Keeping up appearances--how full should it stay?

[Jimoutside]

So with these bulk candies and so on, gum, etc. I've seen several say that you should not fill it all the way up if it's a slow-moving area, so that the product doesn't go bad. That makes sense. But do you ever get to that point where there's so little product in the machine that people stop buying it? Is their a psychological disconnect when people see the machine is almost empty? Do they think, it's the last of it, so it's probably stale, or I don't want to finish it because somebody else might really want it, or I'm not sure if the machine will vend properly with so little left, or other thoughts that make them not want to buy when it gets too low?

 

And having said that, at what point is too little to leave in the machine when you service it? 30%? 10% Just wondering.

Related to this question--do some machine models have "blind spots" where product nests and never does vend from? So that, even if it gets low, it will never vend the last little bit? If that happens, do you move the last little bit of product out to where it will vend before filling? I would assume that on smaller pole-built machines, customers might tip or shake it to move the last little bit to the vending chute, but only the most ambitious customers. . . . .

[rodney69]

Typically I figure never less than 1/4 and never more than 3/4 unless it's high volume. This is only on candy.

[bullyfrog]

If you've got a location where you're considering only leaving the machine 10% full, you probably need to be looking for new locations. JMO

[Rick]

I agree. If you can't fill it you need to move it. And my experience has been that even at very good locations they stop buying when the candy is 1-2 in from empty.

[Jimoutside]

This is basically what I figured. For whatever reason, people don't want to buy from a nearly empty machine. Maybe they're afraid it will cheat them (and maybe some machines eventually would, I don't know!) or they assume the stuff is old and stale (which is reasonable to think if the servicer doesn't come by often enough). But if you fill it too full and it actually does go bad--well, there you have it folks. You're up a creek. The key (ha) is probably to find that balance and feel out each location over time.