Taking delivery and placing your machine

The half hour around delivery is the cheapest time to catch a problem. Once the driver has gone, a shipping dent becomes your dent.

Before the truck arrives

Know where the machine is going before it lands on your curb. Moving a crated machine twice is how floors get scratched and backs get hurt.

• Measure the doorway, hallway and any elevator the machine has to pass through — including the diagonal, since a tall machine tilts to get through a standard door.
• Confirm there is a standard grounded outlet within reach of the machine's cord. Do not plan around an extension lead.
• Check the floor is level and solid. Thick carpet and floating tiles both cause problems.
• Agree with the venue exactly where it goes, in writing if you can. Verbal agreements move.

When the machine arrives

Inspect the crate before you sign anything. A signature on a clean delivery receipt is, in practice, you agreeing the machine arrived undamaged — which makes a freight claim much harder afterwards.

1. Walk around the crate and photograph all four sides, plus the top, before anything is opened. Photograph the shipping label too.
2. Look for crushed corners, punctures, water staining and a tilted or shifted load. Any of these mean you look harder.
3. If you see damage, write it on the delivery receipt before signing. Be specific — "crate crushed lower left corner, machine not yet inspected" is worth far more than "damaged".
4. Uncrate while the driver is still there if they will wait. Many will not, which is why the photographs matter.
5. Photograph the machine itself once uncrated, particularly the glass, the screen and the paintwork.

Getting it through the door

Use a proper appliance dolly with a strap, and two people. A tall vending machine carries most of its weight high, which means it goes over much more easily than it looks like it will.

• Strap the machine to the dolly before you tilt it, never after.
• Tilt it backwards, not forwards — the door and glass are on the front.
• Keep the tilt shallow. Past about 30 degrees you are relying on the strap rather than balance.
• Take thresholds and curbs straight on, slowly. Hitting one at an angle is how machines come off dollies.

Choosing the spot

Placement is the single biggest factor in what a machine earns. The same machine in two spots fifty feet apart can differ by a factor of three.

• Put it where people already stand still — near seating, lifts, queues, reception, waiting areas. Machines in corridors people walk briskly through do poorly.
• Keep it visible from the main flow of traffic. A machine around a corner is a machine nobody remembers exists.
• Avoid direct sunlight. It washes out the screen, heats the cabinet and fades product packaging.
• Leave clearance behind and around the machine for airflow. If it has a compressor, blocking the vents will shorten its life and raise your power bill.
• Think about restocking access. A spot you can only reach with a hand truck at 3am is a spot you will come to resent.

Final placement

1. Position the machine, then adjust the levelling feet until it sits solid with no rock. An unlevel machine can misdrop product and, on a glass-front machine, can bind the door.
2. Check the door opens fully without hitting a wall or fixture.
3. Plug directly into a wall outlet. Do not use an extension lead or a shared power strip.
4. Leave the machine powered on for at least a few hours before loading, especially if it is refrigerated and has been on a cold truck.