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need to vent and ask a question at the same time


kdub3821

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A got a bulk candy machine in a location. After a month the owner asked me if I had soda and snack machines. I told him I did and would be more than happy to put them in. He said OK and I told him I needed a week to get my machines ready. I'd then let him know when I would be placing them. Well two months of calling and emailing I got no response. I never even ran into the guy when I would service my machine. Now the part I need to vent on. I go down to service my machine and it's setting beside a new combo American products snack drink machine with the empty product boxes sitting right next to it. No big vendor would leave the trash behind so I'm sure the owner went out and bought it. This gets under my skin so bad. The owner tells me he wants a machine. I go clean up a machine I have. test it to be ready and then no word. Now the spot is taken by the owner. My question is should I wait for him to fail and try and take over or just take my machine out. I'm pretty sure it will fail because the prices are really high and it's the only machine he has so product I'm sure will go bad.

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I would leave your machine and ask about the combo machine every time you go in. I.e how's the drink machine doing, etc, even if the owner isn't there. I get lots of good info from non owners/managers. You'll know within a service cycle or two exactly how he's faring and if he wants relief!

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Gotta be humble folks!! Not saying this was your case but here is what I'm talking about..

Walk in a location and you get that smirk look and question " mr Gumball man! How much can a guy make foolin with those little Gumball machines? " while he sticks his nose in the air and looks down on you like your some dummy and a loser..

Don't say ..." Well I just collected $1000 already this morning, how much have you made this morning?" And puff out your chest while saying it!

Say this.... " I know it, man I sure wished I would of thought about putting In a restaurant in this place, boy I bet your raking it in, the last 5 restaurants in this place over the last 2 years they all made so much money they quit and retired early! Your a freaking genius!!!!!! "

No but seriously most vendors( myself included in my early years) get so tired of folks looking down on this profession so we want to brag about the dough, this just causes competition.. Most big companies biggest competitor they created or trained!! Best thing to do is fly under the radar, you don't need any more friends so quit acting like the new kid on the playground and just work and don't share your biz!! Wished I could always listen to this advice as I run my mouth way to much. Heard it a long time ago but I failed to listen and spouted off to a location about how much money I made and then guess what?? Showed up next month and they had new triple from SAMs there and kicked me out..

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happens a lot. they think you will be raking it in so go and buy thier own.

Wait until he trys to load it and messes up, or trys to program it,

or first time it breaks down.

 

Agreed!  These "smart" business owners think they will rake in big bucks after buying their own machine.  But to add insult to injury, those same business owners will ask you to repair their machine when it breaks or has a problem!  Ever had that happen?  I have.

 

Had a lady with her own biz-op 3 head next to my stuff.  She would not let me vend gumballs since her machine had gumballs.  When the piece-of-junk coin mech broke, she asked me if I could fix it!  It was a Chinese knock off and the metal of the 3-head plate was so thin, the two outer heads were drooped over.

 

During a sale call, had another guy with his own giant gas pump gumball machine.  So once again I could not vend gumballs.  He told me the machine was vending "excessive" gumballs.  Well he bought 1440-count from Sams and dumped 4 cases into a machine with an 850-count Beaver wheel!  Vending 2 or sometimes 3 for a quarter.  But he gave me some money to buy and install another wheel (since he would not throw out the smaller gumballs).  But I did get my machine into the location.  On the last service, I saw the gas pump was gone.  So I now have gumballs in my machine.  In this case it was a happy ending, albeit a hassle.

 

I know a vendor in Jacksonville.  The owner has his own crane and this vendor has a bulk rack in (but also does cranes).  Every couple of cycles, the owner's crane is out-of-order and the owner asks this vendor to "take a look at it"!  What a clown!

 

Yep, "smart" business owners buying their own machines will never end.

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Any store owner that buys his own vending machines either bulk, snack etc. is a BIG DUMMY. 95% of the time they won't

last in business and will only be in business a short period of time.  Instead of spending their money in drawing customers in their business and using that money on advertising, coupons etc. they are trying to become vendors which they no nothing about.

 

The only ones you have to blame is the vending industry itself. they make it very easy for these idiots to purchase any type of  machine.

 

I have bought many machines from store owners who have bought machines and thought they would make great money doing so only to find out how hard this really is.  I walked in one place and they had a closet full of capsules and stickers they were stuck with for several years.

 

This was never the problem until we had the internet.   You really don't have to say anything to your customers some suppliers put their names and web page address on their displays for the world to see where you get your products. it all goes back to the industry today.

 

Some suppliers have become your competitor.

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I agree! Why anyone at all can get on the Internet. You can google equipment, supplies, information.

Oh snap you can easily find this site!!! Oh oh

The best you can do is encourage people to buy good equipment so when it does come up for sale it's worth buying.

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ronsidney....brilliant post. I really play up the "gumball pauper" persona. Kill em' with kindness, always smile and always downplay your business. You want your customers to feel like they are not only helping the charity but they are also helping the poor old gumball guy scratch out a meager existence. Just remember that you have nothing to prove to anyone except yourself.

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In 90% of the cases in which I encounter empty machines they belong to the to the location owner. I usually offer to buy the machines from the owner and put in my machines.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

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Thanks for all the advice guys. USSB1 it was not about getting pissed. I was thinking about pulling my machine because it would lose sales and not be worth leaving in that location. If any of the employees really thinks about it. They would get more buying a quarter at a time from me instead of paying a dollar out of the owners machine but I don't think anyone e would really sit down to figure that out.

Thanks for all the advice guys. USSB1 it was not about getting pissed. I was thinking about pulling my machine because it would lose sales and not be worth leaving in that location. If any of the employees really thinks about it. They would get more buying a quarter at a time from me instead of paying a dollar out of the owners machine but I don't think anyone e would really sit down to figure that out.

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