Maple Ridge, BC
Quoted from beelzeboob:I've never seen Robert Gagno do that. I'd love to hear his opinion on this...
Silly comment for many reasons.
(Topic ID: 315654)
Freeport, FL
Quoted from Pinstein:If they want to kick out special needs kids on a case by case basis
You mention “a case by case basis”, yeah in this particular case the kid was misbehaving and endangering himself and others. Whats the alternative, kicking out all special needs kids?
What if the kid wasnt special needs and exhibited the same behavior, would you still feel the same if he was kicked out? Whats the difference when youre knocked off your feet by a spinning kid in a place where there are signs saying not to be doing stuff like that?
Quoted from pookycade:The part that gets me the most here is the news deciding this is a story. They should know better.
They absolutely know better. The news stopped being objective a long, long time ago, it doesn't matter what your political bent is most people are better off just not even watching it. Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see, even if you SEE video of it, it very well could be that reality is the exact opposite of what you're being shown.
The news is largely irrelevant and unwatchable, they are not providing you information as a service, they are providing you manipulation as a business.
Yup. Don't watch or read any news at all.
You will be best informed if you only pay attention to your 3rd grade best friend's Facebook opinions.
Quoted from extraballingtmc:Silly comment for many reasons.
You're right and I apologize. I've removed my comments and will go back to the basement where I belong. I should have known better...
I was incensed enough as a fellow arcade owner to write this:
Ms Kimbro,
I am writing in regards to your article:
As a fellow arcade owner www.decadesarcade.com this is a cheap shot at PHOF. You should know better. Having the moniker of an autistic child to fly this story with an aggrieved parent is just pandering to your news audience. Please reconsider your approach to what constitutes a newsworthy story in the future.
Unless you are implying that PHOF is discriminating against autistic children (which I certainly hope is not your intention), this story has no merit. Any arcade (or any private business for that matter) has to ensure the safety of its customers that visit. Any child’s behavior whether volitional or involuntary due to neurologic conditions has the potential to affect the safety of themselves and other customers.
If this aforementioned child was spinning and hit their head on a game, causing injury to themselves or others, I can assure you the facility would be held liable for allowing such behavior to occur. My arcade infrequently has to ask parents and their children to leave if we feel their behavior poses a threat to themselves or other customers. And yes in every instance the parent is usually taken aback that they would be asked to leave, despite usually not supervising their child while at our facility. This includes their child repeatedly running around the arcade and into other customers or in one instance smearing their own feces on the wall. That’s our responsibility to ensure safe and responsible behavior as a private business.
The parents reaction here that PHOF is somehow targeting their child and not allowing for their disability is simply put without merit. Any business owner that has a liability policy would concur. Behavior that has the potential to pose a safety hazard cannot receive a free pass simply because the child has autism or other special needs . That your news channel would view this as a controversial position or perceived as discrimination is surprising. In point of fact for my own arcade we try to accommodate parents who reach out to us to discuss their special needs children with heavily discounted private events so they can enjoy our facility comfortably and safely.
Next time before you go airing these kind of stories, ask your own news station lawyers whether there is any potential merit to the case. If there is not, reconsider maligning a business that is just doing their job. I can guarantee you no lawyer worth their salt will be taking up these parents threat to sue. And yes we too have been threatened to be sued after asking a parent and their child to leave. It is a common refrain from a parent who believes they are entitled to act however they want to act. So far none have followed thru.
Paul Yates
Owner
Decades Arcade, Charlottesville VA
To be more clear, my position on this is that the PHOF had every right to do what they did. However, I find it insensitive and a bad business decision. I'm sure it sent that boy home crying and it landed them on the evening news in an unsavory light. I'm certain the situation could have been handled better. I find it doubtful that this family has a history of being kicked out of businesses. I'd bet they've never been asked to leave a McDonalds, public pool, or Walmart. Its not like pinball machines and concrete floors are lethal death traps and accidents can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Yes we should all strive to foresee potential risks but we also need to manage those risks appropriately. I own a business, I carry insurance. I'm liable if someone crashes their bike on my sidewalk. What will they do if next week a child with cerebral palsy walks in and is unstable on their feet? Are those parents acting irresponsibly for taking their child there? Those parents are probably doing their best to give their child the closest thing to a normal life they can, and I think anyone with some heart would want to help in that effort. I wasn't there so I don't know the full extent of the "spinning" but if it was just at the level shown for 2 seconds on the news clip then I feel the PHOF over reacted out of their own fear and discomfort. I'm not placing any moral judgement on either party. This is just my opinion.
