Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine concept on paper. The problem is the execution.
My main issue is that they work poorly.
If it’s been a few minutes since they’ve been used, they go to sleep and take ten seconds to wake up, and that’s if the touch screen is registering your input (which fails often) and there’s no tactile or visual feedback if the machine is processing the input, or if it didn’t work.
Then when it does work, there’s an annoying delay between button release so the soda keeps flowing a half-a-second after you want it to stop.
Then there’s accessibility issues, as it needs two hands to operate. Not a huge problem I guess (though I feel bad for anyone with one arm) but annoying if I’m holding food in my other hand. If you set the cup down, syrup droplets go everywhere and the pour splashes and foams.
Finally, because of all the different flavors and options, the amount of syrup any single flavor can stock is relatively small, and requires changing much more often than a regular machine. In principle this is fine, but in practice, places get lazy and don’t change it, or don’t order enough, frequently leaving many options unavailable.
Yeah, yeah, you like all the magical flavor combos. I just want the damn thing to work smoothly and efficiently.
The sheer idiocy of making a soda machine that needs to boot up. Why?? Enough already!
/rant
EDIT: Apparently this isn’t unpopular? Everyone I know loves the damn things.
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I hate those machines too. Diet syrup gets in all the flavors. It’s just inferior to an early to mid 2000’s McDonald’s soda machine.
That’s okay. They’re all getting phased out soon so people won’t be able to access free refills.
This isn’t unpopular. Should be common knowledge that flavors come out diluted and you need to punch the screen to make your selection.
But I disagree with you on the disability thing.every machine I’ve seen or used had a barrier between you and the cup, effectively preventing a splash zone. I typically have a snack and energy drink in one hand and successfully dispense my drink with the other.
Is this unpopular? These things fucking suck. Want a regular coke? Here is something that taste like off brand coke mixed with the last 10 flavors everyone else used. I’ve never had any issues with any of the stuff you mentioned. For me I just never get a drink that tastes like the drink I want.
7-11 used to have a much better added flavour system on their soda fountains with buttons for each kind. For some reason they blacked out the buttons and stopped using it.