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now that two tier pricing is available. "It's more appealing now that I can offset some of the fees," said Pavlic. Early adoption of micro markets Prudence doesn't mean Pavlic doesn't see any benefts to technology. In fact, three years ago he saw the potential for a relatively new way for vendors to provide service and jumped at the chance to integrate it into his opera- tion. It was 2011, and the new system was Avanti Markets. "It gave me a tingle," said Pavlic. He visited Avanti- Founder Jim Brinton's vending opera - tion in Seattle, Wash., to see the micro markets in action and fnd out about the business model. "I was confdent in his [Brinton's] knowledge and experience," said Pavlic. He has been selling micro markets ever since as Avanti Markets — Milwaukee. Pavlic Vending currently operates 15 markets. Pavlic fnds core vending products also sell well in micro mar- kets, however, they need to be pack- aged differently. This is especially true of food. Pavlic has two third- party commissaries make the food. It's packaged one way for food vend- ing machines and another way for the micro markets, with a different label and, occasionally, ingredients. "I don't know how much it impacts sales, but micro markets are such a different presentation than vending that people are attracted to it," said Pavlic. He was the frst to offer micro markets in the area. Pavlic found early on that the toughest aspect of the micro market model was selling it to a location. "It was like trying to get them to take a leap of faith," he said. This is something that has become easier as more competitors are offering micro markets. Locations are more familiar with the concept. The biggest surprise for Pavlic was how much back-of-the-house work has to be done with micro mar- kets. It's not a "set it and forget it" technology. Each SKU has to be man- aged constantly. "It's not as automatic as you'd think," Pavlic said. However, he admits the extra effort is balanced by more revenue once the market is placed, which has fueled much of Pav- lic Vending's recent growth. Lower maintenance due to less mechanical parts is something Pav- lic appreciates about micro markets. Occasionally, a kiosk will experience an error, but it can usually be fxed remotely by restarting the kiosk. Pavlic has also had the occasional compressor failure on a cooler, but breakdowns are minimal — far less than vending. Pavlic Vending's mar- kets all have food coolers that will automatically lock if the temperature drops below safe levels. Pavlic account executive, Kelly Turkowitch, likes to plan local events, like coffee tast- ings, to grow business. Selling vending ser- vices, especially coffee, is more than a job for Turkowitch, but a passion. Her license plate is Java Gal and the rosary on her rearview mirror is made of coffee beans. Pavlic Vending — Modern Coffee is a family business. Rick Pavlic, right, and wife Shae, both work to keep the company running smoothly. THE extra effort of managing SKUs is balanced by the increased revenue. 20 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com June 2014 S U C C E S S S T O R Y autm_18-25_0614OpProfile_F.indd 20 6/10/14 11:49 AM