spatch

I just put a buck twenny-five into the Wheel O' Death vending machine in our break room.

I opened the little window and retrieved my bottle of juice product.

The vending machine display then flashed "WINNER" at me, and it gave me back my five quarters.

Ohhhh-kay, he intoned slowly, money in hand, while backing away from the crazy machine.

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From: (Anonymous)

I used to fill vending machines for several years, including those Wheel of Death machines that vend cold foods. The computer controllers in some machines have an optional feature to give free product after so many numbers of vends and the display flashes "WINNER".

So getting a free drink or sandwich once in a while is a fun treat. I hope you enjoyed your freebie.

Most vending machines also have the ability to be set for what is called Free Vend so that everything is free. The display usually flashes "NO MONEY REQUIRED" or something like that (I forget exactly). For some reason, that has a tendency to confuse people, too. I had a couple of locations that would have scheduled free vends because the employer would pay the tab or the cost would be split between the employer and the vending company. It's kinda nice to get free coffee at holiday time, etc.