AngryChris Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I was just informed that one of my accounts is having a corporate discussion about the vending. I service one machine out of six buildings (about ten machines). Apparently they want one vendor to service all locations bur they also want food and coffee machines placed at these locations. I will bail out at the idea of getting food and/or coffee machines... but they want HEALTHY food and snacks. I would guess that each location grosses between $100 and $200 per week in snack+soda sales. Would any of you even consider this? I'm sure they want commission too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Noooo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashman Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 No thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 I was just informed that one of my accounts is having a corporate discussion about the vending. I service one machine out of six buildings (about ten machines). Apparently they want one vendor to service all locations bur they also want food and coffee machines placed at these locations. I will bail out at the idea of getting food and/or coffee machines... but they want HEALTHY food and snacks. I would guess that each location grosses between $100 and $200 per week in snack+soda sales. Would any of you even consider this? I'm sure they want commission too. What you need to do Chris is create a diversion so the suits will have larger issues to deal with. Something simple like turning off the main water supply and filling the hole with a sack of quickcrete should do it or a perhaps a plague of frogs - get creative Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 Well it sounds like we have a winner! It just kills me when management thinks that forcing the vendor to stock healthy items will force employees to buy healthy items. If it sounds like such a good idea, why don't they invest in their own equipment? You all know what I'm getting at... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Well it sounds like we have a winner! It just kills me when management thinks that forcing the vendor to stock healthy items will force employees to buy healthy items. If it sounds like such a good idea, why don't they invest in their own equipment? You all know what I'm getting at... What it really smells like to me is that one of your co-vendors is looking for a home for his glut of coffee and food machines that nobody else wants. Homie don't play this game and neither should you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 What you need to do Chris is create a diversion so the suits will have larger issues to deal with. Something simple like turning off the main water supply and filling the hole with a sack of quickcrete should do it or a perhaps a plague of frogs - get creative Their was a pretty bad movie called idiocracy. The entire movie was anything but good, but one of the key things was that the government was using Gatorade to hydrate our crops (because Gatorade has electrolytes). The plants kept dying, people were eating nothing but junk, roads were never worked on, people became stupid due to government intervention. A guy had accidentally travelled to the future to this time. He notified them that the plants needed water and not Gatorade. The government laughed at him because Gatorade had electrolytes and water didn't. They were about to kill him when he convinced them to try water. The plants immediately started to grow, people became healthy and smarter, etc.. The moral of the story is that the government or any kind of "higher ups" tend to not understand how things work. It's best to let the free market do its thing except in specific areas. Oh, and Gatorade owned everything in the movie but that's a political point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feral Vending Mechanic Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 If each location is going to gross between 100-200 a week, it might be worth it. You can make a cold food machine look like it has more in it than it does, and sacrificing a little bit of out of date cold food might be worth it, especially if you can get them to agree up front to let you pull those machines out if they don't meet minimum sales requirements. I've seen some places that are so desperate for cold food that they end up paying half price for everything that gets wasted out of the machine. ( They changed their minds after six months of paying for that, and let us pull the machines. ) Cold food machines face one big problem; Fundamentally, no one really wants to eat a six week old sandwich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 What you need to do Chris is create a diversion so the suits will have larger issues to deal with. Something simple like turning off the main water supply and filling the hole with a sack of quickcrete should do it or a perhaps a plague of frogs - get creative For a senior prank in high school we released 100,000 ladybugs in the school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 If each location is going to gross between 100-200 a week, it might be worth it. You can make a cold food machine look like it has more in it than it does, and sacrificing a little bit of out of date cold food might be worth it, especially if you can get them to agree up front to let you pull those machines out if they don't meet minimum sales requirements. I've seen some places that are so desperate for cold food that they end up paying half price for everything that gets wasted out of the machine. ( They changed their minds after six months of paying for that, and let us pull the machines. ) Cold food machines face one