My Mama Said There Would Be Days Like This

A Work Odyssey

Ah, Wednesday.

It's kind of my flex day. One week, like today, I actually have a route, where some additional tasks, like filling ATMs can be added on. The next, I don't have a route, but have carved out some places who need extra attention with fills, maintenance, fixing, etc.

Today was going to be a fairly short day. I just had seven places to go, no more than 40 machines to collect from, and most weren't the kind you need to fill back up with plastic ducks, plastic toys and candy, or plush toys. In other words, a fairly easy day.

Deviation #1

I already knew from the night before, though, I would need to go to another town to deliver hand chalk for a bar with a couple of our pool tables. It's essentially a fifty minute out of the way round trip for about twenty seconds worth of work.

"Hi. I guess you guys need some chalk."

"Oh, yeah. I kept forgetting to call about that. I guess some of our customers were missing it."

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. See you later."

Deviation #2

On the way to drop off the chalk, I see another service call has been added that another bar, also with some of our pool tables, has a problem. One of them isn't working, but there's no details. Typical.

I am by no means an expert at fixing pool tables, but since it's my area, I get to at least be the front man to make a diagnosis, and if I can fix it, I should.

When I get there, the bartender doesn't seem to be in a talking mood (odd for a bartender, but it is 9:30 AM), so I go to where the pool tables are. It's not hard to know which table has a problem since there's a big old sign laying on top of it saying, "Out of Order." Even a cue stick has been left on the table, apparently to add emphasis.

It was suggested in the service call that maybe it's a coin jam. One of the cool things about pool tables is, they don't really jam a whole lot. Not like the other games, but I check it anyway. No jam.

Now what?

If you've ever looked underneath a pool table, you'll know that there is a base, where all kinds of things can collect—in this case, there were all kinds of cue stick chalk—and then there's a mini-labyrinth of pathways where balls that have been knocked into a hole go to queue back up for next time.

It was readily apparent when I first opened the side that not all of the pool balls were there. Maybe half were missing. Not a good sign. The cue ball wasn't in it's designated corner, either. The problem is, you can't really see into where the balls flow because they're too close to the table top. So I stuck my hand into the center lane and felt around.

Bingo! A bunch of balls were just sitting there. I had to figure out which way they were supposed to roll, but once I did, down they came into their proper place. Except for the cue ball, which instead of heading to its corner, got stuck on a long piece of metal that I guess is there to prevent oversized balls from lining up. Essentially, that's all it did.

I determined that the cue ball was too big, which didn't make a whole lot of sense, since surely it's the same ball that's been there and cue balls don't grow (that I know of), but stranger things have happened when it comes to pool tables. I've already replaced cue balls that were too small. Now I had one that was too big.

Fortunately, I had one in the rig, and it worked perfectly. I tossed the balls into the pockets and they all made it back around to the side where they're supposed to line up, and then I rolled the cue ball. Like clockwork, out to its corner it went.

Deviation #3

After making sure everything was locked up (I had to fix one of the locks on the side board before I left), it was off to the next added task, to fill an ATM in yet another town. Neither the first or second place were where I was supposed to be, but hey, I'm getting paid, right?

Filling ATMs are generally easy enough. You need to know some combinations, make sure the bills are stacked correctly in the tray, make sure the tray is inserted properly and everything is locked back up. Then more codes to get into the software to actually increase the bill count. Make sure the right amount is inputed. Print the receipts and get out of the administrative view so people can use the ATM. Check the receipt tape to make sure there's plenty of it left.

Generally, without hiccups, the whole process takes less than five minutes. Such was the case, so I was able to move on. By then it was about 10:40 AM. I'd left at 9 AM, and wasn't even in the area for collections yet. And now, I needed gas.

Deviation #4

The gas station up from where I live is actually on the way from where I was to where I needed to be, so I came up the freeway to the proper exit and headed to get the gas. All told, about a ten minute deviation, but at least I didn't have to worry whether or not I had enough to get where I needed to go, and since I'm supposed to head down to the shop to resupply tomorrow, I'd have to fill up at some point.

To The Route—Stop #1

Off to the first stop on my collection route. In actuality, getting a later start helped in this case simply because there's one stop which is farther south than all the rest. I generally try to pick it up on the way back, but it's also a little out of the way, and there aren't any street lights along the one lane country road in or out. So getting to it earlier in the day is actually helpful.

When I get there, the owner is talking to the bartender. This place is more of a restaurant, but it has a bar and video poker, too, so it kind of covers the spectrum. I can see that I will need to fill the toy and candy machine again. Kids love it. It's called a Tractor Time, and it's one of those where you get something no matter what.

Everything else looks good, so I start to collect money. No sooner do I begin, when the owner wants to know about the change machine. She'd called it in because since it's been there, it's been problematic. Some places have the change machine on contract and so I check them when I go in. Others don't. This place was the latter though they were looking to become the former. My boss, though, talked them out of it, because he doesn't like us messing with the change machines that much, I guess, because they don't make a whole lot of money. So, he'd rather they service it themselves.

