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While there’s no real downside to installing a vending machine in your workplace, like everything in life, they aren’t always perfect and problems do happen. Thankfully, if you’re a Quality Vend customer, you won’t have to worry about any of the issues below, as we quickly address anything you’re not happy about! There are some complaints that come up regularly in the industry though, so we thought we’d address them to reassure you. 

There are actually two primary categories that vending machine complaints fall under. These are :

1. Vending Equipment – the vending machines themselves and any technical issues with them.
2. Service and logistics – any issues with vending company communication or machine management (meeting deadlines etc), as well as expectation management.

Here are a few reasons that complaints about vending machines happen:

Technical Issues

Mechanical or technical problems make up the largest number of complaints within the industry. Vending machines are just that – machines – so even the most advanced machines sometimes get a glitch or play up in other ways. That’s life and no matter how good the vending machine company is, sometimes things happen that can’t be prevented. Thankfully, we will address any machine issues as soon as they occur and repair or even replace your machine if needed.

Planning and Logistics

If a vending company is large enough, it will be managing hundreds of machines and just as many customers, which is obviously a big job. Most companies are very professional and use the latest technology to track inventory, deliveries, routes etc so that machines are refilled on time and issues are resolved quickly. When things go wrong, requests or changes are made though, it’s difficult for some vending operators to stop everything and attend to this immediately, as it impacts their whole logistical operation. 

If they aren’t highly experienced, your vending operator might be late refilling your machine, or make you wait for a fair while before they address your request, change or other issue.  Thankfully, at Quality Vend, we have honed our logistics and planning in a way that ensures any requests, changes or issues are addressed promptly and all machines are filled on time, every time.

Less income than expected

One of the perks of installing a vending machine at your workplace is the passive income you’ll earn via a commission from each sale made. You need to curb your expectations though, as a single machine making a dozen sales a day probably isn’t going to give you enough income for that tropical holiday. It is basically ‘free money’ though, because all you need to do is select a vending machine type to install at your workplace – you don’t need to do anything else, as we handle the refilling, repairs, issues and everything else. Our vending machines will silently generate revenue for you based on the number of items sold. This income is paid quarterly into your nominated bank account and will always be paid on-time.

Non-responsive or rude vending company employees

Another complaint directed at a (thankfully) small number of vending companies is that their employees are non-responsive to requests or downright rude to customers. This is just not on – at Quality vend, you’ll always be responded to as quickly as possible and you will never receive rude service. Ever!

Old Vending Machines that steal money or don’t possess cashless payment options

Yep, old vending machines are still used by many vending companies. Sometimes this is ok because the company might keep them very well maintained and the customer might be ok with an older machine; however, nothing beats a shiny, newer machine. 

Older machines that don’t offer many forms of cashless payments will definitely lose you sales, as most people don’t carry cash these days. Some machines are known to be temperamental too, taking end-users’ money but not dispensing products or not working at all. At Quality Vend, our machines are all cutting-edge and reliable, giving end-users plenty of payment options. You’ll never have to worry about stolen change or other problems, because we’ll respond to any issues promptly.

As you can see, there are many reasons for customers to complain about some vending machine companies or issues, but at Quality Vend, we work extra hard to ensure you are completely happy with every facet of our service. If you’d like to experience this for yourself, give us a call on 1300 305 051 or click here to contact us online.

With vending machines being the most commonly used onsite food source in Australian businesses, it’s no wonder that innovative alternatives – like micro markets – are becoming more popular. You may be wondering what a micro market is though, what benefits it will have for your business and what equipment will you need to start one. Keep reading to find out…

Micro markets are a flexible, contemporary and customisable alternative to workplace vending machines. They are compact, self-contained convenient stores with shelves, refrigeration or freezers that contain products for sale. The main point of difference is that the store is not monitored physically by a human. Instead, a self-service checkout is placed nearby and customers (your employees or students) autonomously complete their checkout – all while being monitored by security equipment to deter theft. 

Think of a micro market like a huge, open vending machine that you have on your business premises – perhaps in your lunchroom or tucked into a corner somewhere convenient. A customer chooses a product or multiple products, they head over to the self-scanning checkout and scan their items. They then pay using a variety of payment options and walk away – no fuss, no queues, no waiting for a vending machine to dispense one item at a time. 

