Automatic Age

AUTOMATIC AGE
March, 1938
Should Dates for the Annual Show
Be Changed?
By O.
c.
L IG H T N E R
gEVERAL important controversies were widely
discussed at the last show that ought to be
given publicity and settled by a general con­
sensus of opinion in the trade. The charge that
two or three men boss and rule the whole in­
dustry should be challenged. We are very sure
that no clique wants or expects to boss, control
or cajole the industry. The desires, however,
of the rank and file should be given heed and
an attempt made to correct any objectionable
features of the annual show which is looked
forward to as a great stimulus to the business.
As originator of the show we well remember
what little faith there was in the idea at the
start and yet the advantages of the show quick­
ly portrayed themselves to the industry as a
whole. Operators and manufacturers alike saw
the opportunity to stimulate interest.
But now that criticism is being made of the
show, it is no more than right that these criti­
cisms be given heed and objections corrected,
if possible. W hat must be avoided is exactly the
situation we had before— two or three groups
running shows. That is threatened now and we
can avoid it if we give attention to constructive
criticism and well-taken objections.
Should The Time Be C hanged?
A large majority of the operators, we believe,
and quite a few manufacturers favor a change
of dates from midwinter to the last part of
April. Of course, if you are going to open up
discussion for a general choice, you might have
12 different groups favoring 12 different
months. The principal demand for a change is
m order that the operators can come from a
longer distance bringing their families or
friends and travel cheaper by car. They have
Pointed out that hundreds of new and small op­
erators have never attended the show. They
figure it costs them a couple hundred dollars to
come a reasonable distance, pay their expenses
and have some spending money. A new opera­
tor naturally figures he is better off to put that
money to other uses. If he could join two or
three other operators and come in a car, cutting
his expenses perhaps in half, he would attend
the convention. So many operators say they
Would like to bring their wives to the conven­
tion if it were safe to drive several hundred
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miles in the month of January. In taking
statistics of convention bureaus in various cities,
it is found that a large majority of attendance
at the average convention comes by automobile.
If your dates make driving unsafe or prohibi­
tive, you will cut your attendance that much.
Another argument is that the show is so near
after the holidays that a lot of operators have
spent more or less of their money. They would
have more spending money, it is claimed, in
April just before the outdoor season opens
when there is no peak demand for funds that
there is around the holidays and the first of the
year. From a manufacturer’s standpoint, they
claim that January is a busy time for them in
getting up the numerous reports and statements
required by law, in directors’ meetings to make
plans for the coming year, vacation trips to the
South, etc. They agree that the operator might
have better purchasing power in April and they
could yet have time to make up machines to
order and make delivery before the outdoor
season opens in May. Certainly the big peak of
the coin machine business is the outdoor season.
A u t o m a t i c A g e is running a coupon at the
end of this article asking our readers to vote on
this question and send it in. We want it strictly
understood that this is only a recommendation
on the part of everybody. It shouldn’t be as­
sumed that A u t o m a t i c A g e is attempting to
dictate a change or bring any pressure what­
ever to bear on making a change. It affords an
opportunity for everybody to express an opinion
for the consideration of the Manufacturers’
Association which Association which sponsors
the show. So far as A u t o m a t i c A g e is con­
cerned, it makes no difference to us when the
show is held. When we first started the show,
we picked the dates in the latter part of March.
Operators say it should be the middle of April
when they are certain they will not get snows
coming down from the north. Later the dates
were changed. Some said it was because one
or two of the manufacturers wanted to get it
over with so they could go South for the winter.
We don’t know that that had anything to do
with it but we do know that we missed a couple
shows because of taking trips to the tropics.
We couldn’t get away any other time, and we
don’t blame anybody who has a good year once
in awhile, if he takes a southern trip. If he can
afford it, he certainly ought to do it. No one
should begrudge it. It has been pointed out
that some of the amusement park people go
South early and they are back the first of April
ready to make plans for the outdoor season.
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