antoniocinisi Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 has anyone used her as a locator or heard of her??she says she is from Cali locateing for someone who has over 400 locations and 3 (probably part time)employes.she tried to locate a crane in the pizza shop.I politely declined and explained to her that I have my own route.after that she ordered some food and we went on talking vending for about 45 min and then she left.I showed her my newest oscar, she asked $350 to locate it.and 200 for a rack I have there too!!I couldn`t believe it!!I wonder what this other guy was giveing her and how many locations he ordered.I told her she was wasteing time if she was looking in this county for locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted July 31, 2009 Author Share Posted July 31, 2009 thanks for moveing this to the correct forum.I guess no one has heard of her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethical Locator Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 I have heard of her. What was your final experience with her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 I have heard of her. What was your final experience with her?nobody knew her on here and she was double or more on her prices so I never did anything with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 I noticed this quote..... "What I like about this process is that it gives you an absolute predictor of success. Mary Lyn accurately defined my inner potential and everything she identified as my Core Essence has come to pass. There really is your personal core formula and it's been great for me. I went from having never worked to becoming a successful salesperson, and now to having my own business!" Pam Markovitz, Ventura, CA Entrepreneur, Vending Specialist If she gets good spots then its worth the extra money.... Blue Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 I think she just threw those prices at me because she figured I was new at this and didn`t know better.also telling her I own a restraunt probably made her think I could afford to pay $350 for a gumball machine placement or $200 for a rack and no warranty, paid upfront.unless she can get me in at chuckie cheese those prices may be a bit much for almost any other location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Huge coincidence... Just last week I posted a CL add stating I was interested in buying vending routes. 1st time I'd done it -- just threw it out there. I got two email responses from Pam stating something like, "Why would you buy existing routes when I could build you one from scratch?" I responded to her email and asked for the name of her locating company and/or more info on her services. All she provided in response was her 1st and last name alonge with a ph# asking me to call her for more info. Due to the lack of company info in her response I deleted her email figuring she was a scam...she didn't provide ANY company info or locating experience in response to my reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 so ethical locator is a differant person and not pam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poplady1 Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Antoniocinisi Are you saying she quoted $350 for a gumball placement that you guys pay $40 to $50 for with other locators? Wow...what in the world. Blue Moose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 no,actually it would have been $100 for that machine,but still to me all she was is some lady that may have easily ripped me off.I posted this the nite I met her in july and only yesterday did someone reply to this post. she was going to be here 2-3 more days.she was hired by an operator that has a route in this area so more then likely,even if I hired her she would have tried to find him locations first,and wouldn`t have been able to get anything better then what I could get anyways imo in that timeframe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 "If she gets good spots then its worth the extra money...." ------------------------------------------------------------ BINGO!! This past week Pam secured us a crane location in a National restaurant chain, we installed the crane at 4PM this past Thursday afternoon...today I had to restock and at 3:45 PM (Sunday afternoon) we had done $214.50 in gross sales. Not bad for 3 days. Now this particular restaurant probably does 2/3 rd's of their total weekly business on these 3 days, but even so this will end up being an over $10K per year location. Pam has located for us for the past 4 years, and she really knows her stuff. There was a popular business book out a few years ago whose main theme was you have to do any activity for at least 10,000 hours before you really start to develop any true expertise . Since she started doing this, I bet she has located at least 6,000 commercial racks all over the country. And this is all direct, face to face sales. She prefers having the operator go out with her in the van loaded with racks and ready to place...the more time passes from the yes to install, the bigger the chance of a 'change of mind'. And nobody knows the area like the operator, and having the operator with her gives the operator total control over which locations will be deemed 'acceptable' before she invests her time and considerable effort into getting a 'yes'. Overall, we end up getting about half of our location ourselves, and Pam gets the other half. One location she got us in a few years ago is a Chinese buffet where the owner's son (and store manager - dad lives on the other side of the country) had his own rack, sticker machine and specialty 2" vendor in there already. And our rack does decent because the owners rack usually