I’ve been covering this business for over 60 years, from the days we called it the “coin machine business” up to today’s abbreviated “coin-op.” During all that time, I’ve interviewed more than a few people, and a frequent response to the basic interviewer’s question “What accounts most for the success of your company?” has been praise of key employees. Witness Terry Moss’s recent RePlay Podcast interview when he complimented his staff for a far longer portion of the interview than he did anything else. That may sound trite, but I believe that every person who said something of that nature meant it from the heart.
I bring this up because two people I consider vital to the position RePlay magazine occupies in this business today both celebrated 45-year anniversaries with this magazine in June and both were, and continue to be, vital to the health of this publication from month to month. People who are familiar with the “who does what” at RePlay will immediately realize I’m speaking about our editor in chief (and production manager) Key Snodgress and our ad manager Barry Zweben. In an industry where getting and keeping “good help” has become a big issue for game center operators especially, I hit double zeros on the industrial roulette wheel with these two folks.
Of interest is the simple fact that I hired both based on a gut feeling when I interviewed them. Although Key had learned the journalism and print graphics crafts at California State University while Barry cut his sales spurs in the air conditioning business, they were grass green when it came to the jukebox and games trade and, just like me, had to learn about this business on the job. Of course, that’s generally the way youngsters learn the coin-op craft when they hire on at an arcade. They may know how to play the games far better than the person who hired them, but not about unsnarling a ticket roll or diffusing an argument with an angry location customer.
According to the government’s Labor Department researchers, the current job market sits in what CNN calls a “low hire, low fire” state right now, with new job availability at the highest in nearly two years. That’s not what recent graduates have been told by the media but that’s what Labor is telling us. Want a job? They’re out there. That said, what’s really needed are job applicants who show spirit and willingness to take on duties with “drive” that employers can sense when they first meet up.
I recently eavesdropped on a conversation where a young fellow (married with kids) told his friends that his new job was going well but that he wondered if he’ll still be at the same company 10 years from now. “So, how much dedication should I put into it today?” he asked the boys. To me, that’s a scary thought. I’m not saying people should work as if they don’t need the money. I am saying if all a job applicant is looking for is something where he or she can knock down a few bucks with less effort any employer would expect, that’s not the ethics people my age learned when we first entered the “real world” after graduation.
So if you’ve been lucky like me, give a back pat and more than a free play on Pac-Man to the folks who’ve helped you put shoes on your kids and a stateroom on a cruise ship once in a while. I learned long, long ago at AMOA’s very first Notre Dame school session that recognition for doing a standup job is as necessary as the numbers on the paycheck. But you already knew that, right?