PLCB kills wine kiosk program (Harrisburg, Penn: sales, credit card, how much)

[DowntownHarrisburg]

It's about time. How much taxpayer money was wasted on this laughably terrible concept? People really don't believe me when I attempt to explain how absurd Pennsylvania's liquor laws (and prices) are.

PLCB pulls the plug on wine kiosks in grocery stores | PennLive.com

Many described the machines as Rube Goldberg-like contraptions. They require users to blow into Breathalyzers and show identification. Sales lagged across the state, with some machines dispensing a couple of bottles of wine a week.

For those of you who never had the joy of using one of these pieces of garbage, here's how it worked. Remember, they were designed to address complaints that the state stores weren't open or accessible enough.

1. Drive to the supermarket.
2. Browse the extremely limited selection of wines.
3. Approach the console on the vending machine
4. Establish a closed-circuit video feed to an employee in Harrisburg (only during working hours)
5. Swipe your ID
6. Smile for the camera as the employee does an ID verification to ensure you aren't just holding up a photo
7. Blow into the tube for a breathalizer test. No, I'm serious.
8. Choose the wine you want.
9. Swipe your credit card and pay an additional markup on top of our already-inflated prices
10. Hope your bottle doesn't break on the way down
11. Enjoy!

Presumably, someone thought this was better than the way most other states do it:

1. Go to the store
2. Buy your wine

[DixieJo]

I am seriously going to miss those kiosks. Seriously!

I have folks traveling in from out of state all the time. They ask me, "where's the best place to buy beer and wine?" I loved watching their faces as I describe our state store / beer distributor / bar shenanigans. But when I described for them the wine kiosks in the grocery stories? PRICELESS!! It is so worth the hassle JUST to see the faces of the out-of-staters as you describe the processes. Simply priceless.

And now... now we wont have the kiosks anymore. Tis a sad, sad day in the state of Pennsylvania.

[Ohiogirl81]

"Absurd" is putting it mildly!

Although I'm glad the wine machine experiment has failed (as it only could have), I'm also wondering if this failure won't set back any reform --actual or perceived -- in liquor sales for decades. Maybe even centuries.

You can just hear the excuses now: "Well, we tried with the wine kiosks, but people just didn't go for it. They must prefer things the way they are."

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

You can just hear the excuses now: "Well, we tried with the wine kiosks, but people just didn't go for it. They must prefer things the way they are."

Sadly, this is already the case.