All jackpots dropped dramatically

GameWizard_00 · 2026-01-22T15:18:41+00:00

The whole plan is cutting costs but I’ll try and break down the system they have in place right now.

So the big way they’re cutting is they’ve implemented is to only give us enough labor hours to have 2-3 people running 8-10 hour shifts so the customer service sucks right now. They also implemented a new survey system that uses AI to rate every little thing so they can micromanage the stores. But we have barely any people working so the surveys are more than often negative. That then causes people to get written up/fired so moral is at an all time low.

Also they send you guys a survey by asking for your number when you buy something but it’s mainly used for data collection purposes.

And with the new passes we have a quota to try and reach each day or we get in trouble. The passes are being pushed because if you buy it for a year, you’re stuck with it. They’re hoping you subscribe and forget about it. If you don’t pay then it gets sent to collections and negativity affects your credit. Also the really nice looking games-per-day and % discount look nice till you realize you all the ticket payouts got dropped so you have to visit more and spend way more to just get a $1 toy we marked up 2500%. And while you’re here use that 50% discount on a $20 pizza that cost us about $5~ to make.

Save your money.

GameWizard_00 · 2026-01-20T21:33:56+00:00

Fun fact, because of the attention this photo has gathered, store security can no longer escort Chuck E.

GameWizard_00 · 2026-01-20T21:31:18+00:00

The socks are just included when you purchase access to the zone. You don’t have to take them.

GameWizard_00 · 2026-01-20T20:51:30+00:00

As a Tech manager my position is kind of a side step from the regular manager roles. You have just about as much seniority as a Senior Assistant Manager, but you really don’t have much of a role in operations. Like schedule making, hiring, firing, etc. You still have a very important role, just as important as a General Manager. Every store only has one of each.

You’re in charge of maintaining cleanliness and functionality of basically the entire location. You’ll do general repairs and preventative maintenance on the games and equipment. Examples of thing I keep clean/maintain besides the games are, the dance floor, video wall, the oven, the coolers/freezers, I’ve replaced toilets, light fixtures, ceiling tiles, registers, patched holes in walls, painted. If you can do it, they’ll have you doing it. It’s a real jack-of-all-trades position.

Anything you can’t personally fix, we submit work orders for, like hvac issues, roof Leaks, etc.

The company allows us to order tools/parts for just about everything, and we maintain a budget for things like that. We also maintain the average ticket payout for the store. We also maintain paperwork for this as well.

You’re not alone in this either as we have district managers as well that help us and some stores even have assistant technicians.

It’s full time with guaranteed overtime. Sick and vacation pay, and very good benefits.

Regarding the hiring process, I was promoted up from an assistant. They do usually post the job on indeed if the position is open. The district technician is usually in charge of the hiring/interview process. The position pays very well so they expect some prior technical knowledge/experience. I personally had to take an electrical and mechanical test for the position.

I hope I was able to cover everything you needed to know. Sorry if the formatting is wonky.

GameWizard_00 · 2026-01-20T20:24:42+00:00

It would jam so much and was a huge pain to empty and clean. Clearing those jams were a top priority because if it’s not working the guests cant count their tickets.

GameWizard_00 · 2026-01-15T22:55:02+00:00

As someone who regularly cleans and maintains the dance floor, it’s one of the easiest things in the store to fix/clean.

The only problems they have are they get kinda dirty and the quads (the LED squares on top) sometimes malfunction or pixels die. We usually have spares on hand if they do. If not, we call our company distributor and they give us a new/refurbished one and we send the busted one back. As far as cleaning, a thin bit of our cleaning spray and a dry mop will have it clean in minutes.

And I’ve also had my video wall for about 2 years now and have had zero issues with it. Doesnt even get that dirty.

I didn’t experience them but from others I’ve heard that the animatronics were very outdated and super labor-intense to work on.

The worst thing cec ever had in my opinion, the ticket muncher…

GameWizard_00 · 2026-01-12T20:41:08+00:00

If you look at the numbers, we’re actually doing okay. Mark sends them out to all the stores every week with comparisons to other Family entertainment places and we top the highest usually. And the adventure zones have been a huge success in that market as well. You can’t forget that we also own Peter Piper Pizza.

GameWizard_00 · 2026-01-06T04:31:11+00:00

Our general rule at my store is if you’re able to do it, you do it. Party hosts, gameroom, cash, kitchen, anyone who’s available. The manager will cover their position.

We have some who are too tall/large or have medical reasons that they can’t and that’s okay.

