Vending is already a public sector political football, so we don’t need ‘poor performance’ against us in the penalty shootout, do we?
By Ian Reynolds-Young (pictured).
No wonder we call ours ‘The Nanny State’. The public sector has taken upon itself the task of healing the nation. What’s more it’s got its boxing gloves off and it’s fighting dirty. Out go the cuddly campaigns to educate consumers in matters of food, drink, heath and well-being; in come draconian bans on any product that fails to meet strict criteria.
By adopting a refreshments policy that owes more to Stalin than Jamie Oliver and by targeting vending for having the temerity to be so damned convenient, the public sector continues to raise the hackles of employees, observers and the vending industry alike.
I was sent a link to a story online at the Bristol Post by a Planet Vending reader (thanks Phil) and at first glance, it looked like another everyday tale of ‘local-council-blames-vending-for-disintegration-of-society’. You know the sort of thing.
In this case, a Councillor named Richard Eddy tells the Bristol Post: ‘the contract for vending machines at Bristol City Council’s main offices ends in July and staff have been told that snacks and confectionery will no longer be available in council offices.’ Same old, same old, you may well be thinking?
Then, Mr Eddy goes on to say: ‘it’s another example of where politically-correct prejudices are in danger of dominating the council’s strategic thinking’. And Mr Eddy isn’t done yet. ‘It beggars belief that senior management is actually spending time on lecturing our workforce on what they can or cannot eat while on duty. The on-site canteen has already been taken away, now vending machines containing a few tasty treats are to follow it out of the door. Where will this end?’
Indeed, Mr Eddy. I sympathise. Where will this end?
However, just as I was about to copy and paste a link from PV to this latest footnote in the history vending victimisation, I continued to read and was taken aback to discover that the remainder of the piece appeared to have veered off the usual script. Evidently, the Bristol Post had dug a little deeper…
‘The Bristol Post has learnt that the average takings per vending machine is about £17 a week for hot drinks and about £60 a week for snacks and confectionery. Some machines are barely used.’
Before we move on, let’s just read that bit again:
‘The Bristol Post has learnt that the average takings per vending machine is about £17 a week for hot drinks and about £60 a week for snacks and confectionery. Some machines are barely used.’
Bloody hell.
There was more: a council spokeswoman told the paper, ‘staff in Bristol City Council’s main buildings are being asked to comment on the use of vending machines in their building. The vending contracts are out-dated and are due to expire this summer. As the machines do not appear to have a high number of users the council is intending to review their entire use.’
No wonder the council wants to shake things up. Its targeting of vending might not be ‘political correctness gone mad’ after all, if these numbers are anything to go by. With sales like those, you fear for the cleaning and maintenance of the drinks machine; you worry what manner of ‘hot drinks’ is on offer? Are we talking quality of the ‘wet and warm’ variety here? Thirty pence per vend?
It doesn’t paint an appealing picture.
Wouldn’t a white-collar environment such as council offices be the ideal location for a vending suite delivering fresh food and tasty snacks? For a modern, bean-to-cup machine capable of delivering ‘go large’ ‘Italian’ coffees in 12oz paper cups with sip-thru lids for something in the region of £1.50? In short, aren’t locations like these crying out for a vending offer that matches the High Street for taste and choice, but trumps it on price and convenience?
Bristol City Council sounds like an opportunity that’s being missed. Who could blame the management if they choose to eliminate vending all together and therefore remove forever yet another environment in which a switched on operator could make a profitable fist of a vending service?
It’s a crying shame that the local Costas, Caffe Nero’s, Starbucks et-al are attracting business that really is vending’s loss.We have the machines, we have the technology. Maybe some of us just lack the foresight?
A bit of a downer, really.
Have Your Say: editor@planet-vending.com
