Do we have to buy the machines?
No, you do not have to buy the machines. We provide the machines free of charge.
How does it work?
It's actually very simple. You provide the space and power for the machine. We do everything else. We will fill the machines, clean them, repair them, and maintain them.
How much will it cost my company?
Nothing! We do not charge your company for anything, not even any vandalism that may occur. We price our products in the machine at reasonable prices, usually less than convenience store prices and that is how we make our money.
Do you charge for service calls?
No. We will not charge you for any service calls. We'll send a technician to repair any problem with the machine. For example, if a dollar bill is stuck or the light burns out, you don't have to wait until the driver comes the next time. You can call it in and we'll take care of it at no charge to your company.
If you don't charge us anything, then how do you make money?
We do not charge the customer anything for having our machines there. We make our money off the product sales in the machines.
If we have a problem with a machine, how long does it take for you to fix it?
We are usually very quick to respond to our service calls. Most service calls will be handled within 4 hours during normal business hours. After hour service is also available for priority calls. Any non-priority service call received after hours will be handled the next morning.
Can we choose our own products?
Ameri-Vend is constantly monitoring customer product preferences by location and by overall company sales. We utilize handheld computer technology to help us determine what people prefer at each machine. We believe we can predict fairly accurately what the majority of the users would like to see in the machine. That being said, we will always take product recommendations and fill the machines with those products as they are available.
Can we have Coke and Pepsi in the same machine?
We are an independent vendor so we typically can place a Coke machine and a Pepsi machine at your site.
We currently have another vending company and the machine says Coke (or Pepsi), but it has mixed products in it. Why can't you do that for us?
Generally speaking, if a machine is owned by Coke or Pepsi, only their respective products can be in the machine. If the vendor has mixed products in the machine, they are violating the rules. However, note that some older machines may say "Coke" or "Pepsi" on the front, but they may have been purchased by the vending company (as opposed to being leased). Machines owned by the vending company can have any mix of products. It's best to see if the machine has a "Property of Coca-Cola" or "Property of Pepsi-Cola" sticker on it. If it does, chances are your current vendor is violating the rules.
What are the prices of the products in the machines?
The prices of products in the machines vary depending on a variety of factors. Most of our products are usually priced less than what you will find in a convenience store. Our 20 oz soft drink pricing is often times as much as 20% cheaper than the convenience store price!
Do you have machines that can vend fresh food like sandwiches, yogurt, milk, etc?
Yes, we have machines that can vend products like sandwiches, yogurt, milk, etc. These machines are called "Cold food machines". However, due to the perishability of the products, these machines are very expensive to operate. It would take at least 100-250 employees at a location before it usually becomes feasible to have a food machine. If you are interested in one, it would be best to call and we can determine together if it would make sense for your company to have one.
What types of businesses do you service?
We are a full-service vendor that operates machines at a wide-variety of accounts. Pretty much if you need vending machines, we can do it. More specifically, we operate machines at offices, hotels and motels, schools, manufacturing facilities, retails stores, car dealerships, and more.
What types of machines do you operate?
We operate vending machines that vend a wide variety of product including snacks, candy, chips, cookies, can soda, bottle soda, water, energy drinks, bottle juices, sandwiches, yogurt, milk, pizzas, burritos, entrees, coffee, cappuccinos, hot chocolate, and tea.
How much space do the machines take?
Each vending machine is about the size of a typical refrigerator. The machines are about 3 feet wide by 3 feet deep and about 6 feet tall. If your lunchroom has the 12" x 12" square tiles on the floor, and if you can find a space that is about 3 tiles wide by 3 tiles deep, we probably can place a machine there! Some of the larger glassfront bottle drop machines will be closer to a 44" square area.
How much power does a machine require?
The snack vending machines take very little power. There is an 18 watt fluorescent light that is illuminated and that's it. There is no cooling unit, so as you can imagine, the machine uses as much power as a small light. The soda machines take about the power of a small refrigerator. It draws about 14 Amps, but in terms of cost to operate it's cheaper than a refrigerator because it is insulated very well and sealed. It's opened only once a week or so (when we fill it), unlike a refrigerator which can be opened dozens of times a day (most of the heat gain occurs when the door is opened).
How often will you service the machines?
Simply put, we will service your machine as often as needed. Typically, machines are set to be serviced once per week, but we have accounts that we service twice or three times per week, as well as daily. What differentiates our company is that we set our standard so that your snack machine should have no more than 3 items sold out, and your pop machine should have no more than 1 selection sold out. Most other vending companies, especially the national companies, set their standard so they will not service the machine until 85% of the machine is sold-out!
What if one of my employees loses money in the machine? How will you pay the refund?
Although we try to keep our machines running perfectly, occasionally even vending machines get sick! We gladly pay refunds without hassles. We will pay them the next time we are there, or if you have a contact person such as a receptionist, we can provide that person with a refund bank for paying out refunds immediately.
