“PLAY TILL YOU WIN”

That was the sign on the claw game at the indoor playground this weekend.

$1 unlimited plays until you win the tackiest stuffed animal you’ve ever seen that my child could not wait to have. 

What?? I was ecstatic. Usually these things are highway robbery. An easy $10 out the window and you certainly aren’t lucky (??) enough to score a plush poop emoji. 🥴

So play until you win?

And still, kids and parents kept leaving empty handed. 

Why? How were they losing when winning was guaranteed?

I had to find out. It took 4 missed claw grabs before it hit me.

They quit too soon. 

It was the only way to lose.

Because an indoor playground on a Saturday isn’t humbling enough as it is, the claw machines kept track of how many tries it took you to win. Sweet of them. Insult our abilities AND give the kids ringworm.

It took us 18 tries to win a round chipmunk making a kissy face.

It took the person before us 6.

I went to look at the other machine after noticing someone had just walked away without a prize….

They called it quits on the 13th try. 

Maybe they ran out of time. Maybe they just didn’t want it bad enough anymore. Maybe they kept coming reeeallllllly close but instead were off by an inch, which left them watching the stuffed rainbow unicorn tumble further into the pile. Maybe they were soooo far off it started to seem pointless. 

Entrepreneurship is play till you win. 

Sales is play till you win. 

A lot of life is play till you win.

The only way that you can lose is to quit too soon.

I know in my heart that what you’re playing for is so much better than the plush wink emoji. 

But I do hope that none of us look at those games the same ever again.

Xo, The Salesgirls