I cannot imagine why Tim or anyone else would subject themselves to these kinds of things and entitled customers that complain about every little thing including many on here. I am an attorney and can tell you the case is going nowhere fast. I hate that something like this happenned but i have been many places and seen parents that let their children do whatever they please. We live in an entitled world. That is private property and he can make the rules on who stays and who goes. It doesn't sound like the father made any effort to stop the child or redirect him. Parents have to be responsible to at least try and do the right thing.
Quoted from pookycade:I was incensed enough as a fellow arcade owner to write this:
Ms Kimbro,
I am writing in regards to your article:
https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/no-one-should-be-treated-that-way-henderson-father-says-family-mistreated-at-pinball-hall-of-fame-due-to-autistic-sons-behavior/
As a fellow arcade owner www.decadesarcade.com this is a cheap shot at PHOF. You should know better. Having the moniker of an autistic child to fly this story with an aggrieved parent is just pandering to your news audience. Please reconsider your approach to what constitutes a newsworthy story in the future.
Unless you are implying that PHOF is discriminating against autistic children (which I certainly hope is not your intention), this story has no merit. Any arcade (or any private business for that matter) has to ensure the safety of its customers that visit. Any child’s behavior whether volitional or involuntary due to neurologic conditions has the potential to affect the safety of themselves and other customers.
If this aforementioned child was spinning and hit their head on a game, causing injury to themselves or others, I can assure you the facility would be held liable for allowing such behavior to occur. My arcade infrequently has to ask parents and their children to leave if we feel their behavior poses a threat to themselves or other customers. And yes in every instance the parent is usually taken aback that they would be asked to leave, despite usually not supervising their child while at our facility. This includes their child repeatedly running around the arcade and into other customers or in one instance smearing their own feces on the wall. That’s our responsibility to ensure safe and responsible behavior as a private business.
The parents reaction here that PHOF is somehow targeting their child and not allowing for their disability is simply put without merit. Any business owner that has a liability policy would concur. Behavior that has the potential to pose a safety hazard cannot receive a free pass simply because the child has autism or other special needs . That your news channel would view this as a controversial position or perceived as discrimination is surprising. In point of fact for my own arcade we try to accommodate parents who reach out to us to discuss their special needs children with heavily discounted private events so they can enjoy our facility comfortably and safely.
Next time before you go airing these kind of stories, ask your own news station lawyers whether there is any potential merit to the case. If there is not, reconsider maligning a business that is just doing their job. I can guarantee you no lawyer worth their salt will be taking up these parents threat to sue. And yes we too have been threatened to be sued after asking a parent and their child to leave. It is a common refrain from a parent who believes they are entitled to act however they want to act. So far none have followed thru.
Paul Yates
Owner
Decades Arcade, Charlottesville VA
My suggestion would have been to cut this down about 60 percent, redact all the attacks on the newspaper (like what is your point here? It's all over the place! Are you defending Tim, trying to point out the hazards of being a small business owner, or are you picking a fight with the Vegas Neighborhood Shopper?), and make it short and sweet so they'll actually read it. You really could have put all the important info in your letter - and there is some - in one or two short paragraphs.
As a one-time member of the media (since we are pulling the expert card here!) I can tell you this is likely going straight into the circular file.
This is what is suggested by the article photos: The boy is really a nice looking kid and looks like a fun guy. Look how much space there is, super wide and there is plenty of room to spin around and not bother anyone.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:My suggestion would have been to cut this down about 60 percent, redact all the attacks on the newspaper (like what is your point here? Are you defending Tim or are you picking a fight with the Vegas Neighborhood Shopper?), and make it short and sweet so they'll actually read it.
As a one-time member of the media (since we are pulling the expert card here!) I can tell you this is likely going straight into the circular file.
Point taken. Nobody ever accused me of being concise. And Levi it was going to the circular file regardless. It was irresponsible reporting. I just want them to know someone called them out on it, but recognize that in this world that won’t make a damn bit of difference anyway. But yeah, agree a single paragraph would have sufficed. And as to my point it is simple: do your job better and more responsibly.
Quoted from PinStalker:Spare the rod and spoil the child. A lot of "Autism" would end immediately with a good dose of corporal punishment.
Well in a thread that was bound to spawn some divisive opinions one way or another I found the person who thinks autism is made up and can be physically beaten out of children, so really, everybody else gets a pass after that.
I wasn't there, hard to really judge which side overreacted. Sounds like probably both tbh. We live an in overreaction era, everybody on edge and quick to flip out. And I don't mean this about politics, or being PC or whatever, I mean *everybody* because it seems like handling things like adults is a lost art. Smallest thing leads to WWIII. Pandemic just made it worse, manners and patience out the window.
