WesternVending Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Hello Everyone, My name is Keith, and I'm the Sales Representative from WesternVending LLC.We are based out of South Eastern Michigan and have a large pool of experienced staff that actually UNDERSTAND vending. My managers requested that I post on this forum and see if our firm could possible supply a service that everyone needs. (Please note, that our development team is still working on our corporate site which will be up in a few days) Who are we First off let me elaborate on our firms experience in actually locating machines. We have a team of professional vendors with anywhere from 5-15 years of experience in the vending business. We understand that locations are pivotal to the success of any vendor. Our firm is quite unique from others due to the fact that we take an analytical approach on obtaining locations, which are ideal for our clients (More on this later). We are the most honest, transparent firm you can find, and we can literally guarantee that we can get you what you want. Our Service Our firm is quite different since we find locations from an analytical standpoint. This assures accuracy, and ensures a good majority of crappy locations are filtered out. Here is how we analyze Below is our 6-Point-Metric Analytical System in finding locations. This helps us accurately get what an individual wants down to the tee. How many employees an establishment has? This is somewhat a very good indicator to tell rather an establishment is a pretty decent spot. The number of employee's can be directly proportional to revenue for a business. The way to look at it is this. If a location has 10-20 employees, then that has to mean they are making OK money. This means they have traffic. Which means to service the foot traffic, you need employee's to serve the capacity of that foot traffic. Why else do you need 10-20 employees? How much revenue does an establishment make? This metric is the most important metric of them all. Everything comes down to money. We take this metric seriously because it really gives you a little insight on rather there is a chance a location is going to close, or it’s a good indicator that is a pretty popular location. Take this for example, if you see a location that makes 1 MILLION per year, then what does that tell you? First off one million a year is a nice chunk of change. This also means that there HAS TO BE LOTS OF FOOT TRAFFIC. Else how does one million dollars get into the hands of the owners? What does this mean for your machine? It means that your machines have a higher level of potential of collecting more coins. Not necessarily guaranteeing it. But giving it a higher level of exposure then a location making only 80k-100k per year How long has this establishment been in business? This is another important metric. Think about this. Would you put your machine in a location that opened up last month, or would you rather place it somewhere that has been open for 5 years or more. The reason you ask yourself this, is because everyone knows the first year for most businesses is failure. Within the first 5 years, quite a few liquidate. Stability is the ultimate measure here guys. If a business has been open for 15+ years, they are at least breaking even – making some money. Even though the brand new locations may do well for the first 6 months, but then the hype might die off after awhile. This doesn’t mean we count out good locations, its just another measure of stability of a business. What is the Establishments Average Credit Rating? This is very huge. You guys know quite a few businesses run on credit. Credit is liquidity for quite a few establishments. If an establishment has a credit rating below a C, then they are not making enough money, which means they are not getting enough decent foot traffic, which means less exposure for your machine, and which means that business could be on its way to closing If doesn’t become liquid. What other business are around this establishment? This is an indicator to determine rather the general area around that location is good. For instance, if there are other businesses around your location (restaurants for instance) that are similar, this can be used to get a good idea if business is flourishing or not in that particular area. Is it Corporate/Franchised/Or Self Owned? This is another metric that is good. Corporate/Franchised Locations can be huge successes. While self-owned locations its all depends. This is just used to measure the kick out risk of a location. Everyone knows in a corporate or franchised location, if an owner, or district manager comes to the location, and they see your machine and don’t like it there, then chances are you will have to move your machine. Now the chances of that happening to a self-owned location owner are quite small. This is why corporate locations are usually higher risk locations. This analytical approach is good for saving time for the vendor, and the locater. Giving them the ability to make an easier decision. Pricing & Contact Information & Warranties Single/Double/Triple Head Machines/U-Turns/Buzz Bites/Energy Candy Machines/ - $60 per locations (includes 3 month kick out warranty & 2 year liquidation warranty) Candy Machine Racks - $100 per location (includes 3 month kick-out warranty & 2 year liquidation warranty) Soda /Snack Machines - Not Available Yet Warrant Information The 3 month kick out warranty is put in place on every purchase of a location. The warranty works, by management or the business owner making an executive decision to get rid of the machine. In this case, you simply call 586-276-7145. Tell us the situation. Let us assess the situation. In about 2-5 days we will find a new location to place your machine Free of Charge. The warranty is simple, and assures that you won’t be without a location for one