Do you ever have a soda machine vandalized?

SilverDuck

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I just put a soda machine on location for the first time, and it was supposed to go inside a building, but the owner changed his mind and requested it sit outside, under a roof. He said they had one there before, and someone drilled out the lock and stole the money. That machine just had the regular soda machine lock. My machine has that lock, along with a door that covers the T-handle that can be padlocked.

So, if I get a good padlock, how long would it take someone to break my padlock and then drill my lock? What padlock do you recommend? Any other suggestions? I plan to empty the change every other night or so, and to keep a close eye on the machine.
 
I hope this isn't the guy you were going to give 50% to. Where is it at that someone can drill a lock for 20 minutes (a good vending lock is not like an arcade lock) and no one notices?
Get a good quality padlock for the T handle cover and buy an ACE slug for the handle and you should be OK. I'm pretty sure the Ace locks are hardened and harder to drill.
 
No, I'm not the 50% guy. I asked about vending and the 50% guy replied to one of my posts.

EDIT: Mdrago is the 50% guy.
 
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Get one of the round locks, like the one seen in this picture:

Good%20Lock%20Bad%20Lock.jpg


They are much harder to cut off or drill through than regular locks.

I used to work for a vending company, and have seen just about everything:

1) a big hole torn in the front of the machine above the bill acceptor so they could reach the bills.

2) Big crowbars pry the machine bottom out far enough to reach in and remove the coin box.

3) Small holes drilled in the side so a small tool can reach inside and pop the locking tab open and allow the t-handle to pop out, allowing the machine to be opened, remove money, then relock. A lot of times, the operator doesn't notice it and loses a lot of money multiple times before figuring out how they're doing it.

4) A sheet metal screw twisted about halfway into one of those tubelock, and then a claw hammer on the screw and a good pull will pop the lock out of the t-handle and then a small screwdriver can reach the back and unpop the lock.

5) Here's one I saw only once. Someone took a Dremel or something with a cutting disk, and cut the pivot bolts on the hinges of the door. Then they pulled the door open on the opposite side and got the cash and coin box. They put it back so it looked fine when I walked up to it. When I unlocked the door, the entire door fell off onto the ground.


Also, when most thieves rob the machine, they not only take the bill box and cash box, but some will rip out the coin changer slots to get the quarters and dimes in there, making it more expensive for you because you'll have to replace it.

Once our company started putting cages like this on our more vulnerable machines, thefts and break-ins dropped off considerably:

0433.jpg
 
No, I'm not the 50% guy. I asked about vending and the 50% guy replied to one of my posts.

EDIT: Mdrago is the 50% guy.

didn't you make a mention that it was your friends location? if its not your friend I wouldn't give them shit and just keep your prices low enough so everyone stays happy. we have a couple of locations where we just keep our prices really low and don't give the locations anything and they are totally fine with it.
 
Yeah, it's my pal's car audio store. I am giving him 1 out of every 4 quarters to offset electricity.
 
They put it back so it looked fine when I walked up to it. When I unlocked the door, the entire door fell off onto the ground.

Wow. I'll bet that was a Holy Shiite!! moment. Those doors aren't light.

I ran Aramark's Refreshment Services in Austin for a while. We always tried to sell it as though we were doing them a favor putting our machines in there. We take care of them, stock them, everything. You just enjoy!

It's nice to make some money from them but start that slush fund with your first revenue, as something will need to be fixed or replaced at some point. Vending machines live a hard life whether it's in a class A office building or outside the grocery store.
 
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