spent 4 bucks on nothing lol

[Brooke]

i'm going crazy i spent four bucks on a vending machine that didn't vend and still got charged (the item was two bucks but i tried it twice because i have one braincell) and i'm TIRED and HUNGRY and it isn't even halfway through the day
this post has no reason other than me wanting to share the mild pain of wasting money. i'll probably turn this into a get-to-know-your-characters question (what would each character in your story do if ___?) but oh well for now

 

[Barbara]

Did you shout at the vending machine? Might help.

 

[E G Logan]

Italian railway platforms usually have vending machines.
I have seen some real bad behaviour when nothing came out – but sometimes shaking them and kicking them has actually produced either the money back or an item.

 

[Brooke]

Italian railway platforms usually have vending machines.
I have seen some real bad behaviour when nothing came out – but sometimes shaking them and kicking them has actually produced either the money back or an item.

i did shake it very slightly, until i immediately realized that:
1. vending machines kill more people annually than sharks
2. anyone could walk by and catch me
3. a 5'3 child cannot shake vending machines

 

[Katie-Ellen]

i did shake it very slightly, until i immediately realized that:
1. vending machines kill more people annually than sharks
2. anyone could walk by and catch me
3. a 5'3 child cannot shake vending machines

Wise to stay safe.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

"Get a snack somewhere else," said by the guy who used to kick in the front of a machine if it cheated me.

 

[Hannah F]

i did shake it very slightly, until i immediately realized that:
1. vending machines kill more people annually than sharks
2. anyone could walk by and catch me
3. a 5'3 child cannot shake vending machines

I (5'2 1/4") have been known to throw my whole 7 1/2 stone body against them. Sometimes makes the item move a frustratingly tiny distance to where it could drop but still doesn't. I try again. A few times a big person has walked by, seen my predicament, and given the thing a proper throttle . . . item drops; I smile and thank the large angel.

 

[Brooke]

I (5'2 1/4") have been known to throw my whole 7 1/2 stone body against them. Sometimes makes the item move a frustratingly tiny distance to where it could drop but still doesn't. I try again. A few times a big person has walked by, seen my predicament, and given the thing a proper throttle . . . item drops; I smile and thank the large angel.

i see the beginning of a great short love story here!!
there is actually a dating simulator based off of vending machines... lol i'm getting flashbacks

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Me, too. Said the 6' guy who had learned to control his temper and dialed the number on the vending machine to let the owner know it was not working.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

In the US, the machines have phone numbers to call so they can reimburse your pittance and send a tech to fix the machine.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

i did shake it very slightly, until i immediately realized that:
1. vending machines kill more people annually than sharks
2. anyone could walk by and catch me
3. a 5'3 child cannot shake vending machines

A 5/3 child can do anything, but only in fantasy.

 

[Brooke]

In the US, the machines have phone numbers to call so they can reimburse your pittance and send a tech to fix the machine.

unfortunately it was at school, so i went to the front office and they basically said "too bad, so sad"
they didn't even put an out of order sign on it lol, i made one myself with a sheet of notebook paper, hopefully saving another poor soul from the same snack-deprived fate...

 

[Katie-Ellen]

No accountability anywhere.Computer sez no. School has facilitated petty theft. They owe you four bucks.

 

[Jonny]

Yeah, what @Katie-Ellen said. Has to be the school's responsibility surely?

 

[Brooke]

pfft i actually got left hanging because they stopped reimbursing kids who got cheated by the vending machines for that exact reason-- people were taking advantage of it and lying to get free snacks. tsk, tsk, ruined it for the rest of us

 

[KG Christopher]

You should always bring an old wire coat hanger with you when procuring over saturated salty and sugary snacks with instant names .'twix'..'lions' ...etc....if the machine does not produce the goods...you can use the coat hanger to enter the delivery flap...twist around..coax you desired snack to fall into the tray...and retieve it....Vending machines always fail ....late at night...and when its raining heavely.

 

[Brooke]

You should always bring an old wire coat hanger with you when procuring over saturated salty and sugary snacks with instant names .'twix'..'lions' ...etc....if the machine does not produce the goods...you can use the coat hanger to enter the delivery flap...twist around..coax you desired snack to fall into the tray...and retieve it....Vending machines always fail ....late at night...and when its raining heavely.

i might actually try that, though i'm afraid the cameras or the cops at my school will catch and stop me lol... not sure if a pack of pop-tarts is worth a write-up!!

 

[Peyton Stafford]

i see the beginning of a great short love story here!!
there is actually a dating simulator based off of vending machines... lol i'm getting flashbacks

The dating simulator story? Love to read it.

 

[Brooke]

i do feel obligated to add another vending-machine related story that happened last week, where it was a different vending machine. i entered the number and the snack didn't fall out, sticking up in an awkward near-falling position, but the machine sensed this and didn't charge me. i was still determined to get my snack, though, so i tried again... not only did my snack fall out, but another one for free!
i guess i did end up paying for it a few days later with the stuck machine that did charge me, though...

