What do You Think of the New Computerized Soda Fountains? [VIDEO]

The latest thing in soda fountains is the new computerized units popping up at Western Colorado fast food restaurants. Have you tried one of these yet? What did you think?

The soda dispenser consists of exactly one spout. Regardless of what beverage you are selecting, you put your cup under the singular spout, and then proceed to the beverage selection process. Don't worry, you don't have to go to school to learn how to work this thing.

Several customers were a bit concerned as they approached the new machine at Wendy's location at the Mesa Mall in Grand Junction. Everybody got through it on their first attempt.

The process is fascinating:

• Get ice by pressing your cup against the lever (the only moving component on the machine)
• Set your cup on the platform
• Look at the main screen and choose from the beverage selections, ie: Coke, Fruit Juice, Water, etc
• From that screen, you'll be directed to another screen with more specific selections (Coke, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, etc)
• The screen directs you to push the dispense button.
• Hold the button until you've received the desired amount of your selection.

Be careful, the dispenser mean business. Beverages are dispensed at a very rapid rate, so be ready to let go of the button.

There might exist one legitimate criticism of this process. It seems safe to say the customer before me must have ordered a Sprite. I say this because the Coke I poured had a certain Sprite-like taste to it. The machine uses a common spout for all selections, so there is a little blending between one beverage and the next.