(Topic ID: 234048)

Austin TX Needs a Barcade!

By javagrind888

5 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

You

Linked Games

No games have been linked to this topic.

    Topic Gallery

    View topic image gallery

    20180224_195000 (resized).jpg
    20180224_194946 (resized).jpg
    20180224_194916 (resized).jpg
    20180224_194931 (resized).jpg
    20180224_194935 (resized).jpg
    20180224_194911 (resized).jpg
    20180224_194842 (resized).jpg
    20180224_194831 (resized).jpg
    20180224_194836 (resized).jpg
    20180224_194830 (resized).jpg

    There are 71 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 2.
    10
    #1 5 years ago

    There is only a single true pinball business in North Austin. Pinballz. It has no competition so it doesn't care about its machines and mistreats its customers. Their machines are broken and run down, their codes are always outdated, they mistreat their employees, and this week they implemented a 3 tokens for $1 policy when all of their machines are 3-5 tokens (no 3 for 2 pay options). That's $1.66 for a game of any of their new Sterns and a dollar per play for old broken DMD and system 11 machines. The local pinball club has had enough and we're reaching out. We're jealous of the options in places like Dallas and San Antonio for gaming where they care about their machines. Austin has a world renowned brewery scene and a thriving pinball and arcade community. A properly run brewery arcade would be guaranteed success in North Austin. It's a town of tech people and game enthusiasts combined with a love of craft beer. It blows my mind that there have not been any entrepreneurs who can see the opportunity.

    For any of you out there looking for a great place to start a barcade, North Austin is it.

    #2 5 years ago

    We need to rename this thread and get it viral before Darren walks into TPF thinking he’s a saint to the Texas pinball scene, I’ve had enough of him and how he treats the pinball community.

    Sharing what I post on FB:

    “Oh I have soooo much to say about the lies here Robert. You’re new so I’ll take it easy on you. The 3rd marketing person in a short amount of time? I knew Adam who did great work, too bad Darren treats employees like crap. I’m sure you won’t be around too long.

    I can give you a laundry list of dirty things I’ve seen Darren do, this is just a few of them:
    1.) He essential called me poor when I wouldn’t lower a brand new out of the box pin I was selling by 1k when it was already almost a 1k loss I was taking
    2.) my daughter and her friend won a “major” prize on a game, which was a $20 walkie talkie. He said the machine was disfunctional and tried to question the win and not give the prize out.
    3.) when lake creek opened there were employees not being paid on time.
    4) your tech who’s been around forever belittles children
    5) 6) it keeps going.

    The owners are about money and that’s it. The worst thing they could do is have you come on here and justify shady pricing. Wrong person, wrong message. Have Darren speak for himself.

    Why call yourself “Pinballz” when that’s the part of your business and clients you least care about. The machines are broken garbage, the pricing is already bad and now worse (.75 cents for an old pin? No super play??).

    I usually don’t get “pissed” about anything, but you got me.”

    #3 5 years ago

    Buffalo Billiards on 6th has a great selection of pins upstairs, and the last time I went a tech was working on them keeping them up. Went to Pinballz in Buda and man the games were in horrible condition.

    #4 5 years ago

    Buffalo Billiards is pretty good. The selection of machines is good quality but there isn't alot of room so he doesn't have that many. It's a royal pain in the ass to go play pinball on 6th street downtown though. Traffic and parking garages make it a stressful option.

    #5 5 years ago

    Austin is my favorite city in the USA. The Jackalope, coincidentally, happens to be my favorite bar in the USA. Trans Am from Goatwhore been there long time; GREAT mf dude.
    First time in Pinballz three years ago I thought it was the greatest thing since unsliced bread. Year ago I was there and was so fuckin pissed after starting my 7th broken machine I just gave my card to a hot mom and left. I told dude at counter it was my SEVENTH broken one (he knew me from the first 2) and I'm not telling you which ones. DO YOUR HOUSEKEEPING.

    #6 5 years ago

    Buffalo Billiards, on the other hand, was fantastic. Met a few super cool Pinsiders and even played in the Sun tourney. Thanks Rick!

