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Real time reviews of locators


kandyking

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Wow- I really thought someone would have pulled ahead by now. Again, thank you KandyKing for providing the perfect arena for the locators to battle it out!

What surprises me is that one or two of them haven't seen this thread and turned it up a notch to look so good everyone wants to use them. Not smart ignoring sites where your customers go...

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Day 10: The addition of Rising Star Locators was made last night for 3 triple head machines at a rate of $35 each

Kickstart: Finally a location and this one looks to be a real find. A toy machine in a busy restaurant on a very busy strip. I am quite excited about this one. 12 out of 24 placed. The finally reached the half way mark and it only took 6 weeks. (Averaging 2 placements a week thus far and a 50/50 mix of good to duds. A total roll of the dice thus far)

Locators R Us: No locations in 12 days. This order may actually end up being cancelled if I do not get a few placed next week

First Choice: Thus far, this really is my first choice in locators. A little pricey at $50 a pop but well worth it. They have come through with 2 great locations and the third would have been great had it not already had three machines there. 3 out of 5 locations placed in the first 5 days of adding me to the rotation. These guys are all but guaranteed a re-order. Perhaps I will give them the 10 machines that Locators R Us can't seem to place

Eddie Bauer: Thus far Eddie Bauer has sent me 1 mediocre location (Muffler Shop), 1rejection (Mechanic) and 1 dud location (Tailor). Although they are sending locations, it seems to be anywhere that is willing to take a machine. They really are not looking for good locations.

General Vending Services: It has only been 3 days but nothing yet.

Rising Star: This is their first full day on the job but no action yet

If I had to rank them based on performance to date, First Choice would be first and the rest would be tied for last with Locators R Us making me wish that there was a distinction below last that I can bestow upon them. That being said, the race is far from over and I love a cinderella story and a come from behind victory so only time will tell on who the best is. We still haven't even given our late entrance, Rising Star and General Vending Services a fair shake yet.

As always, if you have ANYONE new that you want me to try or ANYONE you have used that you think is worth a look, let me know.

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Good stuff.

Retail break rooms have been very hit-or-miss for me. With the smaller stores in malls being poor performers. Will be curious what your numbers are.

Best to avoid those one-man barber shops and Billy-Bob transmission places too!

Looks like third-world technology infrastructure issues in the Pacific will not go away.

Thanks for the update there, partner!

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Best to avoid those one-man barber shops and Billy-Bob transmission places too!

Really? And do you know why? We have a lot of those around here and I was seriously thinking of putting some singles in them but I don't want to waste my time.

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Really? And do you know why? We have a lot of those around here and I was seriously thinking of putting some singles in them but I don't want to waste my time.

I would NEVER pay a locator for those kind of places.

If they were close to my house AND did not cost anything to place, I MAY consider a sampling to test out. But I had a number of those types of places over the years and every single one of them has been removed.

Day 11: No real action because it is a Saturday but I did go and place a machine given by Kickstart. The location rejected me explaining that they told the person on the phone that they had VERY limited space and the average patron was over 65 years old so they are not sure what they would like.

That does not sound like a "Yes", does it???!!! This is why we should not prepay for locations any more.

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I would NEVER pay a locator for those kind of places.

If they were close to my house AND did not cost anything to place, I MAY consider a sampling to test out. But I had a number of those types of places over the years and every single one of them has been removed.

Oh I wouldn't be happy with a locator giving me one, I was going to self locate them, but never heard they suck so just trying to find out why.

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Seriously folks, if you have ANYONE who is decent at locating, please let me know so I can add them to this experiment. This forum deserves to find a locator that is worth using.

I honestly don't think you will ever find a locator that will last for any length of time (a year or more) and perform on a consistent basis.

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Oh I wouldn't be happy with a locator giving me one, I was going to self locate them, but never heard they suck so just trying to find out why.

Another reason why I dislike those grungy auto places is that the physical environment is not great for a bulk machine. First of all, they are grungy and that can attract bugs and ants. Second, there is usually no climate control and candy/gum will melt here in the summer time. Third, the machines get beat up more and rust out quicker. So at the end of the day when I finally remove the machine, I get $5 per month, with a melted mess to clean up, maybe with some bugs/ants too, with a rusted stand to sand and repaint, with a corroded machine that usually also need to be sanded and repainted. So the machine can not be relocated quickly and may sit in storage for a few months until I get around to cleaning it up. All that refurb work along very little money is no fun at all and just not worth it to me. This is one case where you may want to consider plastic machines with wooden stands for those grungy auto places, but you still may have the heat to contend with - and yes, gumballs can melt too!

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Kickstarts response to that email:

George,

Hey partner! Great to hear from you. My apologies about that. Thanks for letting me know.

Have a great one!

Regards,

Rob

Seriously folks, if you have ANYONE who is decent at locating, please let me know so I can add them to this experiment. This forum deserves to find a locator that is worth using.

Wow. That's awful. They should know better than to treat their customers like this!

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I have a few locators on my payroll that go door to door but, since none of you can use them, I did not include them in my evaluation. Next month I am planning to increase my "on staff" locators. I will start a new thread with the process and how it is working when I do implement that change.

