That's awesome! I hope everything works out for you.

CONGRATS. I have also put my first two on location here in Richmond,VA.

Champion Pub - Brewery downtown Richmond
Earthshaker - Bowling Alley

It's fun and I to have always wanted to try it. Good Luck.

Good luck!

DBV's I hope.

Good luck! Let us know what your *first* repair is.

good luck and have fun!

Try and get up to 4 and start running a monthly tourney or get-to-gether. IMO that is when the real fun begins. Meet new pinheads, drink beers, chat it up, maybe make a few new friends.

That is really my favorite thing about trying it.

I also suggest once weekly wipe downs of all games. You will be amazed how much dirtier they get in a location then they do in your home. Extra dirt in the bar and it makes its way into the machines.

Proactive preventative maintainence is key to not going crazy.

Also MAKE SURE you can build the relationship with any regulars and put your number on the games so they feel comfortable texting you with issues they see. If you dont know about the problems you can't fix them!

also
THANKS for putting games out to sharwe with others~!!!!

first fix will be a flakey switch, a stuck ball in a place you never thought it could get stuck, and a coin jam or coin switch not working right.

I have found the first month with any game can be a PITA, but over time they get the bugs worked out and tend to get a bit more stable. Then after time they gets enough plays that things need addressed.

If you have not done so already >> frosted LEDs in bulk (reduces heat), titan silicone rubbers (stay clean, wipe clean easier, don't transfer dirt as much), and have lots of rags ready.

text message for problems is the quickest. We also have put QR codes on all our games which link directly to an "error report" form on our website where surprisingly a few regular prefer that format.

check out www.madisonpinball.com for some ideas on what we have done/ do. It is not a very pretty website but it gets the deal done.

I like your online problem report idea.

Lots of luck! More pins on location is a win for all of us!

Rob
creditdotpinball.com

I hope your first repair is a jammed coin mech, because the cash box is full! Good luck.

My Guess:
First repair will be a broken wire.
Best of luck on your venture, ps: Walking Dead earns pretty good.

Regarding maintenance:

I'd set up a google phone account that just dumps things into an inbox, pretty sure you can get voicemail transcripts and text messages set up pretty easily.

Awesome. Congrats and best of luck!

Keep us updated and good luck.

This is exactly what I do. I had custom price cards made with a dedicated google voice number on it. This looks nice, but I should have realized that almost no player of any experience is taking time scrutinze a price card. Hoping to come up with something I can post right on the backbox of each game that is way more visible.

You will definitely be fixing lots of broken wires! Also try to avoid servicing them when the location is open. Repairs/cleaning/collecting is way more stressful when there are a bunch of customers hanging around.

Hate to be a killjoy but did you have to get liability insurance to put them on location? Any licensing/permitting issues in your town?

Congrats! I have always wanted to do the same. Best of luck

I'd actually just put the card on the under side of the playfield glass above the apron, maybe near the shooter lane. Even with good lighting it can be hard to read a note on the backglass from five feet away.

Printing a QR code would fix that for you. You can assign anything to a QR code. Links, phone numbers etc..

Man, I would love to do this, but I like playing my games too much!

Good luck!

I have an umbrella policy for personal liability. But why would you need it to put pinball machines on location?

Unless the owner is your best friend, he is unlikely to drive all the way over there and open up the joint just so you can fix a pinball machine.

Just put some white earbuds in your ears. Pretend you are listening to your meter beeping.

If anyone tries to talk to you, pull one earbud out as you scream "WHAT????" in their face.

They will ask the usual "I bet these games make a lot, huh?" , "I used to have a friend who had a pinball machine....", "This game took my dollar last night and did not give me credit".

Answer them with one or two words, then say "Hey, I can't hear my meter while I talk. I don't want to get in trouble with my boss standing around yapping....", put your earbud back in, and get back to work.

Even if you think the guy is probably lying about getting his dollar stolen, go find him when you are done and give him 2 credits.

Better to make a friend than have him peel the decals off the side of the machine when you leave.

I've never installed a reader on my phone and you'd be surprised how many people don't even know what they are any more or don't care enough to take the time to scan them. The lower the barrier to entry, the more likely someone will actually use the information. QR codes also have a bad rep as being spammy or scammy and people don't like "automatic" things happening on their phones.

You'd also still need a "scan this if maintenance is required" printed next to it. At that point a "Call or Text for service : 555-555-5555" is just as easy.

What does liability insurance run on these 2 machines?
What are you charging per game? Do they have dollar bill acceptors?

Interesting take..

I always enjoyed having potential customers come up to me and chat. Make friends and more customers that way. If they entertained me (were interesting, or in to something I was curious about), I'd pop them a free game.

Of course, I never had a problem working and talking at the same time. I can't remember what I usually ended up saying, but hey.

The bar's insurance DOES NOT cover your game in any way shape or form. If fact, it specifically excludes other's commercial equipment.

99% of personal liability polices exclude any commercial exposure.

If someone gets into a fight and hits their head on the machine, you and the bar will both be sued (yes, this actually happened in OH). It won't be in small claims court, so just retaining an attorney will be $10,000 to start.

If a child is injured, even receiving a small shock from an ungrounded machine, expect $500,000+ judgment against you - juries love to award big when children are involved. A jury of typical old people will certainly dislike the owner of a "gambling" machine.

Sit down with your wife and your attorney and decide if you can afford to not have commercial liability insurance.

You're lucky, some people can't remember what they ended up working on.

My insurance covers me personally and for business activities. I'm a corporate officer and have other business activities, but I don't operate pinball machines.

Would have never thought about liability for them, except for that thread last year about the father in law trapped under the machine or something.

Nice.

How has the first week been? Above or below expectations?

Oh man... I almost had to thumbs you down for putting a no fade NF on route and near a window...

Good luck, glad to see you got the insurance, you are like in the 5% of routers that do I bet. I'm curious to see if the end result even offsets your costs. It appears you really have to look at these ventures as a "love of pinball" and "getting it out there" more so than a smart business plan. I looked into it, but I don't have the time to attend to all the things I need on my own machines, and I could quickly see where I would end up routing.

To me, it was the male gynecologist argument that got me: I don’t want it to get to be the last thing in the world I want to see in my free time is a pinball machine.

QR.jpg

QR code on the instruction card, customized for each game. I made this in 30 seconds, try it out.
http://www.qrstuff.com/

As far as the uv from the window that one guy on Pinside that has the pincab plastic protectors might be a good buy for you, they protect your art from uv and other damage.

Awesome! Great games. I wouldn't worry about cab fade. The machines are doing what they were designed to do and people are enjoying them. My hats off to you for putting them out there.

When one maled less than the other, replace it.

Makes less I meant

Assuming newbies are your players, do they go up to a pinball machine and think about the ruleset that suits their novice play style or do they go up to the theme they like then start bashing both flippers at the same time?

You are in to pinball too much. Dr Who is a well know show recently + it has the time expander. No fear is a line of 90's clothing that fell out of style a long time ago.