The Vending Machines
posted on march 3, 2004, tag: work
There's this strange reaction I get every time I use the vending machines in the central office of my company. There are two machines; one serves canned Pepsi products, the other miscellaneous snack foods. They live in the copier room of said office, among a collection of giant copy machines, printers, fax machines and recycling bins.
I work on the other side of our floor, in the smallest of two smaller offices. Occasionally, rather than waiting for the elevators and going all the way downstairs and back up, I'll stop by the vending machines to get a ginger ale and something small to snack on. (Today I had Oreo cookies for the first time in years. They were great, but that's not why I'm mentioning this.) Usually, the copier room is void of people and I'm alone when I purchase my goods. Everyone now and then, however, someone will be in the room or will walk in as I am making my purchase, and that's when the reaction occurs.
It's usually just a look. A long, staring, confused look, as if to say, "Why are you buying from those machines?" I glance back, casually, as if to reply, "Why for because they sell items. Why do you question me so?" Their stare continues unfazed, then they go back to their own business.
It would be one thing if I were the only person patronizing these machines, but I'm clearly not. The snack machine is constantly restocked, and frequently low on items. If it were just me slowly eating my way through the whole machine, the stares would be warranted. But other people are buying too.
Perhaps one day I'll bump into another vending machine user. Until then, I guess I'll continue to suffer the curious stares of the confused, non-vending-machine-using bastards. They're just fruit snacks! You've seen them before!
Comments
There are 2 comments, comments are closed
Steve on 03/05/2004:
Maybe it's a non-paying machine and they are looking at the guy who keeps on putting money in.
OR they are scoping you out to see if you are going to take the last pack or oreos.
OR they are just as confused in how to act in the always-empty snack/copy room as they are mad they can't copy their own ass now that you are there.
Brian on 03/10/2004:
I use vending machines too. Except the ones that I use are in my dorm and it's about 6:00 in the morning — when no other restaurant is open.
The items in the vending machines here, at SJSU, are kind-of expensive. At any grocery store, you can get the same thing for a fraction of the cost.
That said, I think vending machine operators need to consider that piece of information. I think they lose a lot of business over-charging for their items. However, placing one inside a dorm makes it all too convenient as opposed to walking down the street.