    #7 5 years ago

    As a Canadian visiting Austin,Texas. Buffalo Billiards is my go to location. I play down stairs. If anyone can give me a ride to TPF & back from Austin. Please let me know. I might make the trip down.

    #8 5 years ago

    First time I've ever heard of 3 tokens for $1 at any place.
    First time I've ever heard of up to $1.66 per 3-ball game at any place.
    Screw that.
    Plus it's insulting when you pay that much and the machines are not in excellent playing condition. Wow!

    #9 5 years ago

    I’d rather make the 3 hour drive to Dallas and go to Nickelrama or Cidercade out of spite.

    This is how Spohn and Associates runs all their companies, bare bones, don’t care about the customers or employees, maximize profits.

    #10 5 years ago
    Quoted from javagrind888:

    We're jealous of the options in places like Dallas and San Antonio for gaming where they care about their machines.

    Never thought I'd live to see the day someone from Austin said they were jealous of the pinball options in San Antonio!

    #11 5 years ago

    You haven't seen the run down overpriced garbage we're dealing with up here at Pinballz then. Buffalo Billiards is our only other real option and its location mostly lends itself to downtown and south patrons.

    #12 5 years ago
    Quoted from javagrind888:

    You haven't seen the run down overpriced garbage we're dealing with up here at Pinballz then. Buffalo Billiards is our only other real option and its location mostly lends itself to downtown and south patrons.

    You should come to this area. Will make Pinballz look like a kingdom. I'll post some pictures of a Shadow in this area (one of like 8 within a 50 mile radius). Sneak preview: they have a shop light clamped on the back box facing down at the glass so you can see the PF.

    #13 5 years ago

    Sounds like a business opportunity there too NPO. I wish I was in the position to start something myself.

    #14 5 years ago

    Wow, that's depressing. Austin is cool place and definitely deserves better!

    #15 5 years ago

    It's funny you used the word "kingdom". We have a Pinballz Kingdom south of Austin. They have a World Cup Soccer who's ball has never spun and a Lord of the Rings whose Balrog I've never seen move.

    #16 5 years ago

    I've been involved with running events at/for pinballz (as a non-employee) for almost five years now, weekly events for years with as many as 50 people playing at the same time.

    We've had awesome times and introduced hundreds and hundreds of new players to competitive pinball and the pinball community in Texas. A lot of the time it's felt like I'm just beating my head against a wall though when it comes to working with the business to try and get more people to come in their doors.

    I sincerely hope that this latest thing and the attention it's gotten gives us an opportunity to have our voices heard and see some kind of improvement. It's really going to take someone that cares at least a little bit AND has the ability to make business decisions for there to be any kind of long-term improvement though.

    #17 5 years ago

    Also huge shoutout to Buffalo Billiards and @buffaloatx! BB is amazing and what they've done hosting the Bat City Open for the last several years and generally running an awesome place for pinball cannot be understated.

    #18 5 years ago
    Quoted from javagrind888:

    Their machines are broken and run down

    Pinballz original has 92 tables. SOME of them are out of order, most are flippable but have minor issues. A few (like World Poker Tour and The Hobbit ) have major issues that impact league play but most people probably wouldn't notice.

    Quoted from javagrind888:

    their codes are always outdated

    The vast majority have current code, but of the machines with USB updating available they are typically behind.

    Quoted from javagrind888:

    all of their machines are 3-5 tokens (no 3 for 2 pay options).

    You're wrong here. At least two of the games have 3/2 implemented, (probably because it's the default after a code update). Several of the tables are only two tokens. Target Pool Hula-Hula come to mind.

    Parking is free on the street on Sundays. Come to Buffalo Billiards and play. If you want well-kept games on location we need to support the locations that provide them. I hate downtown but buffaloatx is worth it.

    #19 5 years ago

    I'm cross posting this from the bat city facebook group comments. This is from the owner of pinballz via his "free lance marketing" guy or whatever. The main thing in it is he claims to be holding an open forum meeting for the pinball community to voice their opinions and concerns next tuesday. Not sure if I'll go or not.

