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Dear Marva Coursey,
Enclosed please find photos of our business. Jim and Phyllis
Dulude (his mom) are beside the delivery van in one photo,
and Jim is at one of the very good locations with two machines,
both of which have to be filled once a week.
Phyllis (my wife) is the money counter, banker, bookkeeper
and buyer. Jim is the technician, installer, warehouse man,
delivery man, and customer relations person. He sees that
the customers are happy and satisfied. He will make many changes
to accomplish this.
I am Bob Dulude, Jim's dad and I work on finding new locations
and financing.
We started
the business in 1998 with 11 complete machines. Today we have
17 complete machines and (1) snack machine . . . (all Antares).
Our goal is to increase the number of machines so that the
business will be a full-time job for Jim, with the independence
of being "his own boss".
We certainly were very proud and excited to receive the new
equipment. Jim, being very technically orientated found no
problem setting the first machine up.
The equipment
is so foolproof it is a pleasure to work with.
We
are particularly happy with (3) three locations that have
(2) two machines each. There, the people have a choice of
14 drinks and 18 kinds of snacks. It sure is nice to take
the money to the bank for those locations!
We have purchased a great coin-counting
machine from Italy that is a great time saver.
The business is becoming easier as we become more familiar
with every location, our suppliers, and the machines. Although
it is not an easy job physically, I highly recommend it to
keep in shape! Phyllis and I take over for Jim occasionally
and we both will be 78 in a few months.
Jim feels the job challenging from a logistical point of view
- he works as a machinist, which he finds a little boring.
He also enjoys getting out and meeting new people.
The
company has supplied excellent support to get started.
We did find our own New Hampshire
Economic Development Department also very helpful in providing
some specialized lists of 25-50 employees and also for 50-100
employee places.
Another thing that has saved time and improved the looks of
our machines is that we have developed a way to make our own
flavor cards. We purchased a Hewlett Packard Color Copier
190 and using photo paper with wrappers, cut cards, etc. make
great looking flavor cards. The truck is always loaded with
a file of all our products.
We are now all located in southern New Hampshire, where Jim
lives, and which is a very fast growing area.
Thanks,
Phyllis
Dulude
Bob Dulude
Jim Dulude
NEW
HAMPSHIRE
P.S.
Thanks for the flyers!
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