Rick Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 This is a topic I've been devoting a good deal of thought to lately. The general line of thought on TVF is that you can set yourself apart from other bulk vendors by wearing professional attire, keeping your equipment clean and functioning properly and being honest and respectful with your location owners. I agree with that to an extent, but my personal experience is that most of my competitor's have to be GROSSLY negligent before a location owner decides to address the situation and boot them. From my experience, service and professionalism can help you bury the complete degenerates who are doing little more than carrying a dirty rag and stopping by to give their crap knockoff a dusting once every 6 months. But once a bulk vendor meets even a bare minimum of competency - everything above and beyond goes largely unnoticed by the location owners. In short, (again, just my personal experience) I'm beginning to think bulk vending isn't a service industry at all. Given that, I've started thinking about ways to tap into that service and genuinely GROW my relationships with my locations. I came up with an idea and I'd love to hear the pros/cons from anybody willing to chime in. How about instead of "receipt" every service cycle with the gross and commission I design a "Service Record"? This thing would include a detailed checklist such as *Test vended*Swept under and around equipment *Disinfect coin mechansim *Visual product inspection and restock Other thoughts?At the bottom of the form I could have a lbs/oz = $$$ money grid where I record the weight and % commission for this location and room to sign and date. I'd make it a carbon copy so the location could even retain a hard copy. A form like this would be black and white verification for the location owner that (s)he is dealing with a professional and be a consistent reminder to them of what our agreement really is and that I'm treating them fairly. I'd like others to chime in you've found any creative ways to set yourself apart in this anonymous, copy-cat business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanihotdog Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Great post Rick. I agree 100%. It is also a great way to make sure employees don't dump and run, or set it and forget it... More importantly, a great way to keep yourself accountable to do the extra things that are easy to skip over. Will this make your relationship with the account stronger? I don't know? I would suggest a mission statement at the top.. Possibly a thank you statement? Statement of values or core beliefs? Maybe think of what someone might say about you for an introduction if you were at an awards ceremony? It is important to establish yourself as a credible expert in your field, if you can do that, you will qualify yourself as the only option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I would suggest a mission statement at the top.. Possibly a thank you statement? GREAT idea Rick. I think the custom service sheets would certainly set you apart in a positive way. And the suggestions quoted above by hanihotdog are great too. As far as "other" things you can add, what about a "date of last service" line? That can be a handy bit of info for you and your location to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt77 Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Hey Rick,Let me first say that I have zero experience in the bulk vending industry, but I have plenty experience in the branding/customer service industry and you are 100% on the right track. Great branding/service = establishing a relationship with your location owner. Going above and beyond will only be recognized when that relationship is in place, otherwise you're just "that guy who services the gumball machine". I think your Service Record is absolutely a giant step in the right direction! You can have a custom form printed via UPrinting.com for a very affordable price! (250, 4.25" x 5.5" for about $40) http://www.uprinting.com/carbonless-form-printing.html I'm a designer and would be happy to help you design a custom form if you need any help!Either way, love the out-of-the-box thinking and wanting to grow those relationships! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Vending Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I think talking to them and listening to them and building a relationship is key. I don't do all the stuff you mensioned. I try to do stops quickly and as many as I can per day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BouncyBalls Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 "Refund from misvend, N/A or $______" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanihotdog Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I would hesitate to put date of last service on a commission sheet for bulk! At least for the way we service our bulk! We found out years ago that most businesses will not get excited over a 25 to 30 dollar monthly commission.back in the day when we use to service every account monthly we started to lose accountsbecause we were collecting monthly and paying 20-50. We learned that business owners really don't pay much attention to bulk vending and really don't have a good perspective of time when it comes to bulk vending. We started to stretch out our service cycles to every 3 or 4 months now it is closer to 6 months. We pay owners commissions of $150 + and they seem to be much happier with that. Please note.. it is a strategic decision for us to service like that, we are not slobs!we service and clean all of our crane machines at least once per week. the way that we keep relationshi strong with bulk accounts is by talking with employees and owners, and remembering the details... owner has a favorite niece that is 5 and loves pink pony toys... when you service once every six months! You have to go the extra mile and remember the nieces name and give the owner a pink pony toy for her! we actually have our bulk customers trained to call us when the machines are empty! Its like we are doing them a favor when we fill it up and they are so happy to see us! I guess it's all inperspective! