Automatic Merchandiser - 24

OPERATION

PROFILE

He said the family has run its company as its own sort of family, with
an emphasis on unity instead of titles.
"We're all one, basically," he said.
He added that the company makes
an effort to be very accommodating
to its employees by being flexible in
route scheduling, especially when
a parent needs to pick up his or her
child from school. Scott said these
efforts are mirrored in how employees treat each other.
"They all basically cover each
other's back," he said.
For example, when an employee
cannot take a route shift, he or she
tends to give advance notice to the
next person lined up for the route.
"They really work very well as a
team," said Scott.
Scott added that when an employee
shows interest and effort in the work,
the company will also try to move the
person up in the company.
"I think you've got to be innovative and come up with incentives in
this environment with unemployment close to zero," he said. "I remember years when we would get 60 to
70 applicants for a job, and now they
will trickle in two or three at a time."

Emphasis on customer service
Scott is also proud of the company's
history of customer service. Staff
respond to clients' service calls
within an hour, and if a client should
run out of stock, the company strives
to do a major refill the same day.
"I've gone out on weekends to
deliver to restaurants when they've
misjudged their stock," Scott said.
"We try to just go above and beyond."
One of Scott's favorite aspects
of the vending business is working with customers, and one of his
favorite memories is how the company was able to help a veterans'
hospital account on Christmas Eve.
He recalled the appreciation people
showed when they saw that his company had come in to help.
24

Automatic Merchandiser

Chris Cole (left) and Brandon LaHaye are
employees of Allan's Vending Service.

"That instance stands out because
of how impressed and happy our
main contact was," he said. "The
hospital cafeteria was shutting down
for two days, so the vending was the
only option. It was only one machine
out of 10 that wasn't working. So they
had said they hated to call us, figuring
we'd leave that one machine down
until the day after Christmas, but we
were there to fix it in 20 minutes."

Vermont's Meals and Rooms Tax
One of the challenges Allan's Vending
Service has recently had to deal with
is the Vermont Meals and Rooms Tax,
a vending tax Vermont rolled out in
2015. All items that are sold out of
vending machines are subject to a 9
percent sales tax, which convenience
stores do not face. He said some customers blamed the vending operators
more than they blamed the state.
"We had some upset customers,
and we took a good 20 percent hit
in sales in the first six months until
things started to level off," Scott said.
"But it definitely had a significant
impact on the state of Vermont vending companies because most of us
aren't large, national companies. We're
smaller, family-owned operations."
To keep up, Allan's Vending
Service participated in a NAMA
Fly-In regarding the legislation.

VendingMarketWatch.com

June/July 2019

The company also adjusted prices
to cover the tax, watched costs and
explained the reason for the price
increases to customers.

A future in micro markets
Another topic on Scott's mind these
days is the direction micro markets
are taking the industry.
"You're starting to see more and
more [product] offerings, both smaller
and larger," he said.
He has noticed that customers have
responded positively to the expanded
options micro markets provide in
terms of a variety of products, more
healthy offerings and the overall look.
"People love it when you take a
bank of machines out and put a micro
market in. It looks much cleaner,
more professional," said Scott.
He said that the company has
started receiving calls for micro
markets, whereas in the past Allan's
Vending Service needed to sell the
micro market concept to clients.
"It's the way things are evolving,"
he said.
Allan's Vending Service has succeeded in taking on the challenges
the business has encountered over the
past nearly 75 years. As it continues
to serve customers in New Hampshire and Vermont, it will likely see
other changes in the industry - and
succeed in adjusting accordingly to
ensure it continues to thrive.

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Automatic Merchandiser

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