Anyways, I feel for the parents, and maybe it wasn't a big deal if you were there to see it, but speaking as a parent I think people could do more to control their kids. Public venues aren't babysitters or playgrounds just because they're "public".
My friend is an arcade tech, and the stories I hear about parents just letting their kids run wild, physically hanging off the joysticks etc drive me nuts. If your kid has some issues, whatever that means, I'm 100% not judging, but you gotta respect the space you're in still.
I am not going to take sides here at all, but there seems to be one common denominator here and that is the same girl that I had my issue with last fall. She is the one I had confrontation with over my having my mask around my chin while I was drinking a can of soda that I bought on premisies. Maybe the child was an issue but she is not very tactful in her demeanor nor does she know when to shut her mouth.
Otherwise, autism is not an excuse if the child was being out of line either with behaviour or physical actions. Seems to be more to the story.
Quoted from rstrunks:I am an attorney and can tell you the case is going nowhere fast.
Better Call Saul 
Quoted from Pinstein:To be more clear, my position on this is that the PHOF had every right to do what they did. However, I find it insensitive and a bad business decision. I'm sure it sent that boy home crying and it landed them on the evening news in an unsavory light. I'm certain the situation could have been handled better. I find it doubtful that this family has a history of being kicked out of businesses. I'd bet they've never been asked to leave a McDonalds, public pool, or Walmart. Its not like pinball machines and concrete floors are lethal death traps and accidents can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Yes we should all strive to foresee potential risks but we also need to manage those risks appropriately. I own a business, I carry insurance. I'm liable if someone crashes their bike on my sidewalk. What will they do if next week a child with cerebral palsy walks in and is unstable on their feet? Are those parents acting irresponsibly for taking their child there? Those parents are probably doing their best to give their child the closest thing to a normal life they can, and I think anyone with some heart would want to help in that effort. I wasn't there so I don't know the full extent of the "spinning" but if it was just at the level shown for 2 seconds on the news clip then I feel the PHOF over reacted out of their own fear and discomfort. I'm not placing any moral judgement on either party. This is just my opinion.
On reflection one usually realizes it is always possible to handle customer disputes better. None of us would willingly seek out this bad publicity. We try to temper overreaction at my business using a three strikes approach, one warning, a second reprimand, and finally out. But let’s be clear, a parent willing to call up a news station, record their video, and expend all that effort is a couple of standard deviations from the mean, suggesting this may have been an inevitable outcome and is provably not a single instance. When I have a bad experience at a business I usually just take my business elsewhere and inform family and friends what happened if I am feeling particularly aggrieved. This is a whole other level. The customer overreacted because they felt entitled and particularly evident by threatening to sue. That’s not a normal response from anyone.
Quoted from PinStalker:It's a private business that's open to the public..... PHOF isn't comfortable with something going on, they have every right to kick anyone out.
People are sooooo entitled these days.
In the old days, your kid was making a fuss: the PARENT would remove the child immediately and discipline them with a spanking and then take them home.
These days we should be taking the parents outside and give THEM a spanking. They're worse than the little horrors they spawn.
Spare the rod and spoil the child. A lot of "Autism" would end immediately with a good dose of corporal punishment. You didn't see this nonsense when I was growing up, and now it's magically everywhere. Must be the gluten in food right?
You think autistic kids haven’t been abused? Hit and spanked and beaten by uncaring parents that didn’t have the love necessary to raise an autistic child. I worked in an abused childrens shelter and let me tell you hitting a kid does ZERO to help behavioral problems. Your comment is disgusting and ignorant.
Sueing and lawsuits should be terminated. Complete waste of time...... Waste of the justice system. Reserve real crime for the courts.
Quoted from PinStalker:Spare the rod and spoil the child. A lot of "Autism" would end immediately with a good dose of corporal punishment. You didn't see this nonsense when I was growing up, and now it's magically everywhere. Must be the gluten in food right?
I am so sorry for the world that you are part of it.
Im watching the Breakfast club, for the first time in maybe 30 years. Judd was just locked in a closet.
I was paddled hard by a Male VP, in 8th grade.
I was called Ethnic slurs by teachers in 9th grade.
Ive thrown a Lemon Meringue Pie in a Teachers Face
We put a six pack on the back window, to tell others we were leaving at lunch to the Beach.
We would smoke weed inside Malls, movie theaters and airplanes.
Kicked out of Places......Plenty of times.
Very Different times. I dont know what to say about this incident......I wasnt there.
