Refunds and failed payments
This will happen. How quickly you deal with it is the difference between a customer who shrugs and a venue that asks you to remove the machine.
Work out what actually happened
Before refunding, find the transaction in the platform and check whether the vend was recorded as successful. The three cases look identical to the customer and need different responses.
| What the record shows | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Payment taken, vend failed | Machine took money and did not deliver | Refund immediately, and check the lane |
| Payment taken, vend succeeded | Product probably stuck in the flap or taken by someone else | Refund or replace — the goodwill is worth more than the item |
| No payment recorded | Card was authorised but not captured; it usually drops off the customer's statement on its own | Explain the pending charge, and follow up if it has not cleared in a few days |
Issuing a refund
- Find the transaction in the platform or your payment provider's dashboard.
- Issue the refund to the original card. Never refund cash for a card transaction — you have no way to prove it and it invites abuse.
- Tell the customer how long it will take. Card refunds commonly take several business days to appear, and most complaints about refunds are really complaints about not being told this.
- Log what happened and which lane was involved.
Watch the pattern, not the incident
One failed vend is bad luck. The same lane failing three times in two weeks is a fault you are paying for in refunds and goodwill. Reviewing failed transactions by lane once a month is one of the highest-return habits in this business.
Make it easy to reach you
Put your support number and, if the machine supports it, a QR code on the screen. A customer who can reach you gets refunded and stays a customer. A customer who cannot tells the venue instead, and the venue remembers.