Over the past two weeks, a veteran vending operator presented his doubts about vending technologies introduced in recent years. Dominic Finelli, owner of Custom Vending Services in Beltsville, Md., expressed doubts about pre-kitting, remote machine monitoring, item level reporting, tracking column sales and cashless vending.Based on the number of podcast downloads, many of you listened to what he had to say.Some of you operators and technology providers alike asked me why we hosted these interviews.If technology is important to the industrys future, shouldnt we all support it?Why should VendingMarketWatch give a forum to a skeptic?My answer is twofold:1) Dominic Finelli is an experienced, successful operator who pays careful attention to his financial information, and he is not convinced the products being marketed will deliver the promised results.2) He is not the only operator who believes industry forums have not done enough to challenge the claims that technology providers make about their products. Many operators hold this view.I do not agree with the second point, but I realize many operators believe it, so I feel an obligation to discuss it.New technology tools are expensive, and they take a lot of study.Depending on a companys operating procedures, introducing technology can require changing established procedures. There is usually a lot of training involved.Introducing technology also relies on good communication between the provider and the customer.During the podcast interviews with Dominic Finelli, I invited all technology advocates to come forward if they want to answer the questions raised. Several providers took me up on my offer.They are preparing their responses.In the meantime, if there are other industry issues anyone feels need further exploration, please let me know.These podcasts are educational for all involved.
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NewAge Vending