I tell her I've seen it in the system, but I don't know when it might be swapped. She's okay with that, as long as it's in the system. She then asks if I need a check for quarters.

I'm supposed to sell them a bag when they need it. I ask if they need a bag. She opens up the change machine and it's basically empty of quarters. So, she writes a check for the quarters and leaves me with it and the open change machine so I can fill it. Fortunately, the machines I'm collecting from and it are all in a small space, so it's no big deal, but again, it's another thing that wasn't on the docket with the added bonus of it not being something my boss wants me to spend a lot of time with.

I collect the rest of the machines, but I need to take the money out to the van, get the bag of change and the candy/toy mix. There's some money in the bill acceptor, and even though it doesn't look like much, and there's hardly anyone there, I don't want to leave the change machine open with the keys in the lock, so I close it up, take the keys and go out to the van. There I load up the money I've collected, retrieve the change and the other stuff I need and go back inside.

All in all, it's another fifteen minutes or so before I'm able to head to the next place. So far, it's been a day of side jobs and distractions.

Stop #2

Stop number two on the actual collection route is a national sports bar chain with four machines that generally are easy to collect from. Except, two of the machines have been swapped out and the new ones aren't in the information collecting app I use for things like how much the machine made since last collection and how much product went out. That means the starting meter numbers are all wrong, too, which means I can't log them. I need to track the, though, so more extra stuff I need to do. I take pictures of the meter and machine numbers and move on.

Stop #3

Once that's done, it's off to the bounce house. It's a pretty amazing set up, with thirty foot slides and a pirate ship. Fortunately, there's not a whole lot of kids running around, but I realize when I get there I don't have ducks! The crane machine there has been going through them like crazy lately and even though I had some to bring, they didn't get into the van this morning. I hate it when that happens. It means I will have to go back and in general, that's frowned upon. But I should have a moment to do it tomorrow so I head inside.

The young man at the front desk greets me and then informs me that duck game is indeed handing out more than one duck. He'd told me about it the last time I collected two weeks ago, and I'd said then if he got a chance to see it happen, to let me know. Sometimes the claw picks up more than one duck. No problem. But it's only supposed to drop whatever it gets once and then stop. It can keep trying if it doesn't get anything the first or second time. But once it does, that's it.

I'm not an expert on the duck game, but it sounds like a sensor issue, so I head back to begin collecting. When it comes time for the duck crane, I wince, since the amount of ducks left is lower than I anticipated and I still don't have ducks. It allows for free plays (if you can get inside and push the button), so I try to duplicate getting extra ducks after wiping off the strip of multi-sensors lining one side of the drop chamber.

I play four or five times and I get just the one drop of ducks. Is it fixed? Unfortunately, I'm not going to know until next time, if someone's keeping track. There wasn't really a lot of dust or build up on the sensors that I can see or feel, so I'm not even sure if I did anything.

Deviation #5?

Everything else looks good, so as I'm checking their change machine (this one I'm supposed to service), I get a call from my boss.

Another employee is stuck miles farther north than I am with a broken down company vehicle. I'm supposed to go get him. If I don't finish the route, no big deal.

Again, something I wasn't expecting. It's okay, though. I'm closest to the the co-worker, and I certainly don't want to leave him stranded.

Called Off

I wrap up and get into the van. It takes about five minutes to get to the freeway. I'm expecting a text with the co-workers exact location and his cell number. I don't get one. Instead, about fifteen minutes up the freeway I get a call from the boss saying the co-worker has the car working again and that I can go back to what I'm doing.

Frankly, I'm mostly relieved, because I'd rather collect, even though I was more than willing to help. I'm also a little annoyed, since I just burnt 20 minutes and will add another 25 to get back to where I needed to go, since there's no exit convenient to where I am.

I make the loop and get to what was previously my next destination.

Stop #4

Another bar. This one is actually a brewery, too. I notice as I go in to collect the machines farthest away from the bar that the golf game has an out of order sign. The monitor is dark. I feel annoyed again because this is a new machine after the other one was swapped out because it had problems. Now something was wrong with this one. Again, like the pool table, since I don't know what the problem is, I'll need to investigate first. I can hear the bartender talking to someone so I decide not ask what's up and get to checking things out.

The machine is on. I can tell because some buttons that aren't typically lit up are. Not sure what that means, but often power cycling solves issues so I unplug it, wait ten seconds and plug it back in. The machine comes on but the screen does not. I notice that the power indicator light on the monitor is still red, meaning that it must be turned off rather than in energy conservation mode. I push the button. A second later, I see more or less what's in the image above. A bunch of single vertical lines, even more heading horizontal, and a lot of dead space, all where the game should be.