    "I know there have been quite a few concerns, questions, and a bit of slander posted on social media after our 2019 price increase. Many of you are right that our pinball machines must be in premium working order, and we agree that as we’ve expanded we haven’t done as good a job of that as we should have. You have our commitment to fix that. I’d like to invite you to an open forum at Pinballz Arcade this coming Tuesday evening at 7pm. I will be there along with our Operations Manager, Technical Services Manager and main pinball Technician. We will answer any and all questions, including the price increase ones. I can share with you the financials of running a brick and mortar arcade with over 200 operating pinballs, and clear up some misconceptions about our recent Lake Creek expansion. We can discuss the option of taking out some of the pins at each location and replacing them with ticket games to cover our costs and keep the price of the remaining pins the same. I’ll also share with you our new plans for improved and continued testing and maintenance on our pinball machines at all locations, and pin rotations. We’ll announce our formal game test day and register qualified testers to participate. If you’re unable to attend, I will answer any emails sent to [email protected]. And remember if you are Silver level member or higher (avg. 1 visit per month, which probably applies to most of you) then you will still get the old pricing through 2019 just not at the changers. I look forward to having a constructive dialogue. - Darren"

    #20 5 years ago

    If Cidercade opened a location in north Austin, they would make a small fortune.

    I would be willing to bet they’d have more customers here than the Dallas location.

    Pinballz is painful to go to. They have lots of titles but you’re lucky to find one that works.

    #21 5 years ago

    Interesting that the owner posts that he wants to meet with the community while saying there has been “slander” in social media?!?!?

    #22 5 years ago
    Quoted from PantherCityPins:

    Interesting that the owner posts that he wants to meet with the community while saying there has been “slander” in social media?!?!?

    Their messaging in the past has had a lot of this borderline hostile to the community stuff, it's a real bummer.

    #23 5 years ago

    It's worth remembering that Pinballz is one of about ten places in the world that have more than 75 tables in one location. They have two of them within a few miles of one another. No one primarily motivated by profit would do that. At least one of the owners must love pinball enough to want to share it with the world.

    BCP is not the entirety of Pinballz customer base and IMO we should be reasonable with our expectations. I've requested code updates, they haven't always been done (sometimes they have been done) and I'm ok with that. Sometimes the answer to your request is no.

    If you want change I think one effective way is voice your concerns without phrasing them as a personal attack. State the issue and your proposed solution. Your unstated remedy if your concern goes unaddressed is you will take your business elsewhere. Every entertainment venue in the world knows there is a lot of competition for entertainment dollars.

    What do we want from Pinballz and how can we help make it happen? I'd like more event participation. But I'm not the person to promote events and attract more players. My strength is running events and a tiny amount of event communication and IFPA stuff. I'd like the games in 'better' condition but with 92 games on site and maybe 30 having issues that mean we can't use them I feel the good far outweighs the bad.

    The 33% price increase- yuk. It means I have to play less. I don't like 'loyalty' programs because they make it harder to know how much I'm paying per game. Sure I can figure it out but if I have to take two or three extra steps to figure out how far my $20 will go I'll just go somewhere else. Quarters seem to be the answer for now.

    Looking forward to hearing what Pinballz has to say next week.

    #24 5 years ago

    As do I. This doesn't change the fact however that they simply need some good competition that cares about their machines. Most of us would welcome a new barcade with open arms.

    #25 5 years ago
    Quoted from Pinless:

    If Cidercade opened a location in north Austin, they would make a small fortune.

    Do you know how to make a small fortune operating an arcade?

    Start with a large fortune.

    #26 5 years ago

    Yet, plenty of operators in Seattle and Portland seem to do just fine making a living off of routing games.

    #27 5 years ago
    Quoted from pinball_ric:

    and a bit of slander posted on social media

    LOLOLOLOL
    Slander? Doesn't Slander need to be proven false? Hostility... def a problem.

    Darren... too little... too late.
    I expect empty promises... same problem a year from now.
    I have some tokens left over... I'll check in 6mths from now or so to spend them... if it's the same broken AC... same crapily maintained machines... which new higher pricing; I'm done.

