2001connections-article0010 What’s the deal with candy dispensers in store lobbies?

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2001connections-article0010
What’s the deal with candy dispensers in store lobbies?

In many or most department stores and supermarkets which I have visited, the doorway is partially obstructed by some low-tech vending machines. These appliances often offer bubble gum and assorted sweets. Sometimes durable goods in addition to food products. Distribution of edible commodities in this manner seems most problematic. Overall, this scenario is wrong on so many levels, I don’t know where to start. So, I am actually going to number and list the various bad points in detail, one by one.
    [[01]] Often missing list of ingredients. What if peanuts or traces thereof are present in certain items, for example? Various food components may present allergy hazards for some persons, to say the least.
    [[02]] Missing key info, such as
[02A] production date        [02B] “best before” date        [02C] “destroy after” date
[02D] origin of goods

Who knows when, where these goods were made? By whom? Which company? What country?

    [[03]] Missing key info, such as: weight, volume, quantity, essential measurements.
    [[04]] Hygiene: if the food products are sold loosely without any packaging, the health inspectors might be interested in checking this situation. The edible commodities directly touch the interior of the globe or bulkhead of the dispenser, as well as the exit chute, and possibly other surfaces of questionable cleanliness. And you the consumer are expected to ingest these goods?!?!
    [[05]] Upkeep: how often are these machines checked, cleaned, maintained, repaired, replaced by the supplier and/or by the store?
    [[06]] Checkup: with what frequency do health inspectors examine these devices and the food products contained in them?
    [[07]] Freshness and rotation: how often do you ever see a person buying some food products from these vending machines? How long do the goods sit there, essentially in storage? Did you ever see the merchandise being replaced if it happened to go bad because of excessively long storage?
    [[08]] Misuse of precious floor space. This last point may be the most subjective and debatable. But it represents my favourite complaint in this context. The limited area between the inner and outer doors of the store should contain some obvious and useful customer convenience items, such as payphones and benches. Indeed, I find the most notorious lack of benches in store lobbies which contain a conspicuous excess of assorted vending machines. To make matters worse, some signs are present which read “No loitering”. What a lousy attitude towards consumers!! Suppose you have finished shopping at the supermarket and called for a taxi from the lobby, using a payphone or cellphone. If the drivers are quite busy and there are no benches in the lobby, you might have to stand, like a post, for perhaps 20 minutes or whatever time, maybe longer, before the taxi company sends a car for you. And curiously enough, the lobby space which looks like it should contain some benches, is instead cluttered up with product dispensers, and often also some flower pots or the like. Locating plants in this manner seems particularly out of place. Install some benches instead!!
    Once more, the need for more effective legislation and enforcement is clearly evident, to strengthen the rights of consumers as well as to compel retailers to clean up their act.

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2001connections-article0010
What’s the deal with candy dispensers in store lobbies?

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