NOT POSTING NO MORE ON THE BOARD
PM'S ONLY
Death of my local
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aaamusements.co.uk
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aaamusements.co.uk
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My fault for not reading the post properly!Dunhamzzz wrote:Kerchings? GGs?
He's talking about an arcade.
ops: By all accounts a lot of arcades are suffering in the same way though. Owners I speak to are all having a hard time - even the ones who have always moaned out of habit are starting to have the ring of truth...
To many factors against them at the moment - all at once.
I expect BACTA will decide once again that the magic solution is to increase stakes/jackpots.
Local Showboat to me has 2 main sites in 1 town, the smaller of the two has recently blocked off 1 whole room and removed about 20 machines, left all the dross in the other room.MATT99 wrote:showboats in trouble ???? nah cant be. theyre v richPMK wrote:Drive to Margate then, use to be about 8 arcades. Down to 2 now. I hear Showboats/Arriva are now in trouble.
The other bigger site has reduced around 10 machines to £5 JP.
Nobody in these places anymore.
I played in a pub last night that had nobody in it whilst me and the missus were there over 45 mins. Big place, they told us they were closing shortly, this was 8.30pm.
Confucius say "man who know wombat know more than stupid looking monkey"
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MoterWayServiceMan
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My Tuppence worth (it's about time I gave my opinions in a long, rambling post that nobody cares about / can be arsed to read. I haven't done it for a while).
Pubs can only blame the manu's for the down-turn in general play. The pub-going public who play machines (old boys using change from a pint and young lads mainly) won't bother playing if the value's not there. £20 for a feature would almost be acceptable on a club fruit, NOT on a £35 AWP (The "A" part being sadly lacking).
If I was a landlord today I'd invest my own money in a couple of CAT D's off ebay, no licence or rental costs and (providing you get reasonable conversions) a lot more fun for your average player. You only need to look at the quizzies to realise that most people play for the fun (and maybe the chance to pay for a free pint) rather than the chance of winning big jackpots (what's £35 these days anyway). Add this to the bland programming, constant £2-3 boards, no sound and consistant sticky buttons, bulbs out, knackered changers etc and it's not hard to see why people don't bother.
I can echo many on here who say they've been in a pub for a long time without seeing ANYONE play the machines (myself and PMK used to play a Cluedo, remember the reels, only to return 5-6 hours later to find it hadn't had a single credit).
Machines used to be a good way of supplementing a pubs wet sales and the downturn in popularity (combined with recession, cost of drinks compared to supermarkets and the most punative drink-driving laws on the planet) all combine to put small 'local' pubs out of business which is a crying shame.
Arcades are a different kettle of fish. I have NO sympathy for the majority of arcades. They were raking in the money off the S16's which caused a lot of people a lot of misery. They had it far too good for far too long and now the bubbles burst as the smart people realised what a con they were and the rest are now skint. Arcades WERE a licence to print money and they got greedy (divided arcades to put in more B3's anyone?).
Also, for a service industry, I find the amusement trade the worst in the world (although it varies, to be fair). How many people on here have been treated as criminals from the second they walk through the doors or an arcade because (a) they're not over 60 and (b) they may dare to win something. Attendents (often 3 or 4) watching you while you play doesn't make for a comfortable experience. Also banning players for "being good", small pubs I can understand but this is their business, they should understand the logic of percentages.
A special mention must be made here to Showboat (from which I'm banned) who would rather give out free-plays, drinks etc to a granny who spends a fiver than a couple of regulars who put £1,000's through their machines every week (who get greeted with a tut if they dare ask for a coffee when £200 in to something). Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are nice arcade staff but I get fed up of being treated with suspision and destain (sp?) because I may dare to know what I'm doing. Now they're struggling and all I can say is tough, even reducing they're percentages to 72% on hi-techs wont save them (a disgrace in itself)
Another shout out now to arcades at the other end of the scale. The ones where nothing works. Machines with bulbs, buttons, changers that are broken, where everything is dirty and floated to £20, again, THIS IS YOUR BUSINESS...sort it out! These are normally seedy seaside arcades, the ones where you can be involved in something with a dodgy mech while having to put up with a chavette on a party time with a screaming baby (again, for a service industry, not the best service).
So to summarise, arcades deserve all they get and only the best will survive but I will be sad to see the demise of local pubs.
RUDE.
Pubs can only blame the manu's for the down-turn in general play. The pub-going public who play machines (old boys using change from a pint and young lads mainly) won't bother playing if the value's not there. £20 for a feature would almost be acceptable on a club fruit, NOT on a £35 AWP (The "A" part being sadly lacking).
If I was a landlord today I'd invest my own money in a couple of CAT D's off ebay, no licence or rental costs and (providing you get reasonable conversions) a lot more fun for your average player. You only need to look at the quizzies to realise that most people play for the fun (and maybe the chance to pay for a free pint) rather than the chance of winning big jackpots (what's £35 these days anyway). Add this to the bland programming, constant £2-3 boards, no sound and consistant sticky buttons, bulbs out, knackered changers etc and it's not hard to see why people don't bother.
I can echo many on here who say they've been in a pub for a long time without seeing ANYONE play the machines (myself and PMK used to play a Cluedo, remember the reels, only to return 5-6 hours later to find it hadn't had a single credit).
Machines used to be a good way of supplementing a pubs wet sales and the downturn in popularity (combined with recession, cost of drinks compared to supermarkets and the most punative drink-driving laws on the planet) all combine to put small 'local' pubs out of business which is a crying shame.
Arcades are a different kettle of fish. I have NO sympathy for the majority of arcades. They were raking in the money off the S16's which caused a lot of people a lot of misery. They had it far too good for far too long and now the bubbles burst as the smart people realised what a con they were and the rest are now skint. Arcades WERE a licence to print money and they got greedy (divided arcades to put in more B3's anyone?).
Also, for a service industry, I find the amusement trade the worst in the world (although it varies, to be fair). How many people on here have been treated as criminals from the second they walk through the doors or an arcade because (a) they're not over 60 and (b) they may dare to win something. Attendents (often 3 or 4) watching you while you play doesn't make for a comfortable experience. Also banning players for "being good", small pubs I can understand but this is their business, they should understand the logic of percentages.
A special mention must be made here to Showboat (from which I'm banned) who would rather give out free-plays, drinks etc to a granny who spends a fiver than a couple of regulars who put £1,000's through their machines every week (who get greeted with a tut if they dare ask for a coffee when £200 in to something). Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are nice arcade staff but I get fed up of being treated with suspision and destain (sp?) because I may dare to know what I'm doing. Now they're struggling and all I can say is tough, even reducing they're percentages to 72% on hi-techs wont save them (a disgrace in itself)
Another shout out now to arcades at the other end of the scale. The ones where nothing works. Machines with bulbs, buttons, changers that are broken, where everything is dirty and floated to £20, again, THIS IS YOUR BUSINESS...sort it out! These are normally seedy seaside arcades, the ones where you can be involved in something with a dodgy mech while having to put up with a chavette on a party time with a screaming baby (again, for a service industry, not the best service).
So to summarise, arcades deserve all they get and only the best will survive but I will be sad to see the demise of local pubs.
RUDE.
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trayhop123
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