My soda vending business is still managing nicely. I am in the baby growing business a little more than the soda vending business right now. The baby growing is doing extremely well. Dustin is healthy and happy and my obstetrician is happy. Growing a baby, especially the last bit, takes a lot of energy and that has taken away from other areas of my life, like my soda route.
I finally got all of my machines functioning again, at least at a level that I am happy with. We think that one of the machines actually got struck by a power surge. The dollar bill exchanger suffered some severe damage. It is a machine located outdoors and the electrical box is broken. I have requested several times that the property owners fix the box, but they have not yet. Right now it has electrical tape wrapped around the box to try to seal it from the elements. I think after Dustin is born that I will write a request to the complex manager to have the box fixed. There has recently been a change in the whole management. They may not know about the problem. I don't mind having my machine moved out of the way for them to repair the damage to the box. The location is one of my better ones, although with the recent management change there seems to have been a large turnover in tenants as well. I will just have to watch, wait, and see what happens.
I keep thinking that life will slow down someday. So far it hasn't. Maybe next week?!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
When it rains...
The old saying, "When it rains, it pours" is very true. We have literally been getting a lot of rain in the Dallas area in the last week. That is great for the grass, but not very good for soda sales. People do not like to get wet. They will not take that trip to the soda machine to get a soda if it is raining. The soda machines do not do very well in the rain either. When it is wet and humid, almost all of the dollar bills are flimsy. Flimsy bills do not do as well in the dollar bill acceptors. They are more likely to get crushed or rejected than those nice, crisp, dry bills are. Soda machines are also electrical. Electricity and water do not mix very well. So, when it rains, it pours trouble for my soda business. Monday was a very challenging day for me.
1) My machine that is outside at an apartment complex was jammed and had even less sales than I expected. The dollar bill acceptor was not working at all. The indicator light was out and everything. The coin mechanism was also jammed. Luckily, it only had 2-3 sodas worth of money in the jam so not many people lost money. I called my trusty friends at Sharrock and they talked me through a few things before we decided the dollar bill changer was dead. So out it came. Unfortunately, it leaves a huge gaping hole in its place. Just inviting someone to stick their hands in it and get shocked or destroy some of the wiring. There is no real way to get to any of the money from that angle, but it doesn't seem that many people understand that.
2) My next machine also was having problems with the dollar bill acceptor. I had noticed a week or so ago that it was a little picky in the dollar bills that it accepted. It only took the nicer, crisper bills. When I looked at it, one of the belts that draw the dollar bills in was missing. Since it was still working, I didn't bother getting it fixed. After all, I am trying to reduce my activity to keep baby Dustin growing inside as long as possible. Well, with the rain, the bills were all damp and they didn't work well and then someone had their dollar bill get crumpled up. So I knew that I would have to get that one fixed, but I also new that it would be easy to fix. The cage on that machine has a metal plate in front of the dollar bill changer with just a little slit for the dollar to go through. That means that the gaping hole is pretty much covered so no one could stick their hands in and get hurt or mess with the wiring. So out came that dollar bill changer.
3) My last machine has been having trouble with the cradle. The new cradle finally came it. So I had to take the motor off, remove the cradle, take it to Sharrock to make sure that they had the right one. They had two different models and didn't know which would work.
4) Off to Sharrock we went. I also had an extra coin mechanism that I wanted fixed and we took that. Sharrock had the right cradle and they could fix the dollar bill acceptor with the belt problem. They did not have time to fix the other dollar bill acceptor or the coin mechanism. They did find a face plate that I could put in the gaping hole at the first machine to keep people from sticking their hands in their.
5) Off we went back to the first machine to put in the face plate.
6) Next we went to the soda machine to replace the dollar bill changer with the belt problem. That machine is now my best money maker and I didn't want to leave it without the dollar bill changer.
7) We went back and put the new cradle on. The old cradle was definitely bent, so we needed a new cradle. That selection still didn't work. After calling Sharrock three times we decided that because of the multiple problems with jammed cans from the bent cradle that the motor now had a problem also, like a slipped gear or something. We still have to fix that motor. By that time, I was exhausted and starting to have warning pains that let me know Dustin is not happy and I need to rest. So, we just left a note saying that the selection was not working and left.
8) Tomorrow, I need to go and retrieve my fixed coin mechanism and dollar bill acceptor and take the motor to Sharrocks to be fixed. Hopefully this will solve all my issues until well after Dustin is born. Sharrock gives me a 90 day warranty on all work that they do.
I do have good news. We got our van back. It looks great. It drives great. I am so happy to have it back. Also, State Farm, our insurance company, has decided that there is enough evidence to say that I was hit from behind and pushed into the vehicle in front of me. So I have them on my side fighting to get my deductible back. I do not know what this fight will entail, but it appears that they will do most of the fighting and I just have to wait for it to be resolved. My agent, Jennifer Wilcox, has been a tremendous help. When I have had issues with the main claims people, she has called them to help me get them resolved. Her office has given us the personal touch that I expect from my agent.
