A few months ago, I was approached by a businessman I'm acquainted with through a friend who works with him. He told me he was opening an Ice Rink and wanted some machines to put in there. I told him that I could provide seven; pins and upright shooter arcade games. I had already purchased some which were sitting in England due to be shipped, so we agreed a 50/50 split on the take. He told me that he was going to fill the place out with other machines like grabbers and Air Hockey tables with another operator but his deal with him was that he would be able to put other machines in, so mine would be good to have. I presumed from this that I was offering a better deal than the other operator.
Things did not go according to plan as the pin seller, who had already been paid, was tied up with some extra business. He missed two agreed dates to deliver, one of which cost me a weekend event I had agreed to supply pins for. Now, this guy had a legitimate excuse and I hold him no ill will, as he is trying to get a business off the ground. I am self-employed and realise the difficulties of this. In fact, this affected me also, as the Ice Rink was due to open this weekend, the same time I have a half-dozen folk working on new premises of mine. Still no machines and the seller was unwilling to send pallets to me, in Ireland, as they cost so much. He also didn't have time to leave his work. Now, I needed these things at least a week beforehand as I needed to get Euro coin mechs for them, so had to see them to figure out what to replace. To cut a long story and many, many, many 'phone calls short, he agreed to fit Euro coin mechs as I had ran out of time. So, the place was to open to the public yesterday but had a pre-opening test run on Friday night. Finally, it was agreed we would meet close to Rosslare, an Irish port about six hours from me, on Friday morning. This was the same Friday that I had hired five people to specifically come to my new premises to install fittings but I needed to be there. In order to keep my word to the owner of the Ice Rink, I postponed all that work and set out on what turned out to be a 14-hour round trip, on my own. As I had had next to no sleep, this was not a great idea but as those of you who are self-employed know, it's never easy. True to his word the pin vendor turned up and in the nature of Irish weather, we had no sooner opened the doors of our vans than the heavens did the same with torrential rain. Now in addition to the time and cost of the machines, I also had to pay the vendor an additional £300 cash towards his trip. This would have been included in the original pin pricing if he had been doing other business here but as he was making a special visit just for me, it cost more money. I can't really fault him for that, in view of the big picture. Nonetheless, with €100 of fuel on top of this, it all adds up but in business you always have to remember that it takes money to make money but being a man of your word is priceless, as far as reputation is concerned.
If you're bored already, I apologise but this is a cautionary tale and better to leave no grey areas. You should really be spending this time playing pinball!
I went home and had one hour of sleep, which I really needed, before driving the 20-odd miles to the Ice Rink, which was awash with tradesmen doing their thing. Now, it turned out that the Euro mechs installed in the pins were set to 50cent a play, not the €1 we had agreed, so I knew I had to reset these and as I'm new to siting pins, had to figure out how. In short, I needed time to set up the pins but remember, I had a couple of hours yet. So I thought. The owner of the Ice Rink couldn't get me out of the place fast enough. He said he had no room for another man as it was so busy. I told him I needed only the space I was working in and wouldn't get in anyone's way but that was no good, so I suggested coming back later. That didn't work either. He told me to come back next morning after 10am. Considering the place would then be in full swing, I was concerned about having time to do anything.
Off I went with the pins to another location I was able to get temporary space in, as a favour, close by and unloaded them in order to prepare them there. Having carried them in and put on legs and ironed out small carriage-related issues, I was already short on time and couldn't get the coin mech issue sorted through use of their manuals. At that point I was kicked out of the premises as they had to close and I drove home and posted on the forum here for help. The much-appreciated swift response was excellent and I had the information ready for early the next morning. Each machine was set up to go and I decided that as the Ice Rink was close, I would slowly drive each pin down, one at a time fully built with legs on and back box folded. It meant that the pin could be lifted out and was ready to go. Now it's worth pointing out here that I had been using two employees since the evening before to help with all this, so the costs were not inconsiderable. Arriving at the front door of the Ice Rink, the owner walked straight up to me using the greeting, "We have a problem", to which I foolishly responded, "How can I help?". Apparently, the other operator had seen me the previous evening and thrown a wobbler, proclaiming that if other machines were coming in, he would pull all of his, leaving the owner no real say in the matter. He told me that he would try his best to get it all sorted at the start of the week, maybe by changing to a different second operator but he would sort it then. He kindly offered to store my pins in the meantime in his other premises. He wouldn't hear of putting them out on display there, where they could make money but he would store them in a basement. I declined this generous offer.