of your machines. As well as it saves you money so you don’t pay twice for locations. Locations after all a also another huge investment. The 2 Year Liquidation Warranty is placed on every location sold as well. If a business closes down, we will find a new location free of charge. Just follow the instructions, like the 3 month kick out warranty. Contact information Phone: 586-276-7145 (Desk) Email: keith@westernvending.com Address 33079 Garfield Rd #156 Fraser, MI 48026 United States Now let me clarify some things. WesternVending LLC does not guarantee and will not guarantee minimum monthly profit. Honestly you really can't guarantee something out of your control. Some locater firms which I will not name, do this, because its a good sales tactic. To be honest, if someone guaranteed that i would make xx amount per month per machine, I would use them too. Why do you think some firms have a hard time relocating. Because they are swamped with people who need to be relocated, because they did not get the minimum monthly profit they were promised. Which means a lot of people wait in line to get new locations. It would most likely be better to pay half price and just get a brand new location and get it done faster. Instead of a minimum monthly profit guarantee, we will relocate at half price $30. But machines must stay placed in original location for a minimum of 45 days. All in All if you need more clarity feel free to email me or call me at my desk. Some may say our price is a little high. But the amount of work put in to obtain quality is worth it. Thank you Keith Sales Representative WesternVending LLC 596-276-7145 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vendnoob Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 has anyone used this company Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsar66 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Hello Keith, I just had a follow up question, do you locate in Canada? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Keith, I'll ask you what I've asked other locators who don't guarantee a minimum. If you put so much time and effort into finding locations, and your higher prices reflect that, why not stand behind your work? You have a 6-point metric for finding locations. Are you saying that you can't guarantee minimums even with that? If not, then why exactly charge a higher price? I know this sounds confrontational - but it isn't meant to be that way. You just make a big deal about your locating process but then don't stand behind it. Also, how large is your company? You imply you have several managers and an entire development team. Also a "large experienced pool" of locators. Are you saying that you found people w/15yrs of vending experience who are now doing locating? Exactly how many people are in your company? How long have you been locating for? Why don't you have a website yet if you are as experienced as you say? Thanks. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternVending Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 alyssamma wrote: Keith, I'll ask you what I've asked other locators who don't guarantee a minimum. If you put so much time and effort into finding locations, and your higher prices reflect that, why not stand behind your work? You have a 6-point metric for finding locations. Are you saying that you can't guarantee minimums even with that? If not, then why exactly charge a higher price? I know this sounds confrontational - but it isn't meant to be that way. You just make a big deal about your locating process but then don't stand behind it. Also, how large is your company? You imply you have several managers and an entire development team. Also a "large experienced pool" of locators. Are you saying that you found people w/15yrs of vending experience who are now doing locating? Exactly how many people are in your company? How long have you been locating for? Why don't you have a website yet if you are as experienced as you say? Thanks. Kevin Kevin Our website is getting a e-commerce add on. Which is why its not up. Please understand that just because we have 6-point-metric system doesn't mean we can work faster. Its there to ensure that any location we do get. Its a decent location, and not a junk location. Also about how big the firm is, I'm not obligated to tell that. I was simply put on this assignment and its my job to manage this. The people with experience ranges from 5-15yrs.....Doesn't mean the whole team has 15yrs of locating experience About the Minimum profit. Ill say it once and ill say it again You can't guarantee a location will make profit. Be honest, how is ANYONE suppose to do that over the phone? Even if you went in person you couldn't guarantee something is going to make money. Its all speculation. I'm not going to sit here and tell people that i can assure them they are going to make XX amount of dollars per month. You can't assure them of that. A corporate break doesn't always do well. But a hotdog stand may make $20-$25 easily. It varies, and i think in all honesty its better not to guarantee minimum profits. If you want to somehow guarantee that, i recommend locating yourself. I know everyone here has been burned and scammed in someway. I have been scammed myself. You become paranoid. And i completely understand. But please put yourself in my shoes. We can get screwed just as easily. You can call me up in two months and say your machine isn't doing well, and you wan't a new location. Well....Ok, please keep in mind, I can't go on location with you. There is no way of doing that.I don't really know if you pulled out $40 OR $4.00 Secondly there is no way of me knowing someone if your trying to get a free location. And Lastly some vendors do a lackluster job of advertising there machine. Which directly impacts how well they do. They don't know how to make locations work