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Hello all - -

 

I am here to invite discussion on bad experiences that anyone else has had with 1-800-VENDING, particularly the HealthyYOU segment of their business.

 

I have a total of 5 HealthyYOU vending machines, HY900 (which are the same as the RS900 but in a fancy "healthy" wrap). From the beginning I have had nothing but problems with these machines. I thought I had done research on this company and these machines but apparently I did not dig deep enough. Today I discovered the site

 

www.unhappyfranchisee.com/1-800-vending-complaints/

 

and it has moved me to check around to see who else is as unhappy as I am with this company. Come to find out, there are many. Not to mention that HealthyYOU (1-800-VENDING)  holds a class, called HealthyYOU University, for folks who purchase their machines. At our class, we all exchanged email addresses so all of us have been in contact with each other. If there is anyone in our class of about 30 folks that is happy with their experience at 1-800-VENDING, I have not heard about it. At least 5 persons in the group so far that I know of have sold their machines, all at extreme losses, for various problems and issues. We all purchased our machines in the spring/early summer of last year, 2013. The rest of the folks that I have been in contact with either want to sell, or are just "grinning and bearing" it.

 

Issues I have with the company are as follows:

 

#1. The warranty

The warranty was the main reason I chose this company above the others. They proclaim they have the longest warranty in the business, 7 years, apparently  because their machines are so well manufactured. First year all parts paid for and unlimited technical assistance. (keep in mind YOU ARE STILL THE ONE that has to diagnose and repair anything problems. Years 2 - 7 Technical assistance and parts at 1/2 price. This warranty is a total scam. One of my machines recently needed a new wiring harness. I had issues with the wiring harness for months, with my display flickering on and off and sometimes displaying gibberish. Come to find out the factory had bunched it so tightly with other wiring that about half of the wires in the flat cable were broken. I called to get a new harness and was told that even though I had been experiencing problems for months and was only 2 months out of the 12 month warranty, it would not be covered. Cost to me (plus shipping) would be $20.04. I called Seaga out of curiosity to get a price on the same part and was told it would be $25.65. (Hardly "1/2 price"). But that is not the half of it. I asked for the price of some switches and was told they would be the same price $20.04 each plus shipping. We did about 2 hours research on the internet, called a few places, and ended up with the EXACT SAME SWITCHES at $4.65 each which INCLUDED shipping. BOTTOM LINE: They promote the 7 years, but it is virtually worthless, especially in light of the fact that you are the one doing your own diagnostics and repairs. You can do research on the internet and buy your own parts for much less. But of course, this INVALIDATES THE "WARRANTY".

 

#2.  The inferior quality of the machines at exorbitant prices.

About 2 months after I purchased my HealthyYOU machines, HY900, I purchased 3 other vending machines, the USI 3000 combo machine. What a vastly superior machine! I have not had one mis-vend in a year's time, nor any mechanical issues of any kind, AND they were about $2,000 less. My HY900 machines arrived with screws rolling around in the bottom of the unit, my can augers did not work then and some of them still don't, I have replaced a circuit board, 3 switches, a wiring harness for the display, and 2 wiring harnesses to individual selections (all different machines) - besides countless mis-vends, mostly beverages. They shipped an entrée unit instead of an e-port device, and one of  the machines arrived badly damaged.

 

#3. The "rosy" picture they painted of "Healthy Vending"

 

Good locations are extremely difficult to come by. Many of the folks in my group had trouble placing their machines, with many that didn't get placed at all. The "Healthy revolution" was promoted, indicating that the healthy products would just 'fly" out of the machines. NOT SO. I finally compromised, took off my healthy wrap on a couple of machines and put in "junk" - candy bars and pop. The junk sells about 4 times as well as my healthy products (sad, but true), plus has much longer expiration dates, which is another whole problem with the "healthy".

 

I realize "let the buyer beware" applies here. I am not really expecting to recoup anything from my investment, and will have

to live with the situation that I have with these clearly inferior machines. My goal here is to MAKE OTHERS AWARE OF WHAT SHODDY AND DECEPTIVE business practices this company employs. If I can prevent others from buying into their BS and save their hard earned money, I will have achieved my goal. If you want vending machines, I heartily endorse USI.