1) My machine that is outside at an apartment complex was jammed and had even less sales than I expected. The dollar bill acceptor was not working at all. The indicator light was out and everything. The coin mechanism was also jammed. Luckily, it only had 2-3 sodas worth of money in the jam so not many people lost money. I called my trusty friends at Sharrock and they talked me through a few things before we decided the dollar bill changer was dead. So out it came. Unfortunately, it leaves a huge gaping hole in its place. Just inviting someone to stick their hands in it and get shocked or destroy some of the wiring. There is no real way to get to any of the money from that angle, but it doesn't seem that many people understand that.
2) My next machine also was having problems with the dollar bill acceptor. I had noticed a week or so ago that it was a little picky in the dollar bills that it accepted. It only took the nicer, crisper bills. When I looked at it, one of the belts that draw the dollar bills in was missing. Since it was still working, I didn't bother getting it fixed. After all, I am trying to reduce my activity to keep baby Dustin growing inside as long as possible. Well, with the rain, the bills were all damp and they didn't work well and then someone had their dollar bill get crumpled up. So I knew that I would have to get that one fixed, but I also new that it would be easy to fix. The cage on that machine has a metal plate in front of the dollar bill changer with just a little slit for the dollar to go through. That means that the gaping hole is pretty much covered so no one could stick their hands in and get hurt or mess with the wiring. So out came that dollar bill changer.
3) My last machine has been having trouble with the cradle. The new cradle finally came it. So I had to take the motor off, remove the cradle, take it to Sharrock to make sure that they had the right one. They had two different models and didn't know which would work.
4) Off to Sharrock we went. I also had an extra coin mechanism that I wanted fixed and we took that. Sharrock had the right cradle and they could fix the dollar bill acceptor with the belt problem. They did not have time to fix the other dollar bill acceptor or the coin mechanism. They did find a face plate that I could put in the gaping hole at the first machine to keep people from sticking their hands in their.
5) Off we went back to the first machine to put in the face plate.
6) Next we went to the soda machine to replace the dollar bill changer with the belt problem. That machine is now my best money maker and I didn't want to leave it without the dollar bill changer.
7) We went back and put the new cradle on. The old cradle was definitely bent, so we needed a new cradle. That selection still didn't work. After calling Sharrock three times we decided that because of the multiple problems with jammed cans from the bent cradle that the motor now had a problem also, like a slipped gear or something. We still have to fix that motor. By that time, I was exhausted and starting to have warning pains that let me know Dustin is not happy and I need to rest. So, we just left a note saying that the selection was not working and left.
8) Tomorrow, I need to go and retrieve my fixed coin mechanism and dollar bill acceptor and take the motor to Sharrocks to be fixed. Hopefully this will solve all my issues until well after Dustin is born. Sharrock gives me a 90 day warranty on all work that they do.
I do have good news. We got our van back. It looks great. It drives great. I am so happy to have it back. Also, State Farm, our insurance company, has decided that there is enough evidence to say that I was hit from behind and pushed into the vehicle in front of me. So I have them on my side fighting to get my deductible back. I do not know what this fight will entail, but it appears that they will do most of the fighting and I just have to wait for it to be resolved. My agent, Jennifer Wilcox, has been a tremendous help. When I have had issues with the main claims people, she has called them to help me get them resolved. Her office has given us the personal touch that I expect from my agent.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Waiting
We are still waiting. Waiting on the van to be fixed. Waiting for the insurance companies to decide what they are doing. Waiting for a cradle for a soda machine. Waiting (hopefully, for 7 more weeks) for Dustin.
The van had almost $4000 dollars of damage. Most of the damage was done to the rear end. 
The gate will have to be replaced, as well as the bumper and all the reinforcement. It should be fixed by next Wednesday. I can't wait to get our van back. We got a rental, but it isn't the same as our own van.
The gate will have to be replaced, as well as the bumper and all the reinforcement. It should be fixed by next Wednesday. I can't wait to get our van back. We got a rental, but it isn't the same as our own van. There wasn't too much damage to the front end. Just the grill and bumper cover needed to be replaced. I was able to get my van stopped before I got hit from behind and then was pushed into the vehicle in front of me. I think that is why there is very little front damage. There is a dispute over who is responsible for the front end damage.We will just wait and see what happens.
I had someone try to get into one of my machines over the weekend. They did not realize how the machine works. They tried to break in the coin slot. The coins are not anywhere near the coin slot. Luckily, there was no permanent damage done to the machine. The main damage was to the confidence that people have in the machine.
Why do people continue to put foreign coins in the soda machines? I had someone jam a soda machine with a coin from Honduras. I hope it is because they do not realize that they are putting a foreign coin in the machine and not that they are doing it on purpose.
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