The Vending Machine

In the cafeteria of a college dorm there was a vending machine filled with the best snacks. The owner of the machine was careful to make sure it was fully stocked every week. One day Johnny came looking to buy a bag of chips. He read the directions on the vending machine which said insert $1, then input the combo number corresponding to your snack of choice. Johnny inserted his money and typed the combo for his chips. The vending machine came alive and activated the spiral ring holding his chips. Johnny watched his bag chips fall to the bottom, and as he went to pick it up he heard two more bags of chips fall. Three bags for the price of one! Johnny felt blessed. He took the three bags of chips and went on his way with a big smile on his face.

A short while later, Kenny came to the machine looking for some munchies. He inserted his money and the combo and got what he desired. He too went his way, satisfied. Right after that, Danielle came to the machine and inserted her money and the combo. Nothing happened. She lightly tapped the machine hoping it would wake up, but nothing happened. Danielle walked away frustrated. Paul came to the machine and entered his money and combo. The machine came alive and the spiral ring started moving. However, his snack failed to drop. Paul kicked and shook the machine in the hopes that a little encouragement might get his snack to drop, but nothing happened. Paul decided to try again using the logic of getting two snacks this time. Once again the spiral ring moved, but nothing dropped to the bottom. Paul fumed and decided to send in a complaint to get his money back. He submitted the info on the designated card and put it in the envelope on the side of the machine. The envelope said that the owner responded to all complaints, which made Paul feel better about the situation.

Johnny told his two roommates about his good fortune with the machine so they decided to try their luck. Both roommates came back with extra snacks and were elated. They thought this was the best vending machine ever. At the end of the week, the owner came to refill the machine, collect complaints and count the money. He counted a profit of over $200 and one complaint. The owner considered it to be a good week.

The next week, Johnny and his roommates bought more snacks from the machine and each time they got more than what they paid for. Paul came back to the machine, certain that his complaint was heard and the machine was fixed, confidently put in his money. Once again nothing came out. Paul started kicking the machine. Johnny and his roommates walked up behind Paul and stopped him from assaulting the machine. Paul explained that the machine was broken and kept taking his money. Johnny and his roommates told him about all the extra snacks they’d been getting so maybe it’s not that bad. Undeterred, Paul grabbed another complaint card and started writing. Chad, one of the roommates, stopped Paul and offered to try to get some snacks for him. Paul agreed and watched as Chad inserted his money and combo. Three snacks fell to the bottom. Paul couldn’t believe his eyes. Paul thanked Chad and gave him one of his three snacks.

Just then, Danielle came and noticed people with snacks in tow and was convinced that the machine did indeed work. She put in her money and the machine did nothing. Danielle felt duped and kicked that machine so loudly that Johnny and Chad turned around. Danielle started to write a complaint. Johnny decided to intervene because he knew there was nothing terribly wrong with the machine. Danielle told Johnny that the machine never works. Johnny suggested that maybe there was something wrong with Danielle’s money, to which she pulled out her dollar and gave it to Johnny who compared it to his own money. Johnny then used Danielle’s own money to put into the machine. The machine came to life and delivered the goods. Danielle was dumbfounded but still submitted her complaint. She thanked Johnny for his assistance and went her way. At the end of the week the owner came, refilled the machine and did his counts. He beamed as he collected a profit of $250 with three complaints.

The following week saw more of the same for Johnny and his roommates. They spent more time in the cafeteria because they loved the extra snacks. When the other students saw them with a table full of snacks, it persuaded a few to purchase snacks as well. Some got what they asked for, while others got nothing. Johnny started to wonder why and began to feel a little guilty for enjoying his abundance of chips and candy bars while others walked away from that same machine feeling cheated. He turned to his roommates and suggested submitting complaints. Chad quickly disagreed because he was unwilling to mess up a good thing. Tony, the other roommate, suggested that Johnny stand by the machine and operate it for everyone since there obviously seemed to be a user error situation. Johnny considered it for a minute but then decided that although he felt guilty about his good fortune with the machine, he didn’t have time to stand by the machine all day getting snacks for people.

