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This is could be useful.


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Found this on the web and thought a lot of us could use this as a solution to people that don't want to pay your working rate. :cool:

 

"A customer asked how much it would cost to fix this pinball machine....

I answered him: $ 1500

He said: So expensive for this job?

I asked: How much do you think it would cost you?

He answers me: $ 800 maximum... That's a pretty simple job right?"

- For $800 I invite you to do it yourself.

- But.... I don't know how to.

- For $800 I'll teach you how to. So besides saving you $700, you'll get the knowledge for the next time you want to fix it.

- It seemed right to him and he agreed.

- But to get started: you need tools: A Soldering iron, Oscilloscope, Multi-meter, Crimping tool, Capacitance meter , Magnifier, etc...

- But I don't have all this equipment and I can't buy all of these for one job.

- Well then for another $300 more I'll rent my stuff to you so you can do it.

- Okay, he says.

- Okay! Tuesday I'll be waiting for you to start doing your work learning to fix your machine.

- But I can't on Tuesday I only have time today.

- I'm sorry, but I'm only available Tuesday to teach you and lend you all my stuff. Other days are busy with other people's repairs.

- Okay! That means I'm going to have to sacrifice my Tuesday, give up my tasks.

- I forgot. To do your job yourself, you also have to pay for the non productive costs too.

- That is GST, superannuation, insurance, fuel, power used etc.

- Oh no!... But to accomplish these tasks, I'm going to spend more money and waste a lot of time!

- You know, I've been thinking. You better get the job done. I'd rather pay you the $1500. If I had to do it wouldn't be right and it would cost me a lot more.

 

When you pay for a job, especially skilled work, you pay not only for the material used, but also the:

- Knowledge

- Experience

- Study

- Tools

- Services

- Time

- Punctuality

- Accountability

- Professionalism

- Accuracy

- Guaranteed

- Parts

- Sacrifices

- Safety and security

- Payment of overheads

 

No one can denigrate other people's work by judging prices. Only by knowing all the elements necessary for the production of a certain work can you estimate the actual cost."

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It amazes me how many people that own a pinball or anything for that matter get a little upset at the cost of having someone come n fix whatever problem they are having i live in country nsw and due to some things that happened in afgahnistan i no longer drive a car which means i cant cart pins that need repair i have watched so many videos n read so many excellent threads on pinball repair on this web site that i thought might relate to problems i was having with my pins but whenever i lift the playfield or have a captain cook in the back box its like what the hell and is rather daunting especially to someone like me who struggles to use the bloody

mobile phone so when i was given the number of an AA member that not only lived half an hour up the road but was well respected with the quality of his workmanship in the pinball community up our way i could not believe my luck. Mitch came n within 40 minutes had my beloved pinbot which had sat for quite some time buggered fixed n playing he then took the old data east star wars back to his workshop and when he delivered it back it was pure heaven my star wars over the 8 years ive had it has never looked and played better i dont know what he did but but the ball sparkles when it goes up the ramp its absolutely awesome i cant explain how happy he has made me MR PINBOLOGIST IS A TRUE PINBOLOGIST INDEED so not only did he fix the problem but also delivered it back to me (an hour round trip ) which is something that i cant do either. im sorry about the rant fellas but its something i feel rather strongly about if you cant or arent confident to fix it yourself then fork out the folding and pay somebody who does know what they are doing and dont quibble so much over cost because as GEMINI 2544 quite rightly points out it takes time and money to acquire the skills n experience to fix something so complex GIVE RESPECT WHERE IT IS DUE and just be happy that when its fixed its gunna give ya more pleasure than saving a few quid

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Problem is the industry only pays around $30 an hour. That is to the guy that stands on the floor and actually fixes the pinball problems, not what the company ends up charging. Now you may understand why I went in and out of this industry over the years. Follow my heart and the job I love and I go broke or get out of the industry and not exactly what I loved to do and live with more money.

In saying that, I think you are entitled to charge what ever you want and let the market decide if you work for yourself and set the conditions yourself you like to work under. I personally don't do house calls, I gave that up about 30 years ago after being bit a couple of times. I have the machine brought to me and I work on it at my house in my workshop and I generally insist on having the machine for 2 weeks.

A week to spend an hour or two a day on finding and fixing and a week solid to play the hell out of it so nothing gets missed.

Not for everyone but it suits my lifestyle nowdays.

 

Here is one day from the late 70's working in the industry....$72 net a week, (exactly twice the dole back then. It was $72 a fortnight.).... Machines....Gottlieb, Bally and Williams SS. Employer, Goddard Amusements. Sydneys then largest Amusement machine operators.

Strip, clean, repair and reassemble and test pinballs. Repair anything in or on the cabinet including playfield and paint touchup when required on then painted cabinets, excluding boards. Repaired, swap over boards and displays sitting in the store waiting should you need as well as all cabinet and playfield parts.

Expected to do 4-6 machines a day. 6-7 was my usual day. I was one of 6 "inside technicans".

 

Here is one day from 2010 approx.......

Three pinballs, (Bally /Williams DMDs), coming in off site. Get them ready, they are going to Canberra in three days when you take them down. ( Canberra was a regional site and got visited once a month. NZ was worse, they got visited once every 6 months with locals expected at regionals to unjam coin mechs, unjam balls, clean glass and occasionally playfield, That's it as they had no spare parts or knowledge).

Consequently, you wanted to make sure a machine you preped didn't stop earning cash for months.

 

So that was what it was really like in the industry. There was one major advantage I did have in my favour back in those days. The machines were all NIB and at there oldest about 4 years old. Some lemons that simply didn't make money or had mechs that failed regularly impacting earnings went earlier than 4 years. This was not decided on a single machine basis, more we have 6 ***** and they are all earning shit or this mech keeps failing on all of them and they are always going down.

 

Now days I do mainly party hire pinballs. Machine is here for usually two weeks. Certainly not as pretty machines as some of you guys have but they get a hard life and are all Bally/ Gottlieb or Williams DMDs. Machine goes out for weeks and preferably months without me seeing it again. Reliabilty is what it is all about with party machines and less cosmetics but it is different. No coin mechs to maintain as they are on free play but that also means they are always being played by those that pay for the hire and want there money's worth.

 

Yes, party hire is different but I do love seeing these machines still doing what they were built to do, earn money for there owner and at a couple of hundred for a weekend hire there abouts, good money> I just turn a blind eye when I see a couple of thousand games were played.

Ow well, must have the auto percentaging set at 99% or something.;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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