 

Questions, comments??

 

 

 

 

 

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I have said it many times I hate what these and others do to the small guy. I have seen them bankrupt good people and I wish there was a way to have them arrested.

 

I got into this business of repair for just that reason. So I could help my fellow man and make an HONEST living so I could sleep at nights.

 

I don't drive a porsche. And if did I wouldn't brag about it....... 

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I'm sorry that you had this experience and even more so that you hadn't found this forum before spending your money. Everything you point out and more is why the general consensus among us professionals in the business is our recommendation that people stay away from healthy vending, all franchises, biz op shows, flashy websites with fantastic claims, imported machines and Seaga. This is further proof that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Stick around and if you still want to grow your business we can guide you in that endeavor.

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Thanks for the feed back -  I will stick around to read more posts, but honestly - where does anyone get the time to do that? LOL - guess maybe they aren't out repairing their Seaga vending machines all the time.

 

I have always agreed that "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" - the problem with that is that I never expected the money figures they were throwing around, I was prepared for a 2 year struggle with that - What I didn't expect is the machines being constantly broke down. That is such a bummer and my customers getting fed up with losing their money. I live in Moab, UT and there are no technicians here, we are out in the middle of nowhere- so we have to diagnose and trouble shoot these things ourselves. And I am one of the lucky ones! I have placed all my machines and all have sales.

 

Where can I find info about where to find products (Sam's and UNFI for me) and the best products to vend? I still like the Healthy idea - I have Healthy products about 2 to 1 in my machines, but seriously, do I need to go all JUNK??? I just hate the idea.

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I get my food/beverage from Cash & Carry, Costco and a local chain supermarket... sodas from Coke.  I just got an account with Vistar, a national vending service chain so check them out.  Others on here say Sam's Club is better than Costco but I don't have one close to me.  Just use a search engine to find all those close to you.

 

I checked out another healthy vendor site before I went on my own, starting with Coke, and now starting to buy my own snack machines. I just have a problem being tied to just healthy as I am a firm believer in the market setting the product.  One guy that has mentored me was forced to place a certain amount of healthy products in one of his machines and charge more for the unhealthy.  It worked out great for him because people still bought the unhealthy at the inflated price.

 

Good luck to you. Although it stinks to not get what you paid for must of us have done that in our lives somewhere and the best thing is just learn from it.

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Most likely in a storage locker until it is sold for lack of payment. Poor saps end up bankrupt. Then the guy who gets the storage locker thinks he got a gold mine. I love it when that happens.

I see a new reality show.......Storage Kings meets Vending Wars. :)

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I saw a show of storage wars last year.

they opened a unit door and the stench almost bowled them over.

it was a fully stocked hot dog cart.

nice cart, one of the high end ones selling for over 10 grand.

I wonder how long it took the winner to remove all the dead dogs and other rotting foods.

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  • 4 weeks later...

My full time job office just decided to install a Healthy You vending machine in one of the break rooms ... sitting right next to the regular snack and soda machines.  I only do bulk - it's not mine and I had no input into this decision!  Based on what I've read on Vendiscuss, I'm looking forward to some good observing.

 

It seems like many of the "healthy" items they stock are also in the regular machine, like pretzels, pirate's booty, even cookies.  Odd ... now I have a choice of pretzels from two machines sitting right next to each other.

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This the underhanded way of the Healthy Vending salesmen. They tell the office that their machine has completely different products in it so there's no competition with the current machines. To make it worse, the office goes along with it without even giving their vendor an opportunity to work with the location. Either that or the account dictates that they must have more than the vendor is willing to provide (based on his professional experience and likely his previous healthy experiments) and so allows the machine to be placed with no regard to how it affect the vendor.

I have installed some healthy machines in accounts that had the previous machine(s) removed and some where the healthy machine is just plopped down next to the existing machines. I always feel bad for the vendor who doesn't even know this has happened and I wonder what happens when both vendors see each other. It's just bad business for the location and the healthy vendor.

