Cover Story
(April 2008)Cover Story
(April 2008)Quality
and service come first at Coast to Coast Entertainment
A
young company has made its mark in the competitive categories of crane machines
and prize merchandise.
In
2004, a relatively new, crane-centric company, Coast to Coast Entertainment,
appeared on Play Meter's October cover. The young firm, headed by partners Gary
Balaban and John Maurer, had just released its dynamic Hot Stuff crane with
vibrant graphics that made coin machine operators stand up and take notice.
Since
then, the company has released a series of uniquely-themed cranes, branched out
into redemption equipment, and established itself as a major supplier of quality
prize merchandise.
Gary
and John have a long history; they met while attending engineering school and
later owned and operated an arcade. That background, and arcade experience, has
served them well. In 1994, they founded Coast to Coast Memory, a company that
specialized in selling used memory to customers via the Internet.
Coast
to Coast Memory then expanded into Coast to Coast Entertainment for the express
purpose of selling top-notch Millennium 2000 crane machines. Gary and John have
since sold Coast to Coast Memory to one of their suppliers, Micro Memory Bank.
Gary explained, "They had duplicate facilities to ours, and we simply felt
it was time."
Prize
merchandise
The
company has risen to prominence based on the strength of its equipment and
merchandise. Strict commitments to both customer service and value haven't hurt
either.
Talking
to Gary and John today, it's clear that the company's best aspects have remained
as the company has expanded into new categories of entertainment.
Coast
to Coast has taken a firm hand in its plush prize merchandise mixes. "We
now import our mixes directly from China, where they are made to our exact
specifications, with our name stitched on the tags," Gary said.
He
added, "The Asian companies provide us with physical samples, and we pick
out what we like, and make changes. There are only about three or four other
companies in the country that custom tag merchandise and put their name on their
bulk items. The customer perceives that our merchandise is specially made for
Coast to Coast, and that they're only going to get it from us. About every month
or so, most of the products in our mixes change."
New
product lines
In
addition, Coast to Coast has pursued new product lines, such as coin pushers
featuring the licensed image of Betty Boop, and a Popeye the Sailor novelty
strength grip-tester, plus three or four new items the company is keeping under
wraps for now. Gary promised, "They will all be similar in that they will
be made overseas to our exact specifications, will meet U.S. standards of
manufacturing and what the customer expects a quality machine to be, and will be
priced extremely reasonably."
The
company is not looking to shift focus however, just expand and grow the business
by adding more pieces of reasonably priced, well-built equipment. Coast to
Coast's focus will remain on the cranes that brought it to prominence. However,
the company has found ways to keep its most famous product fresh as well.
"We've
revamped all of our graphics on every model crane over the past couple of
years," Gary pointed out. In the past, all Coast to Coast cranes were
black; now only Hot Stuff and Coast to Coast's new jewelry crane, Got Bling, are
dressed in black. The taxicab-themed game Toy Taxi is in yellow, and Dog Patrol
is blue. Dog Patrol replaced Prize Depot, and is now being updated. Got Bling is
the evolution of Jewelry Stop, changed in order to keep up with the hip-hop
nation.
These
changes reflect Coast to Coast's ability to recognize the influence of pop
culture and to stay connected with today's customers.
Direct
experience
Coast
to Coast recently purchased Bev and Wally's arcade, directly next door to its
previous arcade, The Game Room; both are located at Keansburg Amusement Park in
Keansburg, N.J. "Because we own our own arcades and are actually in that
business, we can tell our Coast to Coast customers what works for us and makes
money," said Gary, who began in the arcade industry working his own routes
in high school.
He
added, "If someone is opening their first family entertainment center (FEC)
and they forgot to put in a Cyclone, or a Slam-a-Winner, we can advise them that
they must have these pieces because they are staples.
"We
started manufacturing coin pushers because, from our experiences owning our own
arcades, we know they make a lot of money. So we can confidently tell people
they need a coin pusher."
Cost
factor
Coast
to Coast has retained many of the traits that got it where it is today, the most
important being its dedication to quality products at a lower cost than the
competition.
How
do they do it? "First," said Gary, "Labor costs are lower in
Asia. We tell them every detail of the nuts and bolts, how to do it, and how to
do it the right way, and they manufacture our machines for us. We did have a
limited run photo machine we made in the United States: 3-2-1 Smile. That was
the only thing we ever made 100 percent in-house, and it was very labor
intensive. We're better set up to do everything overseas."
