The route slipped
Restocks were weekly, then every other week, then "we will catch you next time." The machine is half empty more often than it is full. Here is why a vending machine ends up always empty.
Austin Metro · Switching Providers
Switch your vending provider without the empty corner.
Shelves that stay half full for a month. Service calls that go nowhere. A card reader that still will not take a tap. If your vending company has quietly stopped showing up, you are not stuck with them — and changing over does not have to leave a bare wall in your breakroom.
Warning signs
Four signs it is time to move on.
One of these on its own is a bad week. Two or more is a pattern, and patterns do not fix themselves.
Service calls vanish
A jammed coil, a dead reader, a customer owed a refund — and no answer to your calls, your emails or the ticket you opened three weeks ago.
The equipment aged out
Swipe-only readers, no tap or mobile pay, no way to see what is actually selling, and a drop chute that still eats a bag of chips a week.
Nobody local to call
The number on the machine routes to a call centre in another state, and the person who answers has never seen your building.
Step one
Read your agreement before you say a word.
Four clauses decide how fast you can move, and none of them are usually on page one. Find them before you promise anyone a date — including us.
This is a practical checklist, not legal advice. Your agreement controls, and if there is real money at stake it is worth having an attorney read it.
The notice period
Most vending agreements require written notice — commonly 30, 60 or 90 days. Find the exact number, because everything else is scheduled backwards from it.
Auto-renewal
Many agreements renew on their own unless notice lands inside a specific window. Check whether that window is open right now, or when it opens next.
Early termination
Look for a fee, and look just as hard for language that waives it when the operator has failed to service the account. That second clause is often there.
How notice must be delivered
Some contracts require certified mail, some a named email address, some both. Sending it the wrong way can quietly restart the whole clock.
The sequence
The order that keeps your breakroom stocked.
The single most common mistake is giving notice first. Do that and your current operator has every reason to stop restocking while you wait out the period.
01
Walk the space
Headcount, shifts, footprint, outlet. The new operator should see the actual spot before quoting anything.
02
Get terms in writing
Including what happens if it does not work out. An operator who will not put the exit in writing is telling you something.
03
Sign and lock a date
Now you have a real install date to schedule everything else around, rather than a hope.
04
Then give notice
Send it exactly the way the contract requires, and keep a dated copy of what you sent and how.
Step five: coordinate the removal and the install so they land in the same week. We
plan our delivery around your removal date, not the other way around.
Old equipment
Who hauls the old machine away?
The machine belongs to your current operator, so removing it is their responsibility, not yours and not ours. Send written notice the way the contract requires and keep a copy of it.
If they have gone quiet, document your attempts — dates, who you called, which email address, what you sent — and keep sending notice to the address on the agreement. A paper trail is what turns "they stopped answering" into a position you can actually stand on.
One thing we will not do is touch equipment that is not ours. What we will do is schedule our delivery around your removal date so the corner is not bare in between.
The upgrade
What goes in its place.
- An open-door smart cooler: tap, open the door, take what you want, close it
- No coils and no drop chute, so nothing gets stuck and nobody shakes the machine
- Shelves that hold fresh meals, glass bottles and things a spiral could never dispense
- Inventory watched remotely, so restocks are scheduled rather than reactive
- Free machine, free delivery, free installation, free service. Nothing to buy.
- The owner who signs you up is the person who shows up with the cart
Coverage
Serving North Austin and the northern corridor.
A tight service area on purpose: short drives mean frequent restocks and same-day service.
FAQ
Switching, answered.
Usually, yes. Most agreements allow termination with written notice — commonly 30 to 90 days — and many include a clause that lets you terminate sooner if the operator has not been servicing the account. Read your agreement first and follow its notice instructions to the letter.
Your current operator. The equipment is theirs, so removal is their responsibility. Give written notice as the contract requires, keep a record of it, and we will plan our install around the removal so you are not left without a machine.
There does not need to be. Sign with the new operator and lock in an install date before you give notice, and the changeover can happen inside the same week.
Document every attempt to reach them, with dates. Then send formal written notice to the address on the agreement, by whatever method it specifies, and keep proof of delivery. Once the notice period has run out, you are generally free to bring in a new operator.
Nothing on our side. The machine, delivery, installation, restocking and service are all free. Any early termination fee would come out of your existing agreement, which is exactly why that clause is worth reading before you do anything else.
No. If you have several machines on different agreements, it is often easier to start with one location, see how it goes, and move the rest as their notice periods come up.
Start here
Tell us what your current operator is not doing.
Send this over and we will come back with a plain-language plan: what your agreement probably requires, what the changeover would look like on a calendar, and whether your space is a fit for one of our coolers. No obligation, and no pressure to break a contract you are still happy with.
Rather just talk? Call (512) 763-2178. Barsha answers her own phone.
Who we place with
Free vending machines for every kind of Austin location.
A better machine, at no cost, from someone who lives here.
Tell us about your space and we will tell you honestly whether it is a fit.