What a resilient business it is.

[AngryChris]

I just wanted to share with people how much I appreciate being in this industry.  Natural disasters, economic woes, and other mishaps can really hurt all kinds of businesses including vending businesses.  This past Memorial day, the Miami Valley (in and around Dayton, Ohio) was struck with not one... not two.. but nine tornadoes.  Tends of thousands of homes and businesses went without power, with maybe half of them still out, over 100 people were hurt, and MANY homes and businesses were either damaged or completely destroyed.  Fortunately, my family and my home made it out completely unscathed.  I already confirmed that I lost one snack machine so far but how many more are damaged out there remains unknown as so many businesses have no power and many communication towers have been damaged as well.  On top of that, a massive amount of people have been without running for some time now.

Things are difficult between power outages and road closures due to debris and downed power lines, but we went through a similar situation back in 2008 when the remnants of hurricane Ike managed to make its way all the way here, causing massive amounts of damage (mostly minor, but everywhere).  Despite these troubling times, I am estimating that well over 80% of my locations are already up and running and have been since Tuesday as I have most of my accounts spread out over a range of about 30 square miles.  So even though it hit us pretty hard, I am more worried about just getting around and servicing the accounts than anything.  My top two accounts are 100% fine and, due to the vast amount of vacant buildings in Dayton, many businesses are simply moving or taking temporary leases in vacant buildings all around this area.

If a vending operator can make it through a disastrous day that includes 9 tornadoes all in one night, then I think it would pretty much take a devastating economic collapse or a massive catastrophic event to actually destroy a vending business.

[lacanteen]

It is refreshing to hear that the glass is half full. Glad you made it through unhurt. I have helped many friends and customers through hurricanes and nothing breaks your heart than seeing homes totally destroyed. 

[flintflash]

Amen Brother!!  Love the POSITIVE outlook and glad to hear that things are getting better around there.  It is AWESOME to see a community come together and help each other get back on their feet.  YES!  This is a resilient business!  Hope things continue to improve quickly around there.  We had two tornadoes hit just outside Flint back in the early Spring.  Did some damage and killed power, but everything was back up and running in about a week.   

[mountain vender]

My heart goes out to Dayton and everyone affected. I grew up there and watched WHIO live stream the evening of the tornados. I contacted friends and family there and they were all ok, but they said the destruction is horrendous. Last summer we had a very large wildfire here. I was evacuated from my home/business for 20 days, lived in a hotel with ALL my pets. I had my work truck and cargo trailer full of snacks/sodas with me at the hotel. I run my biz out of my house and it's on a mountain, 15 degrees cooler than in town, where I was staying. I only lost about $30 worth of melted candy bars. I was on the edge of my seat for 3 weeks with the wildfire at my backdoor.  No structures were lost in the wildfire & only 2 of my machines were in the evacuated zone. I felt very blessed. Please pass on my love to Dayton and take care.