pusherman Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 i have a question for you guys on how to go about finding a location owners contact information. i have a location that i went to run today and it was closed up. i talked to some other biz owners across the street and they said "they just closed up about a week ago". this is not in a strip center with other tenants or i would have gotten the land lords number from them. this is a free standing restaurant and i think they own the building. i have the restaurants number but not a cell number for the owner. how do i get his info? is it public record? should i contact the city? would appreciate any and all input on how you have handled this situation in the past. what i dont understand is, this is a pretty good stop. why all of a sudden lock the doors. if i just had a single in there i would not worry about it all that much, but i have about $1000 in equipment locked up in there. on another note i had another rest. that i went by at the end of the day and it was also closed up. they emptied the place including my spiral and sticker machine. cant wait to run into this guy. i know the economy sucks right now and many businesses are closing down so keep an eye on your equipment. thanks in advance for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-man422 Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Jeff I'm sorry to hear that, I feel for you. I would at least slide your contact info under the door asking them to call you about your equipment. I will keep an eye on my equipment, thanks and good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Jeff, I am sorry to hear about your equipment. At least it's still inside the account. The place could have been empty and your equipment gone. Hey, I would go to the city center, with the address of the business, and see if you can get more information about the owner. Or maybe the electric company, telephone or water company or garbage. There has to be someone that has their phone number. I had one really good account close on me too. I was so lucky that the day I stopped to collect a truck was there taking all the stuff out of the store. I told them the vending machines where mine and I had to wait for the owner to get my equipment. Good luck. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebob051977 Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 It'll probably take some phone calls, but you can start with the city. The city can tell you who owns the property, then you can talk to the owners of the building. They may be able to let you in, if not they know who they leased the building to and a contact number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T BIRD Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Sorry to hear that Jeff. I agree with starting with the city at one of the agencies. Good luck. Let us know what happens push. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outlander Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 What a bummer Jeff. I see that you are in Dallas, I would go on line to the Texas Department of Revenue or Secretary of State, which ever does the business registrations for taxing purposes. you should be able to get the info there as they may require an address and phone # of the owner and not just the business itself. Like Gary said the telco and utility companies are also good especially if they are just relocating. The city may not have any info if they are moving to another city. It could be a number of reasons for them to be shut down, sickness in the family, prep for remodel, moving etc. Ok, now run down to the pawn shop and buy your self a badge, cause you are now officially a Detective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bravo Duck Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 City tax office, county tax office. Both places the ownership of the property is a public record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer980 Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Try your County Property Appraiser website. You may be able to look it up on the state site too in the ficticious name area. In our registration you provide a phone number but who knows if it is a valid number too. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philo Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Outlander is right. If you go to the Secy of State or their website and do a search of the business name- as if you wanted to register your business- they will list the name of the business and the owners contact info on their website. It's public domain info so should be no problem. Philo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pusherman Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 thanks for all of your input. i will get to work and let you know how it works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jinxedsoul Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 I hope you get your machines back pusherman. I'll make sure to get a contact # when i place machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronzo Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Pusherman, All the suggestions are good, especially the Secretary of State or Commerce where they had to register their DBA. That would list the owner, but he could have left town. POOFF. I was fortunate when a chili's restraurant went out of business, the manager called me and arranged for me to pick up my machine. Unfortunately when the business is going under, they are not that concerned about the vending guy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginger vend Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I had a cell phone place that went of out business and left my machine locked up in it. I also had a machine in the shop next door. The owner of the shop (next door) gave me the contact name of whom to call that the buildings were leased from, because they had the key also to the buildings. So asking some surrounding businesses owners for info may help you out. Good Luck, Ginger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markvend Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Sorry to hear about your location. I always leave a business card and handwritten note. Sometimes a realty company lets me in if they are re-leasing the building. I also ask next door at other businesses as typically the ones closest to that business will know something. I also ask if they know who leases/owns the property and try and contact them ASAP. I frequently get calls back from my notes left. Good luck. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I lost my skateing rink today.they open this weekend,when I went to try to get in she said she didn`t want it,after the machine sat there for a few months doing nothing. fu**ing people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T BIRD Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Sorry to hear that Antonio.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Location evictions have been the number one problem for me. Florida is very transient which I believe creates a high turnover rate for small business ownership. I cross my fingers when I discover that a location has changed ownership or management. Just recently had a charity location in a restaurant change management - the new manager demanded 50% or "hit the road". Had been there for 3 years - now gone! Other parts of the country in the traditional industrial states may experience a high small business failure rate. Either way, losing locations is the number one problem in this business. Lost a chain of 8 very good banks 2 years ago due to a corporate policy change - that one really hurt. We just have to keep pushing forward and budget for relocations into our business model. Jax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer980 Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 We just had our Hops and Shells restaurants close a few day ago here. Glad I did not have any in there. Hops opened for lunch then after that closed the doors before the dinner crowd. I keep looking at my double here next to my computer and wonder where I can place it. I collect on Monday so I will see how things have been for the last month. Right now I don't have high hopes despite having a good haul last month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shvend Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Jeff i know how you fill on this one. Just keep a close eye on the place, I have seen places just close up due to a sickness or death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 i have a question for you guys on how to go about finding a location owners contact information. i have a location that i went to run today and it was closed up.I feel for you Pusher. I have lost a total of 5 (out of 40) machines this year the way you have just described. I don't know why they can't just pick up the phone and call and let you come pick up your machine. The next time it happens, I'm going to file a police report. I'm told that I have to go out to the location and call for a patrol car so that they can come and take the report. They do it that way because they consider that the 'scene of the crime'.I've not had luck talking to the landlords either. One said that he couldn't get in touch with the owner either and he wanted to find her because she left some bills unpaid. Another just wouldn't help at all. He said it wasn't his problem. My best advice would be to mark your machines so that they can be identified as your property. You will also want to get as much information on the owner of the business as well, so that when this happens, you can search for them on the internet, or use that info when filling out a police report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendboy Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Jeff- You got all the things you can do here with this great bunch of members. Good Luck and God Bless ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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