Vending Safely

Safety and health have always been relevant to vending endeavors. It has always been important to maintain machines in working and clean condition. Recent world events, however, have created widespread germ awareness and heightened concern about disease transmission. Accordingly, gumballs.com is here to help you communicate with your customers about safety in the vending world. Not only that, but there are products available to help promote safety where awareness of disease transmission has increased.

To that end, we've gathered some helpful information with the help of the National Bulk Vending Association:

  • Whenever there is a concern about public safety, optimize your position by making sure the machines under your care are clean and look well-kept. Eliminate scratched globes, faded display cards, faded products, mismatched machines, beat up racks. To the customers' eyes, a well tended machine bespeaks care about all aspects of the machine, including cleanliness, safety and quality.
  • One way to take care of the business where machines are placed is to make a point of getting his or her commission paid out in a timely fashion. To the business owner, this is, after all, what is supposed to happen with the machine. Emphasize this and then make a point to clean the machine while you are there. Make the interaction positive and address the concerns the business owner might have about business as usual, and use the trip to clean the machine and optimize its appearance.
  • When the public's mind is concerned about germs, the mindset of the businesses hosting machines tends to track with the mindsets seen in the general public - some people will be very concerned, and others will be less concerned. If a business owner welcomes the presence of your vending machines, they likely will not mind if the machines continue to vend candy and gum. If the business owner wishes no longer to have the machines there, it's a good idea to leave the door open to restoring the machines once things settle down. Some business owners have been willing to allow the machines to stay for a time under a cover and/or at least until the route operator can find a new location.
  • In some businesses, the employees have included the vending machines in their efforts to sanitize everything during a shift. If this is happening with your machines, be sure to show appreciation to these employees for playing on your team: a sincere thank you, a kind word, candy or treats, or some other gesture to tangibly show your appreciation for their efforts.
  • Whenever servicing your machines, try to defer to the rules in effect for the employees at that establishment. For example, if the employees are required to wear masks and use gloves, we recommend you do both as well. If employees are only wearing masks, then we recommend you wear a mask while in their business servicing your machines.
  • Many people are content to use a vending machine that appears to be clean. For some people in some areas, though, it helps to display one of the new signs or stickers stating that the machine has been cleaned according to CDC guidelines.
  • Recognize that not everyone has a scientific grasp of the whole germ story. While COVID is an airborne disease (not transmitted via surfaces) some people are becoming more cautious about germs overall, and many germs can be transmitted via surfaces. So it never hurts to bump up the sanitation game.
  • Expect the landscape of vending to change in the near future. Many locations are now welcoming vending even more than previously because vending machines allow for contact-less sales. Other operations are going out of business, selling equipment, and clearing a field into which someone else can fit with their machine./li>
  • If your jurisdiction's reopening recommends excluding vending machines, we recommend you contact your representative to protest..
  • Although Emily Post didn't write about vending behavior, etiquette is always appreciated, especially when times are difficult for everyone. For example, if your fellow vending company has machines in a business that is going to close down, it's polite to give the competitor a call and let them know. Similarly, if a brother or sister company has machines needing service at the same location as yours, it's a nice idea to give them a call and politely say that you were there and noticed that the machines needed attention.

Times, they are a changing, and gumballs.com is changing right along with them. In a world and a business where safety meant making sure the vending machine globe did not break and the machine itself stayed upright, vending safely in today's world involves more. Navigate the new reality with our products and the assembled wisdom of numerous vending machine owners across the country.

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