Automatic Age

14
AUTOMATIC AGE
April, 1938
*83(55*
By
H u b e rt
F.
H E L P F U L H IN T S A N D
A FON D FAREW ELL
'J'HE 21st day of March heralded the first day of
Spring. Trees will soon be budding and send­
ing forth a beautiful mantle of leaves. Flowers
will blossom, days will be longer and sunshine
will be more abundant. The world of nature will
awake after a long winter sleep.
Could any time be more appropriate than the
first period of Spring for coin machine operators
to follow the example set by nature and awake to
the manifold opportunities surrounding them?
There will be thousands of new locations that will
be opening their doors to coin-controlled devices
of all types. Beaches, ice cream and soft drink
stands, carnival and amusement parlors, summer
resorts, outdoor beer gardens, and other lucrative
spots will be waiting with open arms for your
machines. Will YOU be awake and ready to
serve these locations, or will they stand idle? Now
is the time to start in lining up your summer lo­
cations. The suggested procedure is to make a
list of the places that should prove profitable for
summer operations. Then, you should decide on
the type of machines that should be placed, such as
popcorn machines, phonographs, venders, novelty
tables, automatic pay-outs, skill machines, etc.
Your next step is to decide on the machines you
wish to purchase. Study the machines released by
the manufacturers and, by all means, inspect
them. You might see them either at the manu­
facturer’s showrooms, or at your location distrib­
utor’s headquarters. If neither of these avenues
are available to you, then take advantage of the
advertisements found in each issue of the A u t o ­
m a t i c A g e . Scrutinize each ad carefully. Study
the features that every machine boasts of, and
then contact the manufacturers or your closest
distributor for complete details on the machines
you decide to operate. After deciding which ma­
chines to purchase, don’t hesitate but place your
order immediately. Learn the mechanical con­
struction and best methods of operating, such as
percentage to pay and other fundamentals nec­
© International Arcade Museum
M esse
essary for successful operating.
By doing so,
when summer arrives you will be ready with
sound money-making ideas.
Spring is also an excellent time to take stock
of ourselves. Let us dig deep into our modes and
methods of living, and analyze our problems. In­
stead of complaining and being dissatisfied with
our lot, isn’t it quite possible that the fault might
lie within each of us? We are in an industry that
offers great possibilities for clean, healthful ways
to make a living. Are we taking advantage of all
these opportunities that are available to us? Or
are we just sitting back and grumbling about our
lot, and saying that the “coin machine industry
is not the business we should be in” ? Analyze
your present problems. Do you have legal diffi­
culties, whereby your operations are restricted?
If this is your situation why not purchase some
of the new machines, that are so ingeniously cre­
ated by our manufacturers, that do not violate
any laws or restrictions. It is true that this type
of equipment does not have the great earning
power of the “chance” machine. But, on the oth­
er hand, it has the stability which is so vital to
the success of our industry.
Other operators
might find that they are burdened by problems
such as, chiseling location owners and unethical
competition from unscrupulous fellow operators,
higher prices on machines, machines losing player
appeal after a short period of time, and other
problems which we are all familiar with; but, in
every business there are problems that are equal,
if not greater, to the ones we must contend with.
Again we say, don’t be dissatisfied with your
lot. Instead of kicking and feeling discouraged
put all you can into your work. Try to do your
job so well that there will be no room for im­
provement, and when you, yourself, know down
in your heart that you have done the best job
possible, then you can do no more. You will find
that you will then be ready for a higher step in
your career. You can NEVER rise above your
ambitions. Above all, always keep a clean and
cheerful aspect on life.
(Continued on vage 109)
http://www.arcade-m useum .com /