Im looking to get a WCS94 for our office. I work with a bunch of Germans and they love some soccer (football?).

Plus i dont have the space in my house atm so this would work out great.

DO IT!

Do it!

DO IT!
I have 2 at work Got the CFO to approve and now everyone loves them. We have an IT shop, so it is a nice time to release some stress.

I had waterworld, sold that. Now there is FT and Gladiators. Soon to be different ones

Why take the risk? The risk of your games being beat / broken or straining your relationship with your workplace over a pinball machine.

Are they on free play?

I keep a stable of pins at work! My boss enjoys them which is obviously a bonus. Got a ToM and WW here right now, and they have to be on free play or the Board of Selectmen will come kick my ass.

Why the risk? Because pinball is meant to be shared. Getting other people to play pinball is my personal goal (and others).

I play a MB at a local restaurant all the time and always leave with a few free play credits on the machine. Nothing makes me happier then say to some kid looking over the edge "you play this game". The look on their face is just the best.

Slightly less awesome with people my own age but IMHO it is very worth the risk. Absolute worse case is im out ~1500 if the machine should burn down in a freak fire. Worth it to me.

You got to play it right.
A.) You bring a somewhat inexpensive players pin to work to "get the ball rollin".
B.) Hopefully it doesn't get trashed immediately (or stolen).
C.) You get everyone addicted, including mgmt/bosses.
D.) Then you float the idea of the company (or wealthier boss ) to buy a really awesome pin for at work.
E.) Then you can take your pin home after a while, or sell it.

Downside? Only to productivity! Do it!

I got my company to get a TZ. Sits in between the bubble hockey and the mame.

do it.. just clearly mark it as your personal property.

I'm a manager in retail and I think I might take my space shuttle to work. Or a cocktail arcade, I haven't decided.

I've never felt so blessed to be a home-based employee when I'm not traveling! (able to play a game or two when I leave my office for lunch)

I wonder if this would ever work at my work. We have three pretty big cafeterias, including one with a small gym. I bet if I re-themed it to my company's logo, they'd be all for it. They like to show stuff off, including some chainsaw carved tree stumps

Where do you work in Boston..............I need to get a job there.

Get him to buy a new stern or woz

Drop a business card on the apron behind the glass.

There is no reason I would not do this.

Every workplace should have a pinball! If you guys elect me as President I will fastrack the legislation!

Got an ok from the CEO of my company as well to bring a pin to the office. Probably going to bring one of the 70's EM projects that I'm working on.

Buy my Popeye, just south of Boston

I work for a major insurance company and recently in our company cafeteria we got a ping pong table and a Foosball for "employee moral and stress relief." I thought about asking if we could get a pinball somehow, but with 6,000 people on campus I have a feeling it would be more of a pain than pleasure. Hopefully you can get it worked out and get one in there. Remind them there is a volume control and it could be turned down. Good luck!

I have heard similar stories like this, most of them end badly. It's great that you're into pinball but mixing hobby with work eventually ends with you taking your game home and management being pissed for one reason or another.

I say no, leave it at home.

Definitely do it! Please consider doing this as well at your office: http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/free-play-charges-and-charity-thoughts

I've had various arcade games (Warlords, Black Widow, Gorf, Crystal Castles, etc) in my office at work for a number of years. A few months ago I brought in a Williams Highspeed and it's been a riot. I share my office with the rest of my department and we have 4 player matches regularly. I just bumped my co-worker off the high score table this afternoon and he wasn't too happy about that, heh.

+1

I almost got our operations manager to let me put one in our breakroom, i told him i'd donate $.25 on the dollar to the building. Almost....but no dice..

I completely agree with this.

Yet another reason why you can't compare public and private sector jobs. You should never judge another person's job as each has its pluses and minuses. As a public middle school teacher, there would be no way that I could ever bring a pinball to work.

Don't think that I haven't thought about it, however. Wouldn't I totally rule with a pinball machine right in my classroom and if I started an after school pinball club?

The fun police always find a way to spoil things

Good god man! Go start a business then.....

Not everyone can be a business shark like you. Besides, it seems like most of the people posting here were begging their CEO's for pinball (CEO's love when their employees beg). Hardly sounds like business owners to me.

Shhh....

I've had serious thoughts about starting one, but I only have $4k which isn't much at all these days.

Do IT! Best decision Ive ever made in my life besides marrying my wife.
Our country needs more job creators!

What businesses could I start with $4 grand? Just curious.

So you dont have anything specific in mind yet...hmm....what do you like to do and what kind of skills/job experience do you have? Doesn't matter how much cash you got now, if you are currently employed and have good credit find an accountant to draw up a business plan to get a loan.

My job involves the following:

Bagging groceries

Placing carts back up front of the store

Cleaning spills

Getting something for a customer/employee

Not that much.

I would take that 4k and go to a trade school then, you might make some great business contacts. If you are good with your hands, electrician-plumber-carpentry are great fields to get into, you'd have to work your way through the system a bit but after a few years youd be ready to fly solo!
Search want ads for outfits looking for apprentices??? Not real dialed in on the economy in Cali. Best of luck to ya Kwiki!
edit-electronics repair goes hand&hand with pinball!

OH man that sounds great! John Schnatter should team up with Stern and get a pizza shop themed game in every Papa John's!

KwiKi,
There's no big rush on opening up your own business just yet.
You appear to be good at reading & typing (on Pinside ),
so perhaps spend some time in remainder of 2012 thinking about jobs/career/interests:
* research about work in various industries/businesses in your area (so you don't have to move out/away just yet). Need an open mind. There is many jobs out there in the big world that you are probably not even aware of.
* making list(s) of things you enjoy doing, and things you would consider doing to earn $$.
* do you want to work outside vs inside?, a job w/ no driving?, prefer to work around lots of people vs prefer a job with less interaction? Do you like customer service and helping people?
* what are you good at? Skills? Good at math? A lot to think about.

Not asking you to answer this stuff to us, just trying to get you thinking.
For some people it takes more time to narrow it down. Others just decide or just know, and then get after it. If you have a job that you like, then it doesn't seem so bad.

Best to ya kwiki, and hope 2013 is a good one for ya,

MLV

I usually do 1 quarter play, even CFO said to. To pay or maintenance. But I'll do like free Fridays and tournament Tuesdays. I don't make profit, nor do I want to. And people don't beat on them. I have the tilt at a 3 so it's decently sensitive. And actually there was a coworker who bought a pin after playing mine at work. The other day another guy said he should get one for home.

Tell them about Pinside!

The one already is on here

When I worked at Boeing in Renton WA where they do the 737s
It's so fuckinginging! loud! that any game on high volume would have
fit in just right. It would have helped me stay awake during 3rd shift too!