Danielle grew ever frustrated with the machine and submitted another complaint. The only people she ever saw successfully getting snacks were men. She started to think that maybe the vending machine was equipped with a camera and purposely was being sexist. At the end of the week, the owner came and did his usual routine. He collected 4 complaints, and a $350 profit. He was ecstatic.

During next week Danielle decided to test her theory by observation. She sat in the cafeteria for hours at a time watching people occasionally use the vending machine. She eventually saw both men and women get snacks from the machine with no problem. However when Paul stopped by to grab a snack, the vending machine didn't respond to him. Danielle leapt to her feet and met Paul at the vending machine because now she was convinced that she knew what was really going on. Danielle confidently concluded that there was indeed a camera somewhere on the vending machine, and it was watching to see who was buying the snacks. It would work great for some but not for others. She told Paul that the vending machine was racist, and they needed to file complaints together. Paul reluctantly agreed and they placed their complaints in the envelope. Danielle decided to take things a step further by making a sign that warned people not to use the racist vending machine.

At the end of this week the owner came by and collected 7 complaints and $270. He also removed the obviously misplaced note on the machine about racism. He felt a little sad about the uptick in sales ending, but was still pleased to collect a profit.

Danielle returned to the machine early the next week to find that her note had been removed. She quickly replaced it and went her way. When Johnny and his roommates got to the machine to collect their usual haul of extra goodies from their favorite vending machine, they were confused by the note Danielle left. They moved the note aside and put in their money. Each roommate got at least one extra snack. They concluded that there was nothing terribly wrong with the machine, but just to make sure, they started to ask students to try to buy something from the vending machine. Some students got what they selected, some didn’t and others got extras. Excitement grew about the prospect of getting extra snacks and word got around the dorm about the unpredictable snack generator. A small crowd gathered around the vending machine and students let out cheers whenever someone got an extra snack or two.

At the end of the week, the owner removed the note and refilled the machine. He collected 10 complaints and a profit of $500. He went home, celebrated and made plans to invest in another machine.

The frenzy over the vending machine kicked up early in the next week. Danielle walked in the cafeteria and saw the crowd. She assumed they were all making complaints about the crappy machine until she started hearing cheers. Curiosity led her over to the crowd where she found students taking turns to see what the vending machine would give them. When the next student, who happened to be of color, put their money in and ended up empty-handed, Danielle jumped in and declared that the machine was racist. This surprised the students and made some giggle. Danielle repeated her claim and offered to prove it. She inserted her money and pressed the buttons. To her surprise, the machine came alive and the spiral ring started moving. She gasped. The spiral ring started to jerk a bit before it stopped, leaving her snack less yet again. Another student of color put their money in and nothing happened for him as well. A fourth minority student took their chance with it, but it made a weird noise and stopped.

Chad walked into the cafeteria and over to the machine after he noticed the crowd. They informed him that the machine was equipped with a camera so it could be racist. This made him laugh. The students of color went on about how they witnessed it not work for them, but work for other students. Chad told them that machines couldn’t be racist, but the crowd wasn't convinced. Danielle volunteered another dollar to prove her theory to Chad. The machine groaned and gave up. Chad then put in a dollar of his own and typed in his usual snack combo. The machine came alive and Chad's eyes widened as he held his breath. The spiral ring started to move. Then nothing. Chad exhaled and faced the crowd. They all agreed that the machine was just broken and individually filled out complaints. Satisfied with their action, they went about their day. At the end of the week, the owner came. He counted 20 complaints and happily collected a profit of $200.

By the next week, word had gotten around that the machine was broken, so very few students dared to risk their money. The owner came on his usual day and collected zero complaints and $15. He was disappointed by the low profits, but assumed that the dorm had been closed for a few days for a school break.

The following week, the students avoided the machine all together and found another source for their snacks. The owner came and collected zero complaints and zero dollars. He was genuinely flummoxed by the downturn of profits. He started to poke around in the machine and found that the motor was going bad. He boxed up the snacks, unplugged the machine and left a note on it saying it was “Out of order and in need of repair”. He reached into his duffel bag and rummaged around in the foliage of complaint cards which caused some to fall on the floor. After a few moments he retrieved his phone. Stepping on the cards on his way out of the building, he made a call to the manufacturer to order replacement parts.