Consider this scenario: your customers order five cans of soda and five snack bars, but your vending machine bill acceptor fails. What a shame! Instead of offering convenience, your service provides frustration, which is a big NO in a business.
A faulty bill acceptor impedes your company’s success. So, if the machine refuses to accept the money, how can you gain profit? Thus, it is essential to regularly check vending machine bill acceptors to continue operating at peak efficiency.
And it is unavoidable that the bill acceptor will crash from time to time. So, knowing a trustworthy vending machine bill acceptor repair professional is critical.
Why Should You Interact with Them?
Keeping the contact details of a reputable vending machine repair company gives you peace of mind knowing that your business will not experience downtimes that significantly affect your operations. Each component of the bill acceptor is subjected to quality control, ensuring that the machine can once again accept cash and stored-value card payments without issue.
Before entrusting your vending business to a repair company, learn how they calculate repair costs. Is the fee affected by the time interval? Are there any extra charges? Is the price proportional to the severity of the damage? It pays to understand how they calculate the costs of repairing a vending machine bill acceptor to ensure you don’t pay any hidden charges.
What Is a Bill Acceptor?
Before delving into factors affecting the bill acceptor repair cost, you should know what a bill acceptor machine is.
In its most basic form, it accepts bills, and it serves the same purpose, which is to get and validate money as currency in exchange for a product from a vending machine. This process takes about 2 to 3 seconds, from receiving the bill to validating and recording the transaction.
What Factors Influence Bill Acceptor Repair Prices?
Now that you’ve learned about bill acceptors, let’s look at the factors influencing the costs of vending machine bill acceptor repair. Here is a list of potential components that influence how a repair company calculates a vending machine bill acceptor repair
Cost Factor #1: Market Pricing
Repair companies can charge market-based rates. In other words, they compare their rates to what their competitors charge for comparable services. For instance, a company charges a high price for quick and efficient repair services and then lowers the cost compared to a competitor’s pricing.
For example, if one company charges a higher fee for a bill acceptor’s runner belt damage, the other repair shop may reduce their fee to one dollar to attract more customers.
So, to determine the exact cost of each repair service, it is best to conduct cost mapping on every shop near your vending machine location.
Cost Factor #2: Time Invested
Aside from market pricing, the repair costs can be influenced by the time spent providing services. The more time maintenance specialists spend on the project, the higher the amount they charge. This is also known as the hourly-based rate.
Every hour spent on vending machine bill acceptor repair is equivalent to the agreed-upon hourly rate. In other words, if the repair company charges $20 per hour and it takes them 6 hours to complete the project, you will have to pay $160 for repair service.
Most bill acceptor repairers track their work duration to ensure they complete a project on time. And it is entirely up to you whether you choose to work with a repair company that offers dynamic pricing.
Cost Factor #3: Project-Based Pricing
This is in contrast with the hourly-based pricing strategy. Repair companies use this project-based pricing method because they are confident in the specifications and scope of the problem. Hence, they can provide a fixed price per project-based repair for the bill acceptor, setting a clear expectation for vending machine owners.
So, before you agree to have your vending machine serviced, understand the pricing details and the time frame for completion.
Cost Factor #4: Client’s Perceived Value
You understand the significance of how customers perceive your vending machine business. And the same thing occurs in the repair industry. Regardless of how low or fair the price they charge, how customers value the services determines the repair cost range.
Basically, what this means is that you are a potential market for them. The cost of repairs varies according to how much the majority of the target market is willing to pay. A value-based pricing strategy is based on how much you value their service.
As someone who needs bill acceptor repair services, you should expect the repair company to quote you a price that is mostly in line with your expectations for their services. Furthermore, this pricing method includes how other vending machine owners perceive the repair company.
Thus, it would be best to ask other vending machine owners how certain repair specialists charge them for the same service.
Is it always about damage when a bill acceptor refuses your money?
No. Sometimes, a bill acceptor appears to be damaged (though it is not) due to money or dollar bills denied by the machine.
So, how does this occur? TCN Vending Australia has compiled a list of the top reasons why your money is rejected by a vending machine’s bill acceptor, which are as follows:
- Money quality, such as faded, dirty, or damaged dollar bills;
- Bill authenticity (recognised by the country or state);
- Specific denomination notes;
- Damage belts; and
- Insufficient change.
Your Vending Machine Bill Acceptor Repair Is in Good Hands with TCN Vending!
When you start noticing minor errors in your bill acceptor, it’s time to consult experts like the team of TCN Vending Australia. We provide you with an apparent reason on why, what, and how the machine problem happens. And if it needs a replacement, you can never go wrong when you buy a new bill acceptor from us.
We are reputable in offering the best set of vending machines and bill acceptors in Australia. So, if you need help, call us today on 1800 959 910.