Sometimes in the course of prepping RePlay’s surveys, an operator might not have first-hand experience with the subject of our Question of the Month, but we still like to use that connection to find out how business is going in general. Such was the case when we asked Tennessee’s Bobby Hogin about card systems for the September issue (now arriving in subscriber mailboxes).
Arcades don’t play the role in Hogin’s business they once did, but he reports that ATMs are big for them today. He wrote, “Overall, locations are doing pretty well for now. We had a good run with the theaters this summer where great movies such as Top Gun and others helped our lobby arcades. Bars and taverns are doing fair for the time of the year and we expect better business in fall when weather cools off. Our ATM business is strong – spring and summer events have really helped. And I have to say cash is not dead. People still like to have the feel of money.”
“Our business is about consumer confidence and right now,” he continued, “A lot of our customers are working and with anything left after school expenses, rent, food, etc., they might decide to play our games for low-cost entertainment. Interest rates are on the rise and inflation talk concerns our customers, as well as operators. But a lot of us older operators have been through times like these before and got to the other side. We will this time too.”