You're not wrong, though I will say that I haven't forgotten it's a social space. The social aspect is why I bought it in the first place. In my mind, the kiosk terminal is there for convenience. We get a lot of people who A) don't want to interact with us more than necessary or B) sometimes people buy one game or one hour, then decide to stay -much- longer.

My thinking on that is, don't make the customer get up if they don't need / want to.

Long story short, the intent of the kiosk isn't to delete human interaction. Honestly, I implemented it as a way to summon servers or bowling mechanics, and any self-service options I could think of as-needed. One doesn't have to use the kiosk, they're just there as a convenience thing.

If I go out bowling with friends, I'm there to socialize with my friends. If I rent the lane from a Kiosk, I'm fine with that being the end of the transaction I don't need the manager to come introduce himself.

> one of the more distinguishing features of a venue

It depends a lot on whether your customer base is made up mainly of one-off walk-in casuals, or regulars. Getting to know the regulars, and having a chat with them, can improve the feel of being in work for the staff themselves, as well as providing a more friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

The OP described this particular case as being in a small town, with not many other options for entertainment, i.e. a small captive audience. You could say the customers don't have much else to do so it doesn't matter if you're a miserable git, they'll still come. But just being friendly and chatty makes all the difference to a lot of people, and can help you build a loyal audience of core customers who'll choose your place over the few alternatives, will keep coming, keep bringing more friends and family, and sometimes even support your business in unexpected ways.

Most people don't know that the real money is food and alcohol. Buy pizza and drinks for everyone and they should throw the lane in for free.

How did you read everything OP posted and come to that conclusion?

> Can you create a space people want to come to?

Over many years I've tried to work out where a positive vibe comes from (mostly at food and beverage places).

My current theory is that a good vibe is an emergent behaviour from the customers.

Obviously poor managers/owners can make a toxic place (but negativity is a completely different issue from creating positivity). I've witnessed many owners think they can create a vibe, but then crash and burn (especially when taking over somewhere with an existing vibe). They often don't seem to understand how they failed (maybe have excuses that don't ring true). Starting or buying a business requires ego, but too much ego leads to mistaken self-belief.

I'm sure a wise manager can encourage a vibe to grow, but actually it seems like the customers drive the process.

Maybe it's just a human thing that like-minded people create spaces for themselves.

I watched the vibe at one place radically shift from tradies to more gentrified customers. Same owners and staff. I also suspect I'm just not good at it myself, so I lack the skills to even see why someone is good (and might not even understand if they try and explain to me).

Anyone else tried to grok how a good ambience grows? Is there some standard for learning it?

That really speaks to his initial comments of his being in a 'R&R desert'.