Play Meter

operators when they're buying. A nd when we talk to
most distributors today, they tell us times are grea t,
they're selling everything they'ue got. This brings us
bock to the question we asked in the beginning of
whether the distributor has a diminished role today-
ore price and availability becoming the prime
considerations?
RODSTEIN : If price and availability become the prime
consideration
of an operator in purchasing new
equipment, then that operator is making a big mistake .
Price is only one factor in the equation . Income is the
other. When you put the two together, it equals your
return on investment. And it's the return on investment
that should be the operator's prime consideration when
buying new equipment. That means he has to consider
the reliability and expected longevity of the investment.
But if the operator is only considering the price and
availability of the equipment- if he can get it today-
then he's really making a mistake.
PLAY METER: How would you describe the opera tor's
perception of the distributor today? Does he see the
distributorship as merely a place where he buys his new
games and sells his old ones? Or does he see the
distributor as prouiding an essential function?
RODSTEIN: I can only speak from my own viewpoint,
but I think our operators/ customers are appreciating the
distributor's role more and more all the time because we
are the place where he gets the support for his games.
With the kinds of money the used ones are selling fo r
today , they know purchasing the game is only the
beginning. An operator needs to know he can rely on
that distributor's support, parts, repair service, and all
the other thi ngs we do for him.
From my observation,there's a greater realization
today of the importance of the distributor. I think the
technology has had a lot to do with that. For example, we
can exchange boards for the operator right over the
counter. And so we can keep them in business by
minimizing the downtime.
Let 's say a man has a video game that does several
hundred dollars a week on location, and he gets a call on
the game. He gets there and finds the thing is all
scrambled up on the tube , and he doesn't know what's
going on . Now this game may be grossing fifty dollars a
day or thereabouts . All he has to do is have a messenger
run the board over to our place and hand our man the
board and he gets a new one right there over the counter.
And if we happen no to have the replacement, we'll repair
the board while he waits. The point is he doesn't suffer
any downtime to speak of.
That fact alone has made the operator appreciate the
distributor to a larger extent than he did in the days when
he had a so-called mechanic on the street who could fix
his electro-mechanical pinballs with spit a nd chewing
gum and keep them running. Today it's pretty rare when
a man can repair a board on-site . So he knows he can rely
on us distributors for that service, to keep his games
operating, maximizing his income and minimizing his
downtime . That's why I think the operator is beginning to
appreciate our reason for being there.
Now that's not the only thing he appreciates. I think he
appreciates all the other things we do for him , like helping
him with deliveries and installations , projecting pro
formas and expenses, arranging special financing,
offering the leasing option when he only needs the
equipment for a short time . There are many reasons for
the operator's growing awareness o f the distributor's
worth. Any you also have to realize that the stakes are
PLAY METER, September 1, 1981
DO
YOU
NEED
FINANCING
?
WE ARE NOT GIVING
MONEY AWAY BUT ...
• Our terms are flexible .
• We specialize m the vending
industry.
• The merits of any transaction will
be evaluated by a principaL
If you are selling eq uipment and payments from
operators are slow, our facilities are auailable to
you.
FOR DISTRIBUTORS
AND MANUFACTURERS
(a)
(b)
(c )
Industrial Time Sales
Equipment Financing or
Leasing
Notes Discounted
Any deal that is good business for you and good
business for us, interest us.
For direct, non -complicated answers, call PHILIP
G. KASS
CPC SERVICES, INC.
200 East 42nd Street
New York, N.Y. 10017
(212) 682-0790
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