ahha Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 What do i do? File a police report and find out what the warranty is? I had it placed for 24 days. And I go back there to service and they said it is gone someone picked it up. One lady said she only saw it one day. It was close to gangbang town but not that close and it was at a KFC. I need some advice on if there is anything I can do about it. Thanks. I really am wondering if i should continue on. I have had one problem after another every single time i go out there. It's so disheartening and I cant even enjoy it like I wanted to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmuseStar Vending Co Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 ahha, (I will be blunt, and tell you what I feel, please do not take this the wrong way. If you are easy to offend, click back). This should help you get back on track. A few steps to over come stolen machines: Stop feeling sorry for yourself. This will only make things worse. Take the 1 machine stolen off your signature. This is not your fault, it is just a part of it. Ask any vendor on this site who has been doing this for a few years. I guarantee they will have had many stolen. You have just started. You are in the start up phase, and are just getting use to it. Problems will happen if you are new at doing things. I will say that it takes a certain type of person to succeed in this business. This is why you see so many people fail. You do not want to be considered in this group do you? You started off right. Bought machines at a good price, put them out and are making money. Other people start by buying into biz ops (these do not tell them how hard vending will actually be). Take for instance Tiffany. She bought from vendstar, and she could not do it. She was not meant for this. Now look at Gary (Westcoast), he bought from a biz op, and he made it. Because this was meant for him. You are set up right. Your heart needs to be in this. If you are willing, you will succeed. You will make money and prosper. Good luck, I hope you will stay with us. Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmuseStar Vending Co Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Oh, and get back out there and start fighting! Ebay is just a few clicks away to used machines that will help you! Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Kyle, Although you are blunt at times, you have a way with words. I think your advice is prefect and needs to be told to any newbie in vending. We have all lost a machine or two. That's why they make chains and locks. If a machine is close to a door and is not chained down, it could just walk away one day. The first thing to remember is that there are many people out there that will do just about anything for a few dollars worth of quarters. Hang in there Ahha. That's what vending is about and Kyle has told it like it is. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluePlate Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 Ahha, Pick yourself and brush yourself off and learn from this. While it is not your fault. Think of it this way. Right now you lost 20% of your stock. When you're big and have 200 machine, it will be only 1/2%. I was in this business 2 years ago and I frustrated and left. I returned 2 years later and found this forum, learned a lot. In 6 months I have 48 heads out and 65 heads waiting to be placed. Keep your chin up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Well, I know it's not like losing a whole machine but I will relate this story that happened to me this weekend. I went to service one of my racks and was particularly interested in how the new 2" ceramic NFL cups were selling. I got very excited when I walked into the place and saw the 2" cap machine completely empty. My excitement dissipated quickly when I realized that someone had opened the machine and took all the cups out! When I first saw this, my immediate thoughts were to just give up. There is so little margin to begin with, when something like this happens it just sucks all the energy you have for vending out of you. I can relate to how you feel ahha. Those thoughts only lasted a moment though. You just have to roll with the punches. Fortunately, they either didn't have the time, or the know how to get to the coin box. Not that it mattered because there was only a few bucks in there. I'm still trying to figure out how they got in without a key. Or at least I'm hoping they didn't have a key. I guess I will have to take Gary's advice and leave a friendly note in the coin box! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Ahha/Steve, How bad is this? I had a yellow/black beaver single in my wife's Karate studio that walked away. It was in the lobby next to the office door. With all those black belts and karate experts in and out of there all day. No one saw anything. It was just gone, one day, along with the product and money. There's a new beaver in there now with a lock and chain attached to a magazine rack. If they want the machine they will have to take the whole magazine rack with them. It's wider than the door so it should be interesting to see. See ahha, that's how you fix it. Just be smarter than the average thief. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 What do i do? File a police report and find out what the warranty is? I had it placed for 24 days. And I go back there to service and they said it is gone someone picked it up. One lady said she only saw it one day. It was close to gangbang town but not that close and it was at a KFC. I need some advice on if there is anything I can do about it. Thanks. I really am wondering if i should continue on. I have had one problem after another every single time i go out there. It's so disheartening and I cant even enjoy it like I wanted to. Ahha,You will also find that your locations that you thought were stable will end up locking their doors without calling you to come pick up your machine. This is almost worse than having somebody walk off with your machine. I have two different locations that aren't open for business, and I can look inside the windows and see my machine, but I cannot reach them. If I can't get the owners to respond to me (I leave business cards in under the door and tell them to call me ASAP so that I can get my property) then I will call the cops and fill out a report. Maybe they can do something more than I can do in those cases. Start looking in the local craigs list and local ebay auctions to see if your machine pops up there. Every ebay auction that sells a single machine with 'no key', or not even a lock is suspect in my book. Those are the tell-tale signs of a stolen machine. In the future, make sure you have your machines permentantly marked in some way. Engrave them, paint them, stamp them with indelible ink, etc. That way if they ever show up again, you can prove they are yours. Also, when this happens again (and it will) you really should file a police report. Call the cops and have them send a car over and fill out the report then and there. They consider that the scene of the crime and will want to make you fill out your report that way. I"ve tried to go to the local sherrif's dept but they wouldn't take them there; only at the scene and by a deputy. That's if you are in the county areas. City cops might have a different policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philo Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Ahha: For every location where one walks off, or in my case gets broken into, there are all the other locations. Locations where people appreciate what you provide. Places where people are happy to see you, smile and make small talk. That's a better place to focus, and more of what vending is about than the dark side. Hang in there. Regards, Philo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendboy Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 AHHA- It's part of it ! We knew that when we got into it. Some will get stolen. Some will get broken into. SO WHAT! Go get a new location today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candyman007 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 So sorry to hear that. Truly. We would be happy to replace the location for you free of charge. Regards, Rob http://www.kickstartlocations.