    #28 5 years ago

    A good friend was invited to Pinballz play testing way back a few weeks before they ever opened their doors. His report was that Darren did the old “buy a container full of reimports” method in order to build up his stock, switch the power to 110v, and then simply put them out on the floor. Games back then were just as rough as they are today. They’ve never had a truly solid crop of machines. It’s always been quantity over quality. There was a period when it seemed like games were better because they were buying up all the locally owned games and slapping them on the floor (with their wild retail pricing that makes everyone in Austin think games are that price).

    For what it’s worth, my friend and I have both been yelled at for turning games off that are basically (or actually) non-functioning. I guess when the coin slot still works Pinballz is satisfied.

    I’m glad they’re finally getting called out on their bullshit.

    #29 5 years ago

    Wow, Pinballz used to be really awesome and worth driving to from Houston. Luckily we live close to Einstein’s Pub and go there often!!

    #30 5 years ago
    Quoted from Aurich:

    Do you know how to make a small fortune operating an arcade?
    Start with a large fortune.

    I’m sure that’s usually the case. If you’re ever in the Dallas area you need to visit and see what the fuss is all about.

    It’s making $$ on weeknights and the weekends are crazy busy.

    $10 cover, $6 ciders and everything on free play makes for a pretty fun evening.

    #31 5 years ago
    Quoted from NPO:

    You should come to this area. Will make Pinballz look like a kingdom. I'll post some pictures of a Shadow in this area (one of like 8 within a 50 mile radius). Sneak preview: they have a shop light clamped on the back box facing down at the glass so you can see the PF.

    To be true to my word.

    Here's the kind of pinball you can play on location in the Florida Panhandle:

    20180224_194830 (resized).jpg20180224_194830 (resized).jpg20180224_194831 (resized).jpg20180224_194831 (resized).jpg20180224_194836 (resized).jpg20180224_194836 (resized).jpg20180224_194842 (resized).jpg20180224_194842 (resized).jpg20180224_194911 (resized).jpg20180224_194911 (resized).jpg20180224_194916 (resized).jpg20180224_194916 (resized).jpg20180224_194931 (resized).jpg20180224_194931 (resized).jpg20180224_194935 (resized).jpg20180224_194935 (resized).jpg20180224_194946 (resized).jpg20180224_194946 (resized).jpg20180224_195000 (resized).jpg20180224_195000 (resized).jpg

    There used to be a place called County Line Pizza; they had two locations: one had a TZ and BOP. The other had a TAF and SS. Both locations are now closed.

    The TZ was so bad the GI didn't work, almost all insert lights were gone. Flippers barely, and I mean barely got the ball to the ramps. I had to use the inertia of the ball to get it up to the ramps. There was no cradling on this game - absolutely not. Wish I could tell you more, but I went to save a ball using a quick slapsave, and that caused a reset, ending my game on Ball 1. Needless to say, I steered clear of BOP, which visually looked to be in the same state of total disrepair.

    Never got a chance to play TAF or SS at the other location. I do remember viewing both. TAF, the mansion insert was half gone - like all visible lettering was completely gone halfway up the insert itself. I think I remember bare wood in some areas - too long to say. SS, the ramps were so foggy if the ball went in the bony beast, you couldn't even see the ball until it returned to the right flipper. Both games had almost no GI working.

    Unfortunately, never got pictures of any of the 4. The owner closed shop only 1-2 months later - something I didn't expect.

    Slim pickings in this area. I do know of a RCT at a bowling alley in this area. Needless to say, it's about as pleasing as having your gonads stepped on with a high heel.

    #32 5 years ago

    Say this three years ago, you get lambasted. Say it today, only upvotes. Funny how times change.

    To be fair though, I've done business outside of Pinballz with Darren a few times, and run into him at TPF a bunch of times. While I can't speak for anyone else, he's always been pretty even-keeled in my dealings with him. Fact is, Pinballz would survive even if BCP decided to wholesale boycott the place. I doubt BCP even accounts for 5% of their profit margin. Every time I've been in there, the place is a zoo!

