New to the game, would like some advice

[moondog]

How's it going moondog and all? One question I looked up but didn't find in the search is: How often do you recommend servicing a machine/location?

Thanks everyone.

For the basic "hamburger" style account which I mostly do, I service every other week (EOW) and collect hopefully north of $200 at each service stop.  Aside from that I do have one big account that I service every Saturday - that one does close to 3K a month with two soda machines and a small snack machine which I'm in the process of replacing with an AP7600 with Revision Door if I ever finish installing it.  The door is really well made but the instruction manual leaves something to be desired so I'm still hacking at it.

[CajunCandy]

Pictures of installation would be nice moondog.

[moondog]

Pictures of installation would be nice moondog.

I'm not too sure you could handle any pictures of a real live 7600 Mike 

[Mistah Mike]

Moondog, expect your drop sensor to fail, almost every one of our Revisions have bad drop sensors already. The install isn't that bad, we got it down to under an hour start to finish. But we've also done over 20 of them.

[loach33]

Moondog - you mentioned you have mostly "hamburger accounts".  I'm looking to expand in the next year and this is one of those things I've kicked around.  I could go for those big accounts that require service every other day but bring in big money.....or find more lower volume accounts but good ones that I service say once a week.  I guess with the hamburger accounts you're not as tied down.  Also, less stress as far as "I have to get there today....Another vending company keeps trying to take this one....etc"

 

One account doing 3K a month requiring 3 days a week or 5 stops doing 600/month and once a week service.  Probably not much difference there I guess.

 

I have been re-evaulating my service cycles and I plan to stretch them in the coming weeks.  There are those that I could add 2-3 days to the cycle I believe.  

[mission vending]

Moondog - you mentioned you have mostly "hamburger accounts".  I'm looking to expand in the next year and this is one of those things I've kicked around.  I could go for those big accounts that require service every other day but bring in big money.....or find more lower volume accounts but good ones that I service say once a week.  I guess with the hamburger accounts you're not as tied down.  Also, less stress as far as "I have to get there today....Another vending company keeps trying to take this one....etc"

 

One account doing 3K a month requiring 3 days a week or 5 stops doing 600/month and once a week service.  Probably not much difference there I guess.

 

I have been re-evaulating my service cycles and I plan to stretch them in the coming weeks.  There are those that I could add 2-3 days to the cycle I believe.

Its a fine line between extending service intervals and the customer feeling that the machines are getting low to often. Make sure to take a extra couple of minutes to work on customer relationships when you are there.

[moondog]

Moondog - you mentioned you have mostly "hamburger accounts".  I'm looking to expand in the next year and this is one of those things I've kicked around.  I could go for those big accounts that require service every other day but bring in big money.....or find more lower volume accounts but good ones that I service say once a week.  I guess with the hamburger accounts you're not as tied down.  Also, less stress as far as "I have to get there today....Another vending company keeps trying to take this one....etc"

 

One account doing 3K a month requiring 3 days a week or 5 stops doing 600/month and once a week service.  Probably not much difference there I guess.

 

I have been re-evaulating my service cycles and I plan to stretch them in the coming weeks.  There are those that I could add 2-3 days to the cycle I believe.  

I agree - the hamburger accounts are way less stress - the big difference is you'll need more equipment and inventory to make as much as one large account can do.  To me, once a week service is too often for a $600 account - I'd definitely stretch that to every two weeks.

[moondog]

Moondog, expect your drop sensor to fail, almost every one of our Revisions have bad drop sensors already. The install isn't that bad, we got it down to under an hour start to finish. But we've also done over 20 of them.

Thanks Mike - so far I haven't installed the sensor yet (the manual makes no reference to it)  At the rate I'm going this sensor should last a long time 

[loach33]

Its a fine line between extending service intervals and the customer feeling that the machines are getting low to often. Make sure to take a extra couple of minutes to work on customer relationships when you are there.

