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So You Think You are A Coleco Fan


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This is an exchange of email I had between an Ex-Coleco employee from back in the day.

 

I've heard rumours, but this is a first hand account (note the names have been changed Mr X). Read from, the bottom up in the progression of the emails.

 

Makes you think about the differences in philosophy between Atari, Mattel and Coleco....

 

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Back when Coleco was switching from having their video game electronics built in Taiwan, to building them in-house in the US, I was hired as a contractor to design and set up the test and repair line for the completed printed circuit boards. "Colecovision" was still being developed then, and the Adam wasn't even on the drawing board yet. I was there for a year, and the management attitude towards the help was about as close to a "slave labor" mentality as I've ever seen, particularly on the assembly lines. Supervisors walking around with stop watches, and constantly yelling at people to pick up the pace, etc. It got really ugly sometimes, and more than one person snapped and took a swing at a floor boss on their way out the door. They were constantly running ads for new hires due to the turnover. I had heard similar stories about their other toy plants in the area, but I didn't really believe it was that bad until I saw it myself. Today, there would probably be lawsuits by the ton. :-)

 

It was the Coleco upper management that set the tone though. I once was included in a group of managers escorting Arnie Greenberg, then the Coleco CEO, on a tour of the new facilities. When he saw one young lady from the assembly area walk by that had a deformed foot and limped badly, he told the personnel manager that she "disturbed him", and to get rid of her. I'm sure she was not told the truth about why she was fired that afternoon...

 

I hope the TV folks do follow through on the DVD for you!

 

Mr X

 

 

Lee Krueger wrote:

You bet I am tagging the connections....

 

Sounds like you had a bad time woth Coleco. That's too bad. I have some fond memories of playing Atari with my dad. Long story... but they were the last days of his life with us before he passed on due to cancer.

 

I asked for a copy of the segment, the reporter promised to send me a DVD copy. I hope he doesn't forget and it doesn't air while I am out of town.

 

-Lee

 

Mr X wrote:

Don't forget to tag the battery connections before you disconnect them. :-)

 

Hey, that's cool on the video game spot! I'm not sure how much I want to be reminded of the year I worked at Coleco in Amsterdam, NY though... :-)

 

Will they have the clip available for download or streaming?

 

Mr X

 

 

Lee Krueger wrote:

Thanks Mr X.

 

I talked to a few places today about what I did and my dilema. They were all thinking it was the lower part of my converter. I just got back from Camping world with a new one. We'll see if I can get it installed this weekend. But first, I am going to check the voltage at the battery before doing anything.

 

OH.. on a toltally unrelated note.... King 5 news (Seattle) came out to my house to film a clip about old video games for their Evening Magazine (a local show about things, places and interesting people of the Pacific NorthWest). I invited Joe Decuir, hard ware designer of the Atari 2600, Atari computers and the Amiga computer (He lives near me). It was great fun as they filmed interviews with Joe and I. They took footage of my massive "Pre-Nintendo" game collection, including my Colecovision and Adam systems (thought you might like that...). They filmed me playing Joe in a few games of Combat (Atari game Joe wrote for the Atari). It is supposed to air in May.

 

Thanks again for the advice. I really appreciate your time.

-Lee

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Just some food for thought.

 

Regards,

-Lee

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