Lingo question...

[jgoldenmba]

I've read a few posts about routes. People having multiple routes? As machines grow wouldn't it just be one large route?

The veterans are probably chuckling at their computers reading this but oh well....

Thanks

[Boazcat]

My thinking is:  North side Route on Monday, Tuesday hit South side and that one just down the street.  Friday - East side... 

Things like that.

Michael

[RJT]

No. When people say "routes" they mean  multiple routes. Each route has a seperate route driver thats services the accounts on that given route. 

[Poplady1]

Actually when that term is used in vending it can mean several things such as a coffee route, a cold food route and as Michael says it could mean Mondays route on the Northside or Tuesdays route on the Westside.  It might refer to a full line route, a bulk route or a water route.

In purchasing on site vending machines producing income a seller will refer that group of machines as "the route".

Blue Moose

[outfront]

I've read a few posts about routes. People having multiple routes? As machines grow wouldn't it just be one large route?

The veterans are probably chuckling at their computers reading this but oh well....

Thanks

While all the above has merit, a route also has a monetary definition. For example, as a business owner you would expect a driver to be able to produce a certain amount of income on a weekly basis, say 8 to 10 thousand dollars per week. Once that point is reached, and new business is acquired, it would be necessary to buy another truck, hire another driver and start another route.

[mission vending]

IMO, in the context of full line vending, a "route" is the total of the multiple locations serviced by a single vehicle and person (employee or owner). Each day the driver of the vehicle has multiple locations or "stops" that are serviced by that individual.

If the owner gets another truck and splits the work between two vehicles and employees then he has two routes and so on. I don't think that the definition of route is based on revenue. On the other hand as one of our newest members, Outfront, said I also would expect a full time driver to generate 8-10K a week to justify the expense associated with his employment and vehicle operation.

Often vendors will advertise for sale a "route" but unless they are selling their entire business then in actuality they are merely selling a few locations with equipment.

[Technivend]

I've read a few posts about routes. People having multiple routes? As machines grow wouldn't it just be one large route?

The veterans are probably chuckling at their computers reading this but oh well....

Thanks

It's actually a good question. As you can see there are many different ways to answer it. So when someone you are talking to is telling you how many routes they have you need to listen to the way they describe them. To me a route was basically the amount of machines a driver can service in one full weeks worth of work. This is a a very simplified definition because some drivers do repairs and some do not. As you can see by the 8-10k routes these are routes that are serviced by dedicated drivers and not sole proprietors or tech/drivers. However I do have customers that consider routes based on areas and other considerations. The first time I heard a single person operator tell me he had 5 routes I didn't know what to think. After talking with him, his term was based on areas and each day he went to a different area.