Marsha Maung:: Freelance graphic designer and writer

I am sort of…no, right off the bat fuming because of a so-called intelligent vending machine provided by TIME Kontact. I’ve never, in all honesty seen a dumber vending machine. Ok, for all of you who are not familiar with TIME, TIME is a Telecommunications company offering a large variety of communication services from Internet to telephone services. Since I am not particularly happy with their services at the moment, I’ll stop right here. Don’t want to give them free advertisement.

 

Anyway, TIME provides a sort of vending machine that dispenses prepaid cards for our mobile phones. My maid wanted to reload her mobile phone air time and there just so happens to be one of those vending machines beside my Condo’s admin office. It said there, “Please insert exact amount. Does not return change”. Fine and dandy. This happens all the time everywhere, right? So, since my maid wanted to purchase a RM10 reload card, we placed 2 RM5 bills in (new ones, the glossy type) and the notes were instantly rejected.

 

That’s stupidity No. 1 – How outdated can a vending machine be when it doesn’t recognize Malaysia’s latest legal money format? TIME doesn’t even bother altering their vending machines?

 

Never mind, we placed a RM10 bill into the machine and then we realized that the lights on the machine were very dim. And we can’t see the ‘SOLD OUT’ beside the reload coupon that my maid wanted to buy. DAMN!

 

That’s stupidity No. 2 – You expect your customers to only buy your reload cards in the night time, is it? If that is so, place another warning sign there….”PURCHASE ONLY AT NIGHT. DIM LIGHTS ON DIM MACHINE!”

 

OK, so, since they are not going to return the money to us (can go in, cannot go out, right?) so, we have to buy something. So, I decided to purchase a reload card for MY phone this time. We carefully checked the lights and saw that the ‘SOLD OUT’ sign beside the reload card that I want to buy is off, so, good news there.

 

Aaahhh…but the bad news is that I want to buy the RM50 reload card and we already have RM10 in pits of this stupid machine, right? So, I need to place 4 RM10 notes into the machine, right? But the problem was, I didn’t have 4 RM10 with me. I had RM50 notes with me. And they didn’t take RM5 notes, remember? I sauntered sweetly into the admin office and asked them to break my RM50 into 5 RM10s. They did.

 

I came back out and checked the small little screen and it says there “Credit: RM0.00”. What in the world…..???? What happened to the RM10 we placed into the machine? My maid and me stared at each other in befuddlement and confusion. We contemplated….did we or did we not place the money into the vending machine. The kids were running around making a heck of a noise outside the admin office and maybe we forgot that we took the money back. Erm…but that’s not possible because there’s IN for the machine and no OUT.

 

Logical explanation would be, the money is still inside.

 

At this point, one of the admin staff in the office walked out and asked us if the money swallowed the money AGAIN? And we were like….”What? This is what the machine usually does? Eat money?” She smiled and nods forlornly.

 

“After you insert your money into the machine, you must quickly select the option. Otherwise, the machine will just take your money. End of story”, she explained. “Lots of people complained about this machine and we are getting the people to come back and take this machine away instead of causing so much trouble here”.

 

Stupidity No. 3 – Inactivity for certain period of time = donation. Heck, if I wanted to donate money, I would donate it some poor fellow who actually deserves the freaking money, ok? For cripes’ sake, what kind of a stupid machine is this?

 

First, it doesn’t return change. Second, it doesn’t recognize Malaysia’s latest notes. Thirdly, the machine operates completely right only in the night because in the day time, you have to, like, cup your hands beside your face and squint into the machine to see whether the SOLD OUT sign is lit or not. Fourthly, they take your money if you don’t act quickly enough! So, slowpokes should not buy from TIME vending machine.

 

TIME is doing brilliantly in pissing people like me off, man! Buck up or you’re going down for sure, TIME.