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every amount given to the driver, take the same amount that day from their collections and any leftover coins they have in their change bags are placed into their collections thus an exchange is made of equal value. Use plastic pushers in old machines The "Magic Eye" — we all know what it is and what it does to make sure the customer gets the product they purchased. Now suppose that an operator has a lot of machines that don't have that technology and is getting an inordinate amount of calls for product getting stuck at the edge of the spiral and not falling. Well here is a solution. It's called "Pack Pusher," which is a plastic piece that can be placed at the end of the spiral to give the product another ½ inch of push. Originally created to help cigarette packs dispense out of glass front machines, we used them on all of our snack machines that did not have the double spirals and the magic eye. They proved to be invaluable in cutting back service calls. Use phones for tracking, communication Remember the saying, "it's 9 o'clock, do you know where your children are?" Well, do you know where your trucks are? It may be time to look into a phone system that has GPS and will allow you to communicate with your drivers. On any given day operators should be able to send driv- ers to fll a machine near them that just called for service. Try to set up the phones so that the employee is only able to call an emergency num- ber, the supervisor, the mechanic and the offce. This is a great tool to provide better service and allow the operator to see where everyone is at any given time. Don't let the phone companies sell you something you don't need. We did exactly what I mentioned with our routes and mechanics, and we made it part of our policy that they were responsible for any loss or damage that occurred to the phone. Uniforms increase professionalism While uniforms are not a must, oper- ators may want to provide, for about $10 or less, a polo shirt with the com- pany's name on it for employees. I suggest giving them three shirts each so they can wear a clean one every day. Also tell them to wear either a dark or a khaki colored pair of pants or shorts. And just like that you have uniformed staff. Changing small things in a busi- ness can have a big impact. By focus- ing on being more organized and implementing simple procedures, operators can increase effciency, professionalism and security. All of these will help the company grow in the years to come. February 2014 VendingMarketWatch.com Automatic Merchandiser 19 S M A L L O P About the Author Dominic Finelli is a 43-year veteran vending operator in the Washington D.C. market. Along with his partner/brother-in- law, John Sartori, he helped grow a family start-up, Custom Vending, to 30 routes. Finelli earned a degree in accounting from Benjamin Franklin University, was a 3-time recipient of the NAMA Chairman's Legislative Award and the 2004 Operator of the Year. Finelli served 23 years as a director of the MD/DC Vending Associa- tion, and 10 years as the president. He sold his vending company in 2011. Finelli can be reached at dom@askfnelli.com. Coee compliments of employer. But the perfect roast, that's on us. Call us for samples. gavina.com/vend Our most distinctive roast, available in single-serve. At Gaviña, we believe that "offce coffee" and "gourmet coffee" should be one and the same thing. Four generations refning our family roasting process helps ensure the single-serve cup offered in the break room is the equal of the cup at your favorite cafe. © 2014 F. Gaviña & Sons, Inc. autm_18-19_0214SmallOp_F.indd 19 2/12/14 8:14 AM