marwood Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 (edited) Hi all, I've been an auto mechanic for the last 32 years. Now a friend of mine has bought an existing vending machine business (+/- 160 machines) and he's asked me to look after the maintenance/repairs. I've never looked inside a vending machine before and although they appear to be far simpler than vehicles....the programming and cooling decks are things I'm going to need a bit of help with while I find my way in the first few weeks. So I'll be asking techie questions, probably lots of questions, hopefully you kind people can point me in the right direction ☺️ Edited May 4, 2022 by marwood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted May 5, 2022 Share Posted May 5, 2022 Your friend should have made sure the business came with route drivers and a technician, unless the seller was both. It sounds like he might be in over his head already, though this is the way I recommend someone who's serious about the business get started. Instant cash flow is a great thing, IF you can keep it running. Did he have any prior experience in vending? We have lots of advice here so with your questions you need to post the make and model of the machine, model of coin mech and bill acceptor, and all the symptoms you are experiencing. That will save you many replies asking for those details. Just like when someone called you about a problem with a car. Now the tables are turned. 🙃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marwood Posted May 5, 2022 Author Share Posted May 5, 2022 Hey, thanks for the tips. No, no prior experience in vending. Taking a machine apart and putting it back together isn't a problem, I just need to do a crash course in programming over the next few weeks 😉 As for my friend, he recently sold a much larger-scale transport company so he isn't phased by the business side of things, it's just new for both of us and some things are a bit alien. The seller and his wife were the drivers/technician etc...it just got too big for them and they ended up with too many machines being too far away from their base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted May 5, 2022 Share Posted May 5, 2022 The seller should have offered, and you should have accepted, at least a month of training. That would teach you what you don't know which is everything except maybe how to read a balance sheet and P&L. You can't just jump into vending without guidance from someone on site. The programming of machines is always inherent to the machines so there isn't "one size fits all." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marwood Posted May 5, 2022 Author Share Posted May 5, 2022 I forgot to mention that my friend had a period of 3 months operating alongside the seller before he took over completely. So he's up to date on the logistics/ordering/routes etc, but he's not technically orientated so he didn't pick up many tech tips along the way, that's fallen on my shoulders now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted May 5, 2022 Share Posted May 5, 2022 Big miss then. You should have been there with him if he can't grasp mechanical stuff. In that case he may have bought a pig in a poke. If you send me a list of the machines you got then I can advise you of their viability. You can email to rbepic4gatgmaildotcom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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