We'll See if You're Smiling When that Vending Machine Swallows Your Money and Spits on You

Filed in archive Buying Stuff on June 27, 2006

I recently got ripped off by a vending machine that took my money and did not deliver the Reese's peanut butter cup I desired. This has happened to everyone at some time or another. Of course what makes it so maddening is that you have no recourse when it happens--if you can even find someone to complain to, they always shrug their shoulders and say, "We don't don't own the machine, it's serviced another company." (Technically, of course, whether you're at a hotel, gas station, or wherever, they're being paid to keep that machine there, but the average employee doesn't know/doesn't care.)

Anyway, vending machine malfunctions aren't major financial crises. Sucks to lose a buck, but every once in a while one of the machines malfunctions in your favor and 3 Dr. Peppers come out instead of just one.

So why do I bring this up. Because I just read this Entrepreneur magazine article about these super vending machines from a company called Zoom Systems that dispense all sorts of much more expensive things--MP3 players, satellite radios, inkjet cartridges, cell phones, etc.

The article mentions that in some locations, returns can be made on-site if you get defective merchandise, but you have to believe that if these machines become widespread, every so often someone's going to push the button and nothing's going to happen, while their credit card is being charged for a $100 radio or whatever, and there won't be a human in sight to complain to.

If you've ever shaken a vending machine in rage after losing out on an 85-cent candy bar, just imagine how you'll feel when you've lost $100 to an unblinking, unfeeling vending machine that you know is silently laughing at you.