To play Devil's advocate somewhat, operator's were running a business, not a personal collection of cosseted machines. Like any business, it's all about making money. They also will have had substantial overheads to cover before even making a profit. Downtime for a cab = lost revenue, so quick & nasty fixes were often the order of the day, unfortunately.
I'm very familiar with overheads
. I know you stated that you were playing Devil's Advocate, but I think you may be missing my point. When you paid your quarter at an arcade, you were paying for more than just a chance to play a game. You were purchasing an
experience. Part of that was using controls designed specifically for the game, as well as all of the "bells and whistles" of the cabinet art, design, etc... When the Atari computers, and second-gen consoles arrived on the scene, many of the arcade ports offered very good gameplay, on par with the arcade versions. But using poor controls, and sitting in front of a TV while playing, didn't feel at all the same.
When operators started cutting corners, they devalued the experience. Bad controls, lackluster artwork, poor conversions and disrepair, made the home experience more and more acceptable, sometimes even preferable. In the end, these practices contributed to the demise of an industry they relied on for income. I believe the adage is "Penny wise, pound foolish".