Now, I've been running outlets of my own for ten years and have been self-employed for most of my life, so I can pick up on a lie when I hear one. First off, I'm not aware of any way the other operator could have known who I was. The pins were in the van. I wasn't parading them around like the girl holding up the number card in a boxing ring. Secondly, the word pinball never came out of my mouth during the discussion the evening before. I barely had time to say hello before he was pushing me out of the front door. So that means that the whole "operator saw me and instantly threw a wobbler" was untrue. Now, as an owner of outlets myself, I would not let anyone dictate what I could and could not do in my own premises, particularly if they were breaking an agreement. It was highly unlikely that having spent money on the games provided that if he had called the operator's bluff, that the operator would have just left with the stock. I also take umbridge to being told to return a day later when he clearly knew what the outcome of the situation would be. My time is as precious as his or anyone else's and it is bad form to waste it, or that of my employees.
So what can I conclude? The other operator is not to blame, here. He's not in charge. As for the owner who I did the deal with, well, he has wasted a lot of my time and money and that he has, in doing so, effectively stolen from me. What can I do about it? Small claims court? No, not on a verbal contract and I haven't the time to waste on poltroons who haven't the stones to tell a man the truth. I've met plenty of manner-less and spineless people before. This is just my first such pinball experience. As a matter of course, I will give him a couple of days to come back to me but truth be told, I have already sourced one definite outlet for one table; his direct competitor and two potential outlets for other tables, so as not to put all of my eggs in one basket. The reason I am telling you this is simply a reminder to be careful. This will not change my attitude to future business as a closed mind won't get you very far but it may do some good to someone here to know that this nonsense occurs. I also think that there may be an award for the longest, most boring and rambling thread and if I get that, it has all been worthwhile
Things did not go according to plan as the pin seller, who had already been paid, was tied up with some extra business. He missed two agreed dates to deliver, one of which cost me a weekend event I had agreed to supply pins for. Now, this guy had a legitimate excuse and I hold him no ill will, as he is trying to get a business off the ground. I am self-employed and realise the difficulties of this. In fact, this affected me also, as the Ice Rink was due to open this weekend, the same time I have a half-dozen folk working on new premises of mine. Still no machines and the seller was unwilling to send pallets to me, in Ireland, as they cost so much. He also didn't have time to leave his work. Now, I needed these things at least a week beforehand as I needed to get Euro coin mechs for them, so had to see them to figure out what to replace. To cut a long story and many, many, many 'phone calls short, he agreed to fit Euro coin mechs as I had ran out of time. So, the place was to open to the public yesterday but had a pre-opening test run on Friday night. Finally, it was agreed we would meet close to Rosslare, an Irish port about six hours from me, on Friday morning. This was the same Friday that I had hired five people to specifically come to my new premises to install fittings but I needed to be there. In order to keep my word to the owner of the Ice Rink, I postponed all that work and set out on what turned out to be a 14-hour round trip, on my own. As I had had next to no sleep, this was not a great idea but as those of you who are self-employed know, it's never easy. True to his word the pin vendor turned up and in the nature of Irish weather, we had no sooner opened the doors of our vans than the heavens did the same with torrential rain. Now in addition to the time and cost of the machines, I also had to pay the vendor an additional £300 cash towards his trip. This would have been included in the original pin pricing if he had been doing other business here but as he was making a special visit just for me, it cost more money. I can't really fault him for that, in view of the big picture. Nonetheless, with €100 of fuel on top of this, it all adds up but in business you always have to remember that it takes money to make money but being a man of your word is priceless, as far as reputation is concerned.
