Last Year Numerous Complaints & Lawsuits Were Filed Against Vending Companies
In The United States.
It Doesn't Have To Be That Way For You.
Ask These 26 Questions To Make Sure That Your Vending Company's Machines, Support, Policies & Track Record Will Protect You From Making A Bad Investment Decision.
Business Standing:
- Is the vending company listed with the Better Business Bureau? Do they have any complaints? One is too many. Visit www.bbb.org to find out.
- Is the vending company a member of the United States Chamber of Commerce? You should get a copy of their certificate.
- Is the company registered with Dun & Bradstreet? This is important and requires certain standards/criteria.
- Is the vending company a member of NAMA (National Automatic Merchandising Association)? NAMA is the watchdog of the vending industry. All legitimate vending companies are members.
- Have they been in business at least 5-10 years? Are you confident they will be around 5-10 years from now to support you and honor their warranties?
- Do they accept all major credit cards? Companies that don't usually have problems with their bank and can't get a merchant account. Use credit cards if you have them so you have credit card protection by your bank.
- Look at their phone number - is it an "800" number? If it's an "888", "877" or an "866" number, they are new to the business and have no track record.
Machines:
- Did the vending company design, test and manufacture the machine they sell? Be sure you ask them. Most companies are just "re-selling" whatever they can get their hands on - switching machines constantly. Are they still supporting this month the machine they were selling last month? Are they specialists or are they generalists who will sell you anything and everything (offering numerous machines)?
- Is their “combo” vending machine using a cheap coin acceptor? You’ll know if it uses an “electro-mechanical” coin acceptor - which is outdated & problematic. This is critical as it is the “heart” of your machine. Be sure to ask what kind of coin acceptor they use – if they don’t say the name Coinco®, run away!
- Does their combo machine have zero “bill drop” – where bills stack up on the inside of the machine – causing the machine to spit them back out? If so, you will have money being stolen from your machines. The only solution is to buy a bill acceptor/bill stacker – at about $400-$500/machine.
- Does the combo machine have a rear service door? If not, you will experience a servicing nightmare any time you need to replace a snack motor (mounted to the back of the snack tray). You will be forced to completely remove the affected snack tray from the front of the machine. This involves mechanical disassembly along with removal of wiring cables and harnesses.
- Does their combo machine feature a coin release button (different from a “coin change” button)? If not, this shortcut will create major headaches and lost revenue in addition to losing good locations. When slightly bent or damaged coins get caught at the throat of the coin acceptor, customers pound on the machine, give up and walk away disgusted.
- Does their combo machine have pastry coils? If not, you will lose serious revenues. Without these coils you cannot vend popular, high-demand pastry products like Pop Tarts, Clif Bars, cookies (like Mrs. Fields or Famous Amos) or any of the popular Hostess family of products (Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, Cupcakes, Zingers, etc). Two row machines cannot vend pastries. Some three row machines can’t either – so be sure to look at the picture of the three row machine. If you see chips in both the top and middle rows, you know these machines cannot vend pastries.
- How outdated is the machine they sell? Was it being sold back in the 80's or 90's? Is it only mechanical with plastic coin mechanisms for every single product - or is it fully electronic? Mechanical machines can only sell a product for a maximum of $1.00 - so you are missing out on the entire Energy Drink market.
- Does the machine only sell drinks in a 12oz can? If so, you are dramatically limiting your income.
- Does their machine not only vend a variety of snacks and chips - but also bottled water, sports drinks, and most importantly, energy drinks -in a variety of shapes and sizes? Don't miss out on this huge multi-billion dollar exploding market.
- Does it only offer snacks or only offer drinks?"All-soda" or "All-snack" machines are a poor return on investment.
- Is their machine engineered with the highest quality materials and workmanship? Most machines are made of inferior materials. Ask them what their machines are made of.
Guarantees/Warranties:
- Does every single part of their machine carry a 7-Year Limited Warranty? Is it put in writing? If not, don't even consider it.
- Do they offer a Lifetime theft/fire/vandalism protection guarantee? Is it put in writing?
- What about Lifetime guarantees of support/coaching, protection from future price increases and a guarantee that your machines will arrive without damage. Is all this put in writing by an officer of the company?
Delivery:
- Do they ship your machines out in a timely manner or make you wait several weeks? Are you given tracking numbers immediately?
- Are your machines delivered with “liftgate” services & inside delivery? Or are you responsible for getting them off the truck? Don’t get caught with this delivery “surprise.”
- If any of your machines are damaged during delivery, are you sent out a new machine immediately? Or do you have to fill out a bunch of paperwork with the shipping company and hope that they will eventually take care of it?
Support:
- Does the vending company have an experienced, In-house coaching division? Are you assigned your own personal coach - a person who is paid a salary to do nothing else but help you succeed - and who is in the office every day?
- What happens when you need parts? Does the company respond immediately by sending out what's needed? Some companies say they do, but in reality they complicate the issue or make you send the whole machine to them for something to be "fixed" - and you pay for shipping both ways.
1.800.VENDING
Researching vending can be a tedious task. As owners and operators, we understand the concerns and worries that come with it. We are here to help! Our mission is to provide the best equipment at affordable prices and to set new standards for customer service and care.
Even if you don't do business with us, you have a solid checklist that will help you judge any vending company before giving them a dime.
