Friday, September 16, 2011

Vending Machine Disappointment Accidentally Boosts Yakult Sales

I just have to share this email that Sander sent through... the very definition of vending machine disappointment and the reason for elevated green Yakult sales in the office.

“Feeling a sudden mid-afternoon craving, I rummaged through my pockets and desk drawer and managed to gather $1.25 in loose change... probably not enough but I’ll give it a go anyway.  Standing in front of the vending machine, the muesli bar that caught my eye was eliminated immediately ($1.40) but I thought a small tub of yoghurt might do it ($1).  I put in my $1, typed in the number (10) and gasped in horror as the arm flew straight passed the yoghurt and selected a green Yakult bottle.  How did this happen?  I found a perfect snack but ended up with a green apple flavoured Yakult and $0.45 which was completely useless!  Disappointed!”

This is an Asian vending machine quirk.  Instead of only having digits from 0 – 9, all the numbers are present (1 – 21).  So when you habitually punch in 1-0 for 10 (or any selection from 10 - 19) you'll end up with a green Yakult in position #1.  I bet the vending machine company doesn’t understand why the green Yakult is so popular, and I bet there are stacks of green Yakult in the rubbish bins left by lots of hungry and disappointed people.


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