September 2010
We live in the information age. In fact, I have heard it said that a weekday edition of The New York Times contains more information than a pre-Renaissance man assimilated throughout his entire lifespan. So the challenge we face as businesspeople, consumers and citizens is how to effectively filter the vast amounts of information at our disposal in a way that helps make good decisions about our careers, personal lives and country.
Amusement operators are no different than any other business people on this score: they need targeted and trustworthy information in order to make crucial decisions about their businesses. It’s heartening to know through this issue’s Operator Interface (pg. 84) that operators still rely on their local distributor to provide that kind of insight.
“Our equipment needs are many, and I still need our distributor to keep me updated on which games are earning money and which are not,” Florida operator Dawn Brower of Merlin Amusements told us. “You need that distributor because local operators won’t talk to other local operators... because we don’t trust each other,” she candidly admitted.
AMOA past president Howard Cole (Cole Vending, North Carolina) said he’s equally indebted to his distributor. “We’ve developed a good relationship. He’s honest, he doesn’t pull any punches, he doesn’t try to oversell me, he keeps me up on all the new product, he knows my business, what works and what doesn’t for me, and won’t try to shove pieces I don’t need down my throat.”
Within industry circles, there is always considerable debate about the role each tier plays in driving the business forward. Elsewhere in this issue, we have an example of this give and take over the need to reinvest vs. the imperative to control costs (see Stepping Up, pg. 88). Suffice to say, as an industry, everybody finds himself dependent in one way or another on each other.
Of course, we believe that RePlay Magazine also serves an important function in keeping operators, distributors and suppliers up to speed with the kind of industry-specific news they need. By way of highlighting that role this month, we are offering an in-print tradeshow including a comprehensive look at the new equipment coming onto the market, as well as a panel of columnist-penned seminars designed to help our readers benefit from their hard-won wisdom.
Naturally, a magazine like this is no substitute for pressing the flesh and enjoying the presence of industry friends in person. But it can be a reassuring resource that is always handy for those who ply their trade in the amusement game biz. We hope you enjoy and profit from this month’s “tradeshow in print,” as well as our many other features. And don’t forget: we’ll be back to do it again next month!
Direct email to RePlay Magazine Editor Steve White.
To send email to RePlay Magazine, it's editor@replaymag.com
(c) All contents of this page and the entire RePlay Magazine website at http://www.replaymag.com and http://replaymagazine.com. Copyright 2010 RePlay Magazine. All rights reserved.