There are some major benefits to having a micro market in your business. They include (but are not limited to):

Convenience – like vending machines, micro markets offer convenience in the form of easily sourced and consumed snacks, meals, drinks and other items. They are located within customers’ workplace and don’t require an attendant to operate them. Customers can purchase multiple items at once, but then pay in the same way you’d pay for a vending machine purchase. The micro market can also be accessed by your customers at any time your business is open.

Personalised – at Quality Vend, we have a huge range of products you can select from for your micro market. This appeals to a large variance of customers, meaning whatever your workplace culture, we can cater to your needs. Our modular layouts are designed to fit any nook or cranny – even a flat wall – and our touchscreen payment kiosks are super-simple for customers to use. With the option of multiple secure payment methods, you’ll have absolutely no trouble fitting a micro market into your business, school or campus, as well as fitting it in with your customers.

Latest technology – The use of cutting-edge communication technology means that you won’t have to keep logs, deal with computers or anything else. All the information and monitoring data is sent to our team. This information tells you and us how sales are going and which inventory is selling the best, which allows you to customise your stock to your customers’ needs. It lets us know when items need restocking, which means you don’t have to lift a finger. 

No trouble – We offer full support for all our vending and micro market products, meaning you don’t need to worry if something breaks or stops working correctly. We can also do all the difficult forecasting for you, ensuring your micro market is stocked with the products that are likely to sell the best.  

Improved production – When you feed your staff healthy, nutritious foods, they respond by performing better at their jobs and having higher satisfaction rates. At Quality Vend, we provide traditional vending snacks, but we also heavily focus on healthy snack and meal options, giving you and your customers more choice. 

You’ll notice other benefits once installed, but those are the most widely-reported. Regardless, you may be wondering what it actually takes to set up a micro market. Below are the three main vital needs:

Micro market location

Many of our clients have said their barrier to hosting a micro market is a lack of space. Thankfully, we’ve managed to accommodate our client’s needs and have installed micro markets in each one of these ‘too small’ workplace spaces for them. Micro marketing fittings aren’t obtrusive or have complicated fittings. In fact, they can actually be much less obtrusive than a large traditional vending machine!

A micro market kiosk generally consists of a dynamic shelving system, small displays and fridges or freezers that can easily be fit into a variety of different shaped spaces. The best place to place your micro market is in a non-public area that gains a lot of foot traffic from your employees, but no-one else. 

Micro market power supply

Obviously, you’ll need an area that has access to electricity. This is because your micro market will have things like a payment kiosk, security system, fridge, freezer or lighting. This doesn’t have to be complicated though – a basic three-prong outlet or two will be fine. 

Micro market technology

The technology is the thing that truly makes a micro market what it is. The unattended checkout and payment system needs electricity, but it also needs an internet connection, preferably an NBN or high-speed broadband connection to minimise interruptions. The cashier-less checkout technology is truly advanced, allowing customers to pay in a variety of ways with or without a card. Some even have fingerprint detection!

The internet connection is also used for sending data back to base for security, restocking or repairs monitoring. You can technically leave your micro market running 24 hours a day with just those three main aspects.

Regardless of your space or other requirements, we can help you achieve a well-stocked micro market for educational institutes or businesses larger than 150 employees. Our supplies include healthy options to increase workplace productivity and general happiness, as well as increase your passive income. Call us today on 1300 305 051 to set up an appointment so we can set up a micro market for you.

When looking back at the history of vending machines, you might be amazed to learn that the first known account goes all the way back to the first century Roman Egypt empire! Hero of Alexandria (yes, Hero is his name, not his job title) was a mathematician and engineer, and his ingenious invention dispensed holy water in exchange for a gold coin. Once the participant deposited a gold coin, it fell upon a weight-sensitive pan that was attached to a lever.

The lever then opened the valve responsible for letting a small amount of holy water flow out. The pan continued to tilt with the weight of the gold coin until the point it slid off – as this occurred, the counterweight then released the lever and the valve was shut off. Sheer genius!

In the early 16th century taverns of England, coin-operated machines were dispensing tobacco products to the masses. Made of brass, the vending machines were portable, unlike their ancient predecessors. In 1822, a then-English bookselling entrepreneur named Richard Carlile created a book dispensing machine for distribution of banned works that were outlawed at the time. The first fully-automatic vending machine was patented by Simeon Denham, for his stamp dispensing machine in 1867. It was awarded under British Patent no. 706.

