lurtsman Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Would you consider offering the commission directly to the manager rather than the business? Economic times are tough, and these managers may feel undervalued. Is this a legitimate way of getting them to care about your business? I know working at the library, I couldn't care less about who gives the library money, I just don't want it to make my job worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 It would be unethical, probably against company policy and in some cases illegal for the manager to accept the commission for himself. That being said, a nice bottle of scotch at Christmas never hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Hmmm... Sounds a bit more like a bribe than a commission! As far as where the money goes, well that's always a good question. I often wonder where it really goes after I give it to a GM or manager. Sometimes even an employee will accept it when no manager is available and later I learn that it was "misplaced" and the owner never got it. Of course you could always try and make him an offer he can't refuse! Jax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurtsman Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 Hadn't considered that it might be illegal. That ruins that strategy, and makes it harder to get locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipergts Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 I doubt it would be illegal, but unethical yes. And certainly against company policy. I tried placing a machine this week offering a 25% commission and the guy said, "we aren't allowed to accept commissions but you can put one in." I was happy none the less. This was a Goodyear tire/service center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxer518 Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 you might be surprised how often this happens, A few of my full line accounts this is the commission setup. there is no way to prove that this is what is happening but its pretty clear its never making it to the company. but then again it will be with some of the best accounts so you have to just roll with it and move on, its not you that is taking the money its the manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipergts Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 The price of doing business I guess. As long as my machine stays I don't care who gets the money. What the managers do with the money is up to them. I just do my part. If they are stealing then they are risking themselves...not me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 I would worry about a manager that takes money from vendors. If he is taking it from the vending guys than he is probably taking it from other places. If that manager gets caught, you may find yourself out of the account or accused of feeding him money under the table. There are enough things to worry about when it comes to hanging on to good accounts. Why add another one to the list. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipergts Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 I would worry about a manager that takes money from vendors. If he is taking it from the vending guys than he is probably taking it from other places. If that manager gets caught, you may find yourself out of the account or accused of feeding him money under the table. There are enough things to worry about when it comes to hanging on to good accounts. Why add another one to the list. Gary But if you're wrong about him pocketing the money? You've lost your account. If you're right, and they bring a new manager in, there's a chance they will kick you out. New managers are always looking for change. Like I said, if someone is stealing then that is their problem. I'm not part of the companies loss prevention department, I'm just a vendor trying to make ends meet. They will eventually get caught and pay the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Who's to say that that same manager will be in on the day that you service? You could end up dumping the moneny on the counter and not even know if the money will go to the guy who it's intended for. So if you make a deal with somebody who is not the owner of the location, then chances are that somebody else will find out about the deal, or nobody will know about when you go to give the commission, and then somebody will start aksing questions. Then the guy you made a deal with will get mad when he finds out that he didn't get 'his' commission and will prolly kick you out or try to get you to pay his commission to him regardless of whether or not you already paid it to somebody behind the counter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipergts Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Good point. The same people have always been at my locations. If it was a potential problem, you could get the persons name that you gave the commission to and give a follow up call the next day and speak with the manager. Or take all the money and mail the commission check addressed to the manager. I've been vending for awhile now but only to family owned businesses. I just recently branched out to new locations. I haven't had this problem yet, so we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 A STORY ABOUT PAYING COMMISSION TO A MANAGER I had a pizza place with game room when I first started. It was the biggest account I had and the owner/manager let me put 2 triple-heads in. I gave him commission because he told me that the other vendor that was in there was paying him. This went on for about a year. One day when I went to collect, the manager was gone and a new manager had taken over. It turned out to be the "real" owners sister. She told me that they where in big trouble because the rent was never paid. The next month, there was a truck outside the place and all the stuff inside the store was gone. Except my machines and the other vendors setup. The real manager told me that the "acting manager" had taken all the coins from the games and never paid the bills. She asked me how much commission I had paid him because they where going to try to get back their money in court. I felt like I was on the witness stand. I guess you never know what is going on in these accounts. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbishop Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Or take all the money and mail the commission check addressed to the manager. I was going to suggest the samething. If the owner is not there, or if you feel that there might be a problem set it up differently. Tell them that you will count the money infront of an employee and leav him with a note stating the ammount. then you will mail a check out the following week. You can tell them you need to send checks to follow proper tracking of your money flow. When coke had a machine in the apartment complex, they did not count money in front of anyone. Their proccedure was to mail out a check once a quater, if your commissions reached a ceritan ammount. They had not sent out a check in 4 yrs. I got premission to kick them out and put in my machine commission free. We also have a laundry compay that provided and maintains the Washers and dryers. I never see them count the money. Once a month they mail us a check. They have offered to count the money in front of me. I do not have the time, so I do not care. I have 1 commission account(soda machine) and they are setup for me to pay them by check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 I have 1 commission account(soda machine) and they are setup for me to pay them by check.This is sensible. I was also thinking of maybe giving a yearly statement of all the commissions given for the year. This would have the affect of letting the owner know exactly how much money I'm giving him, and how much he would be losing if we ever parted ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Snacks Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Here is an accounting/legal/IRS question. If you send a check, do you also need to send a 1099 at the end of the year? If so, just another paper work hassle. Jax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BudLeiser Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Here is an accounting/legal/IRS question. If you send a check, do you also need to send a 1099 at the end of the year? If so, just another paper work hassle. Jax Oh cmon Jax you gotta love FL! The county surcharge system, the tax bracket system, the amusement machine yearly fee's, the property lease taxes for commissioned machines. The paperwork is for our own good, it's their for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurtsman Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 Those sound like some very terrible things about Florida. Sometimes I wonder why states would try to put us out of business by creating so much additional work and papers to push. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I doubt it would be illegal, Let's say that it was in a gov't office . Probably illegal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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