josiison002
New Contributor
So it's like a vending machine, but you can pay with your phone? Isn't it possible that the inventory shown on the phone isn't the same as the inventory in the machine? What happens if someone buys something and turn out not to be physically available?
Hello Russell,
Our vending machines are designed such that only the products that are available in the physical vending machines are available for purchase in our mobile application. We also track available units in real-time - a product will immediately not be available for purchase once the on-hand units are sold. When this happens, we immediately notify the vending machine owner that they need to replenish the vending machine.
Here are answers to some other similar questions:
What if someone accidentally grabs 2 of an item they paid for 1 of, but puts the second back?
Our algorithm accounts for these types of edge scenarios - customer selects one item and picks 2, customer selects two items and picks 1, customer's credit card is no longer active, customer takes one or more items and puts them back etc.. We'll be happy to give you access to a full demo of how all these works if you are interested.
What if someone puts something in there that doesn’t belong?
If a customer puts items in the wrong section or puts an item that was never in the store, we will notify the store owner to place the item back in the right compartment or remove the item, and charge or penalize the customer as needed. Note that for most models, only the compartments with the product that the customer selects opens up. However, we know exactly where the item is and will charge any other customer that picks the item.
What if someone misunderstands and pays for one item but thinks they paid for everything they can grab?
Our algorithm accounts for this. In this case, the customer will be notified that they will be charged for all the items they grabbed. If the customer proceeds with the transaction, they will get charged. If they return the items (including putting the items in the wrong compartments), they will not be charged.
What if someone damages the other products?
If a customer damages the product and it is reported by the store owner with evidence, we will charge the customer. For unmanned locations, this is definitely a risk that we continue to develop/explore solutions for including offering theft, loss, damage insurance etc.
How do you handle defective/damaged products?
Are you asking about store owners selling damaged/defective products to customers or customers damaging the products? If the former, we will investigate any reported product defects/damages and penalized the store owners based on our terms of service.
How do you handle the vending machine malfunctioning and not allowing the customer to grab what they paid for?
We have the ability to remotely troubleshoot the vending machine. If the vending machine still refuses to work after troubleshooting, we will send a repair partner to the vending machine location.
How do you handle vending machine owners who try to cheat their customers, sell expired foodstuffs, try to use it to sell illegal items, etc?
We will investigate any reported product defects/damages and penalized the store owners based on our terms of service.
As soon as you think you’ve idiot-proofed something, there’s always a bigger idiot. There’s also always going to be people trying to cheat the system.
We totally agree with this and continue to explore all possible edge cases for theft that we may not have accounted for. This will be an ongoing process as we learn more about customers and store owners.
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