An online video showing a Walmart worker using a measuring tape to easily access vending machine items, is sending out a warning that vending machines may not always be a lucrative business.
TikToker Que (@quedizzlee) shared a short clip of a Walmart worker snagging candy from a vending machine for “educational purposes.” Viewed more than 4.5 million times, the video divided viewers with some congratulating the pair while others condemned the theft.
The video began with a simple statement: ”Reasons not to own a vending machine.”
@quedizzlee Educational purposes #fyp #crazyworld #viral ♬ original sound – Que
A worker is crouched down in front of the machine, using a tape measurer to knock a bag of chips from the display.
“Can you get a Snickers too?” someone asked off-screen before his friend removes two Snickers bars off the display.
Many users congratulated the pair for the ingenuity.
“Bro cold with that tape,” one said.
“2 for 1 lmao, that’s the 2 for none,” a second person joked.
“All of a sudden tape measures are sold out at Home Depot’s across the nation,” a third user added.
“I love these life hacks,” a fourth user agreed.
Others disagreed with their actions and pointed out that stealing candy is still stealing.
“That’s a hard work for $2 worth of candy,” a user commented.
“Justify it however ,that’s stealing,” a second person added.
“Unfortunately a lot people act like that. One of the many things that’s wrong with society, and it’s a shame you have to put up cameras and bs to make sure people do the right thing,” a third user agreed.
“I’m not gonna take what I didn’t pay for but if my food gets stuck I’ll try this,” another viewer replied.
“Reasons why everything has cameras that record everything,” another person said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Que via TikTok comments and Walmart via email for further information.
Stealing from a vending machine can seem like a relatively harmless crime. Taking a candy bar or two doesn’t amount to much lost revenue, and some may argue that more product is lost in transit than to random thefts. However, it is a crime to tamper with a coin operated machine. In Florida, breaking into a vending machine, regardless of reason, can result in a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.
Recently, a 41-year-old man named Joshua Hicks was arrested after a slew of vending machine break-ins across several counties in Arkansas. Multiple video cameras caught the suspect using tools to open the machines. After recovering the footage and tools from his vehicle, Hicks was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Another reason to forgo breaking into a vending machine is that you never know who owns it. For example, in LA a narcotics-sniffing dog discovered a large stash of fentanyl and heroin along with an assault rifle stashed inside a soda machine.