bbeckl Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 hey everyone , apologies in advance if this topic has been beaten into the ground . i did a search and couldnt get what i was looking for . i am very new to bulk vending , and was just curious how long everyone goes between services ? i know it will vary greatly between vendors , set ups and locations , but as a rule of thumb ,do you have a set time frame ? when i started i did 3 weeks ,and quickly realized a mediocre , or slow location does not need that . then i moved to the 4 week plan . still ,to early . i am of course trying to limit dirving time ( at $4+ a gallon who isnt right ? ) , and am considering going to 8 weeks . my concerns are i dont want a location to feel like ive abandoned them , or have a coin mech break and free spinning for 8 weeks ( had this happen at a auto repair , those guys sure like mike and ikes when they are free!!!) . Any input is greatly appreciated . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 It's not that unusual to go 8-12 weeks, though any location that is selling that slowly should be replaced as soon as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj54 Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I GO EVERY 6-8 WEEKS, ANYTHING SLOWER YOU NEED TO REPLACE ASAP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davis Caroline Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Shepard and JJ, Define 'anything slower' than 'X' weeks... Slower than what? 50% of the machine volume emptying? $X.XX a month in gross? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecent@atime Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 30 Days on the best 45 on the average and 60 on the slow and any thing with less than 50.00 on a triple after 60 days is coming back to the office for a quick clean up and out to find a new home . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 I go through my "local" route once every two weeks, and my second string once every 40-45 days. Because second string machines are larger capacity machines anyway, it has little bearing on results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendsmarts Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 No more than every 6 weeks for a few reasons: My 3 busiest locations may run out of a product if I wait longer. I can keep lower levels in the machines that are not busy. Machines can get dirty or sometimes something gets spilled on them. A problem, like lock mechs becoming loose or jammed. It shows the locations that I care about the upkeep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 my service cycles are in the 60 day range like one centatatime.the bulk of my route is almost an hour away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Shepard and JJ, Define 'anything slower' than 'X' weeks... Slower than what? 50% of the machine volume emptying? $X.XX a month in gross? Just what I've found works for me. Anything mor than 12 weeks you end up throwing a lot of product away. Unless you have gumballs or runts or something with a tremendous shelf life, you can't let most candies go too long. Plus, yes, if you're only making $10 in three months, probably better to find another location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadmill Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 When I did my candy route it was every 12 weeks anything longer and they will think you abandoned the machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 This bvrings up an issue that I've always had a bit of trouble with.. I own multiple triple head machines and have always filled them to the top with pmm, gumballs, and skittles. Each cycle, about 45 days, I go to the locations and top them off. Is this not how I should be handling things. I like the full look of the machine, but I personally have never trashed any "stale" product. Would it be better to only fill the machines half way so that I can avoid this issue completely? A bit of help would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treadmill Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 This is what I did when I had my candy route. I would fill each canister to a certain level (never full except for gb) usually no more tha half full. This will need to be monitored to achieve maimum profit. The reason being is the spoilage or waste factor. Need to keep that at a minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 twice I have done 12 cycles and both times I lost a location.I never go longer then 10 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandyking Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 I never fill my candy to the top for 2 reasons. Firstly, the product will go stale at all but the most active of locations. Secondly, the psychology of viewing a full machine makes people think that no one else is eating it so why should they. A partially empty machine has shown that someone came before and ate. I am probably just spewing mumbo jumbo but that is how I run my route and the results have been favorable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbeckl Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 I never fill my candy to the top for 2 reasons. Firstly, the product will go stale at all but the most active of locations. Secondly, the psychology of viewing a full machine makes people think that no one else is eating it so why should they. A partially empty machine has shown that someone came before and ate. I am probably just spewing mumbo jumbo but that is how I run my route and the results have been favorable. i agree . we have some doubles that i filled in a rush , and ended up filling all the way . one of them is right by a waiting area of a rsteraunt , and its seeing very little action since its been filled . it was far more active when it was 1/3rd full . go figure . thanks for the advice anf opinons everyone . i will definately not go longer than 10 weeks . i dont want to lose the few locations i have . