Automatic Age

18
A U T O M A T IC
D ecem ber , 1937
A G E
Public Opinion
and the Coin Machine Business
B y G. F. H a l e y
Advertising and Sales Promotion Mgr.
O. D. Jennings & Co.
T
ODAY we hear and read
much about general busi­
ness recession — in fact
many operators are thoroughly
convinced that conditions in
their territory are bad. Natur­
ally, like all business, the opera­
ting business must expect good
times and bad times. Good times
of course create many new op­
erators for the reason that
when business is booming com­
petition is not keen. On the oth­
er hand, “bad times” quickly
eliminates “free-riders’- and
only real operators worthy of
the name can survive.
In many cases the operator
himself is responsible for the
so-called good times and bad
times. It is possible to make
the operating business good
when general business condi­
tions are not so rosy. Likewise,
and much too often, operating
possibilities are in bad shape
when general business is riding
high.
Public opinion is a strong
force. It makes laws—it breaks
laws; in fact, in the majority
of cases it is the law. Fortun­
ately, public opinion rarely takes
snap judgment—it molds slowly
but surely. The coin machine in­
dustry in general should not de­
preciate the cause and effcts of
public opinion. We cannot afford
to sit back unconcerned while
minor forces are vigorously
molding public opinion hostile
to the industry. Too often these
forces grossly misrepresent and
exaggerate, and in many cases
deliberately falsify the actual
facts.
We all know that such unfair
propaganda and misleading
statements are not practiced
exclusively against the coin ma­
chine industry. There are pro­
fessional “antis” ready to cam­
paign against any movement,
whether good or bad. Obviously
it is necessary to be alert and
prepared to counteract all un­
fair and malicious propaganda,
but it is more important to do
everything possible to build
favorable public opinion.
Give the public a break! If all
locations, operators and manu­
facturers could realize the im­
portance and good sense of this
admonition there would be con­
siderably less “closed territory
today. Unfortunately too many
operators have the idea that
they should use “tight” ma­
chines and get everything they
can within a few weeks time.
Such a policy has been the great­
est factor in causing unfavor­
able public opinion with the in­
evitable result of closing terri­
tory.
No one likes to be played for
a sucker. The successful, long-
run operator works on the prin­
ciple of giving the players a
break. Liberal machines create
favorable public opinion — at
least do not arouse unfavorable
opinion, and assure continued
operation year in and year out.
Profitable operation depends
© International Arcade Museum
completely upon the volume of
play. The public plays machines
for entertainment and amuse­
ment. They’re willing to pay for
the entertainment, but they ex­
pect a show for their money.
If they find they don’t get “ac­
tion”, it is only natural to ex­
pect them to discontinue patron­
izing the machines.
On the other hand, they will
go for a machine that gives them
a break. They never tire playing
it. All the false statements and
propaganda by professional agi­
tators falls on deaf ears. They
know from personal experience
that the machines are not “plug­
ged” or “set” decidedly against
the player.
Liberal machines make more
money for the operator and the
merchant because they assure
longer operation and more play.
Many operators who were of the
opinion that they must use
“tight” machines have found,
after being prevailed upon to
try the liberal machine idea, that
the machine that was more lib­
eral made three or four times
as much money as their favorite
“tight” machine. During the op­
eration in Florida thousands of
machines were replaced with
more liberal equipment because
the operators learned from ac­
tual experience that the players
would patronize the machine
that gave them a run for their
money.
Experience is a great teacher
—and unquestionably we now
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