Business Enterprise Program Video Text

Narrator: "The Business Enterprise Service is a vending facility program sponsored by the Randolph-Sheppard Act. Working with federal and corporate facilities the program provides business opportunities for entrepreneurs who are visually impaired. Opening a vending facility to serve your employees needs only requires a small investment, space, and utilities. There are no costs, no bookkeeping and no management responsibilities and the return on your investment boosts employee morale, increases productivity, manages itself, and has a sole mission of customer service. Whether your business is located in public, private, or other locations, we can establish vending, full-food service or retail specialty shops for your employees at minimal costs."

Dennis O'Higgins (Supervisor of Field Operations, BEP Service, TX): "That's one of the strong points of the Business Enterprise Program, we have a group of professional people who will take all those worries and concerns off of the hosts shoulders. We will arrange everything from day one. We will submit a customized proposal, we will prepare the design layout, we will plan the menu based on customer preferences, we will buy the equipment, we will place the equipment, we will efficiently run the facility."

Johnny Warner (Manager of Field Operations, General Services Administration): "When you are in the private sector, you have a larger profit motive not only for the local area but also you have a corporate structure - a network corporate structure that looks for bigger and better profits. When you go through this, you are going through more of a small individual business person. The person who runs this cafeteria is also the owner so you get a person that is a small business and the government is trying it's best to help small businesses and this is one of the best ways to do it."

Connie Richards (Building Management Specialist, General Services Administration): "Most of the employees only have 30 minutes for lunch so a lot of them don't have time to go outside the building, get something to eat, and get back within 30 minutes, so whenever you have a food service facility right here in the building, it makes it so convenient for the employees just to run up here and get their lunch, or chips, or drinks, or whatever it is they need to get. It's less wasted time from their work."

Johnny Warner (Manager of Field Operations, General Services Administration): "It's providing a service for my tenants and that is drastically needed, because in a lot of areas our facilities are not located in the area where most food establishments are located. If you notice our downtown area, you have office buildings and you have restaurant areas and they are usually several blocks apart. In our case, we are probably 6 or 8 blocks from the main area where the restaurants are. That presents a problem for our employees that have a limited amount of time for lunch to make it to those places, get their meals and come back. This provides a handy alternative."

Thomas Dixon III (Associate Director, Personnel, Maryland Auto Insurance Fund ): "Bottom line, we have employees that are happier, they're more productive and they enjoy a thing that has been given to them by us, which is a minor service as far as we are concerned, by allowing this program to operate here."

Narrator: "Whether you decide to install vending machines, snack bars, cafeterias, or gift shops, each service facility is managed by a highly qualified, trained and licensed professional."

Lloyd Buckner (Chief, Randolph-Sheppard Vending Facility Program): "We have a three-pronged training program. Our first, that we refer to generally as our theoretical, is classroom. Step one - your bookkeeping, your inventory control, your food maintenance, healthcare, sanitation course work - purely, theoretical."

Jack Davis (Director, Tennessee Business Enterprise Program Service): "The training involves very detailed study of financial analysis. We think that's very important for a small business manager to be involved in so that they can pinpoint the problems that may exist in their facility and if they are not making as much money as they ought to be making and they realize what the difficulties are they can apply the formulas that they learned and do an analysis of their business, tell what the problems are, and get them corrected."

Lloyd Buckner (Chief, Randolph-Sheppard Vending Facility Program): "Then we have on the job training where we actually assign a vendor to work in a facility with our training coordinator on a day-to-day basis. Then from there, they go to a mentor ship program where they work alongside an established manager. There are certain things unique that a manager can teach them such as cash handling techniques. We train that also, but again they learn from their peers and it's called the mentor ship."

Dennis O'Higgins (Supervisor of Field Operations, BEP Service, TX): "The business consultants of the program - the BEP consultants who also work with continuous on-site visitations and management services to both the manager, as well as for the host. We provide constant updates on what's new on the market, we constantly come in and inspect the facility for sanitation, cleanliness, friendliness and we point out any inconsistencies to the managers themselves for corrective action."

Thomas Dixon III (Associate Director, Personnel, Maryland Auto Insurance Fund): "We open officially open at seven and they are in here at six preparing all of the food and they are taking care of anything that needs to be done with that. They take care of their own equipment. If they have a problem with equipment that breaks down or needs to be replaced, they do that. They don't come to us and say "hey, what are we going to do boss?" because they are not our employees. We don't have to worry about hiring them, disciplining, firing, anything like that - they are very valuable to us.

Gene Hiesler (BEP Facility Manager): "I think first, probably, you've got to get a grasp on your customers, what their needs and wants are and build your personnel around the needs of your customers. My people here know if somebody walks up to the counter what they want and how they want it. That makes a big difference."

Veronica Holt (BEP Facility Manager): "Many times during the day - and almost every day - people come down to get cards and gifts but I listen to my customers and when they ask, if it's something that I can do, I try to bring in things they ask for."

Mary Gaskins (BEP Facility Manager): "That's the business. That's the whole business, the customer. That's our livelihood. That's what keeps us going."

Lloyd Buckner (Chief, Randolph-Sheppard Vending Facility Program): "As each facility takes on the complexion of the building that it is in and the people that it helps to serve, this makes it more harmonious with the facility itself. The service can then be tailored - unlike the standard franchise or chain - it can be designed to cater to more specifically to the building occupants themselves."

Thomas Dixon III (Associate Director, Personnel, Maryland Auto Insurance Fund): "We can do a complete market analysis of the operation before we even get started. We can try to find out what the personalities of the customers are, what the personality of the organization is, what the hobbies, likes and dislikes of the customers are so we can gear a menu to that particular type of clientele. We also customize the hours of operation for convenience to the hosts and to the customers. It's a fantastic deal. It's a win-win situation. The host organization has a wide variety of facilities that we could provide - anything from a snack bar service to full-service cafeterias, to gift shops, to concession stands, to vending-only operations. Employees win because they get professional quality food at a reasonable price, and we win because we provide employment to a blind individual which helps his self-esteem and puts him back on a road to success where he can function in the business world as a tax payer."

Narrator: "With more than 3800 facilities across the country, the Business Enterprise service program grosses over 400 million dollars annually and pays millions in state and local taxes. We believe our success is directly related to our number one priority - customer service. We invite you to become a part of our Business Enterprise service program."

Tony Lawless (BEP Facility Manager): "I think this is about the only way I could have ever been in a business of my own with an opportunity to contribute to - not only to my own well-being, but to the well-being of my employees - the people that I serve in the business. I'm totally sold on it and I think it's the greatest program going."

Laura Black (BEP Facility Manager): "I need to say the bottom line is that this gives you independence."

Gene Hiesler (BEP Facility Manager): "We've got quality and we've got service and we've got people that can take care of practically any of your needs and we want to do it.:

Search Our Site Search Terms This is a very thorough search and may take a while. Please press "Search" only once.

This entire site is approved by: and and

Site last updated: Friday, December 16, 2005 3:06 PM For information regarding this site: please contact J. Roberts Site best viewed: 1024 x 768