Planet Antares Vending News | Planet Antares | Planet Antares Vending

News, views and ideas on managing your Planet Antares vending business.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Planet Antares Vending Tips: What’s Hot And What’s Not?

The vending machine business is no longer limited to bulk vending, soda and snack vending alone. New products and vending machines are fast emerging as updated versions of the earlier models or innovative ones.

The vending options include:
  • Car washes
  • Popcorn
  • Gumball
  • Games
  • Coffee
  • Cosmetics
  • Snacks
  • Postcards
  • Toys
  • Video
  • Water
  • ATM machines
  • Bulk products
  • Stickers
and many more.

With so many choices, it may difficult for a newbie to decide which option is most suitable for him/her. You don’t want to invest your hard-earned money in the wrong vending machines and products. So, it is imperative to analyze your business needs and objectives and collect information about different machines, products, customer preferences and suppliers before arriving at a purchase decision.

For starting a vending route, small vending machines are the best choice. For owners of stores, beverage and snack vending machines are a better option. Choose a reliable vending machine provider like Planet Antares Inc to get reliable, stable, updated and efficient vending machines.
While bulk vending machines are cheap, larger and fancy machines will cost you more. However, it isn’t necessary that a larger machine will give more returns. It is a matter of your creativity, location and product selection. Also, businesses differ in their requirements for vending machines of various sizes, styles, servicing needs and floor space.

For beginners, simple vending machines are a good option. New technology and products will require strategic placement and technical knowledge for effective performance.

Do your homework and keep all these factors in mind to find the right vending machines for a successful business setup.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Vending Machine Service And Repair

While considering the factors affecting the success or failure of a vending business, the things which come to your mind are the product and the location of the vending machines. A factor which may often be ignored is the vending machine services. It is a significant component to ensure efficiency in machine operations.

Most reputable vending machine suppliers like Planet Antares Inc. will provide machine services but you should be equipped with some basic knowledge regarding the same. After all, you don’t want to be helpless in a situation where the customer waits in front of an inoperable machine. Here are a few tips for maintaining your vending machine.

Hire a Helper
If you have more than one vending machine, it will be better to hire a person who can take care of the machines at all times. For busy people with other businesses running alongside, keeping track of every machine’s condition can be a tedious task. So, getting a third person to do the refilling, repair and maintenance can reduce your burden as well as ensure that the vending machines are frequently stocked, updated and capable of continuous functioning. The cost of hiring a third person is very low as compares to getting a specialist’s services.

Self Service
Before you take a professional’s help, you can try to fix the vending machine’s problems yourself. Small troubles may keep arising with minor faults in the machine. If you call a specialist every time, you may end up incurring a lot of repair expenses which will bring down your profits. For example, a product may be stuck in the exit leading to a dispensing problem. Similarly, coins or quarters may be stuck in the coin receptacle. You can simply open the vending machine door and remove the erroneous candy or toy or coins rather than going through the professional service route.

Call a Professional
Sometimes, your vending machine may have a complex problem or may even breakdown. Under such circumstances, it is best to call a specialist to deal with the problem. You can take care of the basic issues but there are various technical or mechanical issues which may be beyond your capability. Planet Antares provides professional services for all sorts of vending machine issues.

Remember that your vending business is just as good as your vending machines. So it is very important to keep them in good condition and functioning well. You may use any of the above stated techniques to do so, but the ultimate aim is to keep the machines running and customers satisfied so that they keep coming back.