HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Problems getting bottles to dispense from state-run wine vending kiosks in some Pennsylvania supermarkets have prompted a temporary and indefinite shutdown of the machines.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board said Tuesday it was calling in the manufacturer to fix mechanical and technological problems that prevented the machines from dispensing bottles of wine.
Board officials said the kiosks would be taken offline at 9 p.m. Tuesday so the developer, Conshohocken-based Simple Brands, can fix them.
The kiosks are currently in 30 supermarkets across the state, including some Giant Food Stores, Wegmans Food Markets, Giant Eagle, The Fresh Grocer and Shop 'n Save stores. They are part of six-month-old program designed to make wine-buying more convenient for consumers, who otherwise would have to make a separate trip to a state liquor store.
Customers have to pass a blood-alcohol breath test in order to use the supermarket kiosks.
Technicians would work through the holidays to resolve the problems and test them in early January, said Jim Lesser, the chief executive officer of Simple Brands.
Lesser said bottles failed to dispense in one out of 150 to 175 transactions. He said the goal is to limit such malfunctions to one in 1,000 transactions.
Board spokeswoman Stacey Witalec said she did not know how often the kiosks have malfunctioned, but that board officials monitor electronic messages generated whenever a problem occurs.
With machines in 30 stores, "on any given day, we could have had dozens of issues," she said.
Lesser said that estimate may be accurate but must be kept in perspective.
"On many days we have well over 1,000 transactions," he said.
