#1 Support
Your company has dedicated coaching, support and location teams. They don’t at H4U and said that everyone pitches in to help answer questions – owners, sales, admin. Did not inspire great confidence and I don’t see how they can possibly provide the support I would need in a new business I was just learning.
Company note – We have 23 employees with only five people in our sales department. The majority of our employees are involved in supporting our operators. Dun & Bradstreet shows that H4U has seven employees and their company recently verified this. Our location team alone is as big as their whole company.
You offered two location options so I can get really involved or not involved at all in picking locations. H4U could not do that.
I love your 24/7 support site so I can watch videos and get other great resources. H4U does not have anything like that.
Every new company needs a web site. You build one for me. H4U doesn’t and I would have to hire a company to do that.
You have a longer warranty and you include lifetime theft, fire and vandalism coverage for my machines. H4U doesn’t.
#2 The Company
I looked at the Dun & Bradstreet scores of all the franchises and healthy vending companies I considered. Your company has the highest score and H4U the lowest. Company Note – The Dun and Bradstreet Portfolio score measures how likely a company is to go out of business within the next 12 months. The score is 1-9. The higher the score the more likely they are to go out of business. Our company is a 2. H4U moved recently from a 4 to a 6.
It impressed me that you have been in business for 20 years.
You seem to be more invested in the healthy vending industry. I like that you designed your own machine. I saw H4U’s machine being sold by other companies with just a slightly different wrap.
Company note – we did indeed design our machine and no one else in the world sells it. H4U’s machine is a standard vending machine mainly used in traditional vending and is sold by several other companies using different model numbers. We designed our machine for the beginner, so all parts are plug and play and a technician is never needed. Over the years you can replace any part easily. H4U’s manufacturer will refer you to the closest certified vending technician when you need a part replaced.
I run several businesses so the software I would use to run the business is important to me. Your program is light years ahead of what H4U has.
Company Note – Greenlight (the program used by H4U and other small vending companies) covers just inventory in the machine. It does not track inventory on your shelves. It does not track where you bought your product or what you paid so you cannot run net sales numbers. It does not track sales tax or commission. It is not a vending management system but just a machine inventory system. We designed eManage specifically for HealthyYOU operators.
It was impressive to me that you built the first healthy machine that was compliant with the American’s with Disabilities Act.
#3 Commission and ROI
Your track record for helping find locations where no commission is paid to the location is huge. H4U said to count on paying 10% in most locations. Since the product cost is about half of the sale price 10% of the gross comes out to 20% of the net. That is too much money out of my pocket.
Company note – To date, nearly 90% of the confirmed locations that our operators have secured DO NOT require any commissions paid out.
With better support, better locations, better management software, no commission and making extra money with the SmartMart I felt HealthyYOU would help me make more money than I could with H4U. And since your packages cost about the same this was a pretty easy decision for me.
#4 SmartMart Option
You guys have SmartMarts for food or non-food items. H4U has nothing like it.
Who wouldn’t want the ability to add additional revenue in locations you already have?
The gym and hotel versions are the most appealing to me but I would want the option of adding them in any location.
Company note – Additional SmartMarts can be ordered through the coaching department and added to any machine. Up to three SmartMart’s can be added to a machine. Our favorite SM story – a HY operator at a dance studio who sells inexpensive ballet shoes for people who forgot theirs and don’t have time to go back home and get them.
#5 Integrity Issues
Anyone who keeps having to assure me that they are all about honesty, integrity and transparency aren’t any of those things.
H4U said the HealthyYOU machines were made overseas but I went to the factory in Illinois and saw them being made there.
Company note – While our manufacturer has a plant in India for their Pepsi Asia business our machines are not made there. H4U knows they are made at the facility in Illinois. The Science Channel called the Illinois manufacturing facility where our machines are made the “fastest growing vending facility in America”. As you watch the Science Channel video know that most of the equipment shown is used to make our machines as well.
H4U said that you outsourced your location work but I met your location team in Utah when I flew out to meet with your company.
H4U said that they were the only company that could put machines on military bases but I talked to several HealthyYOU people with machines on bases. Why lie about something that is so easily disproved?
Company note – Scott Navidomskis, the head of our coaching department, has some of his machines on nearby Hill Air Force Base. One of our operators has over 60 machines on an Army base.
Other Differences Mentioned
The term White Glove Delivery is used by both companies, but they mean different things. With HealthyYOU my machines are in a local facility 21 miles from my house in LA and I can get delivery the next day. H4U said a machine would have to be trucked 1,700 miles from Iowa and to allow up to 30 days for delivery.
H4U puts their name and web site on the machine. The machines become a billboard for them so they get all the referrals. I appreciate that my name not your name is on MY machines.
H4U charges 3.5% extra for orders purchased with credit cards. They may not be used to having people buy bigger packages but if I am spending over $100,000 to start a business charging extra fees seems a bit micky mouse. Your company did not add this fee and neither did any of the franchises I looked at.
Every franchise I looked at had many customer testimonial videos on their web site. I saw the same thing on your site. Nothing at the H4U site. Seemed odd.
H4U’s site claims in big letters that they are the only company that has a machine with nine drink selections. Your machine has nine drinks. One of many mistakes I found on their site.
