By Aaliyah Pamplin
Students purchasing drinks between classes in Old Main found they were getting expired beverages for the first five weeks of the semester, on August 18th. What do you do, drink it or throw it away, wasting the two dollars you just spent?
Tyler Karpovich had to ask himself this question, but he ultimately choose to drink it but had to sniff it first. “I give it the good old stiff test to see if it smelled like spoiled milk.”
For weeks, students, staff and faculty purchasing drinks through the vending machine on the second floor of Old Main had to ask themselves whether to drink it or throw it and two dollars away. There were expired drinks sitting unchanged behind in the vending machine with people not knowing that until the soda dropped.
On September 24, the long-awaited fix finally came when Pepsi Bottling Ventures restocked the machine with fresh beverages.
According to Kimberly Locklear, Director of Purchasing and Business Services, Pepsi Bottling Ventures is the official drink vendor for UNC Pembroke. The university has 30 beverage machines and 23 snack machines that are currently on campus and that are being serviced several times a week. Beverages should be replaced three days a week and the snack machines twice a week; however, they must have missed the memo for the Old Main beverages machine.
This reporter called the Business Services Office three times and visited in person before any action was taken to refresh the Old Main soft drinks. However, Locklear said they only get a few calls related to beverages. She said that only six of the 12 slots in Old Main had expired drinks.
“If students, faculty, staff, or anyone has an issue with a machine, they should refer to the Business Services contact information listed on the machine,” she said. The machine in Old Main did not and still does not have a contact number. Some of soda machines in the gymnasium and other buildings on campus do not have contact numbers yet, either.
The contact information should include a phone number and an email address of whom to contact. If you have a concern to report and the machine does not have a contact information, a report can also be made through any campus office’s administrative assistant, who can contact Business Services on your behalf.
“The primary campus contact for vending machine concerns is Joey Locklear (910) 521-6794 or joey.locklear@uncp.edu. The Business Services Office is located in the Auxiliary Services Building, Room 006,” Kimberly Locklear said.
The vending machines on campus aren’t only for convenience; these machines also generate revenue for the university, but probably not in the way you expect. According to Locklear, the proceeds from these funds are dedicated to supporting student scholarships. So, the next time you get a drink or snack from the vending machines on campus, you will be helping fund the next UNCP student’s future.
Locklear also noted that the university has added some healthier and/or nutritious options to its machines in recent years, in both the snack and beverage machines across the campus.
Students hoping to see new products in the campus vending machines can put in a request for products to be added. Submit a product request to Joey Locklear or the Director of Business Services for review and consideration.
The machines were updated with some new beverages with new prices including Propel at $2.50 and Celsius at $3.50.