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I bring a helper with me every once in a while, When i do bring them with me, We both walk into location together I pull money and write meter numbers.... by the time I am done with soda and snack machine my helper usually is already walking back to the truck with an idea of what is needed for the machines, a minute or so later I will follow to the truck to drop money in safe and make sure he grabs the same things that I have wrote on my list of things I think the machine will need.... within a few trips to that same location my helper knows pretty much what is needed and is on the same page as me (sometimes) ... but by the time I get back to the truck he already has a box full of snacks that he pulled and I grab the box he grabs the heavy soda and we walk back in..... I figure I can cut my day by a few hours or most of the time just get ahead if i know I need to do a move in the next couple days or have a meeting for a new location...

 

My helper is definitely ready to go on his own but I still haven't figured out the whole accountability part of everything and I am way to OCD with everything so I know I will go crazy with the fact that something wasnt done correctly or the way i like it done,   I know I will have to get past that soon if I want to grow any bigger!!

Ah - so you did find somebody to follow a fat sweaty guy around Phoenix  ;D  ;D  ;D

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Ah - so you did find somebody to follow a fat sweaty guy around Phoenix  ;D  ;D  ;D

 

lol... Yes I did, after a lot of bribing with all the snacks and soda you can drink and good pay, also the promise of me wearing a lot of deodorant.  I bet he hates being stuck in the cab of the box truck with the windows rolled up all day.  

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There is a saying my dad always gives me when I'm thinking about getting some help. " It's when burden walks in on two feet " When you look at adding labor two your route you really have to look at the bottom line and how much will it really make you in the long run. I have at times cut my route back or rerouted how I ran it to help in keeping it streamlined so I didn't have to add labor. I'm in the same boat right now that you are of running six to seven days a week. However, i'm going to cut loose some of my lower performing locations and avoid the added cost of adding labor. This will help me keep my service up and more profit to my bottom line.

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crooks are very creative, and its tough to always be a step ahead all the time. I have heard of a scam where a dishonest driver would buy some of his own high demand product and stock the  machines partly with them, then on the next service he would take cash from the machine in the amount of sales from the items that he bought. In a way its like running a vending operation inside of a vending operation. If you didn't take records of the machine meters as AZvendor mentioned, this would be very hard to pinpoint.

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A driver that keeps customers happy AND is honest is of course always the goal. Customer satisfaction is always number one for me as well. I think that if a dishonest driver ever takes a free cold soda or a couple bucks then they will likely strike again, and keep pushing their luck harder and harder until it becomes obvious. I plan to just stay small enough that I can run the business along with my wife and kids for various tasks. I just don't see a way to trust people enough. So for me Allen, I would get a helper as previously mentioned, or sell off some of the slower accounts if you are feeling overwhelmed, but that's just me.

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Depends on on your goals. If you want to continue to grow, consider a part-time employee first. As an employer there will always be a certain amount of risk. How much risk are you willing to take to grow? IMHO, hiring a ride along is not efficient nor does it pay for what it costs. Simply be diligent. Have you considered VMS with dynamic routing to make you more efficient and free up time? I'm in the process of implementing telemetry now, to free up time for future growth. 

If you hire, take accountability measures but keep in mind no system is perfect. Do a background check. Verify information, check references, etc. Even call past employers (not current). Oh and check behind them!!!  I have recently learned this the hard way and it almost cost me a good account. They are less likely to fudge and short cut if they know you may pop in on them and/or check their stops behind them. 

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A driver that keeps customers happy AND is honest is of course always the goal. Customer satisfaction is always number one for me as well. I think that if a dishonest driver ever takes a free cold soda or a couple bucks then they will likely strike again, and keep pushing their luck harder and harder until it becomes obvious. I plan to just stay small enough that I can run the business along with my wife and kids for various tasks. I just don't see a way to trust people enough. So for me Allen, I would get a helper as previously mentioned, or sell off some of the slower accounts if you are feeling overwhelmed, but that's just me.

Yep, given all the functions that AZ mentioned in order to keep an employee honest, it really seems to me that it's better to gear your route to what you can do yourself even if that means selling off the low performers.  Decent locations should net $150 per machine monthly x say 60 machines that's 9 grand less gas etc. You should be able to live on that unless you've got deeper problems.

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Yep, given all the functions that AZ mentioned in order to keep an employee honest, it really seems to me that it's better to gear your route to what you can do yourself even if that means selling off the low performers. Decent locations should net $150 per machine monthly x say 60 machines that's 9 grand less gas etc. You should be able to live on that unless you've got deeper problems.

That's only 4k ish in your pocket !!!! And u live in socal how can u live on that?
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That's only 4k ish in your pocket !!!! And u live in socal how can u live on that?

Granted, Socal is expensive but I have no mortagage and my monthly expenses easily are covered by a grand a month so 9 grand net is easy (i'm not there yet)

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I wouldn't consider Barstow to be SoCal. The nicest house on my block sold for $30k. I don't have any debt, but I am thinking about buying my wife a new truck.

I wouldn't consider Barstow to be anywhere (as in nowhere)  ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D

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