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer980 Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Here you go. $40 obo on a new double in St Pete. http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/bfs/875497377.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahha Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 I have no more machines and cant afford to even buy one. So sorry to hear that. Truly. We would be happy to replace the location for you free of charge. Regards, Rob http://www.kickstartlocations.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahha Posted October 28, 2008 Author Share Posted October 28, 2008 What do i do about the charity company? They say you have to return the sticker if u don't want to pay anymore. Well I can't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 ahha, (I will be blunt, and tell you what I feel, please do not take this the wrong way. If you are easy to offend, click back). This should help you get back on track. A few steps to over come stolen machines: Stop feeling sorry for yourself. This will only make things worse. Take the 1 machine stolen off your signature. This is not your fault, it is just a part of it. Ask any vendor on this site who has been doing this for a few years. I guarantee they will have had many stolen. You have just started. You are in the start up phase, and are just getting use to it. Problems will happen if you are new at doing things. I will say that it takes a certain type of person to succeed in this business. This is why you see so many people fail. You do not want to be considered in this group do you? You started off right. Bought machines at a good price, put them out and are making money. Other people start by buying into biz ops (these do not tell them how hard vending will actually be). Take for instance Tiffany. She bought from vendstar, and she could not do it. She was not meant for this. Now look at Gary (Westcoast), he bought from a biz op, and he made it. Because this was meant for him. You are set up right. Your heart needs to be in this. If you are willing, you will succeed. You will make money and prosper. Good luck, I hope you will stay with us. Kyle Kyle, Looks like you got a couple nods for your first POTD with that one! Great job! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarter Master Posted October 28, 2008 Share Posted October 28, 2008 Candivend, I'm sorry to hear about your loss, but like everyone has said "Yu live and learn." Maybe a couple of phone calls would help out.The local police may take a report if it meets their dollar value and the charity will probably will understand, I'm sure it's not the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmuseStar Vending Co Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Thank you Steve! First one! Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T BIRD Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 That was a very supportive post there Kyle. Hang in there ahha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philo Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Ahha: If its with NCCS just send a letter or email to Shirley Pye and she will send you a replacement. Regards, Philo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shvend Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Steve i can releate with you in post #6 Just today i walked into one of laundrymats and found a bone dry machine!!!! I started jumping for joy unitl I got to the other side. The whole front of the machine had been taken off and was laying behind the washing machines. They took every toy, and every last quarter. You know I would have been alright with it but they even took my QUARTER PAN, you want to talk about adding insult to injury. Anyways that is beside the point. ahha, don't get discourged since some prick stole your machine. Keep your head up and you can and will overcome this. To make you fell a little better i have on average 4 machines stolen from me a month. But that is like only .05% of my inventory on a yearly number. So the bigger you get the more equipment will disapper and you will learn you deal and cope with it. I still get a mad everytime I come up on a location that is missing what used to be my MONEY MAKER! But I just bring them another one and keep on keepin on! Good Luck ahha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer980 Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 You just need to go forward and service your route like you always do. It is something that you need to plan for in the business loss column. Karma will get the person who took your machine. Look at that deal from Craigslist and see if they will take less for one of those doubles. You should be able to scrape up enough from the other 5 you have placed even if you need to put less in on refill to get it replaced for less then $40. This may be the turning point and the free placement Rob threw in might just be the winning one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markvend Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Sorry to hear about your machine - it's always an emotional bummer to lose one that way. I want to echo the others to encourage you to keep going. Things seem especially fragile in the starup phase with ample opportunity for excuses to quit. As others have said, pick up a cheap (but quality!) machine replacement off ebay and get a great location to amortize down your loss. A good location will cause you to recoup your loss quickly. As with any endeavor, you must invest much more EFFORT than capital to make it work out. Don't judge future success by a single collection. I've been tempted many times in this area and would have forfeited untold tens of thousands of dollars had I believed the facts of the moment instead of the long-term success I had already laid the foundation for. Hang it there and let us know how it goes! Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) needs encourgement from time to time. I also recommend a Venti Caramel Iced Latte from Starbucks (or your favorite equivalent). It always helps ease my pain! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVLINC Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 i lost 2 machines in the past few months, and had 1 company close doors and didnt think to look on the side of the machine and give a courtesy call, it happens, pick up a couple vendstars on craigslist for 30-40 bucks good luck dont give up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 I lost a machine a few months ago. It was my first, I had a few close calls though. This location was a booming deli right across from a college. The guy even gave me advise about the location I had upstairs, who turned out to be a problem. Well after about 25 days I went to check on it. There was a note deli closed forever. Apparently ABC busted them for selling to minors. I guess the guy just left the doors unlocked. I went in and looked high and low for my machine. Gone with the wind. I asked around, got his cell phone. No response. I asked around some more found out where his brother had a restaurant. I went there half expecting to find my machine and walk out with it. His brother gave me a new cell phone # since the first one became disconnected. Surprise right? No response on the second cell. Ok, at this point for a $40 machine and the principle I quit wasting my time it is gone and I knew I signed up for loosing one or so here and there. I know it must be a bummer when you only have 5 machines, but look at it this way you'll get another $40 up and get another machine and your back in business. Or you can buy a convience store for $100,000 or more and have bigger problems. A little hyperably there. It is a fun business you just have to realize it is a business and take the losses and learn. Don't quit, you can do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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