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KickStart Rob Patterson Don't Waste Your Money (Unless You Like To Pay For Humiliation) Naples, Florida
KickStart got my business due to a recommendation from my salesperson -- and also, it was mentioned in a popular book about how to start a vending business... I assumed that it must be reputable.
Rob was very quick to return my phone calls -- and to take my credit card number, which he charged to his own personal account rather than to KickStart Locators or KickStart Locating Service, etc). He said he had an "in-house team" of vending locators -- professionals.
Starting with the very first location "Rob's team" emailed me -- a hotel -- the hotel manager was completely unaware that a vending machine was coming... This became a pattern. Rob promised that each location would be " contacted at least twice," and "ready for the machine..." Absolutely false.
I wrote to Rob about this experience, and he followed up in his typical fashion, calling me "partner." After this, he emailed me three very unsuitable locations.
1. An owner (of a small ethnic market) actually yelled "No!" while frantically gesturing for me to get out of his bodega. The machine was NOT what he was expecting at all.
2. Another small ethnic grocery store had absolutely no floor space available, and although the owners were nice... They didn't know what they were getting.
3. The third location was a one-man hair salon -- he worked very limited hours, and already gave away free Halloween-sized candy to his customers -- in a glass canister on his countertop with a sign saying "please take some," which he told us, had been there for 27 years... He begrudgingly accepted the machine, but then asked me to remove it at the first service call. I made $2.25 total on this 3 location, day-long ordeal.
My question is: what are Rob and "his team" telling these potential locations?
A week after expressing my displeasure to Rob, and being assured that KickStart would "describe the machine," I was given one more location: an extremely small, very expensive Tapas Wine Bar -- with 4pm-9pm hours. This location was, again, not expecting a vending machine. The owner said he felt badly because he'd agreed to support our charity partner; however, he thought he was agreeing to "something small that could sit on the bar, unobtrusively." He had, literally, NO floor-space or employee break-room.
I received a refund from KickStart just today; however, I feel like KickStart wasted two months of my earning potential. More importantly, I felt a lot of stress, discouragement, and embarrassment from the experience.
After I read that others had experienced similar situations with KickStart, I realized that writing a report at rip-off report might prove valuable to others.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Greg
United States of AmericaDisagree
#2General Comment
Fri, December 14, 2012
I have used Rob and Kickstart many times. He has always come through for me. Not every location is going to be a money maker. Some of Robs packages offer replacement locations for a cost. I have tried locating on my own and it's not easy. Kickstart has gotten me quite a few very good locations. Yes, I've had those 2.25 cent locations also and I have gotten frustrated with the vending business, but I am rarely disappointed in Robs work. The first two locations that he got me refused the machines but he made good on them right away. You also have a right to refuse the location if you don't like it and Kickstart will find you another one. I have gotten some locations from Rob that I never thought would do well but ended up being my top locations. On the other hand, I located two on my own at a trucking company with 300 employees. I put one in each breakroom in the main building. Those two machines averaged not more than 7 bucks a month. That's 3.50 each per month. A lot of wasted time.
In the past year and a half I have found out that the vending business is not an easy business but I keep pushing. Remember, only 5% make it. 95% get discouraged and drop out. I want to be in the 5%. I am ready to get in touch with Rob again after the holidays for 20 more locations. My machines make more money on the street than they do in storage. Don't get down on Rob and Kickstart. Their job is not easy and they don't promise to make you a millionaire. That's your job. They are just giving you a "KickStart"
Greg