If you're bored already, I apologise but this is a cautionary tale and better to leave no grey areas. You should really be spending this time playing pinball!
I went home and had one hour of sleep, which I really needed, before driving the 20-odd miles to the Ice Rink, which was awash with tradesmen doing their thing. Now, it turned out that the Euro mechs installed in the pins were set to 50cent a play, not the €1 we had agreed, so I knew I had to reset these and as I'm new to siting pins, had to figure out how. In short, I needed time to set up the pins but remember, I had a couple of hours yet. So I thought. The owner of the Ice Rink couldn't get me out of the place fast enough. He said he had no room for another man as it was so busy. I told him I needed only the space I was working in and wouldn't get in anyone's way but that was no good, so I suggested coming back later. That didn't work either. He told me to come back next morning after 10am. Considering the place would then be in full swing, I was concerned about having time to do anything.
Off I went with the pins to another location I was able to get temporary space in, as a favour, close by and unloaded them in order to prepare them there. Having carried them in and put on legs and ironed out small carriage-related issues, I was already short on time and couldn't get the coin mech issue sorted through use of their manuals. At that point I was kicked out of the premises as they had to close and I drove home and posted on the forum here for help. The much-appreciated swift response was excellent and I had the information ready for early the next morning. Each machine was set up to go and I decided that as the Ice Rink was close, I would slowly drive each pin down, one at a time fully built with legs on and back box folded. It meant that the pin could be lifted out and was ready to go. Now it's worth pointing out here that I had been using two employees since the evening before to help with all this, so the costs were not inconsiderable. Arriving at the front door of the Ice Rink, the owner walked straight up to me using the greeting, "We have a problem", to which I foolishly responded, "How can I help?". Apparently, the other operator had seen me the previous evening and thrown a wobbler, proclaiming that if other machines were coming in, he would pull all of his, leaving the owner no real say in the matter. He told me that he would try his best to get it all sorted at the start of the week, maybe by changing to a different second operator but he would sort it then. He kindly offered to store my pins in the meantime in his other premises. He wouldn't hear of putting them out on display there, where they could make money but he would store them in a basement. I declined this generous offer.
Now, I've been running outlets of my own for ten years and have been self-employed for most of my life, so I can pick up on a lie when I hear one. First off, I'm not aware of any way the other operator could have known who I was. The pins were in the van. I wasn't parading them around like the girl holding up the number card in a boxing ring. Secondly, the word pinball never came out of my mouth during the discussion the evening before. I barely had time to say hello before he was pushing me out of the front door. So that means that the whole "operator saw me and instantly threw a wobbler" was untrue. Now, as an owner of outlets myself, I would not let anyone dictate what I could and could not do in my own premises, particularly if they were breaking an agreement. It was highly unlikely that having spent money on the games provided that if he had called the operator's bluff, that the operator would have just left with the stock. I also take umbridge to being told to return a day later when he clearly knew what the outcome of the situation would be. My time is as precious as his or anyone else's and it is bad form to waste it, or that of my employees.
So what can I conclude? The other operator is not to blame, here. He's not in charge. As for the owner who I did the deal with, well, he has wasted a lot of my time and money and that he has, in doing so, effectively stolen from me. What can I do about it? Small claims court? No, not on a verbal contract and I haven't the time to waste on poltroons who haven't the stones to tell a man the truth. I've met plenty of manner-less and spineless people before. This is just my first such pinball experience. As a matter of course, I will give him a couple of days to come back to me but truth be told, I have already sourced one definite outlet for one table; his direct competitor and two potential outlets for other tables, so as not to put all of my eggs in one basket. The reason I am telling you this is simply a reminder to be careful. This will not change my attitude to future business as a closed mind won't get you very far but it may do some good to someone here to know that this nonsense occurs. I also think that there may be an award for the longest, most boring and rambling thread and if I get that, it has all been worthwhile