Right.  I kind of took that line "Base your service cycles off your drink machine" to heart.  There are a few stops that I keep going to every 4 to 6 days and its really only becuase of 1 or 2 items that sell out.  So, in a couple I'm going to double up on a drink selection (taking out a slow mover) and filling those other snack selections a little more than normal.

 

One thing I like about the 4-6 day cycles and not filling things all the way is my waste is really, really low.  Plus the location has things changed up often.   We'll see if that becomes a downside by stretching.  But, if I cut 4 or 5 service days to these locations per year that time spent along with gas spent will more than make up for a few items I have to throw away (or give to the kids).

 

Yes, I agree about the relationships.  I do take the time to talk with whoever is around while I'm there.  I usually always ask the person who comes up wanting something while I'm there the question of "Has everything been working well for you, any problems at all?"  I usually get a Everything's fine, but sometimes I get that little nugget of info that I would have had no idea about....like sometimes a coin doesn't get recognized or the Snickers bars will get hung up on the edge sometimes.

[moondog]

Right.  I kind of took that line "Base your service cycles off your drink machine" to heart.  There are a few stops that I keep going to every 4 to 6 days and its really only becuase of 1 or 2 items that sell out.  So, in a couple I'm going to double up on a drink selection (taking out a slow mover) and filling those other snack selections a little more than normal.

 

One thing I like about the 4-6 day cycles and not filling things all the way is my waste is really, really low.  Plus the location has things changed up often.   We'll see if that becomes a downside by stretching.  But, if I cut 4 or 5 service days to these locations per year that time spent along with gas spent will more than make up for a few items I have to throw away (or give to the kids).

 

Yes, I agree about the relationships.  I do take the time to talk with whoever is around while I'm there.  I usually always ask the person who comes up wanting something while I'm there the question of "Has everything been working well for you, any problems at all?"  I usually get a Everything's fine, but sometimes I get that little nugget of info that I would have had no idea about....like sometimes a coin doesn't get recognized or the Snickers bars will get hung up on the edge sometimes.

While it's important to control your waste factor.  I'd rather have a higher waste level if it means a much lower cost to service.  Right now my waste runs at about a case a month - that's $25.  How much effort am I willing to add to maybe save that much money?

[Mistah Mike]

This is where it's a good idea to rotate product. If you have a busy account and a slow one that's picky on keeping it full you can just watch the dates on the slow machine and swap out the product with fresh stuff while there is still enough time to move it at the busy place. Everyone is happy and your not throwing stuff out all the time.

 

 

I hear ya on the additional effort for little return, but that additional effort gets you a good reputation on the street and helps long term in getting more accounts. If the people you serve really like you, they will tell others about you and the next thing you know your phone is ringing and your gonna need more machines. 

[QualitySelectionsJ]

As often as the volume dictates. Once you have a good idea of the daily or weekly sales you plan your service interval to maimize sales and minimize out of stocks. So it could vary from as often as daily to once every couple of weeks.

I look to pull 125-150 per service visit for a soda and snack , whatever the time interval winds up being based on historical sales history.

I meant to ask what's an average cash estimate for someone with a small route? I don't service daily, so I want a profitable stop when I service.

Should I expect $100 or more per machine?

Thanks

[hyjyljyj]

I realize it's got some age on it but I really appreciate this thread. I came here brand new to vending months ago and got a different response. I thanked the members for having the forum and politely asked the same basic due diligence questions about how much one who is realistic and hardworking can expect to make, what's a typical work week, etc. The ration of crap someone tried to feed me just for asking about income, time commitment and profit margin was kind of startling. It stood in sharp contrast to how cool & helpful this conversation was. I am not making this up--the basic beef was, "Oh, look, another newbie focusing on money...if you're looking at that, then this isn't the biz for you. 'We' really view this as less of a business and more like caring for a child. People like you come here asking about income potential, then it's funny, we never see them again." Makes sense...maybe getting their head bit off by experienced insiders merely for considering the financial potential of a new business venture makes the new folks assume it must be subpar, so they get discouraged. (By the way, why nurture and caress a route lovingly for months to watch it grow, and massage the locations, and try to find out the reason a machine had only $5 in it, if one is not interested in money? Strange.) 