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 for some of my 8 selects, 16 weeks. I just have no reason to go more often. I could care less if they weren't satisfied with that since they are so slow. When I did my candy route it was every 12 weeks anything longer and they will think you abandoned the machine. But how would they know if they didn't see your face every single time? Its not like they keep track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DependableVending Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 I never fill my candy to the top for 2 reasons. Firstly, the product will go stale at all but the most active of locations. Secondly, the psychology of viewing a full machine makes people think that no one else is eating it so why should they. A partially empty machine has shown that someone came before and ate. I am probably just spewing mumbo jumbo but that is how I run my route and the results have been favorable. I agree with this! The only time I have filled the machine to the top was an employee break room that called me after 3 days, after I filled it halfway, to let me know it was empty. I had to fill that one to the top in order to only visit it weekly. (Luckily it was 1/2 mile from my house) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobTHJ Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 My busiest candy machines I hit every 20-30 days. I have some machines that I don't service for 180 days. I plan to relocate the slow machines (60+ service cycles) at some point, but I find it much more productive to try and locate full-line than to mess with candy machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 My busiest candy machines I hit every 20-30 days. I have some machines that I don't service for 180 days. I plan to relocate the slow machines (60+ service cycles) at some point, but I find it much more productive to try and locate full-line than to mess with candy machines. Yea. I have one that i probably won't go to for 120 to 180 days. Maybe i should move it out, but im still expanding. Some said that if you wait more than 3 months, they think you abandoned it and then kick you out. Well, since my machine takes 6 months to need a refill either they are going to kick it out or I am going to kick it out. I mean leaving it there long term may be the worst thing. Im still busy expanding all the machines i have though. Most of my spots are making money now cuz i have a good locator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullyfrog Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 I service mine every 4 weeks. I don't like leaving my machines unattended any longer than that. My route is still small and I have all of my machines placed in close proximity to each other so maybe down the road this will change. Even if it's a slow spot I still like to make an appearance, check the machine and do a quick wipe down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Hi all I am a newbie to vending as well, I have read a few books and just started re-filling my machines last week. Thanks for starting this thread Jeremiah as I've picked up quite a few tips to try out. Cheers from Australia Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greatdane Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 or have a coin mech break and free spinning for 8 weeks ( had this happen at a auto repair , those guys sure like mike and ikes when they are free!!!) . Any input is greatly appreciated . I have seen one vendor lose a huge amount with broken mech's. One time at the mall, two of the 20 vendors had broken mech's. The mall janitors new each machine personally. You sure can tell the broken ones. Empty and next to no money in the vendor. The person maintaining them never even compares inventory to sales. The vendor just kept filling and it's been 2 years now. I do HVAC work at the mall and go by these machines often. The maintenance guys treat it as a freebie perk. The guy who maintains them comes around once a month and it seems like during that time, most machines have about 1/3 of inventory still in them except for the two freebie machines that are completely empty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullyfrog Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Hi allI am a newbie to vending as well, I have read a few books and just started re-filling my machines last week. Thanks for starting this thread Jeremiah as I've picked up quite a few tips to try out. Cheers from Australia Lisa I didn't start this thread but welcome to the forum all the same! Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbeckl Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 I have seen one vendor lose a huge amount with broken mech's. One time at the mall, two of the 20 vendors had broken mech's. The mall janitors new each machine personally. You sure can tell the broken ones. Empty and next to no money in the vendor. The person maintaining them never even compares inventory to sales. The vendor just kept filling and it's been 2 years now. I do HVAC work at the mall and go by these machines often. The maintenance guys treat it as a freebie perk. The guy who maintains them comes around once a month and it seems like during that time, most machines have about 1/3 of inventory still in them except for the two freebie machines that are completely empty. thats too bad . to me its shows alot about character when a person does that . at the auto shop , the guys were NOWHERE to be found when i pulled in to service my machine . usually there is always someone at the front counter ,or they come out when they hear the door open . a customer came in behind me , and they STILL didnt come out . unfortunately ,i dint notice the broken mech until after i filled the machine ,and did my test vend and found the mech was free spinning. so i filled it and left . its been there broken for a few weeks ,and empty im sure . i considered pulling it until i got my replacement mech ,but the mike and ikes were part of a deal "making things right" from a seriously fudged order i made . the other 2 heads were still getting alot of spins , so i left it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdendy Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 thats too bad . to me its shows alot about character when a person does that . at the auto shop , the guys were NOWHERE to be found when i pulled in to service my machine . usually there is always someone at the front counter ,or they come out when they hear the door open . a customer came in behind me , and they STILL didnt come out . unfortunately ,i dint notice the broken mech until after i filled the machine ,and did my test vend and found the mech was free spinning. so i filled it and left . its been there broken for a few weeks ,and empty im sure . i considered pulling it until i got my replacement mech ,but the mike and ikes were part of a deal "making things right" from a seriously fudged order i made . the other 2 heads were still getting alot of spins , so i left it . I have one new account I serviced for the first time last weekend and they were great. Not only where they cleaning the machine daily, but I had two of them tell me that the GB head was giving 2 per quarter. It is a brand new head so not sure why it's doing that but since it was only the GB and I was still making good profit with them I told them to keep it that way to keep their customers happy. Then I gave them a bunch of free GB on the way out, it's a Tat shop and I have never seen a bunch of big burly biker dudes go to looking like a group of excited little kids so fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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