The birth of modern vending

Introduced in London, England, the first modern coin-operated vending machine was presented to the masses in the early 1880s, distributing postcards. Percival Everitt was the man who invented this early incantation of the modern machine and in 1883, it soon became prevalent in railways and post offices across England – this time, dispensing notepaper, postcards and envelopes to the needing public. It wasn’t until 1893that Stollwerck – a German chocolate company – started promoting and stocking chocolate in over 15,000 vending machines. They then tried to corner the market by setting up separate companies all over the country. To satisfy demand, they began to manufacture the machines not just for chocolates, but all sorts of products, including cigarettes, gum, soap, and matches.

The Americans were a little late to the ball and it took until 1888 before vending machines started popping up around the US. The Thomas Adams Gum Company started adding gum machines to New York City train platforms, which was a huge success. Shortly after, the Pulver Manufacturing Company started adding game-like additions to the machines. These consisted of small figures or moving parts that were activated when someone purchased a product. This then created a whole new idea called ‘trade stimulators’, which were an added incentive for customers to make a vending machine purchase. Back then, many of the trade stimulators were similar to slot machines or had some type of fun mechanism to collect money. While these have become less popular on standard vending machines these days, you’ll still find a similar thing used by some charity organisations with their ‘money spinners’ or ‘roll-a-coin’ donation bins (which were invented in Australia, by the way). 

This is just a brief history into the first era of vending machines, but there is a plethora of interesting knowledge about vending machine history that we’ll share in future posts. In this day and age, vending machines have become commonplace in most public locations and the team at Quality Vend are full of knowledge about this great industry.

We’re happy to share all the details about what to stock, where to situate your machine and how to be successful. Contact us today on 1300 305 051 and have a chat to one of our reps.

Poor old vending machines have received a bit of a bad reputation over the years. You can blame it on stalled technology in the 80s and early 90s, when vending machines were boxy, shabby, unreliable, coin thieves and coffee machines were… just ugh! Thankfully, like the rest of technology, vending machines caught up and are now much more reliable, streamlined and deliver fresh, tasty foods and even coffee without stealing your hard-earned cash. 

In fact, you might be really surprised at just how tech-savvy the vending industry has become! One of the most exciting advancements is plain old snack machines, which have gone from dispensing teeth-rotting junk foods to supplying actual healthy snacks and meals to tired office workers, train travellers and other vending machine users the world over. There’s plenty of evidence through surveys and similar that show office workers appreciate good quality snacks being provided in their workplace. What better way of doing this than via a vending machine that makes healthy snacking quick, easy and affordable!

Some of the healthy options we stock at Quality Vend include:

Healthy Meals – these are actual meals that you can purchase from the vending machine, pop it in the microwave (or eat it cold if you wish, in some cases) and Bon Appétit. These meals come in large or small sizes, so are perfect for every mealtime. Choices include things like chef-prepared Chicken Tagine, Gnocchi, Pollo Funghi, Thai Red Chicken, Lamb Kofta, Beef Burgundy and many more!

Healthy Snacks – If a snack’s an easier choice for your staff, but you don’t want productivity dropping due to the slumps associated with unhealthy diets, then our exclusive line of healthy snack options is for you. Our healthy choices include gluten-free foods, vegetarian and vegan, as well as additive-free and non-processed options. We stock snacks such as vitamin and mineral-packed protein bars in both sweet and savoury flavours, as well as paleo, low-carb, ancient grain and nut bars or slices. We have trail mix, dried fruit, little nibbles and cheese or tuna with crackers, plus even more! You’d probably find more healthy snacks in one of our machines than you would in a small supermarket!

Healthy Drinks – There’s no point offering healthy meals and snacks if your staff are just going to wash it all down with a soft drink. We have a lovely selection of refreshing and healthy drink choices, including meal replacement milks, soy and protein drinks. We offer sugar-free, additive-free and smart water. We also have juices, sparkling water, energy drinks, sports drinks, iced tea, coconut water and more. 

