the average is $80
per machine for a particular
week. If the average weekly
earnings per game were higher,
the location would get a larger
percentage of the take.
Service
The servicing of equipment is
also done on terms to suit the
best interests of Stephen's com-
pany. Unlike many other opera-
tors, Stephen's servicemen do
not make calls after 7:00 p.m. If,
however, a location reports a
problem by 5:00, the game will
be repaired that day.
" It's just not economical to
have a 24-hour repair service",
Stephen reported. "The games
don't make enough money to
cover the expense of having that
kind of service. We guarantee
repairs within two hours after we
are notified of a problem. If a
call comes in after 5:00, the
game is repaired the first thing
During the past year Stephen's
dollar volume has nearly doubled
due to the addition of better ac-
counts. Stephen also added six
new locations to his route !ast
year; these locations had never
had games before.
Very soon Stephen will be
opening three arcades in the At-
lanta area. The new game cen-
ters will be called "Tokens", and
will be run as a separate division
of his route operation. Stephen
has made extensive leaseholder
improvements which he feels
will increase the traffic in the
new game centers.
For the grand opening of the
arcades the customers will re-
ceive eight tokens for a dollar,
and other merchants in the area
will give away coupons for a
free game with purchases made
in their stores. Stephen will ask
players to sign up for member-
ship cards which will entitle the
bearer to one free play per day.
He will also start a birthday club
that gives the registered player
ten free games on his birthday.
Stephen will use the member-
ship cards and birthday club to
develop a mailing list of players
to advertise special promotions.
First Class
U.S. Postage
PAID
Sunnyvale, CA
Permit 317