Who stocks, services, and repairs the machine?

Restocking

A route driver visits on a set schedule, typically weekly or biweekly, and more often at high-volume sites. Your team does not order, receive, count, or shelve anything.

Good operators adjust the product mix based on sales data rather than restocking the same planogram forever. If an item does not move at your location, it should be replaced within a cycle or two.

Repairs and downtime

The machine is the operator's asset, so repairs are the operator's cost and responsibility. What you should ask about is response time. A reasonable commitment is next business day for a machine that is down, and same day for anything affecting refrigeration.

Your maintenance team should never be asked to open, service, or troubleshoot the equipment.

Cleaning and appearance

The exterior and interior of the machine are cleaned on the service route. Your janitorial staff handles the floor around it, the same as any other fixture.

Refunds and customer issues

Modern cashless machines handle most refunds automatically, and the operator should provide a phone number or QR code on the machine so users contact them directly instead of your front desk. Confirm this before placement. A machine that routes complaints to your staff has quietly transferred work to you.