    Austin may have more games on location than Dallas thanks to Pinballz, but I feel like we have the more quality locations with Cidercade and now BOP. Even for a good long while there Nickelrama was doing awesome (there's local drama there that I'm not entirely apprised of) in terms of maintenence and having just fun, playable games. Cidercade's no angel though....those stupid boxes/stands between every game just SUCK and guarantee they cause more damage to games than god forbid someone moving a game one inch to save a ball, and the games can be pretty poorly leveled at times. Rarely though, is something just terrible enough to walk away from, and they do seem to like having the current releases out on the floor. It was very awesome to get to go play as much TNA as I wanted for 10 bucks.

    Quoted from play_pinball:

    I’m glad they’re finally getting called out on their bullshit.

    lol...they were called out before, but nobody cared to listen and closed ranks to protect 'their precious'

    #33 5 years ago

    There is a meeting scheduled for 7pm Tuesday at the original location. If you won't be there but have questions feel free to PM me and I'll put them on the list.
    Zitt play_pinball

    #34 5 years ago

    My girlfriend and I visited Pinballz Lake Creek today and I must admit to echoing all the posts here. We are looking for our 3 rd game and thought to go and play a few before making any decisions, well we played a few (all were working ) but on every single game we played and it was a few (Batman, Medieval Madness, Spider-man, Jurassic Park, Tales of the Arabian Knights) every game and I mean every game the flippers were so weak we couldn't make any ramp shots! couple that with the fact of the price increase and it was a disappointing experience. We went to the original location just before Christmas and the experience was the same. Sad to say we won't be going there any time soon again until they start taking care of the machines.

    I'm still a noob in this "hobby" and would love to know what other alternatives there are in town to play some decent machines,

    We will have to go and check out Buffalo Billiards but that means a drive to downtown and that's at least an hour from me!

    Yes Pinballz has a lot of machines but they really don't have a lot of Newer releases, most times quantity does not mean quality!

    #35 5 years ago
    Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:

    There is a meeting scheduled for 7pm Tuesday at the original location. If you won't be there but have questions feel free to PM me and I'll put them on the list.

    @YeOldPinPlayer

    Honestly; I need to see action on exactly what Pinballz is going to do to repair and MAINTAIN their games.
    I don't mean token gestures... but a realistic plan of attack and plan to keep those machines in great working order.
    Seems like the ship to reduce pricing is out of the question; so they need to be open and direct as to how they are going to make Pinballz THE destination for superior, great working pinball. The ONLY way I can justify 3/$1 pricing is for those machines to be at peak operating condition: Strong flippers; working mechs; and adequate GI lighting.

    This means they need to come up with a QA process where THEY test machines - (weekly seems reasonable) and make sure they work properly. Additionally; they need to have a closed loop process as to how they are going to resolve issues reported by their customers. IE a ticket system we can file against machines with a commitment that they will resolve problems on a timely manner. They need to have employees on hand to issue refunds for defective machines.

    IF a game cannot be repaired; it needs to be removed from the floor until it is 100% functional. No more; quarter grabs for the coin bucket.

    Without these "solutions"; I won't be sending any further $$$ their way. Weither it's my own; or my "day-job" company team building events.

    #36 5 years ago
    Quoted from NPO:

    You should come to this area. Will make Pinballz look like a kingdom. I'll post some pictures of a Shadow in this area (one of like 8 within a 50 mile radius). Sneak preview: they have a shop light clamped on the back box facing down at the glass so you can see the PF.

    We are in the pinball desert in this area. At least the beer scene has improved.

    #37 5 years ago
    Quoted from JC462:

    We are in the pinball desert in this area. At least the beer scene has improved.

    Right??? I've driven two hours each way to hang out with owners in Alabama.....

    #38 5 years ago
    Quoted from NPO:

    To be true to my word.

    Wow, that's awesome. 50 cents a game?

    #39 5 years ago
    Quoted from hocuslocus:

    Wow, that's awesome. 50 cents a game?

    Got to pay that game off....!

    #40 5 years ago

    Misery loves company?

    My observations since the original location opened...