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There's a reason why all the vendors on here sell regular products which include Granola bars, Fiber 1, etc. I have tried many healthy items with no progress; that's why I sell regular vend products as well. 

 

Sorry to hear about your loss with the biz opp. This lesson will make your future vending easier and more enjoyable. I had mine as well. I could have at least 9 full-size machines with what I spent on the 3 Pieces of JUNK!! (Genesis Compost machines).

 

Thank goodness they and most of their delinquent dealers (stealers)  went bankrupt, and they can't rip off anyone else. It's truly criminal what these degenerate lowlives do. I hope their ears keep ringing, and they can't sleep at night with nightmares of thousands of vendors waiting for them outside their front doors ...   :ph34r: :ph34r: ;D

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Thanks for the feed back -  I will stick around to read more posts, but honestly - where does anyone get the time to do that? LOL - guess maybe they aren't out repairing their Seaga vending machines all the time.

 

I have always agreed that "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" - the problem with that is that I never expected the money figures they were throwing around, I was prepared for a 2 year struggle with that - What I didn't expect is the machines being constantly broke down. That is such a bummer and my customers getting fed up with losing their money. I live in Moab, UT and there are no technicians here, we are out in the middle of nowhere- so we have to diagnose and trouble shoot these things ourselves. And I am one of the lucky ones! I have placed all my machines and all have sales.

 

Where can I find info about where to find products (Sam's and UNFI for me) and the best products to vend? I still like the Healthy idea - I have Healthy products about 2 to 1 in my machines, but seriously, do I need to go all JUNK??? I just hate the idea.

I believe that Alden Savoca services your area if you get really stuck.  His company is Vendorstech out of Grand Junction.  A word of warning, Alden is not real thrilled with Seaga equipment either but he can fix them (when he has to  ;D )

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Thanks to this forum I didn't get sucked into this Healthy Vend racket.  I have 27 machines and have tried the healthy crap just to appease the loud minority. I truely believe there is a special place in HELL for the people peddeling this crap because they know it's just that. On a sad and different topic I have been working on the local College to kick out the big vender who comes to my town and provides the worst service(old single coil machines never cleaned always out of stock). Could never find the right person or they just don't return my calls, finally today I get to the proper person and she tells me they just signed a new contract and would rather have dealt locally?>?>*(&*&)((&*(()(*())&)()*>?><>NO wonder I drink!

 

Sammer

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all,

 

I had the same experience with Healthy You. I actually filed a claim with my credit card company because of all the trouble I've had. Below is the email I sent to them on 9/23/14 and have yet to hear a response. Since then I've replaced a coin changer as well. Any suggestions on the best combo snack machines are? I don't want to purchase any more from Seaga. I have 4 of these machines right now, two of them placed and want to grow my business, but deffinitely want to do it with machines that work! Also, what is your experience with USA Tech for the E-Port/Card Reader? Thanks!

 

6/30/14  Signed Contract/Made Deposit

7/23/14  Machines Delivered to local Warehouse/Paid remaining balance

 

9/2/14

  1. Placed one snack only machine and one snack/entree machine in Beverly Hills (same location). Shipping damage was noted on packing slip, as of today I have not received compensation or correspondence from Phil. Scott N emailed on 9/11/14 and is looking into it as of yesterday. Emailed pictures to Scott N. as well.

9/2/14

  1. Upon programming the snack only machine the Smart Ware Pro card was not accepted. Found out when I called Josh W. the software needed updating but was not informed ahead of time. Time wasted programming cards only to program machine manually.
  2. Set up snack machine and had issues with the coin changer not accepting any coins. Resolved with Scott N.
  3. Both machines drink doors had weather-stripping that was falling off, stripped screws inside the machines, and wires hanging without being secured properly. (Pictures were sent to Scott N.)  The snack machine door with the card reader on it was/is loose at the bottom and can easily be pulled out. This also makes the coin changer very noisy.
  4. EPort reader was not attached as Velcro put onto the machine was the same on both sides so it didn't stick. Scott N. was going to order more, as of today I have not received it.