When I was there last year some little kid unsupervised started to slam his fists down on the glass on the game next to me. The older lady that works there was instantly on it and asking if it was my kid is an angry and unpleasant tone. (which I understand)
Kids are kids but the parents are responsible for their behavior and if they can't play nice they should be removed but with as much tact as possible. I can totally see the "my child is an angel and can do no wrong" scenario though...
Quoted from poppapin:Hey Op, your title says "Another incident ", were there others?
I'm guessing he's referring to a couple of Pinsiders who have said they've had issues with staff there.
Speaking as someone who goes often, the staff takes alot of abuse from some patrons, especially when they were enforcing the mask mandate. I've never had a negative experience with the volunteers....in fact, they have all been very kind to me.
I'm in no way discounting others experiences...I'm just stating what I've experienced in the dozens of times I've been to all three locations throughout the years.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Yup. Don't watch or read any news at all.
You will be best informed if you only pay attention to your 3rd grade best friend's Facebook opinions.
You would be happier?
Everybody's a damn victim. If the Dad doesn't realize his son spinning around on hard concrete floor is potentially a fall and injury hazard, then is he really a capable parent of a child on the spectrum? Another incident of someone over-conflating a situation. Ridiculous.
Quoted from PoMC:Didn't read this, but fuck kids.
Are you claiming to be an illiterate pedophile ?
The concept that this is 'negative publicity'..... I'm not sure I agree with that. This may help keep people that think this dad is correct, away from the PHOF and save Tim a lot of heart ache. It's like a warning sign to other morons, "STAY AWAY". People think every negative review or every bad report about somebody's business hurts the business, I don't believe that's always true. If you believe "the customer is always right" yeah you try to get everybody through the door you can, but most business owners know there are some customers you do not want.
On the flip side if you're the type that thinks "Yeah, I don't think they should let anybody go in there and raise hell either" you probably will still go and not care that they kick out unruly customers, even if they're autistic. You may even go more often out of spite.
Quoted from wombat:Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Pretty assumptive post. I'm a parent of two boys. I also coached kids from toddler to high school. I would say I'm an expert in parental interactions, as I had to deal with literally hundreds of different parents in the last 25 years.
You know what? There are a ton of parents who believe the world should bend to their (or their children's) whims. It's more about how they are "inconvenienced" or "disadvantaged" or "discriminated against". You know who are the absolute worst? Parent's with kids who are claimed to have ADHD or mild autism. I say "claimed" because the minority actually get a confirmatory diagnosis from a clinical psychologist. I know because I would always ask so that I knew how to best connect with the kid. However, that really is irrelevant because their parents use ADHD or autism as a hammer to make sure their needs are the ones prioritized over everyone elses. Nearly every time.
I can only think of two parents that had kids (elementary school age) with mild/moderate autism that would be mindful and watching their child's behavior and proactively remove them from a situation when the child clearly was having issues for the moment. Every other parent? Stop everything and make sure you are attending to what is going on with my child. And "why aren't you paying enough attenting to (insert kid's name here)?" Seriously. It's not like I had 15-25 other kids that my attention had to be devoted to.
Quoted from PismoArcade:I'm guessing he's referring to a couple of Pinsiders who have said they had issues with staff there.
Speaking as someone who goes often, the staff takes alot of abuse from some patrons, especially when they were enforcing the mask mandate. I've never had a negative experience with the volunteers....in fact, they have all been very kind to me.
I'm in no way discounting others experiences...I'm just stating what I've experienced in the dozens of times I've been to all three locations throughout the years.
Customer service may well be one of the hardest jobs there is. Your customers each bring their own expectations and standards and it is impossible to keep everyone happy. I am definitely more Tim-esque preferring to be the guy in the background fixing stuff. Appreciate so much my staff who find a way to navigate these customer facing challenges every day. That they come to work and still love their jobs after pandemic and all is something I continue to remain extremely thankful for.
Quoted from pookycade:Customer service may well be one of the hardest jobs there is. Your customers each bring their own expectations and standards and it is impossible to keep everyone happy. I am definitely more Tim-esque preferring to be the guy in the background fixing stuff. Appreciate so much my staff who find a way to navigate these customer facing challenges every day. That they come to work and still love their jobs after pandemic and all is something I continue to remain extremely thankful for.
Yeah...I followed the stories that you and other operators like Lloyd shared during the entire pandemic.
So happy you are both still open and hopefully, thriving.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Yup. Don't watch or read any news at all.
You will be best informed if you only pay attention to your 3rd grade best friend's Facebook opinions.
