Automatic Merchandiser - 42

Brandon Cobb, Matthew Cobb, and Dave Menschik stand outside the Acme office.

us long enough that he is a third
son - I have two sons biologically
and Dave is my third," Tom said. "We
have very low employee turnover -
we have people who have been here
for 40 years. We treat people and
their families with respect. Obviously, that employee retention is very,
very important. It really travels from
Dave, the GM, down through all of
our employees."
Dave has been working in the
vending industry since he was a teenager. His father worked for Canteen,
and he started with Canteen in 1983.
He's worked with the Cobbs at Acme
for 18 years. One of his favorite things
about his role in this industry is working directly with customers.
"The interaction with the customers - I would miss that if I didn't
have that," Dave said. "I've gotten to
OCS route driver Jeremy Fischer is ready
to service accounts.

42

Automatic Merchandiser * August 2020

know so many people over the years
and have become really good friends
with a lot of my customers. Working
with Tom and Michelle, it is really like
a family here. The people are the most
important thing to me, and taking
care of them."
Michelle came from a corporate
environment 30 years ago to work with
Tom at Acme, and while that transition
was initially difficult for her, she loves
working at a family business that has
been in St. Joseph for several decades.
"You do get to know everybody,
and it's nice to hear stories about
Tom's mom and dad, and it's great
to hear stories about Tom," Michelle
said. "People have known this family
for years, and that gives you a sense
of pride that you're doing something good for your community and
you want that to continue on with
your family. I think that's why we
don't have turnover of employees;
we treat everybody here like family
and nobody wants to leave. They
enjoy coming to work every day.
Some days can be really stressful -
because, we are like family and we
get mad at each other - but we all
love each other."
"Closely held family corporations
offer their own set of dynamics, of
course," Tom added. "For me, it's about
being a second-generation business

People have known this
family for years, and
that gives you a sense of
pride that you're doing
something good for your
community and you want
that to continue on with
your family."
Michelle Cobb, CFO,
Acme Music & Vending Co.

owner and having my sons be thirdgeneration and preserving the legacy
that my parents worked so hard to
establish and maintain. The sacrifices
they made every day for the business
were very important for our family,
and for the industry."
Tom enjoys being able to come
to work every day with his wife and
sons, and with Dave and the rest of
Acme's employees.
"For me, it's knowing that we're
servicing a wide variety of customers
and taking care of those folks every
day," he added. "And we do it with
24/7 service. We never close. That's the
thing that separates us: the service." ■
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