Then, I see this small white area, and some other lines spiraling away from it in different directions. I realize that it's an impact point. Not quite a hole, but more like an indent. And the cracks weren't visible at all when the screen was dark, nor are they easy to feel, so they're pretty hairline, but more than enough to mess everything up.

I can't be absolutely certain, but it's most probable cause is that someone either poked the screen with some kind of object, like a knife, or lazily threw an object at the screen. Why? I don't know. This is a bar, and again, the most likely scenario is that some inebriated fellow did it, either because they were mad, frustrated, or too drunk to realize what they might do before they did it.

Regardless, a $200-plus monitor is ruined. It will need to be replaced.

While trying to feel the fracture lines and the indent, I discovered that touching the screen caused it to pulse a white light from the indent out along the spiral. Though it was quite irritating that it was broken, I thought the pulse was cool, so I recorded it to share here.

Collecting the machines went just fine otherwise, so in short order I was on to the next stop.

Stop #5

This was a pizza place that I like to get to early before it opens just because it's easier when there are no customers around. However, it was now after 3 pm, which is typically a deadzone for restaurants (although lately, I've been finding not so much), and fortunately, there were only a few folks there and all were on the other side of the restaurant from where the games are. I start collecting, and get two-thirds the way done when I get another call.

Deviation #5—It's Real This Time

My wife had already called me a couple of times, along with telemarketers, so I'm slow to answer. It's the boss again. The co-worker's vehicle has stalled yet again, and this time he's not going to be able to fix it. I'm told he's in a town about 15 minutes away, and I'm supposed to take him down to the town I was in to fill the ATM so the boss can take him back to the office.

I can finish up with the collections before I go to get the co-worker, so I try to hurry. I've been stranded on the side of the road before and so I know what it's like. A sense of helplessness and time lost. So, I do what I can to speed up things without getting sloppy. I can't leave anything open, or miss meter information. Plus, I know I need to make some fills. The ball crane and the candy crane are both heading towards empty, which means I will take even more time.

It's 20 minutes from the time I get the follow up text from my boss with the co-worker's cell phone number to when I leave. My guess is, he's been at this new location, a parts store parking lot, for going on 40 minutes, at least. I get back to the freeway, and then about 15 minutes from where I was told he was supposed to be, I give him a call.

I'm not sure if it's the connection, or just the way he answers the phone, but we don't seem to be hearing each other. There's a delay on his end. I have to repeat who I am. Finally, we get talking, and he sounds a little sheepish and apologizes that I need to go get him. I tell him no problem.

I Don't Think He Is Where You Said He Is

I still had two more places to collect, but again, I'm told to forego them. I won't need to finish them tonight. Just get the co-worker. So, I ask him where he is to verify the exact location. Turns out, he's not in the town I was told by the boss, but in another one even farther north. So, instead of being 15 minutes away, I'm more like 25. Not bad, but still, it means more waiting for him.

He gives me directions. I look up the parts place in Maps and set a course. He thinks it's three miles down the road from the exit. It's actually less than a half mile, as it turns out. Instead of 25, I get there in less than 20.

The vehicle he's driving is a Subaru (I tell you, they're everywhere, even in the company fleet!), and it's got over 250,000 miles on it. He grabs a few things from his front seat and then gets in mine.

The Theory Of Relativity

I thought my day was challenging.

On the way back, he tells me about his. He was back up to a place he'd been to the day before, close to two hours away from the office, one way, to try to fix some guns on a Tomb Raider game. When he gets there today, it's not open yet. He's an hour early. There's another place nearby he's supposed to fill an ATM machine at. So he goes there and finds out, of all things, it's closed on Wednesdays. Who closes on Wednesdays? Mondays, okay, some on a Sunday, but Wednesdays? So, now he's stuck with nothing to do until the first place opens.

When it does, the replacement guns he's brought this second trip don't work either. Something else is wrong with the machine, but he can't figure it out. It's happened before with another Tomb Raider game, but someone else, after some long and tedious work managed to fix it, but he doesn't know what they did.

Funny thing was, after he finished up at those places, he was supposed to then go to the town I was in first this morning and fix a flipper button on a Star Wars pinball machine. I didn't even know about it, though it's a reoccurring issue that I thought was fixed. Apparently not. That's when the car broke down. It threw a fan belt. He managed to get it back on, but it threw it again. At the parts store, he bought a new one, thinking the belt was the problem. After starting the car, the new belt came off, too.

Suddenly, my day wasn't looking so bad. Amazing how it's all relative.

One More Thing

I don't have my company van right now. Another change. Instead of me dropping him off with the boss, the co-worker was told to drive my van back to the office. I'm supposed to come in with the boss tomorrow, since he lives nearby and I usually go down to the shop on Thursdays, as I mentioned earlier.

It kind of feels strange. This is the first time in 7.5 months I haven't had it parked at home in the driveway or inside the fence.

It feels strange.

It's been one of those days.

Hopefully, the co-worker made it back without a hitch. I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning.

_{Images courtesy of Glen Anthony Albrethsen}