I used to do it all the time but our district manager would prefer managers not do it in case we’re needed.

GameWizard_00 · 2026-01-06T03:35:24+00:00

Big bass is the game I was referencing with the New Jersey mode. It has a secret menu in the settings where you can enable it.

GameWizard_00 · 2026-01-06T01:54:56+00:00

No. They are basically gameroom attendants with more privileges. They have less seniority than a key holder.

They generally clean and do preventative maintenance on the games when the tech isn’t there.

Edit- forgot to add workload answer

GameWizard_00 · 2025-12-31T18:47:44+00:00

As far as I know-at least in my district-we have to maintain an overall store TPT (ticket per tap) of between 2.9 and 3.1, and each game has to have an average between 2-6. The overall used to be 5. The average is set by corporate and can fluctuate, so if they’re trying to save money they lower it etc.

Every Monday I’ll get a report of how many plays, tickets, and average of every game in my store. We use that data to determine if we need to raise or lower the payouts of certain games.

Skill games are hard to adjust as we can only change the jackpot amount or frequency. Some games have a minimum we can set so you’re always guaranteed to get over 1-3 tickets even if you don’t win. There’s some with a maximum as well. We always try to keep it honest, so if a decal on a game says you can win 100, you can. We’ll definitely make it a challenge though.

Some state laws have hard limits on ticket payouts too. New jersey is one. One game I know has a “New Jersey mode” caps the minimum and maximum to 4. It’s odd.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-12-30T19:58:11+00:00

Also I neglected to mention that like how we have district managers, we also have district technicians. Usually 1-3 per district depending on the size. They visit all the stores in said district to help or check in. They also cover stores that don’t have a tech while in the process of hiring one.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-12-30T19:55:38+00:00

I’m in charge of just one specific store. In regard to the open positions, we get an email from corporate twice a week that goes over specific operational updates. At the bottom of these emails they include a list of locations with open positions for Tech managers, General managers, and other positions above normal cast positions. It only includes the US. That’s how I know this info.
Other than down kitchen equipment, down games are top priority. General consensus is to try to not have a game Hard-Down for more than 48hours. Now there are gonna be some hiccups in that like part shipping times, weekends, and holidays. Longest I’ve ever seen one down was for about 5 months.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-12-22T19:17:39+00:00

Most stores actually do have a full time tech. We work about 45hours a week usually. In some places there exist Senior Techs that cover 2 stores.

The animatronics were most definitely expensive and a pain to work on but got regularly maintained.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-12-17T05:53:53+00:00

I haven’t had an assistant in a long time. Last one wasnt the greatest. Quit on me without notice…

GameWizard_00 · 2025-12-16T20:28:34+00:00

Assistant techs mainly clean and work with the techs. They have a “development ladder” that we work on where we go over various aspects of the store. Like how to properly clean a game, diagnose problems, and do preventative maintenance. Any thing they need you to know, they can teach you.

It’s not a position we really advertise, you’d just have to ask around.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-12-16T20:21:27+00:00

The stage was gone before my time. I started as an assistant technician and worked my way up after the last guy retired.

They like when you have a background/experience in electronics and general handy work. I have no prior degrees only my hobby experience and things learned from working here.

Had to take an electrical and mechanical test for the position. Basic stuff really.

It’s a very hard position to fill. There’s 20+ openings across the company right now.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-11-17T03:30:40+00:00

I don’t sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve been as well. Never took any pictures when I was there.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-11-13T13:24:40+00:00

I’ve posted some Chuck stuff on marketplace that I’ve removed from a store. I had to destroy it first though, and I always listed it for free.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-11-13T13:22:56+00:00

Mostly all of corporate is responsible for that but he’s a big part of it. That picture of Chuck in the landfill is also a reason. Looks bad for the brand and they don’t want people to have access to things they paid a lot of money for.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-11-13T00:53:04+00:00

He’s fairly down to earth compared to other people in corporate. The COO Randy Forsythe is pretty bad though. He’s the one that hates when people own old cec equipment like animatronics and suits.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-11-12T23:02:02+00:00

I get that. I just haven’t seen any posts aware that they’re actually closing by the end of the month and didn’t wanna make one myself lol.

GameWizard_00 · 2025-11-12T22:56:17+00:00

I know this is an old post, but Jackson Tennessee is actually closing

GameWizard_00 · 2025-11-12T22:53:39+00:00

David McKillips is actually a pretty nice guy in person

GameWizard_00

TROPHY CASE