Ahh the headaches of full line vending

[amc-vending]

I had purchased a soda machine on location about 6-8 weeks ago and when we went the change out the locks, the owner said machine had been messing up.  Take money and no vend or vending wrong soda. So person I purchased machine from paid a repair guy to come and and fix it, found a couple of crossed wires.

I had assumed everything was working correctly, untill 730 am this morning when they called and said it was still messed up and doing same thing (wish he had told me sooner, cause repiar wouldve been under warranty) he said fix it right replace it or pull the machine.  Didnt want to pull machine becuase it does really good (when working) so had to scamble this morning and find a new machine to replace it with.  Old machine coming back to the house and I will get it refurbed and working correctly.

But on a brighter side - When I was at my bank this morning branch manager wants soda and snack machine plus got another location from Eddie this aftrernoon. (total of 2 this week)

So going to place the bulk machine in morning, in the afternoon swap out soda machines and arrange to get the one fixed for the bank.

Who ever says this business is a piece of cake is lying to you, but the rewards are well worth it.  I wouldn't change a thing. Just part of the business.

[spdydre]

Tell me about it.  My first full line location the owners first words were "you arent off to a good start son".  I was so nervous and sweating. The machine coin mech didnt work, it had no bill validator, and the sodas werent vending at all lol.  I sat in that shop for 5 hours trying to figure stuff out on location and pretending I knew what I was doing lol.  I'm surprised the owner kept me around after I got everything up and running.  Since then zero issues though

[amc-vending]

thats good,

glad it is working out for you.  Be glad when I can quit the regular JOB and do vending full time.

Even with the problems still much more enjoyable, know that you are working for yourself.

[vendman0729]

glad to hear everything worked out for you guys............i recently started bulk vending and i didn't know starting up vending was going to be a headache but it is..............all those little small things like getting charity stickers for candy machines, makeing sure the wheels vend enough candy e.t.c............

with full line i have to get a DBV that works.............i just put in new labels for my machine which was a headache too..............its all annoying in a way but once your done, you learn a lot............i know exactly what to do the next time..................this business is a pretty time consuming thing at first but it gets easy down the road...............or at least i hope

[coinvestor]

Vendman, I would never say it gets easier. All the those little hard things are just replaced with bigger hard things. While it is not complicated, it is always hard work.

FYI..... I have a couple of locations for sale in your area, PM me if your interested.

JD

[amc-vending]

coinvesor - yes it is hard work, but you have to admit it is better then working a regular JOB. 

and so much more rewarding. one of this days I would like to have as many full line as mission vending and as many bulk machines as T-BIRD

plus a ample supply a advil lol

THe hardest part of the bulk vending is trying to get the other 69 machines cleaned up and ready for location.  So far I have put 3  on location this week, I am hoping that I can have all of them placed by the end of summer.

[mission vending]

one of this days I would like to have as many full line as mission vending and as many bulk machines as T-BIRD

I'll sell them to you if you really want them    Thanks for the compliment.

The joys of owning your own business, the best part is that you get to work as MANY hours as you want and the boss will NEVER tell you to go home because he can't afford the overtime.

It doesn't matter how big or small your business is , you will always have headaches to deal with. It's just the the size of the headaches that changes. Personally I don't relish working in the back of the truck in the summer, in fact it really sucks. What I do enjoy and its why I keep doing this is the friendships and relationships I have formed over the years. The never ending challenge of juggling inventory, logistics, service and all the little thing an owner operator has to do keeps this endeavor new and exciting and what keeps me in this line of work.

When I can no longer summon that spirit of entrepreneurship is when I know it's time to get out. 

[mainor5251]

Trying very hard to keep the blinders on and stick to bulk only.  Once I get a nice size bulk route and all kinks worked out I definitely want to start to dabble in full line.  Until then I still got toys and flat vending to look forward to.

[amc-vending]

Mission Vending - cool give me another good reason to move back to San Antonio (my kids live there)

[mission vending]

It's a great place to live, I don't think I'll ever leave.

