Summary
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| Serving salads in vending machines |
In “Singapore vending machines now dispense salmon, crab and even cacti”, Tim McDonald (2021) reports that vending machines tend to be popular and various kinds of products are provided in Singapore. Freshly cooked local food and juice, books, cacti, et cetera are now available. Several entrepreneurs said that the more machines, the more decent profits. Consequently, vending machines are much more seen in Singapore. But why in Singapore? Manish Kumar, the managing director of Norwegian Salmon, says “a compact, densely populated city like Singapore is ideal”. Moreover, Singaporeans are likely to have a lot of interest in this convenience . Since vending machines act as unstaffed, convenient stores with availability of 24/7, people can still use them while other stores are closed. Moreover, the government also takes advantage of contactless services to provide free masks to the public during the pandemic.
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Response
This article pinned out the point very well. It describes why vending machines are so popular there, why they give a lot of importance to these machines and more. I was truly surprised that there are vending machines for books. When I first read it, I came up with the idea of how people can choose the book from its cover. By the way, I had just imagined that we can only see the cover but in reality, they might have some preview on the screen for customers. Moreover, I also wondered why people need vending machines for books. It is understandable that cooked food or fresh juices or bread are provided by vending machines but how does it work with books?
In this news, they also mentioned about having vending machines around the cities, for which they raised Japan as an example. I would like to talk about my experience using vending machines in Japan as I visited several times. The first time I went to Japan, It totally opened my world. There are many sophisticated innovations created for building a great standard of life. Vending machines are also included here. At that time, three years ago, it was such brand new technology for me because there was not much available in Thailand. It is inevitable that it is so convenient. My family and I enjoyed buying snacks and drinks very much. They are located everywhere or even on every floor of the hotel. The price and quality of products were the same as a convenience store, which was reasonable to buy.
Once the vending machine has the concept of contactlessness. In Singapore, the government is able to apply the machine well to the pandemic situation. They offered some free face masks on vending machines. I strongly appreciate this point. I want to mention more about the situation of having no staff. This is also the good point of vending machines especially for entrepreneurs. They do not need to pay for several counter-employees. Overall, I must say the vending machine trend is a good development in many respects . Try it when you have your chance.
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Question
What is your opinion about having vending machines around Bangkok city?______________________
Reference
- McDonald, T. (2021, February 22). Singapore vending machines now dispense salmon, crab and even cacti. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56066064
Mean, I have to confess that I have never used a vending machine in my life. Or I might have used ticket vending machines at the BTS a few times many years ago before they switched to the much more convenient cards that we now tap.
ReplyDeleteI know they've been around for awhile. The first image that came to my mind as I read your blog post were of cigarette vending machines in Australia, and they disappeared long ago when the world turned against that once popular drug of addiction now a very minority choice of drug despite still being legal. I also recall canned drinks being sold in vending machines, and I guess those are still around, although I can't honestly say where I see them these days.
I'm not sure what my personal memories and awareness of, or non-awareness of, vending machines says about be. Am I old fashioned? Not aware of the world evolving around me? Are there already lots of vending machines dispensing goods on demand (like video on demand)? Perhaps the responses to Mean's question will help to bring me up to date on the current situation in Bangkok. Or perhaps I just need to get out a bit more.
In my view, vending machines should be operated in different areas of Bangkok where there are not 7-Eleven stores opened 24/7 and they are overcrowded with domestic and international travelers. These machines can help us survive in case there is no place to go and find some food or we are in the morning rush hours.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I prefer buying fresh food and snacks in the market because of cheaper price and various kinds of ingredients. However, I love to buy fruit drink and Onigiri from a vending machine at BTS station. During rush hours in the morning, it is very convenient and save time as I did not need to wait in a long line.
Therefore, I believe that vending machines are necessary in Bangkok city as they provide us any kinds of products, such as food and beverages. In the near future, it will become more popular for our new generation.
After I had finished reading the summary of the news, I could see how much convenience the vending machines could provide us. I, myself, have experience in using the vending machines in many places around the world. It is very convenient for customers as they can go directly to the machines and make a purchase at any time from streets to lobby in hotels.
ReplyDeleteBut then my second thought came when I saw a phrase, ‘contactless services of the vending machines’. It is just the right time for Singapore or any other countries to have more vending machines installed in order to prevent the chances of COVID 19 virus spreading. The point is how clever the ones who think of using vending machines as a protective tool in preventive measurement fighting against the widespread virus. The evidence reflects the creative initiatives of the leader of the country. Last time at the beginning of the outbreak of the COVID 19 virus the prime minister of Singapore also had the idea of having the flight attendants who had no flying schedule due to the virus spreading to help in hospital. Smart leaders are always a great asset to the country and highly needed in chaotic situations. How lucky Singaporeans are-to have a great leader leading the country!
Such a topics that reminds me an old times, in my childhood, some of the drinks are not available on the normal groceries, so I spent my pocket money a lot on the vending machine and as my point, I think in the past in Thailand, there're lots of vending machine set in everywhere, but now I rarely find one(Even the one that I often used to buy is gone) except the sport stadium that they put it for the sport player to buy.
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary to the country that you mentioned, Japan has an all kind of the vending machine such as snacks, drinks, cigarettes and even some 18+ thingy. It is such a convenient to have those around, but I consider twice, I would rather choose the gentle aunt who sell omelet inside the food booth than this cold-touch coin eater, vending machine is absolutely working well on buying an instant food and drinks in the rush hour, but they're less human connection and make human become more like machine in these days.