I'm staying at a hotel for a few days and after a late night jog I needed a bottle of water. The vending machine on my floor has one listed for $1.75. I open my wallet, pull out one dollar stick it in. I pull out the second dollar put it in. The machine spits it back out. A small corner of the dollar is missing so the machine doesn't accept it. I look in my wallet, no more dollars.
I hit the coin return which gives me 4 quarters. I go back to my room find 3 more quarters. Now I have seven quarters and one dollar bill with a missing corner.
Back to the machine I go. I put in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 quarters, everything good so far. I put in the seventh. It falls through the coin return. I try again, same result.
Thinking this quarter has a physical defect that the coin mechanism in the vending machine is picking up, I return to my room again looking for another quarter. Back to the machine: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6....7 "plink", it falls through the coin return. Aaarrrggg!
I hit the coin return and get all my quarters. I try again, but the first quarter I put in is the one that just dropped through the return. I drop in this quarter in a new attempt and "it works" --- "thunk" into the belly of the machine.
A quick look at the machine and I see the problem. All the other drink selections are listed at $1.50, only my water choice is $1.75. So it looks like the machine has all of the slots programmed to only accept 6 quarters even though the price of my water is 7 quarters. When you put the 7th quarter in, it falls through because the machine thinks it is extra money. Yet the price of my water is 7 quarters which I can't physically get into the machine.
Hopefully "digital convergence" allowing payment-by-handset will someday make it to hotel vending machines.
I hit the coin return which gives me 4 quarters. I go back to my room find 3 more quarters. Now I have seven quarters and one dollar bill with a missing corner.
Back to the machine I go. I put in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 quarters, everything good so far. I put in the seventh. It falls through the coin return. I try again, same result.
Thinking this quarter has a physical defect that the coin mechanism in the vending machine is picking up, I return to my room again looking for another quarter. Back to the machine: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6....7 "plink", it falls through the coin return. Aaarrrggg!
I hit the coin return and get all my quarters. I try again, but the first quarter I put in is the one that just dropped through the return. I drop in this quarter in a new attempt and "it works" --- "thunk" into the belly of the machine.
A quick look at the machine and I see the problem. All the other drink selections are listed at $1.50, only my water choice is $1.75. So it looks like the machine has all of the slots programmed to only accept 6 quarters even though the price of my water is 7 quarters. When you put the 7th quarter in, it falls through because the machine thinks it is extra money. Yet the price of my water is 7 quarters which I can't physically get into the machine.
Hopefully "digital convergence" allowing payment-by-handset will someday make it to hotel vending machines.
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