New "WHITE LIGHTNIN' 10-Selection Vendor

[Uncle Sam]

We have just built a new High Security, 10-Selection, free standing vendor that was designed for a multi-store C-Store operation with car washes here in California. This company had some very particular "wants" to be included in their design which is what we did. The first two vendors for this C-Store company will be delivered in two weeks.

We decided to enhance the design with the same features that we include in all our ShurVend models and offer it to the smaller wash sites as an inexpensive way for these smaller sites to upgrade to a computer-operated vending system. It is designed to vend the 10 best selling car wash products, so the appeal and sales volume should be good and the operators will not have to inventory many products. There is space underneath the bottom tray to store all of the 10 products. The footprint is 32" wide X 31" deep, the height is 60", and it will be secured to the concrete pad on the inside with 4 bolts. It will have a bill validator, coin changer, and the Edge credit card system if desired. All the bells and whistles in a very small package that does not need a hole cut into a wall!.

We call this vendor "WHITE LIGHTNIN' and it will be shown for the first time at the Northeast Regional Car Wash Show in Atlantic City next week. So come by Booth #708 not only to see this new vendor, but to say "Hi" to Uncle Sam. This will be our first time at the Northeast show, so we look forward to seeing many of our customers and friends there.

You can see a picture of this vendor in the Photo Gallery by clicking on this link: http://autocareforum.biz/photogallery/index.php?cat=4 Click on the pix to see a bigger size picture.

Uncle Sam

 

[Uncle Sam]

Way back in April, 2009, we posted asking for input to help us in the design of a smaller vendor that would be targeted at those operators who don't want to inventory very many products or have smaller washes that don't do much with vending. Then at the ICA show in Vegas we were approached by a representative of a C-Store operation here is California that have over 100 sites with one in-bay automatic car wash, one vacuum, and usually an air machine on part of the C-Store location. He wanted to get into vending for the car wash, but only wanted 10 products in the machine. There is nothing available in vending industry for selling only 10 products from a computer-controlled glass-front machine. The cost of the electronics to make these small vendors work is the same whether one sells 10 or 60 products, so the demand in the vending industry in nil.

Then I remembered my post asking for input a year before and got one answer from a forum member using the name "Dirt". He didn't want to inventory many products and wanted only 6-8 products. So I took that input plus the C-Store input and the "carrot" of 100+ sales prospect and retired to my cave in August to let my dreams and crazy ideas ferment!!! (Along with glass of wine or two! lol)

"Look, Honey, I shrunk the kids"!! Again!! Just as before we squeezed everything down in size, added the bare minimum of parts to make it work, and we had a prototype high security, small, 10-selection free standing vendor ready to present to our C-Store man in early September. Our fabricator, Paul, took my crazy ideas and made them work in the real world.
The C-Store rep liked what he saw and ordered 2 for a trial installation. Those are to be delivered in two weeks.

We added a few features to this prototype and are showing this new White Lightnin' small vendor in Atlantic City next week. I know "Dirt" lives in Pennsylvania, so I hope you come to the Northeast Show to see this vendor that comes close to your requests.

Uncle Sam

 

[Uncle Sam]

Another color other than White??

No one that I talked to at the Northeast Show identified himself as Forum member "Dirt", so I don't think he came to see the new small vendor. Too bad!! I would have liked some input from him. Maybe he will read this post and reply.

Those that did come by our booth and look at the "White Lightnin' machine did ask me if it could be a different color than white. I said yes it could be, but the reason it is white is to brighten up the products that are in the trays and to cut down on window reflections and "mirror images" in the vendor window that are normal with the usual black interior. These vendors are built to be placed indoors and reflections are not a problem; you place them outside in the sun and reflections can become a problem for the customer.

I got to thinking about how to maintain the "white" interior for brightness and still be able to make the outside a different color than white. Powder coating a two-tone vendor is more expensive (not the object for building this vendor) and difficult to do without corrupting the colors. Then it hit me; we have separate parts for hanging the trays that can be white and the rest of the vendor can be any color the customer wants!!

There goes the "White Lightnin' name out the window, but we'll just find a new name like "Stumpy", or "Small Fry", or ????. Anyhow for those that asked about color; it can be done.

Uncle Sam