 

9/3/14

  1. Set up snack machine with entree unit. As mentioned, weather-stripping issues, selection stickers falling off, and coin changer non operable. Spoke with Josh W. at Seaga and discovered the coin changer had not been connected on the factory line at Seaga.
  2. Difficulty with drink door due to stripped screws and weather-stripping.
  3. Eport was not operating. Called USA Tech and resolved.

 

9/7/14

  1. Email from location stating snack only machine card reader was not operating. Called USA Tech and was told someone would call me back. They did not.

 

9/8/14

  1. Called USA Tech back to address card reader issue, spoke with Mike, and he found no problems.
  2. Received another email that card reader was still not working. Went out and discovered it had been stuck for a day and a half reading "deducting from card", and would not allow anyone to use the machine (cash or credit). Turned the machine off and back on again and it worked. Called USA Tech and they couldn't explain why that was happening and weren't able to see a problem from the day before. This is upsetting because part of their job is to be able to diagnose these issues.

 

9/8/14

  1. After leaving the location, received a 3rd email that the unit with the entrees was asking for exact change only.

 

9/9/14

  1. Went back out to check on the coin changer for the entrée unit and it was full (no explanation as to exact change message). Spent 2 hours trying to fix it and spoke with Josh W. at Seaga who requested a new changer be sent to me. Received changer today, have not installed yet.

 

9/10/14

  1. Received email that the snack only machine was making a strange noise. Went out the same day to find the compressor making a loud noise. Temperature inside was 27 degrees. (upon setup of the machine I put them at 42 degrees, and outside environment is 68-72.) Spent a lot of time trouble shooting and sent video to Scott N. and Josh W. Left machine off overnight, and went back the next day, and since have not had issues. No for sure answer as to why it iced up but we think it is due to the condensation from the poor weather-stripping on the doors. Josh ordered doors, they have not shipped yet.

9/12/14

  1. Received Smart Ware software update CD. Updated software and re-programmed cards.

 

9/16/14

  1. Went to location to service machines and insert Smart Ware card so I could turn temperature up at night (trying to avoid more issues with compressor), as well as have the selections labeled on LCD.
  2. I first used the card on the snack only machine. The machine accepted the card but then had strange symbols instead of the selection names. Called Josh W. who was unable to assist and said I needed to speak to Scott Jordan, his supervisor. I did not put the card in the other machine.
  3. Had to reprogram the settings manually because the Smart Card reset them and had the temperature at 0 degrees amongst a few other issues.
  4. Spoke with Scott J. who told me the updated software I received was not the correct one. In fact, it was some type of unfinished beta version that they accidently didn’t label and shipped out by mistake. He said he would email me the correct version the next day.

9/18/14

  1. Received email from location that the snack only machine was not working again. Scheduled with them to come out on 9/22/14.

 

9/22/14

  1. Arrived to the location and tested the machine by trying to purchase something. The machine vended the item and then gave me back 50 cents more than I put in ($2 for a total of $2.50), and vended the item. I tested this for several items and the same thing happened for all.
  2. Some of the items just said make an alternate selection.
  3. The drinks vended 4 drinks at a time and gave the money back. When I got there, there were 3 different drinks in the return, free for the taking. A woman walked by and exclaimed how they loved the machine….I would too if I got free items.
  4. I have yet to calculate how much product/money I lost from this.
  5. Contacted Josh W. and Scott Jordan and had a conference call. They determined there was something wrong in the settings that could only be changed with the Smart Card.
  6. I had still not received the email from Scott that was supposed to come on 9/17/14 with the correct software because as it turns out the software isn’t finished being programmed like they told me it was on 9/16…so they said they would send me a new mother board. I should receive it sometime today and will have to go out again tomorrow to install it and the new coin changer.

 

 

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They use the velcro because the machine only has a place for one bolt and it doesn't work with the screws provided. I had to rig it up myself.

 

The software that runs it never works. I have to do everything manually, so it's useless. All of the fancy features can only be turned on with the smart card reader.

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