Could PTT have been salvaged in the last years before the buyout?

[PaulKTF]

I got to thinking... Was there any way that PTT could have been salvaged?

I think there's a chance it could have been saved IF the following had been done sometime around late 1982/early '83

1. Stop expanding as quickly as they were.

2. Close unprofitable locations and re-invest that money into the locations that were actually making money.

3. Improve the food quality and focus on the core components (food, games, and the main show). Eliminate the lounge/cabaret shows and anything else that distracts from those three things.

4. Less video games, more skill games.

5. Remodel stores to move away from the darker atmosphere. Make the stores more inviting and brighter (something along the lines of the late-80's/early 90's remodels).

They ended up doing all of that in time after the merger of course and I know hindsight is 20/20...

There's a pretty good chance they still would've gone under anyway, but just thinking out loud. :)

[JoshBrown]

The only issue with # 4 is there WEREN'T alot of skill games out around that time....about the only redemption games out where skeeball and a few others...

I agree mostly with the rest of them however....But part of the problem was the entire video game industry was struggling...arcades were closing....FEC's were struggling...add to that a large amount of debt...it makes for a difficult situation to bail out of....

[jonathansullivan]

Here are my thoughts....

1. Stop Expansion - this would have helped!
2. Close Uprofitable/Re-Invest - Maybe, but I think survival was the MO
3a. Food Quality - This was a huge campaign at the end "New Pizza"
3b. Side Shows - Don't think this would have changed anything
4. Skill Games - didn't exist! CEC was manufactuering their own 2 skill games - cheese roll / whack a munch. I agree they should have inovated this area. Also innovate the experience - video game consoles were on the decline, so give guests NEW experiences. (But Nolan was to busy with Teddy Ruxpin and other projects to focus on innovating.
5. Many claim that the darkness/etc was the charm and heart of PTT (as do I)

Think you missed the biggest thing they had to do - and that was get labor under control. Using my store as an example on a weekend for PTT:


Greeter
Cash
Cash
Lounge & Sports Bar Attendant
Showroom Host / Birthday Coordinator
Beverage Bar
Beverage Bar
Kitchen
Kitchen
Kitchen
Game Room Attendant
Game Room Attendant
Merch (Jasper T. Jowels Store)
Play N Place Greeter
Play N Place Observation
Play N Place Coaster Operator
On a weekday labor would look like this:

Greeter
Cash
Lounge & Sports Bar Attendant
Showroom Host / Birthday Coordinator
Beverage Bar
Kitchen
Kitchen
Show Tech
Game Tech
Game Room Attendant
Merch (Jasper T. Jowels Store)
Play N Place Greeter
Play N Place Coaster Operator
Now lets compare to present company on the labor:

Weekend:


Cash/Merch
Kid Check
Kitchen
Party Host
Gameroom
Same store - VERY different labor...

[VegaNova]

This one is kinda tricky because I don't think PTT was entirely at fault for it's own demise. They *might* have been able to stay afloat had they used some of the ideas you guys had mentioned. But realistically they could have still lost their money (due to things like the video game crash, etc) and still survived - had Bushnell not pulled the carpet out from underneath them.

He took out huge loans for other projects (Sente, and other ventures) and used PTT's value as collateral. When PTT ran into financial troubles, they had so much debt working against them that they had no choice but to fold. At least that's always been my understanding of the matter. :/

[PaulKTF]

This one is kinda tricky because I don't think PTT was entirely at fault for it's own demise. They *might* have been able to stay afloat had they used some of the ideas you guys had mentioned. But realistically they could have still lost their money (due to things like the video game crash, etc) and still survived - had Bushnell not pulled the carpet out from underneath them.

He took out huge loans for other projects (Sente, and other ventures) and used PTT's value as collateral. When PTT ran into financial troubles, they had so much debt working against them that they had no choice but to fold. At least that's always been my understanding of the matter. :/

I hate to pull a Carson; but "I did not know that!".

That sort of makes me change my stance alltogether... It sounds like it was effectivly doomed to failure even if the video game crash never happened.

[jonathansullivan]

I hate to pull a Carson; but "I did not know that!".

That sort of makes me change my stance alltogether... It sounds like it was effectivly doomed to failure even if the video game crash never happened.

Just one clarification - the Teddy Ruxpin / Sente / pet projects Nolan was concentrating took his creative energy and concentration away and piled on the debt...however...

Had Sente (Video Game Competition to Atari) suceeded - (and not been a part of game crash) they could have likely made it quite nicely.

To quote Nolan's Facebook from yesterday:
"Rapid change gives innovation huge advantages. Old businesses have a hard time keeping up. Huge advantages for small and nimble."

However - PTT SHOULD have been able to innovate and make rapid changes...but saddled with unsurmountable debt - in an industry that was dying on the vine - couldn't innovate.

[PaulKTF]

I just think it's so weird that they were expanding SO fast that they couldn't even produce balcony shows fast enough to meet that demand. So you'd walk into a newly-opened PTT and there wouldn't be a balcony show! That's just poor planning.

[jonathansullivan]

I just think it's so weird that they were expanding SO fast that they couldn't even produce balcony shows fast enough to meet that demand. So you'd walk into a newly-opened PTT and there wouldn't be a balcony show! That's just poor planning.

I've often wondered about that too. Here's the theory I've formulated after going over the annual reports:
They could have produced the balcony shows sufficiently - however CREDIT started catching up with them and started to pinch them - they got put on credit hold with suppliers - and that showed production WAY down.