 

[Brooke]

The dating simulator story? Love to read it.

the game is called "onlycans" in reference to that damned site onlyfans, though i wouldn't recommend searching either of them up

 

[Peyton Stafford]

If you want action, organize a school boycott of the vending machines. When the owners see $0 profits, they will respond. I used to know a man who ran, who operated vending machines. His goal was a predictable income. He did not want controversy. He wanted the machines where people would buy from them. The evil comes in when the school depends on the machines to fuel the budget, and the administrators side with the vendor, not the students.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Where are you? Washington State?

 

[Brooke]

i'm in georgia. i don't think i could organize a boycott on anything, especially in my school, and especially on vending machines. people buy snacks before school, before lunch, after lunch, after school, and even during classes-- including me. the vending machine not doing its job was a rare occurrence, i'd say-- most of them can detect when an item doesn't fall and they won't charge you, just not the drink machines which were the ones i used.
it would honestly be an interesting social experiment to try, though. i find social experiments riveting, and i've always wanted to try one myself. i don't think vending machines that give you your item 99% of the time are good places to start, though. but thanks for instilling a seed of nonconformity in a teenager's head, it is our brand after all!

 

[Pamela Jo]

i'm in georgia. i don't think i could organize a boycott on anything, especially in my school, and especially on vending machines. people buy snacks before school, before lunch, after lunch, after school, and even during classes-- including me. the vending machine not doing its job was a rare occurrence, i'd say-- most of them can detect when an item doesn't fall and they won't charge you, just not the drink machines which were the ones i used.
it would honestly be an interesting social experiment to try, though. i find social experiments riveting, and i've always wanted to try one myself. i don't think vending machines that give you your item 99% of the time are good places to start, though. but thanks for instilling a seed of nonconformity in a teenager's head, it is our brand after all!

OK here's something free for you. You can't eat it, but it is pretty.

Jacquie Lawson Colouring App | Download on iOS

 

[Peyton Stafford]

i might actually try that, though i'm afraid the cameras or the cops at my school will catch and stop me lol... not sure if a pack of pop-tarts is worth a write-up!!

The machine should have a phone number to call, or someone in the school office should know what to do. Or not?

 

[Peyton Stafford]

i'm in georgia. i don't think i could organize a boycott on anything, especially in my school, and especially on vending machines. people buy snacks before school, before lunch, after lunch, after school, and even during classes-- including me. the vending machine not doing its job was a rare occurrence, i'd say-- most of them can detect when an item doesn't fall and they won't charge you, just not the drink machines which were the ones i used.
it would honestly be an interesting social experiment to try, though. i find social experiments riveting, and i've always wanted to try one myself. i don't think vending machines that give you your item 99% of the time are good places to start, though. but thanks for instilling a seed of nonconformity in a teenager's head, it is our brand after all!

This is not nonconformity. This is a basic business transaction. Business offers. Customer pays. Business provides. End of deal. Business does not provide. Fraud. But you are in the Confederacy...

 

[Brooke]

The machine should have a phone number to call, or someone in the school office should know what to do. Or not?

i don't have a phone, unfortunately, and the school staff didn't care enough to try and fix the vending machine :/ it'll probably be fixed by the end of next week though!

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Understood. So, what are your plans for your future. There's a lot more to the world than the Confederacy.

 

[izi 出久]

i'm in georgia. i don't think i could organize a boycott on anything, especially in my school, and especially on vending machines. people buy snacks before school, before lunch, after lunch, after school, and even during classes-- including me. the vending machine not doing its job was a rare occurrence, i'd say-- most of them can detect when an item doesn't fall and they won't charge you, just not the drink machines which were the ones i used.
it would honestly be an interesting social experiment to try, though. i find social experiments riveting, and i've always wanted to try one myself. i don't think vending machines that give you your item 99% of the time are good places to start, though. but thanks for instilling a seed of nonconformity in a teenager's head, it is our brand after all!

When you say Georgia, are we talking the US state or the country? If the former… aint boycotting our brand? Although I suppose could be different if not in Atlanta and particularly if on the border with the panhandle.

 

[Brooke]

When you say Georgia, are we talking the US state or the country? If the former… aint boycotting our brand? Although I suppose could be different if not in Atlanta and particularly if on the border with the panhandle.

the state, and i suppose so in the city, but not in the dainty little suburbs where i live. there's less protesting and social justice, and more neighborhood cookouts and lame high school parties.
in eighth grade, i put up some pride posters in the halls and stuff-- they were all torn down two weeks later. as depressing as it is, i don't know a single kid who would look twice at someone getting bullied, or worse. it sucks, but i can't do anything about it :/