The vending machine at work has a name above the coin slot - Electronic Retailer. Upon seeing it, it actually made me a little sad, this machine was taking customers and revenue away from actual retailers. The name Vending Machine is much less upsetting. (On a semiotic level, the adjective, 'electronic,' in the first one is describing a noun normally associated, to some extent, with a person. However, in the second, 'vending' is just qualifying the type of machine.)
It made me think, because around the corner from the Vending Machine is a little cafe that I think actually sells chips and chocolate bars. The cafe is a small offshoot operation of a larger independently owned establishments down the street. I also bet that the chocolate bars there are less than the $1.50 they are in the machine. I will have to check it out.
The last building I worked in must have supplemented the items in their vending machines, or arranged to make little to no profit on them because everything was much cheaper. In fact, that building is a half-block away and I could return to buy my treats back there again if I wanted to. If I am willing to leave the building to save money, then there are lots of shops around that sell the same things. Or, I could stop buying this stuff all together, which would be better financially, health-wise, and would prevent these moral 'robots replacing people' issues.
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