Fuel Costs Stealing Your Profits?

[antoniocinisi]

Imo the gas increase isn`t as bad as everyone is makeing it out to be.ecspecially if you compare to Europe where they pay 7-10 dollars a gallon.I will make an example like I did for my delivery drivers.

If you average 15 mpg on your service day,which is almost realistic unless you have a big van.,and  you travel 200 miles round trip you will spend only 13.33$$ more for gas.now in a 100 mile radius most venders will collect hundreds of $$$ at the very LEAST.13.33 imo isn`t a significant amount of money extra to spend ecspecially if you service every 2 months.if you cant afford that extra expense sell one-three pieces of candy less depending on the type of candy AND THE MACHine to make up for it.every one is increasing thier prices,consumers wont think much of it if they get a bit less candy for a measly quarter.it`ll be cheaper and less time consumeing then converting your car.

15  MPG IS a bit on the pessimistic side,unless all your driveing is thru town,and even then it is still low.I would get 11 mpg in my full size V8 truck delivering pizzas in 4 wheel drive during a snow storm this winter,so 15 is low imo for a car,18 is more realistic.

I have had costumers golpher about the price of a pizza but then go and give the driver a 2-3  dollar tip,go figure.

[dperry]

if you cant afford that extra expense sell one-three pieces of candy less depending on the type of candy AND THE MACHine to make up for it.every one is increasing thier prices,consumers wont think much of it if they get a bit less candy for a measly quarter.it`ll be cheaper and less time consumeing then converting your car.

Giving less per vend to recoup your product cost is great, but what if you use your car for things other than vending?  Driving to the store, picking up the kids, etc.

Additionally, I am considering giving 2 for 1 gumballs, or offering a vend for a dime instead of a quarter as a way to compete for the ever shrinking piece of the vending pie.  While increasing prices seems to be the way of the world now, I've also seen examples of shops LOWERING their priceses to help increase their sales.  Just look at the success of Wal-Mart to see that people prefer paying less rather than paying more.

So lowering prices, or decreasing vend amounts may not always be an option, and looking for other ways to stretch a dollar is a must.

[West Coast Vend LLC]

I have been thinking about buying a GPS for a while and decided that, with all the new area's my accounts are taking me, that I would go for it. I added all the accounts to the GPS and now I use it to get around the route in the shortest most economical way possible. It really helps eliminate covering the same areas more than once.

I have also changed many of the accounts that can last 60 days without running out to every 2 month collection. This will help save money on gas and time.

I also started calling the accounts at the 2 week interval to find out if they had enough product instead of driving to those accounts to check myself.

P.S. I bought the Garmin Nuvi 660.

I am in the quarter business so every one I save is one more for me.

Gary

[jimbo]

antoniocinisi wrote: 

13.33 imo isn`t a significant amount of money extra to spend ecspecially if you service every 2 months.if you cant afford that extra expense sell one-three pieces of candy less depending on the type of candy AND THE MACHine to make up for it.every one is increasing thier prices,consumers wont think much of it if they get a bit less candy for a measly quarter.it`ll be cheaper and less time consumeing then converting your car.

Its not just the 13.33. Its also the increased product costs, shipping costs and the decrease in sales that most of the businesses we have equiptment in are experiencing, which in turn, decreases our sales, not to mention the businesses that are closing their doors.

If you add all of these together it is significant. Any way of getting more mpg or decrease fuel costs Im open to.

Jimbo

[grumpy]

These turn water into power have been debunked for at least 30 years, think about it if it actually worked somebody would be making some real quarters.

I want to save gas too, looked at hybrids but that is not a solution as of yet. Lets take the Ford Escape regular awd compared to a Hybrid awd $6,000.00 purchase price difference. For 10mpg better millage in the city if I drive like a turtle. 1mpg highway difference. Currently if the batteries need replacement it is around $14,000.00.

I do not think that there is much savings there. When they come up with the plug in car maybe it will be better. But of course they will have to build a few dozen nuclear plants for the increase in electricity.

[grumpy]

These come from a UK website, as you can see their are solutions today, just not in North America were we like larger and more horsepower. Look at the Prius, it just squeezed in at the number 10 spot.

