tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post115474429600204100..comments2024-02-19T08:12:53.815-05:00Comments on The Right Thing: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINEJeffrey L. Seglinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15648051034425906705noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-15349545462361766662007-05-20T18:59:00.000-04:002007-05-20T18:59:00.000-04:00If I try to get the money back, then I will expend...If I try to get the money back, then I will expend way more energy than it is worth. If the error had been in my direction, there may have equally been no reasonable way to return the money. (I do not consider handing money to whoever is working nearby to be reasonable, since vending machines operators often pay a fee to place a machine in an unrelated business, so the person behind the counter likely knows less about where to send the change than you do, and might pocket it, wasting both your effort and the money of the person you were trying to return it to.) I read somewhere that when you die, you get a little shoebox full of all the things you lost, like carkeys and favorite decoder rings, so I figure that there is a vending machine fairy up there that keeps track of all the times that vending machines either shorted you or gave you an extra candy bar, and if over your life, it does not even out, then in that shoebox, will be the change. I never fret when the vending machine takes my money unfairly, and I never worry about what to do if an extra quarter comes back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-1155414909071242102006-08-12T16:35:00.000-04:002006-08-12T16:35:00.000-04:00I live near Robbins, in rural NC, and read yourcol...I live near Robbins, in rural NC, and read your<BR/>columns in The Charlotte Observer.<BR/><BR/>I realize my comments have nothing to do with getting<BR/>a refund from a vending machine, but I have to say:<BR/><BR/>1. Who pays $1.25 for a bottle of water? I'd be<BR/>willing to bet $1.25 that there was a public water<BR/>fountain at that rest stop. Remember, "Evian" spelled<BR/>backward is "Naive."<BR/><BR/>2. Who takes a road trip without carrying along a<BR/>small cooler with ice, beverages, and snacks? I<BR/>learned many years ago that this is FAR preferable and<BR/>more convenient than having to stop and buy stuff<BR/>along the way (usually at ridiculously inflated<BR/>prices).<BR/><BR/>If the person in your column had done that, we<BR/>wouldn't be having this discussion. (Of course, you<BR/>wouldn't have had a column topic either, but that's<BR/>your problem, not mine.)<BR/><BR/>I am often amazed at how much money people waste.<BR/><BR/>GB in NCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21166579.post-1154788411378096032006-08-05T10:33:00.000-04:002006-08-05T10:33:00.000-04:00I think I would have put 60 cents and 39 for the p...I think I would have put 60 cents and 39 for the postage. That is exactly what he lost in that transaction. <BR/><BR/>I believe the fraud warning is for people who fill out the card and never stuck any money into the machine.<BR/><BR/>The cards require postage for the same reason - to discourage people from sending them in without cause.<BR/><BR/>I bet he gets his dollar back.yawningdoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13483932231487327038noreply@blogger.com