We Ended 2023 With a Major FAILURE

A few weeks ago, I uncovered an opportunity to place a vending machine at a busy nightclub in downtown Guelph. Never having placed a vending machine in a nightclub before, I wanted to make an event of the unveiling and decided on New Year’s Eve since it was only a few weeks away.

I executed everything correctly. I found a modern vending machine suitable for the venue. I met with the seller and tested the machine, then arranged for pick up and installation on Thursday, December 28th.

Typically, machine installation can be difficult. They are large, heavy, and awkward to move. However, this installation went smoothly, and we had the machine off the trailer and into the club in less than 30 minutes.

Once the machine was in place, I plugged it in, and everything was working correctly. I planned to return on New Year’s Eve a few hours before the club opened to fill it up and take a few pictures for social media.

I was away from December 29th to December 31st on a family vacation so the machine would have to sit for a few days until I could return.

On December 31st, I arrived at the club as staff members were beginning to set up for the evening. I had about 2 hours to get the machine fully stocked and running before patrons would arrive.

The first thing I noticed was that the machine was lit up and powered on, but the LCD screen and touchpad were not illuminated. This was strange.

I decided to fill my inventory and then deal with the screen issue afterward. Filling the machine took about an hour. Once complete, I followed the advanced technology reset protocol of unplugging it and then plugging it back in.

Still nothing. Okay, not time to panic yet.

I started searching online for vending operators who have faced the same problem. But unlike in the past, I could not find a single video or forum post about the issue. Slight panic setting in.

Not having worked with this specific model before, I began frantically texting my vending contacts and repair guy to see if they had dealt with the same issue.

My repair guy texted back after a few minutes and said, “Oh shit, you didn’t buy one of those, did you? I had to replace the [control] board and a screen on one already. $1000 just for the screen.â€

Full panic sets in.

By this time the lights had turned off in the club and the music was blasting. So it was hard to think but at least the tunes were fire.

The repair guy also instructed me to check all the connections on the board, maybe one or two were loose. At this point, I headed back to the truck to grab my toolbox and when I returned to the club people were already arriving.

As I began dismantling the inner panels to access the control board and screen area, my phone started dying. I was using it for a flashlight and in my rush, I forgot to grab my headlamp from the truck.

I also forgot to mention that I had a New Year’s Eve party to attend that was an hour’s drive away.

With all this happening, patrons were using the ATM next to the vending machine and casually bumping into me and the machine in their intoxicated and carefree manner.

This is pretty much the worst-case scenario for fixing a vending machine. The lights were off, I had my dying phone for light in my left hand and my Milwaukee power tool in my right. I was sweating.

The time was ticking and, in the effort to dismantle the panels, check the connections (which were fine by the way), and then reassemble the machine, somehow the time ticked past 11 pm.

I did not fix the machine and I did not end up on the road until 11:20 pm. This resulted in video calling my loved ones from somewhere on a dark and snowy Highway 403 to participate in the countdown and wish them a happy new year.

So why should anyone care about this?

Well first, I invite you to laugh at my pain.

But seriously, we are all striving for something. Whether it is that next promotion, growing our business, or obtaining that degree, we will all suffer some failures along the way.

I don’t mean to fetishize failure as I much prefer success. But if we must fail, the key is to learn and not repeat the same mistakes. So, for your benefit as well as mine, here is what I learned from this experience.

1. Luck does play a major role in business.

This was not my first rodeo. I did everything right and still failed. This goes to show that you can plan and execute correctly but sometimes the universe says no. And that is okay. What matters is you tried your best.

2. Installations must only take place on Mondays and Tuesdays and never around a holiday. This is in case something on the machine must be fixed, you give yourself the whole workweek to source parts and complete the repair. It’s best not to have your customers waiting over the weekend. It might only be 2 days, but Saturday and Sunday seem longer than 2 weekdays.

3. Never schedule an installation or machine reveal on an evening when you have a personal, time-sensitive obligation. See above.

4. If you’re buying a refurbished machine, try to do so from a distributor and not Kijiji or FB Marketplace. Distributors will give you a 90-day parts warranty. Kijiji and FB will not.

Kayin Pepper

Vendture Foods, Founder & CEO