Roanoke, Va. -- The vending machine in the break room of the Supervisor's Office of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is performing well after it's first six weeks on duty.
The switch from the old machine, once covered in post-it notes warning users of money that had been lost or reminding people not to use pennies, would have gone largely unnoticed other than the fact the new machine spent the first week empty.
"It was kind of like a politician during an election," remarked one worker who refused to be named citing a fear of change. "It was all shiny and new and full of promises, like the 'See It, Select It, Get It' guarantee."
That guarantee, prominantly advertised on a label above the bill acceptor, claims to use sensors to track whether or not a product falls from its space, assuring the buyer they get what they want. While this prevents the machine from being shaken and abused by angry customers whose bag of Skittles are hung up on the delivery mechanism, it does not account for human error like pushing the wrong button for a selection. The coin return has also proved to be more reliable.
"I came in one day really wanting a bag of peanut M&ms," said one satisfied customer. "After I put the money in the machine and realized it was out, I was able to press the button and get all my money back. That wouldn't have happened with the old machine."
"Sure, it's easy to work when it's all new, but we'll see what happens after a couple of years," remarked a more skeptical bystander. |
