Who’s still working

[JavaGreen]

Well done to you guys and anyone else for supporting the front line/nurses..... respect.

[Coin Operated Group]

corner shops are allowed to open, vending machines are not on the order to close list.

But probably safest just to give my name anyway

[Quinch]

In the week after the pubs were told to close I rang every site just to touch base with them then prioritised what I consider my high risk sites and removed the cash and in some cases also the stock and the coin tray door to make it really obvious there is nothing of value in the machine worth stealing. I also (where possible) moved every machine that was within view of a window, so I've got them in cupboards, cellars and back rooms etc.

I basically prioritised sites like this:

No one living above the pub or on-site?
No shutters?
Isolated area/bad neighbourhood?

All of the above? = high risk

I called everywhere in advance to check they were ok about me coming, wore a mask and gloves and kept my distance. Almost every pub and club had had the bandits emptied and opened to show they were empty as these are almost always the no.1 target for burglars. Loads of places had also removed the optics and also any spare bottles of spirits lying around and I was told the police had actually recommended they do this.

It was a lot of hassle to do this and it took me all week just to do the high risk sites. It may seem a bit overkill but I know from personal experience that people will break in just to steal a sweet machine. Hopefully this will all be over in a month or two but it may be longer so I thought it would be better to make the machines as secure as possible.

I have a kind of 'hope for the best, prepare for the worst' attitude to most things in life