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With the amount of machines I get per month that need locating, I need as many possible potential locators as I can get.

i understand that but when you hire someone you can develop a consistent pitch and maintain quality control so you know they are

representing your company appropriately. also you will end up with fewer headaches chasing people around for a hundred dollars

here and there, $15/hr plus a $10 bonus for locations should be an attractive package for most sesasoned professional telemarketers

try elance or craigs list

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Day 13: Day 12 was a Sunday so no action

Kickstart: After the rejection on day 11, Kickstart has offered nothing except a poor apology. Now we are 11 days into this exercise without a single placement from kickstart. At their prices, they should be at the top of the heap, not the bottom. This is probably the last money Rob will ever see from me unless he pulls off a miracle.

Locators R Us: After coming clean about their loss of phone and communication issues after 2 weeks of no action,

http://vendiscuss.ne...e-and-team-lru/ ,

LRU had come out of nowhere with 2 very good restaurant locations that will be placed tomorrow. I am very glad I hung in there with this company. I got a call from Gale today and she asked for a couple of additional zip codes and they are working my account hard. I am very hopeful that these folks can rise again to their once former glory.

First Choice: First Choice has come through yet again with another employee breakroom of a VERY large department store. This makes them 4 out of 5 in 8 days. I must say that they have clearly separated themselves from the herd with quick and quality locations.

Eddie Bauer: No action over the weekend from Eddie Bauer. Thus far they have given me 2 locations out of 6 and neither are anything special. What started out as promising has quickly fizzled.

General Vending Services: It has been 6 days and nothing out of GVS yet aside from a scathing expose from Rdendy

http://vendiscuss.ne...nding-services/

I am still giving them a chance and hope I do not regret it later.

Rising Star: We are 4 days in but no action yet

First Choice is the clear favorite with Locators R Us, out of no where, nipping at their heels. Eddie Bauer is falling behind with Kickstart becoming the shocking disappointment of the contest. The others have just gotten started so let's see how it shakes out.

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Sounds like a good problem to have, mine is the opposite I place them pretty quick but then I have to wait around till I can buy some more.

@rdendy- how are you locating your machines?

Edited by fyver
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@rdendy- how are you locating your machines?

I just go out in person, be very polite, and get it done. I don't like it but it can be exhilarating and any money I save from a locator is more money for machines.

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I just go out in person, be very polite, and get it done. I don't like it but it can be exhilarating and any money I save from a locator is more money for machines.

What is your success rate and do you have any tips for closing the deal?

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What is your success rate and do you have any tips for closing the deal?

I don't keep up with an ongoing percentage or anything and I am still too new to the game to have a long enough locating period to be a fair judge but as an example last time I went out I hit 7 locations, placed 4 doubles, all charity and got 1 job offer lol.

My tips for closing the deal with charity is speak from a team perspective, I always tell them WE appreciate their support and thank you for supporting OUR organization. Both of these inferences are true, both myself and NCCS appreciate the donations made possible by these store owners hosting the machine(s). In addition I try to be very polite, dress professionally, and if needed or opportunity is presented I explain my equipment is "new" or "just cleaned and refurbished" depending on what it is. I also offer to let them see it, I carry it with me and I tell them the products I carry in case they would like something different in the future.

Also as a fair disclosure In my youth I did work in sales, customer service and management for more than 20 years, so I have some experience in sales techniques and I can accurately determine a managers issues and address them in a way he will understand.

Edited by rdendy
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You landed 4 out of 7?!?!?! I think I need to re-train my on staff locators. They are batting a little closer to 10% success rates. I will try to re-work my script and incorporate some of your ideas and hope that I can get my numbers up a little.

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Day 14:

Kickstart: 12 days and still not a single viable location. They charge more than $50 a location up front for possibly the worst locating out of anyone in the contest. I really hope Rob comes through with a windfall of great locations because his site is great and his communication is quick.

Locators R Us: The new LRU are coming through with flying colors. Another very promising location (pizza place) and this makes 3 in 2 days. They are on fire and I am very glad to see someone stepping up to the plate. Looks like someone is going to give First Choice a run for their money after all.

First Choice: I placed the 4th out of 5 machines today and already made another order for 5 more. These guys seem like the team to beat but LRU really has made a statement in the last 2 days. This race is going to be a nail biter after all.

Eddie Bauer: Another mediocre location from Eddie Bauer which puts them at 4 out of 6. They are not delivering quality but they are giving me a constant flow of locations. I guess it could be worse . . . they could be kickstart.

General Vending Services: It has been 7 days and nothing out of GVS. I hope they have not be scared into submission

Rising Star: We are 5 days in and I got a phone call from them saying they have secured a couple of locations. I have received no email follow up as of yet but I only got the call a couple of hours ago.

First Choice is still at the top of the heap but Locators R Us is on the cusp of overtaking them. Eddie Bauer is 3rd with a steady supply of poor locations. Rising Star is 4th and climbing with the promise of 2 locations in just 5 days. General Vending is 5th with no locations in 7 days and Kickstart is dead last and began a free fall 12 days ago and no end in sight.

FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW OF ANY OTHER LOCATORS YOU WANT IN THE MIX

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