These choices can be mixed and matched in any combination. It’s jot just healthy food and drink choices that have advanced with the times though – we also have machines stocking:

• Traditional snacks and drinks 
• Shelf-stable food 
• Gym specific / protein products
• Coffee products
• Safety / PPE products
• End of trip facility product

That’s right – we have machines that stock safety equipment for workers (earmuffs, safety goggles etc), products that are suited to the gym, end of trip products (cycling lights, tubes and locks and similar) and more. These machines can either be regular cash/card machines, or we can set them up for you so your staff can use a free personal card to dispense the products whenever they’re needed. This method also records each dispensed item under that staff member’s name in a database, meaning you can monitor the usage of costly equipment to reduce waste.

All of our modern and attractive vending machines have non-damaging rubber feet, product vend sensors to make sure each product is vended as it should be (no more coin stealing machines!), our details clearly visible and a warning sticker to deter rocking or jarring. Our machine range includes glass-front combination, snack, frozen foods or beverage machines, live-display beverage and a coffee machine. Our machines are also energy efficient and offer Cashless Payments, Tap n Go, or Closed loop systems for payments. We maintain our machines to the highest standards, meaning not only will you receive a modern, attractive machine, but you’ll also have happy staff and be paid commissions for their purchases! It’s a no-brainer!
If you’d like to install a vending machine  in your workplace, give Quality Vend a call today on 1300 305 051 or click here to contact us online.

You want to create a welcoming environment for your staff, and this includes having quality vending machines on hand and ready for your staff. Variety is key, and Quality Vend has drink, snack, food and combination Sydney and Melbourne vending machines available.

But do you need vending machines for your workplace? Definitely — and here’s why.

1. Healthier Snacking Options — Healthy snacks like the ones you find in Quality Vend’s Sydney vending machines encourage healthier lifestyles. Your staff can choose from several tasty and healthy options like Waterford’s Mineral Water, protein shakes, dairy or soy options, Crispy Fruits, Piranha Snacks, JC Delicious healthy nut mix and so much more.
2. Easy to Maintain— Unlike traditional snacking methods, you don’t have to have staff on hand to run your vending machines. Quality Vend staff will monitor their Sydney vending machines and refill them when they notice that they’re getting low, and your staff will have instant access to snacks.
3. Increased Satisfaction— Giving your staff instant access to healthy and filling snacks and drinks can help to increase their overall satisfaction. They can grab something, head back to their desks and continue their projects. Offering low-cost food, drink and snack choices let your employees know that you care about them.
4. No Additional Overhead Costs— Our Sydney vending machines don’t require any additional overhead costs to run them and keep them full. As we mentioned, we can remotely monitor your vending machine to see what sells, what doesn’t and when it’s time to refill the vending machine.
5. Increase Your Staff’s Productivity— That afternoon slump can put a damper on your staff’s overall productivity levels. Eating a protein packed healthy snack option or drinking a caffeinated beverage can give your staff a boost of energy that they can use to power them through to the end of the working day.
6. Space Saving— No matter which vending machine style you choose from Quality Vend, they’re designed to save space. You won’t have to worry about renting out an area to prepare and serve food, and our vending machines pack a lot of options for the small amount of space that they take up.
7. Encourage Customers to Stay — If your customers don’t have any food, snack or drink options available while they’re browsing your shop or business, they’re more inclined to leave. By offering a Sydney vending machine and a variety of options, you’re giving them everything they need to stay around longer.
8. Easy Additional Way to Earn Money— Melbourne vending machines earn money. Whether this is from your staff or your customers, each time they buy something, they’re putting money into the machine. This can help cover any operational costs, and you may even have enough to put toward an employee party or event.
9. Encourage Your Employees to Eat on Site— If your employees go off-site to eat or snack during their breaks, it can negatively impact their productivity because it takes them a while to settle once they get back. Having a vending machine available encourages them to make selections from there and stay on site for their breaks.
10. Offer Flexibility— Melbourne vending machines give you staff flexibility. If they forget their lunch or snacks, they can use the vending machine. Additionally, Quality Vend’s vending machines offer multiple payment options as well.

Contact Quality Vend Today!

If you want to add a healthy vending machine to your business or workplace, contact us. We’re ready and willing to discuss your options and tailor a vending machine to suit your needs. Whether you need a drink, snack, food or a combination, we can help.