for them. By analyzing the demographic, and adjusting accordingly. We were recommended here by one of our clients. Thats why we posted this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer980 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Well first, welcome to the board. Second if you are as top notch as you say and back it up with our members being happy with your service then you may get more business then you can handle. We have put numerous locators out of business here with too much business. I would give it a shot as a test but I have no more machines to locate right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Keith, thanks for the reply. I understand no one can state that location X will make $Y/mo. however, you states that you get "decent locations" and not "junk locations". So, if that is true, why not say you will replace for free? See, the guarantee isn't for a specific location. It is saying "if you pay us $X, we will *eventually* find you a location that makes $Y". I think this is very reasonable and if you get the good locations you say, why not make this statement? And no, you are not obliged to state how large your business is, but I don't see why it should be a secret. I only brought it up because you made several statements which implied a large firm. Can you at least state how long you have been in business for? Are you willing to give any members on this site any discounts? I wasn't implying your whole team had 15yrs of experience. I was trying to clarify something you said. You statement implied you had *some* people with 15yrs of vending experience. Are you saying these people owned and operated vending machines for 15yrs and now are locating, or are you saying something else? Anyway, I hope someone here does try you and you are good. If that happens then I will use you myself. However, w/o a guarantee I won't be a guinea pig Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternVending Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 alyssamma wrote: Keith, thanks for the reply. I understand no one can state that location X will make $Y/mo. however, you states that you get "decent locations" and not "junk locations". So, if that is true, why not say you will replace for free? See, the guarantee isn't for a specific location. It is saying "if you pay us $X, we will *eventually* find you a location that makes $Y". I think this is very reasonable and if you get the good locations you say, why not make this statement? And no, you are not obliged to state how large your business is, but I don't see why it should be a secret. I only brought it up because you made several statements which implied a large firm. Can you at least state how long you have been in business for? Are you willing to give any members on this site any discounts? I wasn't implying your whole team had 15yrs of experience. I was trying to clarify something you said. You statement implied you had *some* people with 15yrs of vending experience. Are you saying these people owned and operated vending machines for 15yrs and now are locating, or are you saying something else? Anyway, I hope someone here does try you and you are good. If that happens then I will use you myself. However, w/o a guarantee I won't be a guinea pig Kevin Thanks for understanding Kevin. But we have been locating for over 10+ years at least. Trust me, you don't have to tell me about a crappy location. Secondly we definately would consider discounts based on the volume size of the order. Like i said. Performance Warranty's are there as a selling tatic. Locations are kinda like the stock market. It looks good on paper, but in reality it could be a completely different story. Thats why when you look at stocks, you look at the history of that stock and other analytical information to measure the "POTENTIAL" of the stock. This is the exact same thing we do with locations. Thats why we cannot and will not assure a minimum profit. When we say decent locations or good locations, we do that based on the information we know. That information tells us the potential of that location, but doesn't assure your going to make X amount of dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Understood. I just want to clarify that *no* locators guarantee a specific location will make $X. You seem to imply that. Instead, they guarantee they will *eventually* get you a location that makes $X. Big difference. So we both agree that no one can say how much a location will make. We disagree on whether or not a locator should replace poorly performing locations for free. You've been doing this for 10+yrs so obviously you are successful with your business model. Again, good luck and I hope some people here try you. For me, the price and lack of replacing poorly performing locations will stop me from being an early adopter, but I will certainly use you if others give good reviews. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternVending Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 Thanks Kevin, Seeing is believing is what i say. Most people actually don't like to use our service unless it has a good review, just due to the plain fact the type of approach we use. Hopefully WesternVending will be working with you in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternVending Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 mrsar66 wrote: Hello Keith, I just had a follow up question, do you locate in Canada? As of right now we don't. Our focus is still USA for now. But we are looking into other markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g_r_vending Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 I did order 3 locations from Keith(gunnie pig) and will let everyone know how it goes. Wish me luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 GR...great, please let us know. BTW, I just noticed your