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RE: Grandpa Gotta Work: A Day Of Firsts
Howdy sir Glen! that job is going well! And it isn't boring yet. lol. Do they give you the list of places to go to and you can make your own schedule?
With machines like the big ones in the photo with the girls, how do you get into them, especially if people are playing? Do they roll out?
Hey, @janton.
I'm not sure if it can get boring with the human element involved. It might not be what I would call fun, though.
Like today. Second to last stop I have a guy come back watching me with a mug and a pitcher of beer in his hand. I say hi, he says hi back and he just stands there as I'm digging quarters out of the inside of a machine (they were supposed to go in the coin bin).
After a minute or so, he takes off into the pizza place and after I've collected the rest of the machines and kind of rearranged one of the crane machines, he comes back. I say hi, he says hi. And then he just stands there smiling at me with his mug and pitcher of beer. I keep doing what I'm doing until he asks if I'm done with the other machine. I say yes, so he starts playing it. I guess he was patiently waiting for me to be done. It just wasn't apparent what he wanted.
re: list and schedule
I finally did get a route list this week. There's an app we use called routeboost, and among other things, it can be populated with places and what to do there. Like today was mostly filling up machines that needed it, and making sure that all the machines were in working order, and if not, called in for maintenance if I can't fix them within a fifteen or so minute period. The timeframe is variable, though, and unfortunately, I do tend to go beyond that amount because I sometimes have to figure out if there is a problem, diagnose if there is one, than try to fix it if I find something wrong. So, it's not always readily apparent because the out of order sign on it doesn't specify, and of course the person who put it there isn't around.
I do get to make my own schedule, except I can only get in when the businesses will allow me. I just found out one of our larger accounts is opened way earlier than I've been getting there so I hope to at least get there an hour earlier than I did today so I get to another place that's fairly large just as it opens. That way I don't have screaming kids and then creepy drunk/homeless guys lurking about. If I can avoid lunch hours in some places and dinner hours in others, it's best.
re: collect machines
I don't know how all are set up, but the ones I've seen, including ours, have locks on the front where they're collected. It's generally in the vicinity of where the money goes in. If people are playing them when I get there, I try to work around them with the machines that aren't being played. That's the reason for getting there earlier if possible.
They do roll out, but if that needs to happen, that usually means there's something wrong with the machine. I'd rather that not be the case.
Howdy again sir Glen! Thanks for filling me in on the way things work. That one guy turned out to be harmless, just a little quirky! I hope you can get to most of them when they first open and I hope you can avoid evenings all together!
I didn't realize that this job, or part of it, is really a technician job with minor repairs and such!
What happens if it's so broke they have to take it out of there, where does it go and who fixes it?
The main office has a warehouse, and they have a couple of people, one in particular, who know how to fix the computer or motherboard parts. I could probably try to learn, it's just that it probably needs to be done at the warehouse rather than on location. So, they pull the machines that can't be fixed on site and take them there. If they can't bring them back to life, they eventually salvage them, I believe.
oh ok, I was wondering if they had to have a factory guy come out or something but that's good if they can fix them themselves.