Manufacturer Model Specification Fuel Type Transmission Combined MPG VED Band

 HONDA - Insight Insight Petrol Hybrid M5                              - 83.10 A

CITROEN - C2 - 1.4 HDi - Diesel - M5                                     - 68.90 B

CITROEN - C1 - 1.4 HDi - Diesel - M5                                     - 68.90 B

RENAULT - Clio - 1.5 dCi - 80 Diesel - M5                               - 67.30 B

CITROEN - C2 - 1.4 HDi - SensoDrive - Diesel A5                   - 67.30 B

CITROEN - C3 - 1.4 HDi - Diesel          - M5                            - 67.30 B

RENAULT - Clio - 1.5 dCi - 100 Diesel - M5                            - 65.80 B

RENAULT - Clio - 1.5 dCi - 65 Diesel - M5                              -  65.80 B

CITROEN - C2 - 1.4 HDi -  Diesel - M5                                     - 65.70 B

TOYOTA   -  Prius - 1.5    - VVT-i Hybrid Petrol Hybrid - E-CVT - 65.70 - B

[antoniocinisi]

antoniocinisi wrote: 

13.33 imo isn`t a significant amount of money extra to spend ecspecially if you service every 2 months.if you cant afford that extra expense sell one-three pieces of candy less depending on the type of candy AND THE MACHine to make up for it.every one is increasing thier prices,consumers wont think much of it if they get a bit less candy for a measly quarter.it`ll be cheaper and less time consumeing then converting your car.

Its not just the 13.33. Its also the increased product costs, shipping costs and the decrease in sales that most of the businesses we have equiptment in are experiencing, which in turn, decreases our sales, not to mention the businesses that are closing their doors.

If you add all of these together it is significant. Any way of getting more mpg or decrease fuel costs Im open to.

Jimbo

the only product cost that went up at sams club is for mike ike cashew and gumballs,and not even by that much did I miss something?

it is true costs are going up,and while most businesses can raise thier prices we are forced in giving less per vend,it`s all we can do for candy sales to have the same profit margins.

if you want to get more mpg`s out of your car tune it up regularly.change oil oil filter and ecspecially air filter as often as recomended by the manufacturer.avoid jack rabbit starts at the lights or stop sign.shut your car off if you are going to be out of it for more then 15 seconds.get rid of all the trash and unecessary weight that you are carrying around inside your car,weight is a major enemy of fuel economy.go on a diet and lose weight if you are over weight(no joke),you will gain in health and fuel econmy.As a much younger person I would even take the spare tire out of my trunk.that reminds me,weight distribution is also important.put weight towrds the middle of the car  and not at the end of your trunk.I put what I need where the passengers put thier feet when I can.If you have to use the trunk push everything inward or put the heavier stuff inward and the lighter outward if you fill your trunk.

coast to a stop sign/light if you aren`t in a hurry,for some reason idk why but brakeing hard also is bad on fuel economy as far as I`ve heard.do remember that time is money though when coasting.

my drivers are bitching about people going 15-20 mph,thats another way to save gas thru town,just push that gas peddle a hair and go! I use my cruise as often as I can even at 30mph thru town if it`s a strech.

I always figure out my average mpg per gas station visit,I used to try to beat my best figure, thats another good one that will help save and also tell you how your are doing with fuel consumption.

lower mpgs could be signs of tune up needed or other trouble.

[T BIRD]

My wife is gonna help me break out my locations into more fuel efficient situations for me when I collect.  Right now, I am burning way too much gas.

[dperry]

I do not think that there is much savings there. When they come up with the plug in car maybe it will be better. But of course they will have to build a few dozen nuclear plants for the increase in electricity.

I saw in the news yesterday that McCain is proposing 45 new nuclear power plants.  I hope that such a plan succeeds, no matter who is in office.

[dperry]

These turn water into power have been debunked for at least 30 years, think about it if it actually worked somebody would be making some real quarters.

Exactly how has this been debunked?  Maybe it's a question for MythBusters!

I also had a question about the technology.  If this is so cheap and simple, why aren't all the auto makers already adding it as standard equipment?  I can think of a few answers.

1) the big oil companies pay the auto makers not to do it.

2) Up until now, the demand for higher fuel economy has not been strong enough to do so.

Like you said, I don't think that the hybrid's are the answer to the problem.  They are still too expensive compared to the other non-hybrid vehicles.  Plus the cost of replacing the batteries can be expensive.