[amc-vending]

Wish I never did myself

[s.weir]

I love running my route, running the business and just about everything else to do with it.  Of course there are inevitable little things that arise (don't you just love it when a pop explodes in your machine  ) and yes its hard work, but it pays off for sure.

[WillisNYC]

I have owned or helped to start up a variety of businesses over the past 20 years.    I have done about 4 different MLM programs which all suck IMHO.  I have owned a 45 unit real estate business  that was destroyed by the breakout of the first gulf war.  (All my units were next to an Army base that moved to the Saudi desert for a year while I sold everything and left as well.)  I helped to start up a 'hedge fund' that sold currency trading accounts after that.  We grew from 6 employees to 50 in the course of two years.  Then the owners walked out the door with all the clients money.  Doh!  I went on to work with 3 internet startups, the last one of which gave me a $million dollars worth of options.  The options became worthless within 6 monts or so of when we went public!    I continued to do internet ad sales for mysel working as a broker.  I did that for several years until lured into online poker as a player.  I made over 6 figures in that for the first two years.  Then the online market was made far more difficult by the new rules in the US that made it very difficult for casual players to put money online.  The fish disappeared from online poker and I found myself once again looking for 'opportunity'.   

I stumbled onto an ad for 'Own your own vending business.'  I responded to the ad and realized it was your typical sales/snow job that would get you to buy expensive equipment and get you 'stuck' in the business..  However I knew vending machines are everywhere and SOMEONE is making money on them.  So I began to search the internet about vending and found Uncles ebook.  This book revealed the business model and it is fairly simplistic compared to what I have done in the past.  As a matter of fact, the headaches in this business are different and ultimately FAR simpler than the headaches I experienced in ANY of the businesses above. 

Real estate has MANY headaches.  MLM makes you rely on other people who usually prove to be unreliable.  The sales jobs I have done have been VERY difficult in comparison to the 'sale' of locating vending locations.  Finding the right people to trust in business can also be very difficult as I have found out to my chagrin.  However, you can get to be pretty large in this business  and probably gross at least $250k/yr before you need to bring any addiitonal people in to help run your business.  Thus you can control the business yourself without relying on others which is one of the biggest headaches I find.    Getting my equipment moved by others is the biggest headache I currently have because I have to rely on others who have proven time and again to be unreliable.    Soon I will be large enough that I will be moving my own equipment and lose this big headache.  I am sure it will be replaced by other problems, but so far nothing has proven to be remotely as tough as most of the other businesses. 

If you are like me and 'owning your own business' is in your blood, this can be a perfect fit for your personality.    It is for mine since it keeps me busy doing a variety of things.  I don't have to JUST sell or just load machines like a drone.  You have to plan ahead and juggle your schedule, but you have to do that in any business.  The variety keeps me interested in the job and the freedom to set my own hours keeps me motivated to continue building.

[gogo]

The headaches of full-line vending are largely reliant on your attitude (lke most things in life).

I just returned from servicing a coffee machine that was infested with ants. I arrived at 10:00pm at this 24 hour facility and had everything cleaned up within 30 minutes ... no big deal, just a mechanical problem that was spilling sugar.

I feel good about this call because it secured my business relationship with the client. He thanked me profusely for taking care of the problem quickly. If another vendor tries to get this account, he will think twice about switching because he knows I am committed to good service ... even late in the evening (on a weekend!)

For me, it all comes down to doing things right and doing them quickly. The "headaches" of vending are really opportunities to show you are a good person to do business with. I think that's what separates me from my competitors and will ensure my continued success in this business.

Don't get me wrong, I've punched a few machines out of frustration ... but in the end I feel alot better about making things right for the client because that secures my relationship with them in the future.

[amc-vending]

I totally agree with you gogo.

I had a new machine in the location that afternoon and so far no more problems.

Like you I am totally committed to service. that is what make the people happy with your company.