Stockport businessman Rob Little, whose company Vendman provides data management systems to 80% of the UK’s vending operators, has launched what he hopes will be ‘an industry-wide campaign’ aimed at the well-known broadcaster James May.
In his new book ‘The Man Lab’, Mr. May, who is best known as a presenter of the hit BBC TV show ‘Top Gear’, offers his readers advice in the event of a vending machine failing to deliver the goods.
He advocates ‘bashing the machine’ and ‘shaking the machine’ as preferred courses of action.
‘I like James May’ said Rob, who employs over 20 people at his Hazel Grove base, ‘and I’m a huge fan of Top Gear. Having said that, even though I presume James’ comments are tongue-in-cheek, they really are unhelpful. Vandalism has always been an issue where vending machines are concerned but James May makes abusing a machine seem the logical and gentlemanly thing to do if something goes wrong. As an industry, we can’t let that pass without comment, can we?’
Rob’s response takes the shape of a Facebook page, ‘James May Knows Nothing About Vending Machines’, and he’s hoping that people in the hard-working UK vending industry will take the opportunity to get together in a show of solidarity.
The page has the thumbs up of the Automatic Vending Association, the organisation that represents the interests of the vending sector. ‘We applaud Rob’s initiative’, said AVA CEO Jonathan Hilder ‘and we’ll be contacting all our members to encourage them to join in. AVA members vend 7 billion items a year in the UK and they’re immensely proud of the service they offer. I don’t imagine they’ll find Mr. May’s advice amusing.’
Rob said: ‘Hopefully, we can change a few long-standing public misconceptions about vending and convince people that automated retailing has always been with us and will only get more important in the future.’