    1) Don't turn off games - you will get screamed at (personal experience).
    2) Don't complain when a redemption machine doesn't give you xxxx - tickets, prize, etc. My daughter (within the 1st 6 months of the original location opening) won 200+ tickets from a redemption machine that apparently had no tickets left. Told the staff, and they blew me off, said they'd "alert their tech", and provided zero tickets.
    3) Don't expect any game (unless it's a new Stern that was just unboxed, or a game they purchased shopped from somebody else) to work 100%.
    4) They don't clean their games (much?), they don't maintain their games (much?), and it's not "broken" unless it no longer can credit up. If it doesn't show a credit dot, the dot probably out-gassed due to over-use :p

    I've got probably $100+ worth of tokens and credit on play cards (from work-related stuff, others who have gone, etc.), and can't be bothered to use it. I swing by every once in a while (at the Lakeline location) to see if things have changed - nope. Last week, walked through the pins, and they were just *filthy*. I'm talking ball wearing paint off the playfield and tracking gray dust all over the place filthy, for 2 to 3 different older pins. Very sad. I'd feel guilty selling or trading them any of my games because I don't think they'd be maintained. There is simply no way that somebody could walk past some of these games and NOT see the filth, or play a single game, and not see that they're not working correctly.

    I walked past the back row of "classic" video games during this last visit, and the entire back row was turned off because they were all broken. Checking joysticks, they just flopped around as if they didn't even have switches mounted to them. Some of the game have been turned off every time I've gone since they showed up on location.

    My brother worked with Darren for a year or so, doing a bit of horse trading - bring in some parts, dropped off some cabinets (for free) in several cases, as he wanted to help the place get off the ground (as did a lot of locals when they first opened). Got worked over and shafted a few too many times trying to set up some simple trades, and gave up on them as well.

    I have no personal issues with Darren - he's always been friendly to me, both on location, and when I've seen him at TPF. However, being the only game in town is really the only reason I see them surviving from a pinball standpoint. I can easily see them transitioning to a more traditional gaming establishment, and minimizing pinball to just a few newer Sterns at some point - there are tons of folks for whom an "arcade" means ticket dispensing redemption crap, and there is clearly money to be made in that area. By adding in the go-carts and more traditional fare, this is financially a move in that direction.

    Regarding the "Tuesday chat" offer - I'm tempted to attend, if only to listen. As noted, I just get too depressed going by there, and it's easier to just play my own stuff (cheaper too). I'd love to have somebody who attends post back in this thread on what's promised, and then we'll see what's delivered.

    Having said the above; from a league standpoint in the Austin area... Has anybody considered just playing member/collector games instead? I have a co-worker in the Sacramento area where this is what they do - just rotate between members who own a few pins, and rely upon their games instead. The main reason I've never bothered getting involved in league stuff in Austin is because of the poor quality/maintenance of the Pinballz stuff, and I'm not interested in driving downtown to play. You can still have league fees that go towards maintenance of member pins.

    Generally, the original location seems to have the better pin's, and my impression (though I've not been by lately) was that the games were more consistently maintained.

    I was one of the folks who helped out with the Lakeline location when Darren invited a bunch of regulars in to help "test the games". I found games exactly as described earlier in the thread - looked like stuff fresh out of a container. I'm talking mud dauber nests on the playfield in games that were considered *READY* for opening. Spider webs. These games were turned on, and made available for "testing".

    Question - is this a matter of being unable to find/hire good help (tech's)? Is this being too cheap to pay a good tech what they deserve to keep things clean/maintained? Rumor I heard is their primary tech was only getting ~$10 an hour? Is it just not budgeting for proper maintenance? I honestly don't care about the price so much if a game is solid/maintained/working - but when the stuff is just trashed, *that's* what makes the prices a concerning.

    Bring on the barcade, or competition, if they can't find a way to address these issues. These aren't new - they were around even when they were only at the original location.

    /rant

    #41 5 years ago

    It was a good meeting. Looking forward to the pin maintenance improving.
    Munsters (Pro) is coming!

    #42 5 years ago

    Copying Law's post on Facebook:

    "So- summary from the Pinballz Arcade meeting, big list and I'm probably missing some stuff:

    On pricing:
    - If you know what's up, prices are not going up
    - For now, bring and use quarters.
    - Silver level and higher members will get the 4/$1 pricing through at least the end of 2019
    - Membership system is going to expand with more benefits, including the possibility of free play times and further reduced pricing for higher-tier members. Details all TBD and uncommitted but they want to make the memberships more valuable.

