Play Meter

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GUEST COMMENTARY
COMMENTARY
GUEST
Players, not
not equipment,
equipment,
Players,
provide
industry
backbone
bone
try back
ide indus
prov
by Steve
Steve Hochman
Hochman
by
To paraphrase
paraphrase the
the Bible,
Bible , the
the cuckoo
cuckoo is
is loose
loose again.
again.
To
Before you
you start
start writing
writing letters
letters to
to the
the editor,
editor, let
let me
me explain.
explain . It It seems
seems that
that
Before
the
vast
majority
of
articles
in
our
trade
publications
now
concentrate
on
the
the vast majority of articles in our trade publications now concentrate on the
theme of
of going
going "back
" back to
to basics."
basics. " The
The distributors
distributors who
who call
call us
us and
and their
their sales
sales
theme
staff who
who visit
visit us
us seem
seem to
to be
be inculcated
inculcated with
with this
this same
same propaganda.
propaganda . In
In my
my town
town
staff
we
spell
this
0-s-c-a-r
M-a-y-e-r
.
In
your
town
you
probably
spell
it
b-o-1-o-g-
we spell this O-s-c-a-r M-a-y-e-r. In your town you probably spell it b-o-l-o-g-
n-a .
n-a.
Our industry
industry is
is like
like a a hen-house,
hen-house, with
with the
the factories,
factories , distributors,
distributors, and
and
Our
operators
all
scratching
the
ground
for
the
kernal
of
corn
of
the
future
.
Even
operators all scratching the ground for the kernal of corn of the future. Even if if
they found
found it,
it , I I doubt
doubt they
they would
would know
know what
what to
to do
do with
with it.
it. After
After all,
all , Chicken
Chicken
they
Little
did
say
the
sky
is
falling.
Little did say the sky is falling.
For the
the past
past 21
21 years
years I've
I've been
been told
told by
by the
the hen-house
hen-house gang
gang that
that the
the
For
backbone of
of our
our industry
industry is
is the
the jukebox.
jukebox . Or
Or was
was it it the
the pool
pool table?
table? Maybe
Maybe it it was
was
backbone
shuffle. It's
It's hard
hard to
to remember
remember all
all those
those backbone
backbone sayings.
sayings.
a a shuffle.
The point
point is
is that
that the
the backbone
backbone of
of our
our industry
industry never
never was
was any
any piece
piece of
of
The
equipment.
The
true,
one-and-only
backbone
is
the
player.
You
remember
equipment. The true, one-and-only backbone is the player. You remember
him-he's the
the one
one who
who puts
puts the
the quarters
quarters in
in our
our equipment.
equipment .
him-he's
There
are
several
ways
we
can
try
to
find
out
what players
players want.
want. There's
There's
There are several ways we can try to find out what
old
trial-and-error
technique-simply
buy
everything
you
see
at
trade
the
the old trial-and-error technique-simply buy everything you see at trade
shows
or
your
distributor's
showroom.
A
few
years
ago
this
method
worked
shows or your distributor's showroom. A few years ago this method worked; ;
nearly every
every new
new game
game made
made money.
money.
nearly
A
variation
on
that
theme
the chart
chart method.
method . The
The major
major trades
trades publish
publish
A variation on that theme is is the
them , and
and they
they are
are fairly
fairly accurate.
accurate. You
You see
see what
what is
is hot
hot and
and order
order a a few.
few. The
The
them,
only problem
problem is is that
that you
you may
may be
be wrong
wrong either
either way.
way . So
So let's
let's go
go back
back to
to the
the real
real
only
backbone-the
player-and
ask
him
.
backbone-the player-and ask him.
Too often
often we
we sit
sit in
in our
our offices
offices and
and determine
determine what
what is
is best
best for
for our
our locations.
locations .
Too
Do
we
ever
ask
the
players
at
the
locations?
Do
we
ever
really
listen
to what
what
Do we ever ask the players at the locations? Do we ever really listen to
they
have
to
say?
Probably
not
.
And
,
after
all
,
it
is
the
players
who
support
us ,
they have to say? Probably not. And, after all, it is the players who support us,
the
coin-op
amusement
industry.
Fail
to
deliver
the
amusement
the
player
the coin-op amusement industry. Fail to deliver the amusement the player
wants , and
and there
there are
are no
no coins
coins for
for the
the operator.
operator.
wants,
Spend
a
little
extra
time
at
your
locations
While you're
you 're there,
there , clean
clean the
the
Spend a little extra time at your locations. . While
equipment
and
perform
a
little
preventative
maintenance
.
Talk
to
the
players
equipment and perform a little preventative maintenance. Talk to the players
and listen.
listen . I'm
I'm not
not suggesting
suggesting that
that you
you let
let location
location owners
owners dictate
dictate equipment
equipment
and
demands . A A friend
friend of
of mine,
mine , Sam
Sam Morrison
Morrison of
of Music
Music Moments
Moments in
in the
the Bronx,
Bronx ,
demands.
calls
location
owners
the
give-
me
,
get-me
,
lend-me's.
N.Y.,
N.Y., calls location owners the give-me, get-me, lend-me's.
trying to
to say
say that
that not
not every
every piece
piece of
of equipment
equipment is is right
right for
for all
all locations.
locations .
I'm trying
I'm
And
don
't
forget
that
locations
change
.
Remember
the
old
railroad
-crossing
And don't forget that locations change. Remember the old railroad-crossing
sign
-
stop
,
look
,
and
listen
.
•
sign-stop, look, and listen.
[Edi tor 's note:
note : Steve
Steve Hochman
Hochman of
of Crown
Crown Vending
Vending Co.
Co. is
is a a Corona,
Corona , N.Y.,
N. Y.,
[Editor's
operator
and
president
of
the
New
York
State
Coin
Machine
Association.
operator and president of the New York State Coin Machine Association.] ]
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50
50
PLAY METER, April
15, 1986
1986
METER, April 15,
PLAY