profile...I lived for 2yrs in Manlius Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T BIRD Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Welcome aboard Western Vending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 If there is no revenue guarantee, then we need to have the right to refuse a location and get a free replacement for it. I agree that it's impossible to 100% determine a locations potential without actually seeing it. But even a well qualified location over the phone can turn into a big problem once visited. To name just a few issues: bad neighborhood, unsecured vending area vulnerable to theft, no climate control heat or A/C, saturated with 4 other machines, low people traffic in area the machine is to be placed, etc. What are your payment policies? Is it 100% upfront payment? Jax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavity Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 This the same guy that posted in just about every city on Craigslist. Same Phone Number!! Keith, like the previous posts suggests, if you are that good you may be swamped with many, many machines to locate. Good luck with your new venture. Just a bit skeptical, please let us know how his locations turn out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavity Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 I checked the Michigan.Gov webite, did a business search for WesternVending LLC. Nothing comes up. He is not registered to do business anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternVending Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 cavity wrote: I checked the Michigan.Gov webite, did a business search for WesternVending LLC. Nothing comes up. He is not registered to do business anywhere. It does take sometime for it to show up in the database. But thanks Cavity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T BIRD Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 I am out of popcorn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternVending Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 If you guys are this skeptical, then why not try out for 1 locations? Thanks Keith Sales Representative WesternVending LLC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Keith, if you have been in business for so long, how is it you haven't shown up already? Let me give you some advice - and I do this because I really want to find a good locator... 1) You posted here giving the impression you were a large company (phrases like "my managers" and "development team"). However, it is very obvious that you are not. First, companies' websites aren't "down" to add eCommerce. You would keep your old website up while developing this and install overnight. Second, you refused to answer how long you had been in business or give clues as to the size of your company. Third, you would have been a sponsor here and not a poster if you were that large. The list goes on. Simply put - be honest. Many here are willing to work with a single person who is dedicated. I am one of them. 2) You made negative and misleading comments about locators who guarantee revenue. Misleading because you imply they guarantee a location will do $X which none of them do. As I tried to point out they simply say if your location doesn't do $X then they'll replace it. Huge difference. 3) The two locators who do guarantee revenue - Kickstart and Midwest - are the favorite locators around here. Most people hate one and like the other, but together they get the most praise on this forum. Big mistake attacking them. 4) Your metrics come off a little...wrong. For example - credit rating? First, lots of small businesses won't even have a credit rating. Second, lots of larger places (e.g., Longhorn, Applebees, Best Buy) a credit rating is irrelevant. Revenue is another misleading metric. A business that has 5 guys in an office that generate $1M is sales will not be good for a vending machine. One of my best locations is a business that removes lice (yes, I know...) from kids' hair. It can't do more than a couple of hundrend thousand/yr, but a vending machine there does better than the 5 guy shop making $1M. 5) As I alluded to before - be honest. People here are craving a new locator. You'll get the business if you are honest. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 As for the free location - refund GR's $ and give him his locations for free. I know that is 3 instead of 1, but it would go a long way in earning brownie points here. Also, with 3 locations you'll have a better average. Thoughts? Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternVending Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 alyssamma wrote: As for the free location - refund GR's $ and give him his locations for free. I know that is 3 instead of 1, but it would go a long way in earning brownie points here. Also, with 3 locations you'll have a better average. Thoughts? Kevin Kevin, Im not even going to respond to your comments, i think your confrontational comments, are very unprofessional. Judge us based off of others experiences, instead of before I can even produce results. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 LOL, ok. I notice you ignore the large post where I was trying to help you and focused on the post where I said give GR his locations for free. I also noticed how you ignored the CL spam allegation. Not sure how that is confrontational or unprofessional. If you are such a large and established business, I don't understand how giving away a few locs for free is bad. But again, you've got your business model and I guess it is working for you. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyssamma Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Cavity, you are correct. This is the same guy who spammed Craigslist... Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now