Stolen Machines

[remarcvending]

Hey everyone, I've been in the bulk business now for about 5 months with 65 machines.  Unfortunately my fleet is depleating as I keep getting machines stolen or broken.  I'm curious as to locations that you guys avoid because they are problematic, or are there susceptible places within a business that we should avoid such as the front door (even though everyone walks by the front door).  Thanks,

[scobrien]

When i put my first few machines out, everyone was saying to me becareful they will get stolen and what not.  I was not worried about this until everyone kept saying it to me, especially in doctor offices, who would walk out with a candy machine.  SInce i know all the owners of my locations i secured the ones i thought i would need to secure, depending on the area, whether a lot of kids, etc.  I noticed teenagers and younger kids are bad with the machines, the office i work in i was standing in view of my machine and noticed a kid trying to pick it up to see if it could i was just laughing inside and thking, what are you doing.  Also seen little kids, 8-10 or so trying to jam nickels and such in it, fine with me cuz they lost them ha.  But what i did to secure some machines, i put a eye hook/anchor into the wall a stud and looped a bike like onto themachine and wha not, so far no problems.

[remarcvending]

Wow, I don't think too many locations will let me install an eye hook in their store. Maybe I could try securing it to something else in the store though.

[scobrien]

ya helps i know the owners, family friends etc. but usualy you can find something to chain it to which helps. i secure the separate pieces of the machine with bolts to make sure no one takes them apart.

[Ronzo]

Remarc,

I had a 8 cannister machine at a community college. They have a guard posted all the time at the college. For some supprising reason, I went to service the machine and it was gone. Now, an 8 cannister U turn is around $200 on Ebay or around 7-800 from manufacturer. I did end up putting another one in there, but management let me bolt a bracket to the wall which went into a janitors closet. and so far so good. So bolt them down if needed, Harder to disappear.

[Tiffeney]

I hung a big bell from my machine back in December got the idea from x-mas !

[Pizz]

Use security wire. Like the kind they use to lock up bicycles. Just secure from the base to a stationary object in the store like a railing etc. if it;s near a door.

[Gwen]

I just got my 1800 machine stolen. I got a call from some guy that said he found it in a dumpster. I know the place so i was there in 5 min. the guys help me put it in the trunk. I thank them. there was someone elses machine also there. They call the number too. I'm glad they did I can save most of it. Well, my husband call the place we had placed it at and explain. The owner said that some woman said she was going to service it and he didn't think much of it. He said we are welcome to put another back. I was wondering if they got broken into in the tire place. For the machine was inside in a waiting area thats full of people. The woman just pick it up and walk out with it. Another intresting thing was the machine was in another town and it was dump in the trash in a close by apartment complex. I'm assuming the thief lives there. For usually some one will dump it near the place they toke it from. Not drive 100 miles and dump it there. I had just place it there less than 10 days so I'm sure they were desappointed with what they found.

[westlakevending]

 Take the business owners to small claims court and file a police report??

[antoniocinisi]

 Take the business owners to small claims court and file a police report??

gee that sounds like a great idea ecspecially since it`s not thier fault and they said you could put another machine in thier shop.

the police report part that might truely be a good idea.

[T BIRD]

Sorry to hear that Gwen.

[Jax Snacks]

There are people (usually other vendors and locators) that will walk into a location and tell the staff that they are your "business partner" and needs to remove the machine (for some made up reason, like a broken mech) and then explain to them that they will return next week with another machine. This can happen easily in charity locations since the location usually does not know you AND you may only service the machine every 60 days AND you are only at the location for a few minutes. I had 5 machines stolen this way. Not much you can do. I don't see how suing the owner will help since they are not responsible for the machine. The police here in Orlando will laugh at you and may even scold you for wasting their time with such a trivial (gumball) matter. Welcome to wild west of bulk vending.

Jax

[bacho]

Unfortunately, this is the one part of the business I fear the most. I try to establish good customer relations with the business owner and employees alike. To many vendors dash in and out like it's a race. There's nothing wrong with taking a couple extra minutes to talk to someone. That way they know who you are and may prevent something like this happening.

[T BIRD]

I agree with Jax. The location is not liable. We are as charity vendors. Craig justed posted about creating good relationships with locations. I did a very bad job of this yesterday delivering a machine to a new location. ( Conway Stores is a large discount clothing store ). I had an argument with two employees at the front door as I was trying to wheel my machine and product in. I was struggling with the front door and these two as*hol*s just stared at me inside the door.  This is the type of location where a machine could be stolen.  The employees pretty much feel like the world owes them something each and every day.

[nepavend]

Sorry to hear about your machines growing legs, but part of this business dictates that you will have a certain given "loss rate" in your business, depending on your areas you do bulk vending.  You can expect the rate to increase if you have charity machines also, since no one but you will bother taking responsibility for them.  You also have to allow for businesses that go out of business, taking off in the middle of the night, etc.

I am lucky that in my area I only have about a 5% loss rate here, I have only lost about 10 machines since I started (out of over 200) and a couple of those I have a beat on tracking them down.

Bolting down and securing your machines is one way to lower this chance of happening, but another important thing to do is to know when to pull your machine from a location.  If you have a solid $100 spot and all of a sudden its down to 30 or less, for example, dont be afraid to downgrade your equipment to something less valuable (from a triple to a double or small single) or pull the spot entirely.  There is nothing worse than having to chase and play detective to get your most prized moneymakers out of a closed business or worse.

joe