Out on my golpher - booted from an account

[ABCVending]

Recently picked up a dozen new locations.

One of them was an assisted living home - had a DN 5591 & AP 112 in the activities center.

When I bought the route, got the contact name for the on site manager, made numerous attempts to touch base - always seemed like she was out of the office/unavailable etc.  

Serviced the machines first week - cleaned them up, tossed stales, replaced all hand written price labels with factory labels, verified all mechs & vals operating correctly, etc.

Suspected it was a slower account, so  waited two weeks for the return visit - as suspected, pulled about $40 combined from both machines.....a meh  account.

So restocked and left - another two week cycle, another $40.

This time, waited 3 weeks before returning - walked in and there is a (newer) stacker pop machine and a Crane 147  - both with CC readers.  - my machines have been unplugged and shoved over to the side.

WTF?  Went out and hunted down a receptionist to find out what's up - she gives me the "oh, we didn't have any way to contact you" - I pointed out my contact stickers on the machines, with phone and email - she immediately defers to the "manager" who materializes from some office.

New manager - apparently both the previous GM and assistant got fired/quit in the last 4 weeks (obviously why I couldn't get a hold of anyone) and first order of business for the new managers is swap out the vending?

Weird deal - probably a timing thing, competitors called/showed up at the right time promising "new" equipment and possibly commission payments and the "new" managers made a command decision.  The new manager was hard to understand, heavy Vietnamese accent but seemed embarrassed and apologized but there was no way they were going to change course - she kept wanting to call in her husband/co manager who I suspect actually made the change, but the account wasn't worth hanging on to from what I have seen, so told her we'd have the machines out immediately.

The company that got the account is a big local/regional outfit - the stacker pop machine looks like a bottler machine and the old Crane isn't any better than the AP I had in there - but the stacker does have a much "newer" look than the old bottle drop and both of them having cc readers made mine look like museum pieces (to the average customer anyway) - still can't believe they'd invest that much $$ worth of equipment in an account that probably will struggle to gross $100/mo.

One thing that was cool - found that the mini pallet jack I bought from Northern Tool 

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200623962_200623962

Is freaking awesome for moving machines around - after investing in crate movers and appliance handtrucks with the kick out wheels - a simple pallet jack is far and away the best piece of equipment I have found to move these suckers around  - and this little one really is perfect for vending machines, light at 75lbs easy to toss in and out of the truck, but with a 1,000lb capacity handles all the machines no problem.

 

ABC.

 

 

 

 

[lacanteen]

Sounds like they did you a favor. Leave peacefully and find a new spot for your equipment.