South Florida vending/OCS veteran prepares for rebound

Having a long-term perspective helps during difficult times.

For veterans like Andy Kartiganer, owner of Professional Vending Services in Deerfield Beach, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale, COVID-19 is not the first challenging period for convenience services.

Having been in the industry since childhood (his father was a vending operator), the 64-year-old Kartiganer has seen his fair share of ups and downs, and stays busy preparing for the time when locations begin rehiring.

Riding the growth

Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, business was booming in South Florida, which for decades was one of the fastest growing parts of the country. Specializing in servicing automotive dealerships, Kartiganer's business more than doubled from 2007 to 2020 to eight vending routes and one OCS route.

In 2011, he became a Canteen franchisee through an acquisition, inheriting a slew of retail locations that further diversified his customer base.

Kartiganer had five micro markets scheduled to open right before COVID hit.

Route driver Flavio Olivera pulls his own products from the warehouse.

COVID strikes

Everything came to a halt last spring as car dealers began finding it difficult to get cars or parts.

"They (car dealers) have almost no cars on the lot," Kartiganer said. One dealer that normally had as many as 500 cars on the lot now has 50.

The retail locations, most of which were provided by Canteen, didn't fare much better.

"We stayed with it (servicing retail locations) up till May, when we just finally decided that we were never going to make money on these stops," he said.

Kartiganer reduced his employee headcount from 20 to nine.

To date, about a third of his accounts have yet to rehire laid off workers.

"The other two thirds that did (rehire workers) did not bring employees back like originally," he said.

"You see a lot of offices that once were gigantic and now they're down to nothing," he said.

Riding it out

Kartiganer does not see this situation changing any time soon.

"A lot of people are going to continue to work from home," he said. "Even though we're putting out more locations, we're not incrementally going up," he said.

Recognizing that consumers were making more online purchases, he invested in upgrading his website and expanded his use of Google ads to improve his visibility.

The online marketing has generated a lot of customer inquiries, he said, but most of the locations have not yet rehired most of their employees. Many people inquiring about service only have 30 to 50 employees.

Meanwhile, he has put some of his technology investments on hold.

The company has not upgraded to mobile phones for its route drivers and continues to use Streamware handheld computers that plug into the machines to download the DEX data.

"Right now, we're just trying to stay in business," he said. "Just the training, the cost – more the cost than anything else — it's a big job to switch over."

Drivers are still pulling products in the warehouse — Kartiganer has not deployed pre-kitting. Instead, a supervisor visits the locations to ensure the drivers are following the quarterly planograms provided by Canteen. In some cases, Kartiganer asks the driver to take a picture of the machines and send it to him.

"I've been doing it this way for 21 years," he said. "I've never had an issue."

Kartiganer acknowledges the benefits of the pick-to-light warehouse equipment, but it requires additional warehouse labor.

"I don't know that I would save anything by doing it," he said.

Route supervisor Angel Reyes inspects the inside of a truck.

Optimistic nonetheless

One thing Kartiganer has going for him, besides owning his building and his vehicles, is his optimism. He is encouraged by the leads the website is generating.

"We made it through the toughest part," he said.. "I think we're well positioned, but we have to wait for the world to come back. I'm very optimistic."

He is encouraged by the fact that the company has survived whereas others have not.

Once customers begin rehiring, Kartiganer will redeploy his coffee machines and point-of-use water coolers.

He has also been buying extra equipment to ensure he will have it when the time comes to deploy. He has been advised by equipment suppliers that it will take more time to receive deliveries.

"It used to be if we had a problem, you'd order the part overnight and it would come the next morning," he said. "Not anymore. If I need two, I buy three…If you have to get a board, it could be an issue. It can be pretty expensive these days."

Investing in the industry

Once business improves, Kartiganer is concerned about being able to find qualified employees.

A former board member of the Automatic Merchandising Association of Florida, he hopes to start a vending skills training program with a local vocational school.

"There's no real formal education," he said. "There's nobody that teaches you how to use a soda machine. There's nobody that teaches you any vending concept. If you're going to learn it you're going to learn it through the school of hard knocks."

He has shared the idea with local operators and most are supportive.

"There's nowhere to get new drivers," he said. "You spend a lot of money to train people and then they might quit a month later. Where are you going to get the next crop of vendors?"

Kartiganer demonstrates the importance of planning for the future even in light of a challenging present.

For an update on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected convenience services, click here.

Photos courtesy of Professional Vending Services.