big problem; Fundamentally, no one really wants to eat a six week old sandwich. I currently don't have any food machines and I have no intention of investing in them simply to pull them out later. I'm not arguing with your idea, but I don't fit the criteria of a person who is storing his food machines on location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 For a senior prank in high school we released 100,000 ladybugs in the school. Holy cow - out here we actually pay for lady bugs and they ain't cheap! It's the only thing that will slow down those damn Mexican White Flies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allen watson Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I would consider any offer that has to do with vending. Sometimes what the owners put on the table is just a wish list. Wish lists can be edited with your input. When someone comes to me with stuff like that, I tell them, "That's a really good idea, lets see if we can work that out. How flexible are you with this?". One time I got a huge account that started out with them wanting just an ice cream machine. While we were walking around the plant deciding the best place to put it, I noticed the snack and soda machines were mostly empty. I kept pointing them out and mentioning that I do those too. By the time we decided where to put the ice cream machine I had the snack and soda account also. My take-away from this experience is to always meet with the person that is going to make the vending decision and always do a walk thru with them. While walking thru the location you have a chance to give your input and share your vast vending experience with them. Sometimes they will start out saying that they are not flexible because this is what they have decided and by the time you are done they make changes. Healthy vending ideas: Offer to start with just a percentage of healthy snacks, say 25% to 30% because you may have someone with low blood sugar that actually needs a snicker bar. Also ask them if they have a list of healthy items they would like to see in the snack machine. Have you actually seen the ingredient list on the back of a bag of regular Lays? There's like only 3 things in it - potatoes, salt and a little oil - no kidding, here let me show you (then show them the back of the bag). As long as you have dialog going, you have a chance to change their mind about how they want it. You could say stuff like, "Would you consider .........", or "I service some schools and have had success with ........" or "Have you actually ate a 2 week old salad from a vending machine (and then make a throw-up face). Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 I would consider any offer that has to do with vending. Sometimes what the owners put on the table is just a wish list. Wish lists can be edited with your input. When someone comes to me with stuff like that, I tell them, "That's a really good idea, lets see if we can work that out. How flexible are you with this?". One time I got a huge account that started out with them wanting just an ice cream machine. While we were walking around the plant deciding the best place to put it, I noticed the snack and soda machines were mostly empty. I kept pointing them out and mentioning that I do those too. By the time we decided where to put the ice cream machine I had the snack and soda account also. My take-away from this experience is to always meet with the person that is going to make the vending decision and always do a walk thru with them. While walking thru the location you have a chance to give your input and share your vast vending experience with them. Sometimes they will start out saying that they are not flexible because this is what they have decided and by the time you are done they make changes. Healthy vending ideas: Offer to start with just a percentage of healthy snacks, say 25% to 30% because you may have someone with low blood sugar that actually needs a snicker bar. Also ask them if they have a list of healthy items they would like to see in the snack machine. Have you actually seen the ingredient list on the back of a bag of regular Lays? There's like only 3 things in it - potatoes, salt and a little oil - no kidding, here let me show you (then show them the back of the bag). As long as you have dialog going, you have a chance to change their mind about how they want it. You could say stuff like, "Would you consider .........", or "I service some schools and have had success with ........" or "Have you actually ate a 2 week old salad from a vending machine (and then make a throw-up face). Hope this helps. I hear you Allen but these accounts are operated by the local government. Could I try to sway them some way? Yes, I could try, but the best I csn offer is a continuation of what they currently have. I can't afford a food OR a coffee machine. I would need a commercial area (even a storage unit) to be able to store a cooler/freezer to store the food just to meet local health standards here. I'm certain that this would result in a net loss. Could I buy an older model food machine or coffee? Yes, but I simply can't see how I would make any profits here. They want a snack, soda, food, and coffee at each location. The BEST locations do a little over 200/week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allen watson Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Coffee machines are worse than food machines. I sent two nice coffee machines to the scrap yard because they pissed me off. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 I'm about to blow my top. When it rains, it pours.