Almost everyone has lost money in a vending machine. You are thirsty or hungry for a snack and put your money in the slot. You may see a little waver of your item in the vending machine shelf, but it doesn’t drop. Your money is gone and you have nothing to show for it.
You may hit or kick the machine hoping to dislodge your item. You frantically push the coin return hoping to get your money back. Still nothing. All this hammering does is possibly damage the machine. There is also a risk that you can be seriously injured if you happen to dislodge the machine and it falls on you. On the other hand, there may be a way to prevent this frustration from happening again.
Advice to Customers
One secret to receiving your product and not losing your money lies in looking carefully at how the items are loaded in the machine before you make your selection. If the location of your item has one spiral, the front right corner of the package should fit in front of the spiral. If there are two spirals, the item should have both front corners in front of the spiral. If the corners are behind the spirals, the item will not get snatched and dropped into the tray.
Advice to Vending Machine Owners
If you are the owner of a vending machine, your customers may kick and hit and damage your machine when they lose their money and do not get their product. Some may even put an “Out of Order” note on the front of the machine which will lose you revenue as other potential customers walk away and do not buy anything.
Proper loading of the vending machine is vital to its functioning. Your employees or independent contractors who are charged with loading the machines must be sure to put the items in properly so the corners are aligned as they should be. If the loader is sloppy and puts the items in at an angle, your customers will lose their money, not get their product, possibly damage your machine and your vending machine business will lose revenue.
