+1

Pushing into the home ownership market means more of these types of posts. When someone who isn't familiar with pinball machines buys a NIB, they are expecting the "gaming console experience". Plug it in and it works until it dies.

Cars also come with the expectation that you won't have to do any maintenance on them within the first year or so, and I believe these types of buyers will feel the same way about pinballs. It's going to be a frustrating experience for them.

Bolstering customer service doesn't have to mean footing the bill for repair techs to visit homes.

By setting expectations with buyers, they could even turn the repair aspect of pinball ownership into a very satisfying DIY experience.

Just brainstorming, but envision the "Stern Home Ownership Program." Offered to any home customer that buys a NIB pin or even as a bonus reserved for LE customers. You receive some form of pinball repair basics book, a $25 gift certificate to Pinball Life, and a list of your local distributors/techs that you can pay to repair your game.

Give them exactly what they want.

Following the same Pro, Premium, LE tiered model, give people options for levels of support.

- If you are a DIY'er, join the free "Home Ownership Program".
- If you need more guidance, but are willing to use your hands, the $299/yr. guided support program is a good choice.
- If you never want to touch the inside of your equipment, then you should purchase the $999/yr. in-home support program. This covers 1 technician visit per month and an annual cleaning.

All support plans exclude the cost of parts, except during the 1-year parts-only warranty period.

Just brainstorming, and I'm not sober, so this may be silly.

I sincerely hope Mr. Becker helps you figure out a solution for the home user market that you are advertising to. It's OK to say that having to get service on a pinball machine is inevitable, but it seems like current pinball companies just assume buyers will know that.

It's a brave new world for you as a pinball company and if it weren't for people like Alex and LTG, the negative aspects of the inevitable pinball customer service would vastly outweigh the positives.

That's where I am coming at this from. This specific incident just highlights an opportunity for a pinball company to grow to fill a need.

It's up to the pinball companies if they want to take hold of the opportunity and run with it.

This has been proven by a decent number of studies as well. Wayner speaks the truth.