1. Does adding a credit card reader increase sales?
2. Who do you use for Insurance company?
3. How do I determine how much to charge for products?
4. Should I install Cameras at a location?
5. Can I put regular food in a Vending Machine?
6. Should I give out pens or are they a waste of money?
7. I have a location asking for cold food. Should I do it? What is involved?
Does adding a credit card reader increase sales?
The short answer is “Yes” - in all but a very few specific situations - experience has shown time and time again that credit card readers increase sales at a location. However, you need to be sure that the increase will support the cut the credit card company takes from your sales.
There are some issues you need to remember about using credit cards. You may be seeing about 5 to 6 percent loss due to the credit card company costs - so you need to increase your pricing to account for these additional costs. Also, remember that the card use may be a person that would have just used cash prior to having the card option. The age of the customer base seems to also have an effect on the card use. Younger customer populations tend to have more comfort with card use for such small purchases over an older customer base.
Who do you use for Insurance company?
What is your lease/agreement with the place you put the machines… Let’s say I put a vending machine at a local pawn shop, if they don’t require me to have coverage for vandalism it may fall on their commercial property; or it may not depending on the state and lease/agreement/contract.
In terms of coverage - General Liability & product liability are the big concerns here. If your location gets vandalized or a machine falls over on someone, you’ll normally want to have coverage. It is also helpful to have umbrella insurance to help cover the gaps the other policy does not cover.
Insurance is very much a state by state process. What is available in one state may differ in the next state or region. What insurance carrier you work with varies by State and even national carriers can differ state by state.
Pricing of coverage is very much a state by state thing also... Some states are very inexpensive while other states with similar policies are very expensive.
Your best bet is to talk to an independent agent in your area and discuss your needs and see what is available to you.
How do I determine how much to charge for products?
Generally speaking, you want to charge 2x the cost and round up to nearest quarter. Thats the loose way I determine prices. I then adjust based on local gas stations/convenience stores, other vending machines in the area, etc. Its okay to be the price leader, you just dont want to stand out as "the expensive vending machine".
Should I install Cameras at a location?
The overall driving issue is that you need to make sure you can do cameras with the owners of the location. Some companies have restrictions on this sort of thing. Be sure you document it in the contract you have (or update the contract with an addendum) with the location or if there is no contract that you update the owner in writing that you plan to install one... there may be privacy issues to consider and you don't want them coming back saying "I had no idea there was a camera there" - strongly recommend you NOT just put one up and move forward... there may be legal issues around that.... LOL
The easiest way to do it is to use some wifi camera. There are any number of options - just look on ebay for options (Note: it is sometimes helpful to have voice capability but that is more expensive). However, if you go with a Mofi router or there is a local network you can tap into; you CAN hardwire the camera - but again be careful about how you mount the camera and lay the wire as some places may be resistant to having holes put into the walls or damage to any of the structures around the vending machine or you don't want the wire to be a tripping hazard - be VERY transparent with what you are doing with the location owners.
Second you need to determine if there is wifi available to connect to (some companies have a public option or "guest" option which is the best option) or if it is not available you need to set up a cellular wifi connection (like tmobile home - or a hotspot connection).
if you go the cellular connection route... the better option beyond tmobile home is to look into a "Mofi router" and just get another phone line on your current cellular plan (make sure it has unlimited data plan) - I have an unlimited plan from t mobile with 7 cellular phone lines on it (some lines are a mofi router some are for my use as phones - lol)... each phone line is $25 and has enough bandwidth for my internet needs my business connections use about 50-75 GB a month depending on how often i look at it and/or download video to review.
Can I put regular food in a Vending Machine?
You must use a specialized vending machine to put "regular" food into a vending machine. Prepared sandwiches or other non-shelf stable foods need to be placed in a vending machine specifically made for this purpose. They need to have hardware which will shut down the machine if the internal temperature of the machine reaches a specific temperature. You CAN NOT put "regular" food into a standard vending machine.
Additionally, in many locations, you will require a food handler permit/license to use such a vending machine.
Should I give out pens or are they a waste of money?
When you go around to various locations, it is useful to have a business card, brochure and/or pens or something else to put in their hand. You dont want to load them down - but you want to have things to hand them - depending on the situation... sometimes just a business card is appropriate... sometimes they need to talk to others and you want to leave a brochure so they have a visual reference... sometimes just leaving a pen or calendar is appropriate... it all depends but all of the above are useful in the process of sales... and shows yoiu are not some "fly by night" joe just off the street who is trying to get a side hustle going but a professional in the business of vending machines.
When you go to fill up a vending machine or service it in some way, it is useful to have something to give to the receptionist or staff member - they will be very happy to see you if you continue this pattern and it sometimes pays off "in spades" as if something goes wrong (it needs service or there was some negative event) with the machine it is useful to have someone on your side.
I have a location asking for cold food. Should I do it? What is involved?
In order to provide these products in a vending machine, you need to consider the following issues:
1. cold food requires a specialized machine which will shut down if internal temperature reaches a specific temp.
2. In many jurisdictions it requires special food handler permits.
3. Requires you have logistically considered your process to keep food cold / frozen during transport and delivery.
4. May require a different vehicle than you have now with cold storage capabilities.
5. May require different insurance than you have now.
6. May require more frequent visits and upkeep of your current locations.
7. Requires a specific process to reach you directly in case there is a problem with the machine / food so you can directly manage the machine and either destroy tainted food / rescue food which may be in danger of going bad due to some issue like machine shutting down, etc...
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