Like many, if not most, Americans today, almost every “cash transaction” I make is done with a credit or debit card. So, it was unusual for me to spend $5 at a donut shop recently and get change back. I keep an old olive jar on my kitchen table for change and as the years go by, it takes longer and longer to fill it up.
The change I got at that shop included a red quarter which brought back the memory of those days when quarters with a dab of red nail polish were the number one way the route operator and location personnel promoted play on the jukebox.
The way it worked was when the bartender put one or more red quarters into the change he gave a customer, he then asked him to play the music machine. When the route man showed up to dump the cash box and split the take, all the red quarters would go back to the bar. It was all very effective and based on the sound belief that a jukebox in action will stay that way and coax others in the location to step up and keep the music going.
The days of the red quarter are slipping away as “plastic,” app-play and paper bills replace quarters in normal jukebox transactions. Some places, I’m sure, still roll the “play/pass” dice to keep the music going, but the best way is always the willing cooperation of the people who work at the locations to get folks off the stools and over to the machines.
Play-promotion ideas are included in the various breeds of player card software offered today but are often ignored by the operators (e.g. double game play on a quiet afternoon in the game room). Why? Like many long timers, I suspect they’re confused or overwhelmed by the sophistication and options. If that’s the case, can I suggest asking some of the younger people on the payroll to take charge of this? Maybe even run a contest among all employees, rewarding the best play-promotion idea with some kind of prize like a weekend at a special hotel-spa in the area?
The spring AAMA/AMOA show is coming up real soon, and really all any showgoer need do is ask the nearest operator what he or she does to encourage play, be that a route operator or FEC owner/manager. Remember, when you seek helpful information from your peers, you will probably get it, provided the chap you’re asking isn’t a direct competitor. Sharing business tips is one of the most valuable benefits operators get at a national show (like asking how much they charge to play a specific new game). Ask and you will learn!