Adventures in Vending

The Pepsi machine in our office hadn’t been operational for a couple of months. It was an old machine that had been frequently broken down, but finally quit altogether. The repairman said that it needed a new motor, but that the machine was so old there weren’t replacement motors available. We needed a new machine. The repair guy said that he “put in a good word for us” to get a new machine. Huh? I know we’re not a huge money maker (~40 people), but shouldn’t they at least want to sell us some of their product?

The woman in our office who deals with such matters threatened to switch to Coke if they didn’t replace the machine. That didn’t happen because trying to get upper management to OK a decision like that is like pulling teeth, but two months later Pepsi finally gave in and delivered a new machine to us on Monday.

The Pepsi people exacted their revenge by stocking it willy-nilly. None of the buttons match up with the beverage that gets dispensed. Sierra Mist dispenses ginger ale, ginger ale dispenses iced tea, etc. And it’s not even consistent. Four times I’ve selected Diet Pepsi, and I’ve gotten, in order: Diet Pepsi, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi.

Well played, Pepsi. Well played.

7 Notes/ Hide

  1. cwj posted this