No.

LTG : )

not sure what top secret stuff operators will have to share. But if they do have top secret stuff won't they want to keep it to themselves?

I think you'll more run into the ops who have been doing it longer, have no intention of teaching the new ops. The new ops can learn things the hard way, just like the seasoned veterans had to.

LTG : )

Please start the group off by telling your top secret secrets.

I’ve been trying to crack herbertbsharp for awhile now so please keep me updated on progress and secrets :b

Yeah sorry, I stopped sharing too much info with people. Like Lloyd said, that was one of the things I learned the hard way. I'm self employed in a number of ways and started everything from nothing, with no help from anybody. It's very difficult and very risky, and people that go through that won't just give away what they learned. Too many people try to take your knowledge, copy you, and then try to become your competition. Why in god's name would anyone feeding their family with their life savings, balls and hard work want that?

I'll bet the 4 votes for group aren't operators but are people who want to learn from others' wealth of experience, without the risk and personal sacrifice it really takes. The only way any operator with brains is going to share info is if you hand over a huge pile of cash and buy their route.

This isn't meant to be directed at you Isochronic_Frost , it's just a partial explanation of my position. But if I don't answer all your questions please know it's not personal.

I'd join. But I'm a recent starter not like these grizzled old salts.

The big question I have is who do you all use for insurance? And is there a good place to get an affordable change machine other than lucking out on craigslist?

Seems there is a lot of interest in becoming an operator of amusements lately. I've been asked a lot of questions about my job in the last 6 months. Seems odd, but it is cool there is interest in this. Just paid a city license and put my old licenses in a frame, 17 years of doing business. Wow. Time has flown by. Also been around this business for my entire life but started to have a working knowledge in it for about 22-23 years. I know that is a minuscule amount compared to many I call on when I question some of my decision making.

Part of what made the journey fun for myself was to learn a lot of this on my own. There was no internet telling me all the 'secrets' when I was starting out. Seems odd that people are asking such personal questions about ones way of living so publicly now. Either way, I'm happy to be part of the community and ultimately am a supporter of anyone who wants to join the operator ranks. It's good for the overall scene to have a variety and more accessibility to games for everyone involved. Coin op was the norm in the 80s and games that can not be emulated on a console are making a come back, although at a much higher price, they are still being desired.

In closing I will say that, operators that I have known for 10+ years help one another out because we mostly know that they have exhausted every resource before they ask for help. Also having a long term relationship helps. New operators tend to try to get in touch with me only with a "help me" attitude and not, I tried "x, y and z. and I can't get there." That is probably the biggest reason I tend to keep to myself on these topics or be very general. Herbert has a good point above and I have been burned for being honest with people whom I thought were friends in the business. Lessons learned. Good luck future ops!

I voted yes to see what the group has to say but it would be unlikely I would contribute any insight to the page.

The internet is filled with knowledge products. People selling their knowledge. I've paid for people's knowledge and I charge for my own time if someone wants to pick my brain.

I wonder if there would be opportunity for experienced operators to create some new income by doing the same thing.

ie: "You can learn things the hard way, like I did, or you can benefit from all my experiences with my Operator Mentor program. For $xxxx you get a weekly phone call with me. xx years of hard-earned experience is yours on tap."

It comes and goes. Especially if the economy slows down, people look for a way to make lots of easy money.

Take me for example. When I'm open, about all I can do is sit and make change and keep an eye on things. They think it's easy and they can do it. They don't seem to be here when I'm in a few hours early or hours after I close for the big things. Scrubbing floor, recovering pool tables, major work on a pinball machine. The don't consider I'm open 12 hours a day either. That would severely cut down on family life.

Hardly a week goes by that someone doesn't ask me how much I make. I always respond with a "very" personal question about them. They usually seem offended if they get asked something personal.

LTG : )

I like to answer "Better than most, not as much as some"
Or yeah, just ask them how much they make, if they answer, see quote #1.

Would you accept a collect call?

I had a couple thoughts on this. What works for me might not work somewhere else.

And when they muck it up, can you get sued ?

LTG : )

The route operator I worked for would give wrong/bad information to poor saps who would ask aboot getting into the business. Would pedal the dust collecting equipment to them. Got rid of a lot of Zaxxon and of course, the lauded Zaxxon II's. At least we made up the cost of the CONversion kits that actually decreased revenue within a few weeks of installing them.

I'm saving those for my book. "My Life as a Pinball Tech & Lover.

LTG : )

join this page www.facebook.com/groups/159986850866062/

I like the thought process but the main reason I don't sell games is because my schedule is so full. I couldn't take a call from a non customer anytime. Maybe a retired operator but then he will not be as in touch with current products.

Absolutely true. The amount of hours worked is a real set back to most people who feel they are willing to be an operator. Things don't always go to plan and when they don't it can eat up days, not just hours. We have a huge staff, I have 3 personal assistants in 2 states and we still need more people but to train someone only to have them move on makes it even more of a conundrum. This is my I respect the people that came before me in this business so much. Even though all signs point to less of a market interest, there was still not internet, just phone calls and schematics.

As for the how much do you make question. I always say "not enough". Then I try to circle back and say "if I had your money/job I bet I'd be a lot happier."

Thanks for what you do llyod. I want to make a point to speak to you in person next time you are at a show.

New generation collector operators who want to share information should start a slack channel. The technological barrier will keep out cranky old school operators who won't share anyway.

Agreed

Works for me.

LTG : )

Until one of the new generation collector operators steals someone else's locations.....

I'm sure it will happen and it will be a thread on pinside

If you put together a program called "LTG's Overnight E-Z Millions - Guaranteed!", then you might be opening yourself up to a lawsuit.

In all seriousness, Lloyd, you have a tremendous amount of hard-earned knowledge. It's sort of like:

"I've been around a long time, I've learned from a lot of my mistakes. I can't say I have all the answers and I certainly don't have an overnight success formula for you. However, if you think I can be of value to you figuring it out, then I have this program I've developed where I can make myself available to you."

Something like that. Food for thought.

I agree but it would be a full time gig teaching the execution of the advice. Operating pinball is just a portion of the overall operation necessary to make a career of this business. It's a really cool idea. Would be neat to see how said protege would turn out.

Thank you for that.

All ready doing that. Trying to make my little corner of pinball better. Helping people get the most out of their games.

LTG : )

I’ll share a secret- don’t set your JJP pins to .25cents a game- it will take a long time to make your money back