moondog Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I was just following a "lively" discussion over on the Bulk forum regarding the proper disposition of abandoned equipment and was wondering how the guys in Full Line handle a situation like this. ............ Please don't hold back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruff84 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Wouldn't that be up to the business owner to deal with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruff84 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 But if the business owner told me to take it like he did in the bulk thread I would refuse to take the machine. These machines can be worth a lot of money. And if that was my machine I wouldn't be happy if the business owner gave away my machine. I would be kind of worried about placing my machines at a business where the business owner Is giving away $ 1000 machines that don't belong to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparta_Automation Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I agree.....let the business owner decide what to do with the abandoned machine.....I guess the only "sticky" issue is if they require you to move it so that you can provide service. Even then, I would suggest that they find a corner of a storage room and move it to that spot. I would hate for the owner to come back to retrieve their machine and the owner sends them to you. Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruff84 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I wonder if the local pd has policies in place for this kind of thing similar to what they do with abandon vehicles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 I concur. I've only been in this situation once and after the business owner and I called the guy for about two months, he was finally located. Apparently he'd taken a job up North and just left several machines behind. We rolled it out back and the guy finally had somebody come get it. In the meantime the customer had been stuck with that monster for 6 months in the only spot he had for a soda machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Character is defined by not what you do when someone is looking but what you do when you know nobody is looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 i will not touch abandoned equipment. at the location request i would have my machine mover move the equipment to a location of their choosing in their shop. there is a legal proceeding to take posession of the equipment but its just not worth it in my opinion. too much liability and bad karma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Character is defined by not what you do when someone is looking but what you do when you know nobody is looking. The moral implications of "adopting" somebody's machine should be obvious. I was seeking more pactical solutions regarding the proper disposal of abandoned equipment. I readily admit that I was still lmao when I made this post last night. I don't usually read the Bulk discussions, but this one seemed to have some relevance to Full Line. While it started out ok and some good advice was given, I could see where the thought process was steadily approaching the "dark side" before the whole thing crashed and burned. But it's still a valid question - what is the proper protocol when faced with abandoned equipment? Dogcow just made a good suggestion but how do you know that mover won't just "adopt" the machine themselves. Cajun did what I did - just moved it out back threw a tarp over it. In my case it was purely a shot in the dark that we ever found the owner. The customer told me who had the account previously and I just happened to know the guy who just happened to still have the machine owners email - that's a lot of coincidence for a place the size of So Cal. Considering that Full Line equipment takes a lot more space to store than a gumball machine, it can become a real dilemma especially for smaller vendors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Dogcow just made a good suggestion but how do you know that mover won't just "adopt" the machine themselves. sorry maybe you misunderstood,when i have my equipment installed i have the mover move the old equipment out of the way. i am there so obviously he is not gonna steal it in front of me. i use a very reputable guy in the vending biz i do not think he would do that. but the reason i mention the mover moving it instead of doing it myself is because the mover is liable in case the equipment or location is damaged while moving it, i do not want to be liable for breaking the machine if it should happen while its being moved. hope thats clear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 sorry maybe you misunderstood,when i have my equipment installed i have the mover move the old equipment out of the way. i am there so obviously he is not gonna steal it in front of me. i use a very reputable guy in the vending biz i do not think he would do that. but the reason i mention the mover moving it instead of doing it myself is because the mover is liable in case the equipment or location is damaged while moving it, i do not want to be liable for breaking the machine if it should happen while its being moved. hope thats clear Yeah, That makes sense if you know the guy's legit I personally don't move soda machines in fear of damaging myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walta Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I will not touch abandoned equipment without a letter from the owner of the building. Stating they have made reasonable efforts to the contact owner and they consider the equipment abandoned. The letter will ask me to do whatever I feel is necessary to relocate the equipment without damaging there building. It is funny the situation always finds a resolution without the letter. I think the locations mostly make little effort to contact the old operator and want the new operator to do all the work. Walta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunCandy Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 i will not touch abandoned equipment. at the location request i would have my machine mover move the equipment to a location of their choosing in their shop. there is a legal proceeding to take posession of the equipment but its just not worth it in my opinion. too much liability and bad karma. Just this Monday I moved an artarie combo machine out of a location and put it inside a outside utility building instead of the street corner like they wanted, the owner refused to come and get his equipment from what they told me. I did the next best thing and put it where it would not get stolen or ruined by weather. I'm learning that not all machines is equal in quality but respect another mans property. mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I've had this happen several times. I told the location that I would arrange to have it moved somewhere else on the property. If they wanted it off the property I wouldn't touch it but if they were so inclined they could pick up the phone and call a used equipment dealer or scrap metal guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I have come across abandoned machines before but have always been able to track down the owner with a bit of detective work. I had one site who had tried calling the vendor on his mobile & leaving messages for him for 4 month to come collect his machine. They had moved his machine into their warehouse storage because they thought he wasn't coming back. I found out his name when I took over the site & tracked him down on his home number. When I got hold of him he told me that he hadn't returned there calls because he was too embarrassed to go back to collect his machine because he had left it so long. His circumstances had changed & he had gone back to full time work so he had neglected his small vending business. I asked him whether he wanted me to pick up the machine & return it to him which he was happy for me to but when I dropped it off he told me that it wasn't the only machine he had neglected to fill in 4 months. He asked me if I could also pick up his other machines which is not something that I would normally do but he was a nice guy & he told me he would pay me to do it so I thought I would help him out. When I went to collect his machines I found that only some were still where he had them. Some had been disconnected by the new vendors & turned against a wall so nobody could use them & some were missing. The funny thing is that all the machines that were missing all had the same new guy looking after their sites. I told him to contact the guy that I suspected had taken his machines but I don't think he ever did. So I guess when it comes to abandoned machines people will deal with it in different ways.. I could never take anyone's machine & GOD help anyone that takes any of mine! It may be a lot harder to track down an owner in the USA than it is in NZ as I know most of the people that do vending in my area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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