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BouncyBalls Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 You are correct hanihotdog, I would also hesitate putting a "last service" date on receipt, maybe just the amount if anything at all. I have had owners ask me when I walk in after 2 months, "is it time already seems like you were just here last week". I just say yup it's time again and after finished hand them over receipt and money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepherdsflock Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Even if I service every month (which I usually do), I try to keep commission checks high. So, for some places, that means going several months without giving a commission check so that the commission to can accumulate to a level where they feel like they're getting something. Who wants to cash a check for $5? Also, I don't consider my business to be providing a service in the same sense that most service business do. I consider my business to be more of an entertainment/retail business. I mainly sell toys and flat items. Most of my customers (children) aren't as picky about the appearance of the machines are they are about the perceived value and "fun factor" of the products I sell. And I've found that keeping good product in the machines that sell well and produces consistent commissions with few misvends does more to set me apart than keeping my machines sparkling clean. I try not to have disgusting machines, but I definitely spend more time rotating products than I do on cleaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Yes. I can see where date of last service would maybe cause some issues. Just figured it'd be good to show those owners who do question our service cycle. I've had some owners who have not been around when I service who suddenly show up and say, "Hey you haven't been here in a while". The receipt and all previous receipts would show otherwise. But, it was just a suggestion...anyone using the OP's idea of creating custom service logs can take it or leave it. I like the idea of adding the "amount of last service". We may not want to risk showing an owner/mgr that commission was higher last cycle. That would start a whole chain of questions that are better off to avoid. But, I would probably add it anyway....good info to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted August 26, 2014 Author Share Posted August 26, 2014 I think talking to them and listening to them and building a relationship is key. I don't do all the stuff you mensioned. I try to do stops quickly and as many as I can per day. See, this is the potential problem I've considered as well. At SOME point is there a diminishing return where, if you graphed it out, the values of "minutes per location serivced" and "number of kickouts per year" intersect. Is it worth the time to my bottom line? Of course now that I think about it, I already do all of this stuff anyway; it's just taking the extra minute or two to document it and communicate that I did it to the owner. Hey Rick, Let me first say that I have zero experience in the bulk vending industry, but I have plenty experience in the branding/customer service industry and you are 100% on the right track. Great branding/service = establishing a relationship with your location owner. Going above and beyond will only be recognized when that relationship is in place, otherwise you're just "that guy who services the gumball machine". I think your Service Record is absolutely a giant step in the right direction! You can have a custom form printed via UPrinting.com for a very affordable price! (250, 4.25" x 5.5" for about $40) http://www.uprinting.com/carbonless-form-printing.html I'm a designer and would be happy to help you design a custom form if you need any help! Either way, love the out-of-the-box thinking and wanting to grow those relationships! Thanks Matt, I just might take you up on that idea when the time comes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Vending Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 As far as cleaning things and being as professional as possible I look at the location, judge its cleanliness and try and be on the same level. If it's a laundry may that has dust and cob webs by the windows I spend less time than I would at restaurant that remodels every year and cleans daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt77 Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 As far as cleaning things and being as professional as possible I look at the location, judge its cleanliness and try and be on the same level. If it's a laundry may that has dust and cob webs by the windows I spend less time than I would at restaurant that remodels every year and cleans daily. Where's the pride of business ownership? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanihotdog Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I think action vending places a high priority on his return on time or ROT. his pride come from maximizing efficiency.Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BouncyBalls Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 I am in line with action on cleanliness, but I do clean all my machines every service just maybe the nicer locs gets extra attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatthewMMorrow Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Looks like a great idea. Would you put any sort of financial data for a charity route? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanihotdog Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 with a charity route you want to get in and out as fast as possible. No need for any receipt or documentation to the account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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