    On maintenance:
    - New maintenance plan goes into effect today with a dedicated staff to clean and test machines. Internal audit by this team over the weekend identified 30 machines at the central location with high severity issues.
    - New issue reporting system at all locations - there will be a tablet with a google form that goes direct to the techs/tech manager. If you provide contact information when filling it out, they may follow up with questions or to let you know when something is fixed. They will probably also provide a link from their site so you can fill it out on your phone.
    - If a game has a high-priority issue ("multiball not working" was mentioned) and it doesn't get fixed in 1-3 weeks (details uncertain), they will pull the game from the floor until it is fixed.
    - LEDs and visual upgrades for many of the games are committed for Q1. They will take a while to install in most games. Some classic games and games with ghosting concerns will probably not get LEDs.
    - Game audit events are coming - details TBD.

    Other:
    - info@pinballzarcade emails are monitored daily by Darren, Mikki, and senior managers. This is the best way to contact them directly for now.
    - Pinballz wants to host more events than they currently do
    - Pinballz wants to have a better ongoing dialog with the community
    - They do not currently want to reduce the pin count at any of their locations and see the variety as a major benefit to customers.
    - Darren also indicated that they really, really want to hire more pinball techs, so get in touch with them if you have amusement repair experience and tools and are interested."



    .

    Only time will tell if this all works or if they can follow through with their sincerity. I still believe they need competition though.

    #43 5 years ago

    Thanks for the summary!

    They're saying all the right things, and honestly more than I'd have expected. If the implementation follows the promises, this should make a huge difference, and allow for a much better feedback loop between their management, tech's, and customers, and hopefully result in a better experience for all.

    Regarding games with major (ie, multi-ball is non-functional) issues getting pulled from the floor - is the game turned off in the interim, and sits dark until they decide to pull it, or do they keep pulling in cash from unwary (or clueless) customers?

    RE: "Internal audit by this team over the weekend identified 30 machines at the central location with high severity issues." - this should be a BIG wake-up call for them... I suspect there's a high number at Lakeline as well.

    #44 5 years ago

    I fell like they read my post and put it in their own words.
    That's ok... If it bares fruit.

    #45 5 years ago
    Quoted from Zitt:

    I fell like they read my post

    They got a copy of the text from your post, and comments from others. I'm cautiously optimistic. Seems I'll have to take another look at their loyalty program, see if it offers me any advantage.

    #46 5 years ago
    Quoted from Zitt:

    I fell like they read my post and put it in their own words.
    That's ok... If it bares fruit.

    Haha I thought that too, definitely seemed things were cobbled together from this thread.

    Not down with the loyalty thing though as it literally means you have to spend buttload of money just to get where you should have started + a few bonuses. No thank you.

    2 months later
    #47 4 years ago

    I’m in Austin for the weekend. Curious if Pinballz on 183 near Mopac has put any effort into repairing any of their pins. Last time I played their pins was a couple of years ago, and the machines were in such bad shape, I would never spend money there again.

    #48 4 years ago
    Quoted from sawbill:

    I would never spend money there again.

    Then why does it matter?

    #49 4 years ago
    Quoted from sawbill:

    Curious if Pinballz on 183 near Mopac has put any effort into repairing any of their pins

    Yes. There is noticeable progress.
    Also, two of their locations are on 183. One near Burnet, one near Lake Creek.

    Bring quarters. Tokens are 3/$1. For now all the pins take quarters.

    Or just play at buffaloatx Buffalo Billiards, my favorite place to play and the only place in town to play #lexylightspeed

    #50 4 years ago

    YeOldPinPlayer, Thank you for the reply and good advice. Glad to hear Pinballz is improving. Depending on Buffalo Billiards location, I’ll check them out.

    I lived there n Austin from ‘87 to ‘99. City has grown and changed a lot over the years.

    There are 71 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 2.

    Reply

    Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

    Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

    Donate to Pinside

    Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


    This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/austin-tx-needs-a-barcade?hl=flashdaddy and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

    Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.