has about 1/3rd empty machines, and no displays - as it did the day we first went in with her...as soon as we saw it, we knew that we would end up getting most of the sales. She is expensive, but it is worth it to us. If an operator is a great natural salesperson then it may not be worth it to them. But I would think twice, sometimes a business owner will react differently when a nice, 'motherly' lady approaches...especially with all the 'tricks of the trade' she has accumulated over the years. How about a quick, one question locating test for the bulk operators out there?? I will post the correct answer in a day or two... I had noticed when going locating with Pam that before she enters the business door, she would stop and 'fiddle' with her cell phone. I was still in the van, so I could not tell what exactly it was she was doing...but I thought she was turning it off so her presentation would not be interrupted. When I asked her, she just smiled and said 'no, that's not it'. So, the question to operators is, for what reason does she adjust her cell phone before every locating attempt?? Come one, come all (except Poplady1, you are already a proven pro)...step up to the plate and show us you are a real sales expert!! Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 borderjerry:in the long term yes i now understand it would be worth it to pay the extra money. the thing is in the area she was going all the spots worth that much are pretty much already taken.I haven`t been to every shop in the biggest town she was going to but I hAVe been to many and there are machines everywhere.around that time midwest was getting me locations in that town so presumably other potential good locations had been combed over by them too.she was a stranger to me with no referances and after reading all the horror stories on this site I didn`t want to fall for anything that could cost me.now all of a sudden everyone knows her alomst a year later.and again she was working for someone else,I may have ended up getting the left over scraps.better safe then sorry I say.next time she tries to locate in my area I will know I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPVendCo. Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 How about a quick, one question locating test for the bulk operators out there?? I will post the correct answer in a day or two... I had noticed when going locating with Pam that before she enters the business door, she would stop and 'fiddle' with her cell phone. I was still in the van, so I could not tell what exactly it was she was doing...but I thought she was turning it off so her presentation would not be interrupted. When I asked her, she just smiled and said 'no, that's not it'. So, the question to operators is, for what reason does she adjust her cell phone before every locating attempt?? Come one, come all (except Poplady1, you are already a proven pro)...step up to the plate and show us you are a real sales expert!! Jerry she records it with her phone, so she can polish her spiel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T BIRD Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 That crane location sounds great Jerry!! Good luck with it. This locator would travel to Long Island Jerry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 22, 2010 Author Share Posted February 22, 2010 That crane location sounds great Jerry!! Good luck with it. This locator would travel to Long Island Jerry?she came to Illinois from cali.you have to pay her plane ticket but I bet she would go anywhere in the U.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Just curious BorderJerry, If you've used Pam for 4 yrs and rode alongside her each time you have used her, why would you still pay her to get you that crane location this past week? I'm not saying you shouldn't use her, but just curious. What is it that she's doing that you can't do, would rather not do, or haven't learned to do for yourself in the last 4 yrs? Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm just a guy trying to learn the ropes. What is it that's worth the locator cost AND the travel expenses you pay for? Normally, after 4 yrs someone would be able to pick up on a lot of the methods for themselves. Especially since you're riding alongside her while she's locating for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Antonio, She did say that locating 'gig' in Illinois was one of the hardest she ever had. Lots of out of the way small towns with only a few restaurants. The operator she was working for has been working his area for 20 years now, so it came down to her having to try all the potential places that he and his route people had been trying to get in for years with no luck. That said, she did find him over 30 locations as I recall. She makes one or two epic cross country locating journeys each year ending up on the East coast, we always catch her on the way out...so we only pay the gas money from her previous locating stop. This last time it was 60 bucks and she stayed here in the house because it was for just a couple of days. If you have some good potential stops along your route that you never have been able to catch the owner at, she may work out well for you because that is her specialty (and that's a big hint to the answer to my location quiz). And we only have her locating the small, '5 way' racks...it's easier for her and a little cheaper fee for us. And then we can expand later if it is warranted. It all comes down to what is a good 'fit' for you. My wife and I are very good in areas of service, product selection and cleanliness....very responsible operators. But both of us are lousy at sales (although a lot better since we have been able to watch Pam). Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Good guess, but no. Like I said in post above, a big hint is that it has to do with access to the owner... Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Hi Birthday boy!! Yes, she mentioned that one of the stops on this years locating cross country 'run' is working for a guy in upstate NY... I will PM you with contact info...I know she is on the road again now, somewhere between LA and Tucson. This past couple of years has been slow for her, too so she has started to build her own route and she is bringing a small truck load of used equip from Tucson back to her home in LA this week. I am going to wait til tomorrow and if those hoops don't get smashed by UPS I am thinking a getting a couple more... Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 My Dear Mister Holmes, As to 'taking things the wrong way', not to worry, old chap....the biggest insult around is my own level of sales (dis)ability. You are right, it is pretty darn expensive to use her. But if we relied on just ourselves, we would be having to drive a lot farther in order to reach our sales goal. She helps increase the density of our service route, as she can get us in loc's that we can not...simple like that. As for picking up the methods, millions of folks have been able to observe all the preparation that Peyton Manning does all season long...but only a select handful can come close to producing the results. The crane was a kind of special situation and I'll talk about it in a day or two...time for bed!! Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T BIRD Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Hi Birthday boy!! Yes, she mentioned that one of the stops on this years locating cross country 'run' is working for a guy in upstate NY... I will PM you with contact info...I know she is on the road again now, somewhere between LA and Tucson. This past couple of years has been slow for her, too so she has started to build her own route and she is bringing a small truck load of used equip from Tucson back to her home in LA this week. I am going to wait til tomorrow and if those hoops don't get smashed by UPS I am thinking a getting a couple more... Jerry Let me know Brotha Jerry. I would think they should be at your door by tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 From my previous post: "How about a quick, one question locating test for the bulk operators out there?? I will post the correct answer in a day or two... I had noticed when going locating with Pam that before she enters the business door, she would stop and 'fiddle' with her cell phone. I was still in the van, so I could not tell what exactly it was she was doing...but I thought she was turning it off so her presentation would not be interrupted. When I asked her, she just smiled and said 'no, that's not it'. So, the question to operators is, for what reason does she adjust her cell phone before every locating attempt??" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, here it is: First, she is actually unplugging the phone's battery... Why??? Around half the time, the restaurant/business owner is not at the location. Pam is very good at getting the cashier to give her the owner's name and phone number. Then she pulls out her phone, opens it up and then says 'Oh no, it looks like my battery is dead. Do you think you could call him for me...or could I borrow the phone and call him??' Now, if you were a business owner just sitting down to dinner and the phone rings with a name/number you don't know, odds are you won't answer. But if it's your own business calling, you will answer. Just a little trick of the trade in getting to the decision maker. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorderJerry Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 On our new crane location, Pam only did the initial call. We would have never even approached the place if she had not mentioned she had got another operator in one elsewhere. But as it turned out, the manager and his family had been playing one of our cranes in another restaurant in town for the past few years. And he appreciated the fact that his kids could actually win toys quite often from it (we try and maintain a generous win ratio). So it ended up a case of splitting the locating fee. Speaking of fees, I read another thread where a charity locater charges $40 for a single gumball machine. When you look at in terms of how many months of cash flow will it take to pay off the locating fee, what Pam charges is slightly cheaper for a typical commercial location (using cash flow of 80 cents on the dollar for charity gum and 40 cents on the dollar for commercial). About 4 to 5 months of cash flow for the typical, run of the mill commercial location to pay her fee. And commercial routes have a heck of a lot less turnover and equipment theft than charity. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 I have never used her my self but a few of my friends have and they think that she is gold. She is very high energy. She will go into the location and move furniture around and show the location owner how he can fit the machines in and just really not take no for an answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMD Snacks Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Not sure if I should bump this super old thread, but I had some dealings with this lady and she pretty much took my money and ran after getting 1 out of several locations I paid her for. I was fooled because she came recommended by someone I knew, So just a warning for anyone in the future, pay after you get locations with this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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