Honesty is the Best Policy?
One of the things I have been asked is, “Why Honor Snacks? People are not honest anymore.” Most people won’t build this business because they don’t have the guts to. I can show you how to overcome this major obstacle.
First of all, you get what you expect. If you expect people to be dishonest, they will be. However, if you deliver the best and expect the best you will receive the best.
As a customer, what do you expect? Do you want good or great service? Do you want a smiling face or just a grumpy voice over the phone? Do you want your complaint taken care of now or later? Think of how many products and services we buy right off the Internet. How much of our communication is done directly on-line? The Internet is great..hey it’s what I am doing now. However, there is a personal element that is missing when we do most of our communication in this way. That element is customer service.
Customer service seems to be something that is missing in business today. We move so fast and demand so much, we don’t often slow down to think about it.
When it comes to honesty, it is easier to believe it doesnt’ exist. That way, we won’t be disappointed when we have been lied to. Do you know there are over 254,000 books on the subject of honesty on amazon? Do you think our society is concerned about it? Yea, I think so. We all want to be honest, we want to do what is right.
Merriam-Webster dictionary says the following:
synonyms honesty, honor, integrity, probity mean uprightness of character or action. honesty implies a refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way. honor suggests an active or anxious regard for the standards of one’s profession, calling, or position. integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or pledge. probity implies tried and proven honesty or integrity.
Tags: Honesty
Here are some of the compliments we received over the years….
“Owen…Donielle does an excellent job. Always very pleasant.”
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Tags: Raving Reviews
HonorSnacks is designed to service those businesses with less than 50 employees. Large, glass vending machines cost thousands of dollars and can not be supported by a small business. Many of these business do not have a vending service. HonorSnacks provide businesses with 100 items and approximately 35 different choices replaced regularly to ensure freshness.
The benefits of HonorSnacks are low capital outlay for start-up, no more machines to break down, no late night and weekend service calls, no loss of product due to machine malfunction and no expensive repairs! The cash flow is tremendous! It comes fast and requires careful counting of your daily collections.
Our business was truly a family operation. My parents, my wife and my children. Yes, the kids helped count coin and sample inventory.
Tags: Family Business
Vendors enjoy getting together with brands (manufacturers) for a time of socialization at least once per year, sometimes more often. A time to unwind, tell war stories, share ideas and relax with other like minded people in the industry.
Mike Maddock has been in the HonorSnacks and vending business for over 30 years. He has probably forgotten more than most people will ever know about this industry. Join Mike as he talks briefly about his beginning in this business and enjoy his insights on where he believes the market will take us over the next decade and beyond.
[pro-player]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRZgUamO-5s[/pro-player]
Tags: Benefits, Life = Risk
I have found that sometimes the subtle difference in our attitude, which of course can make a major difference in our future, can be as simple as the language we use. The difference in even how you talk to yourself or others. Consciously making a decision to quit saying what you don’t want and to start saying what you do want. I call that faith. Believing the best, hoping for the best and moving toward the best.
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Tags: Subtlety of Language
In my years teaching people to be successful, I have seen that basically people break their lives down into two major parts: Wealth-building and the rest of their lives. Having done a lot of reflection on these two topics – wealth and life – I am coming to some new conclusions about how to perceive the two.
Until recently I thought that there was a significant difference in how we should tackle the two areas. In fact, I thought that the two topics should be addressed in almost opposite fashion.
You see, wealth-building is just math. While life — Life is art.
Think back with me to high school. Most of us were required to take math and most of us probably took art as well.
Now, think about your final exams in the two areas. Your math paper was graded on hard facts:
Ten times ten is always one-hundred
Thirty divided by three is always ten
Seven plus seven is always fourteen
Fifty minus twenty-five is always twenty-five
There is always just one answer in math. The answers are hard fact, set in stone. Math is a science. It is formulaic. You can know the outcome before it happens, every time.
But what about your final art project? Art is much more subjective. “Beauty,” they say, “is in the eye of the beholder.” There is no one right answer.
Think of the different styles of the famous artists:
Renoir. Monet. Picasso. Rockwell. Warhol.
Different people find different styles beautiful, and that is what makes art, art.
So how does this fit with wealth-building and life? Wealth-building is like math:
If you add $1000 to your retirement account each month and gain seven percent interest over twenty years, you can know now how much you will have then. It is math. If you buy a rental property for $200,000 now and it increases in value by three percent a year, you know exactly how much you will be able to sell it for in ten years. The beauty of math is in the knowing. You can work the system, set it on auto-pilot and the math does the work for you, and you know the outcome.
But life? Life is art. And that is the beauty of life. You do not know how it is going to turn out. Life, like art, is always changing. Different people provide different colors. When you make a mistake, you can go back, erase it or even paint right over it. You can change the scenery. Life, like art, is ever evolving, and what looks good to one person is of no interest to another. And that is what makes life beautiful.
Another lesson I think we can draw is that in life we should do our math, of course, but life isn’t made up of just wealth-building. Wealth-building should serve our ability to live our lives. Jesus, the master teacher, said that our lives are not made up of the abundance of our possessions. He didn’t mean that possessions aren’t good, just that wealth isn’t what life is all about.
So let me ask you: Are you spending more time on your math or your art? Do your math. Everybody should do their very best at their wealth-building plan so they can take care of themselves and their families.
But life is about the art. What does your canvas look like? What kind of picture are you painting? What kind of pot are you creating? What kind of statue are you sculpting? Take your time, make bold strokes, use brilliant colors, and make of your life the most beautiful masterpiece that you can.
In other words, do your math so you can focus on your art.
Tags: Do your math, wealth-building
For you history buffs, (like me) here are some important dates in Vending History.
In 215 B.C. the Greek mathematician Hero described a device used to dispense holy water in the temples of Egypt.
In the 1700’s English taverns had coin-operated Tobacco Boxes
1930’s Bottle soft drink machines cooled with ice first appear
1940’s Invention of the first coffee vendors….used for coffee and lunch breaks
1950’s Refrigerated sandwich vendors used to expand lunch menus
1960’s dollar bill changers! canned drinks vended!
1970’s vending sales top $10 billion…wow!
1980’s credit card devices introduced for use in vending
1987 Owen Larson opens Snak-hit – Snacks on the Honor System
2002 Clear Choice Revolution invented by Owen Larson – latest in small location vending.
It is amazing how far we have come in this age of technology. Each decade provides us with more opprotunity and conveniences. Have a great day!
Diane
Tags: Background
At the age of 37, Owen Larson sold his vending company and retired from vending operations in October 2001. Larson had experienced a wide gamut of challenges in his 15-year business career as a snack/soda vending/honor snacks Operator in Chicago up until 2001.
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Former Vending Operator Develops Machine For Small Locations.
Tags: History, The Revolution