Coast
to Coast employs other methods to save its customers money. Gary explained,
"We don't hire a specialist to design our plush mixes; we do it. Everyone
in our office has a lot of experience in the industry, so it's a democratic
thing; we ask for comments on the designs. We're very hands on and everyone
wears many hats. When a big shipment of cranes or toys comes in, we all go to
the warehouse to unload the products."
The
staff is close to the size it was four years ago, perhaps a little smaller due
to streamlining the operation. Merchandise mixes were previously done in-house,
but ordering from China now means that is done at that point of origin and those
savings can be passed on to customers.
On
a light note, the company's mascot, Flash the cat, is still there; he serves as
the official greeter, and doubles as a night watchman when everyone goes home at
the end of the day.
Customer
service
Coast
to Coast has retained its commitment to customer service. Gary said, "We
hear horror stories from our customers all the time. They say, 'I needed a part,
I had to order it from the distributor, the distributor had to get it from the
manufacturer, and the whole process took two weeks, during which time my machine
was down.' Or else a part broke in 100 days and the warranty was 90 days and the
part was outrageously expensive.
"That
situation with warranties has happened to us at our entertainment centers: we're
10 days out of warranty and the part is very expensive. So at Coast to Coast we
make sure that when we're designing our equipment it won't have these problems.
For example, since we're making the coin pushers in Asia and the cost of parts
is less, we can afford to give a warranty that's longer than anybody selling
anything in the United States."
Gary
added, "We also try to use as many off-the-shelf parts as we can so the
customer isn't married to us for life. For example, with a motor or power supply
on a coin pusher, you usually have to go back to the manufacturer to buy both of
those items. We have designed our machines with off-the-shelf motors from
Grainger, which is all over the United States, and sells reasonably priced
motors.
"In
addition, the power supplies in our new coin pushers, which we're going to
integrate into the design of all our new redemption equipment as it comes out,
is a standard computer power supply that can be easily obtained at major
electronics chain stores on a Friday or Saturday night. Or you can take one out
of an old PC in the back you're not using, and it'll pop right into our game. We
started doing this six to nine months ago."
Return
on investment
The
staff at Coast to Coast acknowledges that the industry is changing, becoming
more of a challenge. "It's harder and harder to make money in this
business," said John. "But our equipment offers our customers a great
return on investment. Our crane machines sell for $1,495, and our coin pushers
sell for under $10,000.
We
understand what customers want because we listen to them." Gary
and John know that licenses provide instant recognition with the public.
"We are licensed to manufacture games with the following trademarks:
Bozo the Clown. Betty Boop, and Popeye, with more to come," said John.
"Licensing
has added tremendous value to our business. We are also proud of the wide
variety of merchandise we offer, including licensed plush, inflatable
basketballs, jewelry mixes, Stacker mixes, Gravity Hill items, and more."
Sage
advice
Does
John have any advice for FEC owners and operators? He replied, "I ask, 'Do
you have a machine on location that is making $20 a week?' If they say yes, I
suggest they put a crane machine in its place. Also, replace four to six of
their worst earning machines with crane machines all in a row. They will be
surprised at the revenue they can generate when the cranes are stocked with the
right merchandise."
Knowing
the equipment and the merchandise from both the operating side and the
manufacturing side sets Coast to Coast apart. And Gary and John are willing to
share their expertise and spend time with customers to explain how they can
maximize their machines and select the proper merchandise.
Besides
their own knowledge, Gary and John have young children, and they are keenly
aware of what appeals to youngsters. John said, "My kids seem to know the
hottest items on the market, so I listen to them. When my sons visit our arcades
they always find and 'test' the newest machines. It's amusing, and affirming,
that they find all the new games or merchandise that we had just put in."
As
John is fond of saying, "Information is the key to business." At Coast
to Coast that credo has been followed closely with positive results.
For more information about Coast to Coast, call (732)238-0096; Web (www.cranemachines.com).
Damon
Paramore - Regional Sales Manager
Carlos
Colon
Paul
"Chuck" Skroczky - Technical Support Manager
Kimberlee Zubrycki - Technical Support
from left: Beverly Ruhman (Office Manager),
Gary Balaban (Owner), Michelle Fazio (Order Processing)
Gary Eastman
Migdalia
Muniz, Order Processing