Office Vending During a Recruitment Open Day: Plan for Unfamiliar Customers

A recruitment open day brings people into an office who may never have used its vending machine. They may also have limited time between sessions and no staff payment access. Plan the refreshment arrangements as part of the visitor experience. Clear information and realistic expectations are more useful than assuming that the normal weekday vending routine will work unchanged for everyone attending.

Decide what the event is providing

Confirm whether refreshments are included, purchased individually or supplied through another arrangement. Keep that decision separate from the fact that a machine is present. Visitors should not discover at the payment step that a staff benefit does not apply to them. Explain the confirmed arrangement in the event information and brief the people welcoming attendees.

Estimate attendance by session and break rather than relying only on total registrations. Some visitors may leave early or attend only one activity. Treat the estimate as a planning assumption, not a sales forecast. Share the likely timing with the operator and ask what preparation is practical within the existing service, product suitability and available capacity.

Walk the visitor route

Start at the event entrance and follow the route to the refreshment area. Check that visitors can reach the machine without entering a staff-only space or needing an unprovided access card. Ask the building team to resolve access questions. Do not prop open controlled doors or change building rules simply to make a refreshment route shorter.

At the machine, check the visible instructions, prices and available payment methods with the responsible operator. Identify where a visitor can ask for help if a purchase does not go as expected. Keep the event host’s guidance factual and limited to the confirmed process. Avoid promising that every payment method or product will be available unless that has actually been checked.

Prepare hosts for ordinary questions

Give event staff a short briefing covering the machine location, purchase process and verified support route. Include what to do if a product does not arrive or if a visitor cannot use the payment option offered. Hosts can help record the machine identifier and purchase details without asking visitors to disclose sensitive financial information publicly at the registration desk.

If a planned refreshment break is very short, consider how the queue and seating arrangement will work alongside other event activity. Observe the space rather than inventing a universal number of customers a machine can serve per minute. The real journey includes choosing, paying, collecting and leaving the area. Make any alternative refreshment arrangements explicit to the event team.

Review the event separately from routine demand

After the open day, note the actual attendance, busiest periods and practical questions raised. Keep this event record distinguishable from ordinary staff use. A temporary increase in purchases should not automatically trigger a permanent stock expansion. Equally, low sales may reflect refreshments supplied elsewhere rather than a lack of interest in the vending range.

Use the findings to improve the next visitor event and tell the operator about any unresolved issues. For ongoing office vending, explain how often the workplace hosts recruitment days, public sessions or other unfamiliar visitors. This helps the service discussion account for occasional demand without treating it as the normal daily audience.

Related guidance: Office Training Days Bring Extra Visitors: Plan Vending Access and Refreshment Funding.

Planning vending at your site? Contact the team with your location and requirements.