A STRANGE VENDING MACHINE

In 2011, Paris, the French capital, got a baguette vending machine. No one was surprised because the baguette is French people’s favourite type of bread and they buy at least one every day. So for the first time, people could buy their favourite bread 24 hours a day. That machine gave an idea to someone else, too: a butcher. A butcher shop called L’ami Txulette made the first meat vending machine. They placed it in front of their shop in February 2016. There are many other butcher shops in that area but that didn’t stop Florence and Michel Pouzol. The Pouzols own L’ami Txullete. They said they believed hungry shoppers would come and buy meat even after all the butchers were closed. “We’re closed two days: Sundays and Mondays, so this is to cater for customers over the weekend,” said Florence Pouzol. “The idea was also to serve people after the shop’s closing hours.” The refrigerated machine accepts cash or credit cards. Customers choose from a large selection of vacuum-sealed meats. Products inside the machine are more expensive than those sold inside the shop. Many Parisians stay out late. Florence Pouzol said that the machine allows them to shop any time. “When we see our customers during the day, they tell us, ‘Last night, I bought this, or that, and it was really helpful,’” Pouzol said. “Some customers work in the cafes and restaurants and come off work at 2 a.m. They tell us they were happy to buy something to eat.” Not everyone likes buying his or her meat from the vending machine though. “I’m so happy that I can actually go to the butcher’s shop now that I don’t work and I have a lot of free time,” said local resident Lydie Aparacio. “I think that the machine can be useful for people who are busier than me. I don’t use it because I have time.” In some places going to a nearby butcher shop is not possible. A butcher placed a meat vending machine in the small French town of Garat. The town people were very happy because they didn’t have a butcher’s shop in their town. The closest shop is three kilometers away so they had no chance of buying some meat after they leave work. In the town of Mennetou-sur-Cher, a butcher called Pascal Bidron installed a machine to sell his products. The machine is located next to Bidron’s shop. Customers use the machine when Bidron is on holiday. They also use it during lunch hours, when the shop is closed. “I have customers coming from afar,” Bidron said. “I wanted to serve them even when the shop is closed.”