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I hear you Allen but these accounts are operated by the local government. Could I try to sway them some way? Yes, I could try, but the best I csn offer is a continuation of what they currently have. I can't afford a food OR a coffee machine. I would need a commercial area (even a storage unit) to be able to store a cooler/freezer to store the food just to meet local health standards here. I'm certain that this would result in a net loss. Could I buy an older model food machine or coffee? Yes, but I simply can't see how I would make any profits here. They want a snack, soda, food, and coffee at each location. The BEST locations do a little over 200/week. It's too bad that they haven't been educated by the current vendor or others who bid on this that cold food machines are not viable any longer. The tastes of customers have changed and they no longer flock to the food machine at lunch. It would be a hard education to give them but if there is a pre-proposal meeting scheduled then you should at least sign up and go to it. Listen to what other vendors are saying as the RFP is discussed and see if the account is swayed against cold food or coffee machines in some way. You will find out at that meeting how flexible they are in equipment and products. If the question of flexibility doesn't come up then bring it up yourself for discussion. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Perhaps you can get this down to one cold food in one main plant and just soda and snacks in the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I hear you Allen but these accounts are operated by the local government. Could I try to sway them some way? Yes, I could try, but the best I csn offer is a continuation of what they currently have. I can't afford a food OR a coffee machine. I would need a commercial area (even a storage unit) to be able to store a cooler/freezer to store the food just to meet local health standards here. I'm certain that this would result in a net loss. Could I buy an older model food machine or coffee? Yes, but I simply can't see how I would make any profits here. They want a snack, soda, food, and coffee at each location. The BEST locations do a little over 200/week. Man, this just gets worser and worser. I'd plan on pulling your lone machine out of there ASAP as I can't see much upside to fooling with this one. Hell you might as well state your case to a brick wall as the local guberment, the brick wall would probably show more intellect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Stick to your guns.... i wouldnt do it i got out of a good location with 400 employees because they wanted 100% healthy....waters which they had for free too, juices, teas, no sodas except for sierra mist lol they said that was healthy. They wanted protein bars that cost 1.50 each as if theyd pay 3 bucks for it...i said no. Pulled my stuff and done with it. Cold food, ice cream, cofee...definately not for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 I hear you Allen but these accounts are operated by the local government. Could I try to sway them some way? Yes, I could try, but the best I csn offer is a continuation of what they currently have. I can't afford a food OR a coffee machine. I would need a commercial area (even a storage unit) to be able to store a cooler/freezer to store the food just to meet local health standards here. I'm certain that this would result in a net loss. Could I buy an older model food machine or coffee? Yes, but I simply can't see how I would make any profits here. They want a snack, soda, food, and coffee at each location. The BEST locations do a little over 200/week. Is there an option of charging them a lease for the coffee machines or even the fresh food machines. I wouldn't consider doing an account this size here unless they were prepared to pay a monthly rental on the coffee equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QualitySelectionsJ Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Their was a pretty bad movie called idiocracy. The entire movie was anything but good, but one of the key things was that the government was using Gatorade to hydrate our crops (because Gatorade has electrolytes). The plants kept dying, people were eating nothing but junk, roads were never worked on, people became stupid due to government intervention. A guy had accidentally travelled to the future to this time. He notified them that the plants needed water and not Gatorade. The government laughed at him because Gatorade had electrolytes and water didn't. They were about to kill him when he convinced them to try water. The plants immediately started to grow, people became healthy and smarter, etc.. The moral of the story is that the government or any kind of "higher ups" tend to not understand how things work. It's best to let the free market do its thing except in specific areas. Oh, and Gatorade owned everything in the movie but that's a political point. I saw it too. Suggest the movie to the people requesting this stuff from you. Lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QualitySelectionsJ Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I currently don't have any food machines and I have no intention of investing in them simply to pull them out later. I'm not arguing with your idea, but I don't fit the criteria of a person who is storing his food machines on location.I agree. I'm avoiding a new property manager about a food machine. He's the 3rd property manager to date, hopefully they'll get rid of him soon too. My business is with the owners anyways. I plan on discussing it with the owners if he brings it to their attention... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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