6
T he A
u t o m a t ic
A ge
Vending Quality Merchandise Is the Most Impor
tant Problem Before the Vending
Machine Industry
B y J. M. B u ckley
I f there is anyone m ore popular,
m ore h ighly regarded and m ore re
spected than O. D. Jennings, P resi
dent o f O. I). Jennings & Com pany,
C hicago, w e w ould like to find him.
T his reporter has ju st com pleted a
trip around the middle w estern states
and had occa sion to call on m ost o f
the vending machine m anufacturers
as w ell as m any o f the la rger job b ers
and operators in this territory and
w henever Mr. Jennings’ name was
m entioned a deluge o f com plim entary
rem arks follow ed . A n d too this flat
te r y came, to a grea t extent, from
com petitors doing business in possi
b ly the m ost intense com petitive field
in the country.
Mr. Jennings— or “ O. D .” as he is
u niversally know n— has succeeded in
building the m ost m odern u p-to-date
plant in the U. S. engaged in the
m anu factu ring o f coin operating ma-
chones. A trip through this new
plant is breath-taking.
I t has 75,
000 square fe e t o f w ork in g space
filled w ith elaborate and up to the
m inute m achinery used in m aking the
Jennings products.
“ E veryon e o f the three hundred
plant em p loyees” said Mr. Jennings,
“ with the exception o f the w atchm an,
is em ployed on a com m ission basis
and b y operatin g in this fashion our
h elp is m ore contented and w e are
able to realize mass production. This
is particularly time in our m int m an
u fa ctu rin g departm ent in Cleveland
w here w e turn out as pure a m int
made at a low er cost than an y m int
m anu factu rer in the U nited States.”
© International Arcade Museum
E fficiency is a w atch -w ord with Mr.
Jennings and at Sham burg, Du Page
County, Illinois, he m aintains a three
hundred and sixty acre dairy farm
w hich
is a m odel farm in every
respect.
“ W hile efficiency in m anu factu ring”
Mr. Jennings stated at one point dur
in g the interview , “ is a v ery im por
tant m atter to the trade generally,
because it brings dow n costs, there is
som eth in g else o f fa r grea ter im por
tance.
E v ery m anufacturer, every
jo b b e r and every operator should
kn ow by this tim e that the
only
reason the public has not taken to
vending m achines as it should is due
piin cip a lly to having received in ferior
m erchandise at som e time a fte r op er
atin g a certain m achine and then in
disgust turning against ev ery type o f
m achine. The operator to be success- 1
fu l must learn that his trade has to
be w orked up in this field the same
as in any oth er.”
“ The g ro ce r selling quality m er
chandise
continued Mr. Jenning's,
can be in a rem ote location and yet
e n jo y a g ood
volum e.
He
gets
people to com e out o f the beaten
path into his store because he has
given service and, m ore im portant, '
sold quality m erchandise.
Likew ise I
the intelligent op erator o f vending
m achines by k eepin g his machine neat
in appearance and seeing to it that i
the stock o f gum or peanuts is always
fresh can w ork up a profitable busi
ness.”
I t is in teresting to observe that
Mr. Jen n in gs’ theories co-incide with
those expressed by m any others in
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