Someone ranting about Rusty Quarters in Mpls

priglmeier

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I was looking through the local craigslist this morning and saw this post. Apparently someone is really pissed off they lost a quarter in a machine or didn't get the high score at Rusty Quarters. ;)

(I flagged the CL post BTW)
 

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The CL text (not mine of course)

RE: Mr. DO Arcade Game - $200 (LynLake/Uptown MN) - $1 (Uptown)

Date: 2012-04-29, 2:35AM CDT
Reply to: [email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]

Don't buy from these cheap %# people. They are the pinnacle of uptown skeezers.

This place isn't like the arcades from your memories. They are the cheapest bastards to show their face in our city.

Nearly every machine they own every other coin mech is broken with tape over it....Really? Coin mechs can be had for $10. The joysticks are loose and in need of repair. Most buttons are past their lifespan. Half of the monitors look like they needed to be recapped years ago.

It's an afront to the old bryant lake bowl arcade back in the 90's. Hell even pops would turn in his grave at the sight of this place.

Rusty quarters is a fitting name for it. On occasion I see their want ads for machines. They aspire to cheat their way into machines and they don't, and aren't willing to repair anything. HOW THE HELL DO YOU OWN A ARCADE BUSINESS AND NOT UNDERSTAND BASIC ELECTRONICS REPAIR?????????

To say they are losers is quite an understatement. Closed on a weekday? Can't be there to unlock the door an hour after the posted time? Party too hard the night before and forgot your responsibility's?

The only words that come to mind are: ABSOLUTE FUCKING DISGRACE TO ARCADE OPERATORS EVERYWHERE.ON THE PLANET
Location: Uptown
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 2985589266
 
I saw that too. I was there last weekend and yes, a few machines needed a few touch-ups but that sure didn't stop me from playing every game and having a blast. Some people are so pissy.
 
People who troll like this on Craigslist really piss me off. Sage has a hard enough time making his business survive without people putting shit like this out there.

Is Sage a seasoned operator? Not even close. Is he trying to make his business survive the best way he knows how? You bet.


  • Yes, he has malfunctioning coin mechs. Each machine has two, so he covers one up. Same as the arcades BITD.
  • Yes, some of the monitors need tuning. Same as the arcades BITD.
  • Yes, the hours change from time to time - he books parties at the last minute, and since the parties bring in more revenue than regular open hours, he closes the store for them. As the owner, he reserves that right. Just like arcades BITD.
Here are some things that Rusty Quarters is NOT doing like arcades BITD:

  • STAFFING: someone actually works there who CARES about the arcade.
  • Machine selection: he's rotating games according to customer input, not just profits.
  • Community: Sage is an active participant in the arcade community at large, and is NOT in it just to make as many quarters as possible. Unlike the Ops BITD, he actually cares about the games too.
  • As an owner, Sage is not acting like a dick. There are very few Ops from BITD that I know that don't have a chip on their shoulder. Pardon my opinion if this offends you as a former op, but if you are a former op AND you are a nice person, then good on you - it's not the norm in my experience.
So yeah - go to hell you haters.
 
I think this will help the business more than hurt it. Many will want to see this "operation" for curiosity and find it's not nearly as described. Remember, there's no such thing as bad press. Now if someone you know and trust tells you this stuff, that's another thing entirely.
 
Based on the terms like recapped and coin mech, it was probably a fellow collector that posted the message to Craigslist. I'd be willing to bet that they didn't bother to point out their concerns to whoever was working. Instead they went the keyboard commando route.
 
It's not hard to fix coin mechs...

Scrub them clean with degreaser, get all the foreign material and deposits out of the coin path.

If it's a metal one, disassemble it and remove any rust/corrosion from the coin path using an SOS pad which is simply steel wool with soap.

Rinse, dry well, and reassemble.

DO NOT OIL unless you only oil specific items that the manufacturer tells you to. Coin mechs in general DO NOT NEED OILING. Oiling only makes them worse and causes dirt, dust, and gunk to build up faster.

One night of cleaning would probably fix most of the mechs he has in those games.
 
The guy admitted on here to leaving the games on 24/7 an is selling a mr do that died because of a monitor chassis failure instead of tryin to repair it.

I'm not offering my opinion, because nobody gives a shit in the first place, but I would place good money on that cl ad coming from KLOV.
 
Based on the terms like recapped and coin mech, it was probably a fellow collector that posted the message to Craigslist. I'd be willing to bet that they didn't bother to point out their concerns to whoever was working. Instead they went the keyboard commando route.

That is what I don't understand. I've never been there, but it seems the owner or his wife are who work there and are there.

If you have a complaint or question.Tell them. Pretty simple.

Don't stab people in the back trying to eek out a living.

LTG :)
 
Running a business in one of the most business-unfriendly cities in one of the most business-unfriendly states is not for the faint of heart. I'm pretty sure that while all the criticism is reasonably accurate, having 25 or so 30 year old antiques running to perfection is not completely practical in a business environment. On the other hand, increasing the difficulty of dumping money into your machine due to a lack of maintenance is a recipe for failure.

I think it really boils down to the maintenance budget of their business plan. If they can put a few hundred into maintenance every month, I think they will make it. If their business plan doesn't account for constant improvement of their machines (and in turn customer enjoyment of them), then they won't. They should have every machine in the building for sale at 3-4 times their cost and a back-room full of replacements ready to go. I thought the owner said that their bread and butter was private parties anyway. If machine sales was factored into their plan, they could probably afford to hire a tech and implement a constant improvement system where all the machines were better all the time.

It's just like all the old-time operators whose machines on route are all broken. They cry how no one is playing any more and they can't make any money. Well I've got news for those old fools, when over half your machines on route are broken or just not working correctly the lack of revenue is your fault, not the players. People love playing a good working machine and dropping a second quarter into one with worn out or misbehaving controls NEVER happens.

Seeing that post on CL just makes me laugh at someone who goes there and then tries to badmouth on the interwebs. It is a combination of envy, depression and too much time on their hands - IOW, a visit to loserdom.
 
I'd like to donate to Adam a "coolstorybro" with a side order of "Umadbro?"
 
I think this will help the business more than hurt it. Many will want to see this "operation" for curiosity and find it's not nearly as described. Remember, there's no such thing as bad press. Now if someone you know and trust tells you this stuff, that's another thing entirely.

Agreed. This guy sounds like a POS. I have been to Rusty's once. It was fun. I love that there is an arcade with some actual classics.
ANY publicity is always good.
 
It annoys me that someone would ask for 30k to open a arcade. Not a museum or a display to preserve games, but an arcade that makes them money. Its rediculous.

Is it as nice as your arcade business?
 
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