Galloping Ghost Arcade review

[Rigby]

Not sure anyone cares but I spent a great many hours at this place today, and I wanted to share my experience.

Firstly: http://www.gallopingghostarcade.com/

The Galloping Ghost Arcade is a good sized (400 games or so) video game arcade in Brookfield, IL, a suburb of Chicago.  It has a unique pricing structure in that there is a one-time entry fee, and all the games within are set to free-play.  A one-day pass costs $15 per person.  Weekly, monthly, and yearly passes are also sold.  You can come and go as you please once you've purchased the pass.

Their game selection is significant and covers a very wide range of genres and ages.  There is a very slight focus on fighting games; there are entire rows of MK and SF cabinets.  There are several PS3 games shoved into arcade cabinets, and there is at least one modern gaming room, with flat-panel TVs on the walls, couches, and modern video game consoles.  This is a nice touch.

A lot of the cabinets are "original" in that the side art matches the marquee, and the marquee matches the game.  There are a few cases where the side art does not match the game, and many where the cabinet just isn't right for the game at all, or where button placement is just wrong.

This is definitely an operators' arcade; very little effort is spent to keep cabinets original, or even looking good.  Holes are cut where holes need to be to fit a monitor frame, for example.  Bezel art is often missing, control panels are loose, buttons don't work or don't feel right, etc.  This is not a collectors' arcade, and if you go in there thinking you'll see an arcade from the 1980s, you will be unhappy with what you see.

VERY few of the monitors were even close to looking good.  A few had LCD panels, the rest were CRTs or projection.  Nearly all the CRTs need attention beyond what the turning of dials can accomplish.  There was at least one monitor with vertical collapse, several with chassis connected to earth ground (a no-no for monitors driven by isolation transformers) and had visible noise to show for it.  Many had extreme burn-in, many had severe tube/yoke issues, and, sadly, 90% had distracting color issues.  There were less than 10 monitors which I considered to have a "good" picture.  There was a Neo-Geo cabinet where green was indistinguishable from black, and red and blue were similar enough that I had difficulty playing Puzzle Bobble.

At this point I think it is important to note that I am starting to believe that operators such as this one are at least partially to blame for their own industry's downfall because of things like this.  It felt like very little attempt was made to keep things in good shape, and it soured me quite a bit on the arcade industry as a whole.  It felt very much like a place that cuts corners and does not value its customers; it was weird and not comfortable.  Once I paid and went inside, I felt like I was in the way, and annoying the staff. 

In comparison, the arcade in McLean, IL is clearly run by a collector.  Attention to detail is prevalent in nearly all machines there, and each time I go back, I see more things fixed, and fresh games that look great rotated in.

The Galloping Ghost Arcade is staffed by 1-2 dudes that seem to be running things, and 5-8 more who don't give a damn about anything.  Most were firmly seated at computers in offices in a nearby "expansion" where the pinballs were located, swearing up a storm in front of my kids and nephews, or tending to about 2 dozen guitars in a collection.  To be fair, these offices might have been subleased.

The play sounds and atmosphere (when your eyes were closed) were surreal and authentic.  Not all games had audible audio (I suspect because volumes were turned down in many cases) but those that did sounded good.  The bathroom smelled like an industrial waste accident, the shop was a giant tangle of parts that looked like it hadn't seated an actual repairman for a decade.

This place has game pricing done correctly, but it felt more like they stand up games to get their game count up, rather than providing a good gaming experience.  They need a jukebox, a bar & grill, and a full-time monitor repair guy.  350 cabinets or so, and at least 330 of them had monitors which needed repair...

Overall, if you go in expecting what I've described, you will not be disappointed.  If you go in expecting to see the personal collection of a collector with an eye for detail, you will be SORELY disappointed, as I was.

[Nephasth]

I felt like I was in the way, and annoying the staff. 

Hmm... You might be onto something here...

[Rigby]

Hmm... You might be onto something here...

I can always count on you.

I was not the only one that felt this way.  My wife, daughters, and nephews all felt this way.  Three of the six of us were physically shoved or intentionally bumped into by staff while we were playing games.

[chopperthedog]

I live about 5 miles from the joint. Went there for the first time about 6 months ago and didn't even stay for 20 minutes. EVERY game I was interested in playing  was shot. Intermittent buttons, joysticks that were unusable, the mentioned display issues and so on. There wasn't a classic game cab in the place worthy of providing a moderate gaming experience. Within the first 10 minutes I knew I was out 15 bucks and didn't want to stay.


good day.

[Rigby]

I live about 5 miles from the joint. Went there for the first time about 6 months ago and didn't even stay for 20 minutes. EVERY game I was interested in playing  was shot. Intermittent buttons, joysticks that were unusable, the mentioned display issues and so on. There wasn't a classic game cab in the place worthy of providing a moderate gaming experience. Within the first 10 minutes I knew I was out 15 bucks and didn't want to stay.

Had I not driven for hours and brought 5 people with me I would have left soon, also.  I won't be returning.

[DGP]

Ironic that their first Gallery Pic shows a guy putting a quarter/token into a Joust cab.

Sad that it's run by a bunch of  that don't appreciate what they have going (nor what keeps the paycheck coming... customers).

Jason

[Typefighter01]

I felt like I was in the way, and annoying the staff. 