*re-states, and slightly changes my statement
*later says he used to work in the news
Quoted from PoMC:Didn't read this, but fuck kids.
I don't think encouraging pedophilia is the answer.
Quoted from TheShadowsNose:Possibly the most ignorant thing I’ve read in an extremely long time.
Agreed. Blocking the person who said it and every single person who upvoted it.
Mods should lock this shithole thread before I lose any more respect for this community.
This is a tough one! I would have to say an arcade with concrete flooring is dangerous. You could slip or hit a machine with your head if you fall. The child should have been taken outside for safety reasons by the parents. An arcade is not a playroom. Just my opinion.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Yup. Don't watch or read any news at all.
You will be best informed if you only pay attention to your 3rd grade best friend's Facebook opinions.
Makes sense that Levi would say this, apparently he swallows the mainstream media agenda.
Don't bother disagreeing, he'll cry to the admins like a nine year old little girl. Never seen anyone talk so much crap who can't back it up!
I've thought about this thread today.
And I keep thinking. The child is on the floor spinning, right ?
I can't get it out of my mind, what would have happened if the child nailed his forehead on the edge of a pinball leg. If he was going fast, he could have split his skin wide open to the bone.
LTG : (
Quoted from LTG:I've thought about this thread today.
And I keep thinking. The child is on the floor spinning, right ?
I can't get it out of my mind, what would have happened if the child nailed his forehead on the edge of a pinball leg. If he was going fast, he could have split his skin wide open to the bone.
LTG : (
This ugly blob is my face. Picture is about 2 minutes old.
If you look close at my eyebrow you’ll see a little hair missing. I was sitting on the ledge of the bathtub when I was 2 or 3 slipped and fell and hit the door hinge. That wasn’t a lot of movement as the door is close to the tub. Permanent damage.
I couldn’t imagine the consequences of spinning into a leg bolt or beverage holder or shooter rod assembly etc
8751F38B-2817-40B3-859A-8E49783FFC54 (resized).pngQuoted from vidguy:I’m not sure which way you mean
This way…
Quoted from PoMC:Didn't read this, but fuck kids.
Quoted from Aurich:I wasn't there, hard to really judge which side overreacted. Sounds like probably both tbh
This^^^ Tim blew my hair back years ago with some really minor shit that my kid did at his place…he started eye fucking us the second we walked in because hey…I had a kid…my take away…Tim doesn’t really care for kids in his place…of course I came to pinside and cried like a little bitch about it…but I would never head to a news outlet to cry like a mega bitch.
I’ll tell y’all a cool story bro story from the 80’s…so I was a latchkey kid while my single parent mom was working minimum wage and my dad was bacheloring around town in corvettes and Harley’s stabbing blondes.
We lived in a really shitty duplex thanks to $125/mo child support.
I had a duplex neighbor friend named Troy and we both attended cottage elementary together. Most days we would walk to school together but one day I didn’t and he was struck by a car while crossing the street.
This left him with significant brain damage and he was from there on referred to as a retard. Nobody would hang out with him anymore except for me…or at least I tried…he was a drooling mess after the accident. I had him over to play exitebike and kung-fu but he was never the same…Ive always wondered what came of Troy.
I don’t know what the fuck this has to do with phof…but this thread just reminded me of Troy.
Quoted from RandomGuyOffCL:This way…
This^^^ Tim blew my hair back years ago with some really minor shit that my kid did at his place…he started eye fucking us the second we walked in because hey…I had a kid…my take away…Tim doesn’t really care for kids in his place…of course I came to pinside and cried like a little bitch about it…but I would never head to a news outlet to cry like a mega bitch.
I’ll tell y’all a cool story bro story from the 80’s…so I was a latchkey kid while my single parent mom was working minimum wage and my dad was bacheloring around town in corvettes and Harley’s stabbing blondes.
We lived in a really shitty duplex thanks to $125/mo child support.
I had a duplex neighbor friend named Troy and we both attended cottage elementary together. Most days we would walk to school together but one day I didn’t and he was struck by a car while crossing the street.
This left him with significant brain damage and he was from there on referred to as a retard. Nobody would hang out with him anymore except for me…or at least I tried…he was a drooling mess after the accident. I had him over to play exitebike and kung-fu but he was never the same…Ive always wondered what came of Troy.
I don’t know what the fuck this has to do with phof…but this thread just reminded me of Troy.
Yep, username checks out, that shit was random. Tim sounds like Mr. Wilson and every kid is Dennis the menace.
Gilligan's Island
Reply
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!
Donate to PinsideGreat 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+!
