Charity Boxes

[PabloV8Haggis]

Hi,

We are seeing less and less of charity boxes, how about you?

There is no doubt that they did a bit of damage to this line of business due to the attitude of operators

Pablo

[Siting Services]

Many sites I call still have 1-3 of them! I have not noticed any decline on the calling front but I have secured sites on the basis that they have had hassle with the trust boxes and the machines being secure.

My opinion of the trust boxes is that there will always be an influx of newbies coming into the market due to the low cost start up. If you look at the Franchise sites, there are quite a few of them on there for various snacks and charities and they do appear very attractive to the low investors to get into business.

Good to hear that you are seeing less of them Pablo! That will improve your business for sure.

Regards,

Barbara

[Snackmore]

They are still appearing in the Midlands must to my disgust.

It makes me chuckle when you have a site on commission and they have a box, I explain that they are just missing out on revenue but not sure they believe me, also I always ask how much goes to charity, the answer ranges from 68% to all of it.

I try and explain that 68% of profit may be nothing but it falls on deaf ears me finks

[Style]

I see loads, hate the things! My kids love FREE sweets though.

[cliffxtc]

A line which has worked for me is "take the box out and you can donate some or all the commission I give you to a charity of your choice".

[Quinch]

Still see loads of them in the North East, sometimes 3 next to each other. I despise them because (as mentioned by Steve) they claim ludicrously high profit percentages go to the charity when it's never more than 10p from each sale, but what annoys me even more is that they (around here at least) often claim to actually work directly for the charity or are happy to give that impression, when I speak to staff they often believe 100% goes to the charity.

One company simply called 'Charity Sweets' that has it's own employees rather than franchisees, actually deducts any losses from theft from what they donate! (read the small print on the bags of sweets and check out their website).

Some woman who does it round here actually started putting snooty little notices on the boxes saying the money didn't match the sweets gone and several sites have said to me she has directly asked them to make up the difference. What they often also do is put the box behind the bar in pubs and get the staff to actually sell the sweets for them.

There may be some of them somewhere that are ok but in my experience honesty box operators are giving the business a bad name. I would encourage anyone with a site that has them to put the staff straight about how much actually goes to charity and tell them they are not employees of the charity.

[Style]

Yep, "Charity Sweets" are probably the most successful and annoying around here too. (MIlton Keynes). I particularly like the sherbert Lemons!

[PabloV8Haggis]

My sales have increased marginally as sites have told charity box owners to sling their hook, especially when they ask them to make up the difference on losses. Love it!

[radical.richard]

Had three sites I put a new tower into today (8 total) that had previously had charity boxes, they were really pleased it wasn't an honesty system, all reported that stock had been taken, and two said they made up the difference, with one telling me it cost them £10 a month, and they were going to refuse the tower as their business partner had agreed the siting, until they heard that there was no way they would have to pick up the tab for stolen stock, and a big smile came over his face and said yeah mate put it in there. Quite a lot of the sites I have, do also have honesty charity boxes, but I also get the same vibe from them, in that not everyone pays. Should be some way on social media or other to get these boxes chased out of town.

[PabloV8Haggis]

Exactly the point I am making, people are becoming wise and appreciate it when the likes of us offer a service without any financial penalties for losses, we have seen many boxes removed absolutely love it!