Hmm... You might be onto something here...

The mentality in the retail world now, from McDonalds to FutureShop, is the customer needs to walk on broken glass so as not to inconvenience the employee. We kiss the employees ass so they will give us the most basic of service. I do whatever I can to avoid face to face retail (and entertainment like movie theaters) as I find it stressful and never enjoyable. Not sure why when people on this forum give a company or service a bad review, the same cast and crew come out in force to tell the poster how they are more than likely the issue and how their expectations are too high. I understand the ones that stick up for the companys are probably small business owners themselves, but you are just reinforcing this culture of rude, lazy, self-entitled teenagers. The best customer service I have ever received is from the call centers in India when returning parts to Amazon...they have been polite, curtious and fast. What we need to do is start verbally blasting these lazy teens (and grown-ups for that matter) and if they can't provide the most basic of service, call the manager and complain. But this will never happen as we are all trained to be nice and be thankful we were helped at all.

[codefenix]

What we need to do is start verbally blasting these lazy teens

I was with you until I read this line.  You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, everyone knows that.  If you don't get what you want by acting cordially, keep walking.  Don't stoop to their level.

Besides, having spent a third of my life working in retail (I've moved on, thankfully), I can tell you that you can't please everyone no matter how courteous and helpful you are.  Plenty of customers walk in with a chip on their shoulder right from the rip, and you're their victim for the day because you happen to have the company's name tag/lanyard/smock on.  Sometimes the customer's right, but usually the customer's an ignorant deadbeat who misuses products, wastes your time, and ends up costing you more than you profit to serve.

[JDFan]

I felt like I was in the way, and annoying the staff. 

Hmm... You might be onto something here...

The mentality in the retail world now, from McDonalds to FutureShop, is the customer needs to walk on broken glass so as not to inconvenience the employee. We kiss the employees ass so they will give us the most basic of service. I do whatever I can to avoid face to face retail (and entertainment like movie theaters) as I find it stressful and never enjoyable. Not sure why when people on this forum give a company or service a bad review, the same cast and crew come out in force to tell the poster how they are more than likely the issue and how their expectations are too high. I understand the ones that stick up for the companys are probably small business owners themselves, but you are just reinforcing this culture of rude, lazy, self-entitled teenagers. The best customer service I have ever received is from the call centers in India when returning parts to Amazon...they have been polite, curtious and fast. What we need to do is start verbally blasting these lazy teens (and grown-ups for that matter) and if they can't provide the most basic of service, call the manager and complain. But this will never happen as we are all trained to be nice and be thankful we were helped at all.

Unfortunately nowadays even talking to the manager isn't very helpful as most of them are just another of the same that happened to stay around for more than a couple months and now gets paid an extra 50 cents an hour to play manager -- The real blame for most of this is the companies themselves who are so concerned with the bottom line that they don't hire proper managers that actually teach a staff about the job (usually because the company has cut their staffing levels to a bare minimum to save a few labor $'s ) and would rather pay a kid $7 an hour to run the place rather than pay a real manager. 

[Typefighter01]

What we need to do is start verbally blasting these lazy teens

I was with you until I read this line.  You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, everyone knows that.  If you don't get what you want by acting cordially, keep walking.  Don't stoop to their level.

You are completely right codefenix, and I can ensure you I have actually never done this, I am one of the biggest kiss asses going. But this again speaks to my point. Yes, we all agree working retail can suck, people can be rude, but it is my money and my time, not too sure why I need to feed them extra honey, seems I get the same service no matter what I feed them.

Though I don't work in retail, I do work for a logistics company that provides services to Honda Canada and they are a customer to me and bottom line is I go out of my way to help them with any and all request, with a smile I might add, whether they are rude to me or not. It was my decision to take the job, and if I don't like it I can hit the bricks. I was just as polite to people when I made $6.50 an hour as I am now. We need to stop using wages as an excuse for behaviour as we are all going to be making minimum wage in the future.

[Well Fed Games]

Rigby's summary is right on. The wife and I go a couple of times a year and have a great time. A surprising amount of "easy fixes" (controls not controlling, jamma switchers not switching, bezels not bezeling) going unfixed though.

[yotsuya]

Do the dustwashers at least dustwash?

[WindDrake]

I live about an hour from GG, and I'll concur on this.. Mostly.

The owner, Doc Mack, actually cares a great deal about the games, but I think his Fightning-Game-in-Development sucks up most of his time.

I also noticed he's mostly hired what appears to be locals or his friends, which tend to make poor workers.

I've done a few shifts of repair work for Doc before, and it's always a scary triage. Trying to chest-paddle a downed Williams, bring back sound on the TMNT, or unplug that K7000 before it's flyback starts the cab on fire.

They need a full-time repair guy, badly.

[Rigby]

There are a lot of very good fighting games, and the genre still gets fresh titles regularly.  Why is ... nevermind.  Follow your dreams, Doc; just don't forget about what's already in place and generating income for you, first.

Day-to-day operation of existing business comes higher on the priority list than investments in new business.

[Rigby]

They need a full-time repair guy, badly.

A full-time repair guy would have about 6 months of work on his hands, even if he had every part required on-hand when it was needed, and didn't need to order anything, and that's just monitor repair.