TKK Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 With a big operation, what are you guys doing for refunds? What stops employees from oh yeah i gave $4 here $5 there? Most places we have are no refund policies but we want to implement a solid plan. On another note what do u guys do to ensure the cash bringing in is what it should? Also with coin escrow i check out bags to them with $100 or so in coins, Just trying to see what u guys use that works? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 A no-refund policy???? Why? What if the validator messes up and a dollar gets jammed and doesn't register? What if there's a coin jam? What if a soda just didn't come out for whatever reason? I mean yeah. people lie to get refunds but a no-refund policy? I give people their refund and ask them what happened AFTER I give them the money. Nine times out of ten, they either tell me what happened (if there was an actual problem) or they never ask for another refund again. Of course, if you have the same people asking for refunds constantly from machines where no one else asks for refunds... that gets suspicious, but I think you are doing a massive disservice to your customers by offering no refunds. Even with brand new machines, someone can still lose their money. As for the cash being what it should be, the simplest way is to have your drivers take meter readings at every fill-up. The meter should be pretty accurate as long as no bills were given out for refunds and no coin jams took place. Basically, all of the money that was registered by the machine should match up with the meter reading (depending on how full the coin mech was last time). For example, if the meter said $100.00 at the last fill-up, and the meter says exactly $250.00 on the next fill-up, then there should be exactly $150.00 "spent" at the machine. However, if the last fill-up had $3.00 short in the dime tube and it's full now.. then you'll really only collect $147.00. Over time (months, and months) you can pretty accurately compare what the meters say and what is brought in. You just need to keep excellent track of any change that was put into the mech manually, or refunds that were paid out.. basically anything that would bypass what the meter shows. So if no coins were ever put into the mech manually and no refunds ever given out (and no coin jams or any other problems) and the money is off by say $200 over the last 6 months, it's pretty safe to say either you made a clerical error in your book keeping or the driver is stealing from that machine. If it happens to multiple machines though.. it's likely the driver. Then it becomes an effort to try to find a pattern and see if you can set a trap. Show up right before they get there, fill the coin mech up, collect all of the money, and put in an exact amount like $20.00 in mixed coins in the coin box and $100 in mixed bills into the bill box and take a meter reading so you know if customers affect your numbers. If you know there was say.. $100 in mixed bills and $20 in change and the driver comes back with $20+ in change and $95 in bills, then you basically know the driver stole at least $5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 4 hours ago, TKK said: With a big operation, what are you guys doing for refunds? What stops employees from oh yeah i gave $4 here $5 there? Most places we have are no refund policies but we want to implement a solid plan. On another note what do u guys do to ensure the cash bringing in is what it should? Also with coin escrow i check out bags to them with $100 or so in coins, Just trying to see what u guys use that works? I can't believe that with as many machines as you have that you don't have any route accountability yet - even requiring meter readings. All of your machines can provide meter readings so you've been foolish to not require them every time a machine is opened. I guarantee you that your drivers are stealing from you, I guarantee it! You have no controls in place without meter readings. You need accountability for your rolled coin bags as well. For refunds we had refund envelopes printed up that asked for the machine number, selection number, description and amount of loss. We put them in small brochure holders that were attached to the front of one machine in each location with double sided tape. They worked pretty well for us and the customer got their money back in a neat envelope that was left with a central person after recording what was written on the envelopes. You can also put the responsibility on the location to collect that information before giving out your money you leave with them but the only incentive there is telling them that you'll stop giving refunds if they don't do your work for you. Forward thinking vendors come up with a way to refund money electronically asking customers to call a number for a refund which allows you to get information from them before you send them their refund. Don't ask me how that works because we never used that method. We just kept really good relations with our locations so they would help us out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Chris has it pretty much summed up... your drivers need to have a way to report refunds and change added. Some machines will honestly need change often for reasons, like odd prices using a lot of nickels or large amounts of 5 dollar bills, but most machines go along ok week to week with only an occasional change add. Refunds are the same, if you track refunds to the machine and your drivers are trained to ask about the problem the customer had, they can often identify the issue and fix problems. Constant refunds at all stops is a big red flag. Parlevel has fields to enter change added and refunds issued for each machine and that makes tracking those issues easier. The change added and the balance in the drivers bank should of course add up to what they started with. Refunds should be paid whenever possible from the collection bag for the machine causing the refund. On a manual system, I would give the drivers a pad of paper at the very least and have them put notes in the collection bags with meter readings, refunds for the machine, any test vends (effects your meter readings), and change added. You might consider having the drivers get a signature for each refund, but that might be excessive. At some hotel properties, the front desk fills out a cash out slip and gets a signature for each refund, and I get the slips when I refund them the cash. I presume you already have a way to identify which machine the bag came from. Clearly, when you see too many entries constantly