 

Instead, this was super informative and refreshing, just straight business talk, real numbers, no BS. I'm back to considering vending again now. Thanks

[AZVendor]

I remember seeing your first post and the response it got and I'm sorry that someone that cynical posted that comment. Please do remember that we get very general questions like yours quite often and not all members have the patience to answer nicely (makes you wonder why they answer at all). Hopefully the fact that you have read and posted in this thread means you have been spending many, many hours reading the various forums here. I'm glad you are still thinking of doing some vending but please understand, as I'm sure you have realized in your reading that there are no rules of thumb for any vending venture's sales levels. The only 2 rules that always apply are 1. You have to spend money to make money (my favorite) and 2. Location, location, location.

[mission vending]

I remember seeing your first post and the response it got and I'm sorry that someone that cynical posted that comment. Please do remember that we get very general questions like yours quite often and not all members have the patience to answer nicely (makes you wonder why they answer at all). Hopefully the fact that you have read and posted in this thread means you have been spending many, many hours reading the various forums here. I'm glad you are still thinking of doing some vending but please understand, as I'm sure you have realized in your reading that there are no rules of thumb for any vending venture's sales levels. The only 2 rules that always apply are 1. You have to spend money to make money (my favorite) and 2. Location, location, location.

I remember it as well, unfortunately that's the way a topic goes sometimes. Sometimes I cringe when I see some of the resposes but other than some basic guidelines we try not to interfere with posts because if we did there would be no need for the members, it would only be about moderators opinion and we sure don't have a monopoly on good answers.

[moondog]

I remember it as well, unfortunately that's the way a topic goes sometimes. Sometimes I cringe when I see some of the resposes but other than some basic guidelines we try not to interfere with posts because if we did there would be no need for the members, it would only be about moderators opinion and we sure don't have a monopoly on good answers.

Speaking for myself only, there's nothing more annoying than having a newbie post a general question like " Tell me everything you know about vending" Why should I spend the time writing a book for somebody that won't make the effort to read the back posts?  This forum contains everything ever known about vending with the most popular topics being hashed over many times.

[hyjyljyj]

Speaking for myself only, there's nothing more annoying than having a newbie post a general question like " Tell me everything you know about vending" Why should I spend the time writing a book for somebody that won't make the effort to read the back posts?  This forum contains everything ever known about vending with the most popular topics being hashed over many times.

If nothing is more annoying than that in life, moondog, that is enviable to say the least. I'd say you are definitely doing something right! >:^D) Anyway, my question was way more specific and focused than that...wasn't looking for a book. But your point is very understandable--and it's far from stating that the enterprise is more like raising a child than like a real business. To me that seems like a slight to those who evaluate the business and treat it as a real business instead, and to those like me who never had children or business courses but still manage to succeed in business anyway--because of doing due diligence and making realistic projections about time and cash flow. If that info can be found in a certain spot, directing a new person there--or just ignoring repetitive questions--would be helpful to both the newbie and the expert alike. 

 

Thanks again to all who are kind enough to share important experience and information about the opportunity. Without this resource, everyone would be reinventing the wheel and making the same mistakes over again.

[AZVendor]

 

Thanks again to all who are kind enough to share important experience and information about the opportunity. Without this resource, everyone would be reinventing the wheel and making the same mistakes over again.

Thanks for giving us that credit, but this resource being available does not prevent most newbies from making those same mistakes, unfortunately.  It's hard to change human nature and the desire to be right in your own decisions or the tendency to believe pie-in-the-sky sales claims by glitzy pitchmen.