in either column, you have an issue. Tracking meter readings will help you spot the issues also. You already have a lot of telemeters out, and telemetry reporting back to a good VMS program will tell you exactly how much each machine should collect with few exceptions. I know on the machines I service myself that have telemetry, collections are accurate down to the last nickle over 90% of the time, and I can usually identify why and how much the reports are off (test vends, etc). So I expect the same from a driver. The software can also give you exception reports and track collections over time to look for trends. Here is a sample report from one of my machines: Machine Service Information Date Route Driver Status Inv Level Cash Credit Card Total Sales Bills Coins Total Collected Refunds O/S 2018-02-26 15:51:03 Daytona Metro Phil Cook Consolidated 99% $123.65 $29.25 $152.90 $121.00 $2.65 $123.65 $0.00 $0.00 2018-02-16 18:11:25 Daytona Metro Phil Cook Consolidated 100% $205.75 $27.25 $233.00 $189.00 $16.75 $205.75 $0.00 $0.00 2018-02-02 19:25:58 Daytona Metro Phil Cook Consolidated 100% $139.50 $28.75 $168.25 $119.00 $20.50 $139.50 $0.00 $0.00 2018-01-15 17:20:10 Daytona Metro Phil Cook Consolidated 100% $158.55 $35.25 $193.80 $147.00 $11.55 $158.55 $0.00 $0.00 2017-12-30 17:18:02 Daytona Metro Phil Cook Consolidated 98% $118.50 $27.75 $146.25 $117.00 $1.50 $118.50 $0.00 $0.00 2017-12-22 15:45:39 Daytona Metro Phil Cook Consolidated 95% $121.80 $22.75 $144.55 $116.00 $5.80 $121.80 $0.00 $0.00 2017-11-28 18:24:49 Daytona Metro Phil Cook Consolidated 100% $112.75 $53.50 $166.25 $103.00 $9.85 $112.85 $0.00 $0.10 2017-11-17 17:56:30 Daytona Metro Phil Cook Consolidated 98% $234.20 $25.50 $259.70 $206.00 $28.20 $234.20 $0.00 $0.00 2017-11-03 17:49:13 Daytona Metro Phil Cook Consolidated 100% $92.05 $26.75 $118.80 $81.00 $11.05 $92.05 $0.00 $0.00 Total $1,583.50 Total $1,583.60 The data in the second section comes from the telemetry, and in the third section the collected info comes from the count room. Another spot check is to do random audits like Chris described. Get to the machine before the driver and either count the bills or replace them with a precounted stack. You should get AT LEAST that much collection (minus valid refunds) when the driver turns in that money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 Thanks for the info guys, weve been just doing usa live reports and compare em but my guys can use 1200 in coins a week for coin mechs. That gets checked out, i gues i need to see each machine how to check the counters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkhusker Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Get a good VMS already TKK! Parlevel helps with all of these issues you're asking about. You won't regret it. As far as rolled coin, I send a change bag out every day and the driver replaces rolled coin with bills from the machine he puts them in and then drops the bag in truck safe when he is out of coin or end of day. That makes this easily accounted for and change added doesn't look like revenue. As for refunds, we try to handle them in a way that satisfies the location. I have a couple of folks that I give $10 and they dole out refunds when necessary. This forces the customer to go to someone and report. Makes them less likely to make it up. Some places we just give them out as requested. I also have 10 eport interactives that will accept redemption codes. When they call, I can give them the single use code to vend another item. I also use a short code service for machine issues. Ever had those phones calls telling you the machine is broke but the person calling has no idea what's wrong? Those have always bugged me. The short code alleviates most of that. When a customer has a problem with a machine they can text a short code with a machine ID and I then can call the person and ask questions so I have some idea what's wrong with the machine before I go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 Im looking into.parlevel but $1200 a month is alot! Have u guys seen this? Looks cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 Ive been using the free vend vouchers for some refunds. They are pretty cool its easier getting them a 30c item than $1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkhusker Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 2 minutes ago, TKK said: Im looking into.parlevel but $1200 a month is alot! Have u guys seen this? Looks cool But if it saves you $1500-$2K a month (or more), isn't it worth it? Looks like they are using Cantaloupe as a VMS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkhusker Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 19 minutes ago, TKK said: Ive been using the free vend vouchers for some refunds. They are pretty cool its easier getting them a 30c item than $1 I've thought about using these in places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkhusker Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 TKK, Have you considered becoming a USG member? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted March 2, 2018 Author Share Posted March 2, 2018 I havent isnt there a minimum to order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkhusker Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 While they do have stated requirements for membership, they are pretty loose with them for growing operators. With your acquisition you shouldn't have any trouble qualifying. I have found it well worth joining. On top of the rebates you earn, several companies offer member rates. Ask Parlevel about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 Join before you make the acquisition so you can give an honest, current baseline. Then the now business becomes your instant growth in future quarters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkhusker Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 40 minutes ago, AZVendor said: Join before you make the acquisition so you can give an honest, current baseline. Then the now business becomes your instant growth in future quarters. great point! a VMS ans USG membership will transform your business and increase its value significantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted March 3, 2018 Author Share Posted March 3, 2018 Sweet ima try and look into.it. they actually called me today and said they can do a training period, also they are a 7hr drive from me. So may go check them out in person. But was thinking of hitting up nama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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