A press-on nail business is appealing for information after someone allegedly placed an “OUT OF ORDER” sign on its vending machine at Downtown East, despite the machine being fully operational.
Press On Me, a custom hand-painted press-on nails, bespoke jewellery and lashes brand, shared CCTV footage of the incident on Instagram on Monday (17 Aug).
Video courtesy of POM – Press On Me
The business said the incident happened at its Press On Me vending machine at E!Hub on 8 Aug at around 9pm.
However, it only discovered the sign on 11 Aug, meaning it may have remained on the machine for about three days.
Speaking to MS News, the owner Mr Lim said the business happened to be nearby on 11 Aug and decided to check on the machine.
The business normally visits the unmanned vending machine about once every two weeks to replenish its stock.
Source: @pressonme.sg on Instagram
Had they not visited that day, Mr Lim said they may have discovered the sign much later.
“For an unmanned business, we wouldn’t even know customers were seeing the sign and walking away.”
Mr Lim said they checked the machine after discovering the notice and confirmed that it was operational.
The out-of-order sign had also not been issued or authorised by the business, Mr Lim claimed.
As the sign could have deterred customers from making purchases, Press On Me said it could not determine exactly how much revenue was lost,
But according to their Instagram post, Press On Me lost an estimated five days of sales.
Source: @pressonme.sg on Instagram
The incident also happened during the National Day long weekend, when Downtown East would naturally have had more visitors.
“Once someone sees an ‘OUT OF ORDER’ sign, they’re unlikely to try the machine — that sales opportunity is simply gone,” Mr Lim said.
The business said it preferred not to estimate a dollar amount without knowing how many potential customers saw the sign and walked away.
Picture courtesy of POM – Press On Me
According to Press On Me, CCTV footage showed two individuals walking towards the vending machine together.
One of them allegedly approached the machine and placed the printed out-of-order notice onto its LCD screen before leaving.
Mr Lim said that he did not observe anything else significant in the footage.
Video courtesy of POM – Press On Me
Mr Lim said what puzzled him was that the person appeared to have brought a notice that had already been printed.
“This wasn’t someone casually scribbling something on the spot,” he said
“Why prepare this and why our machine?”
However, Mr Lim stressed that there was currently no evidence that anyone else had instructed the person to put up the sign.
The business has not identified the person and said it did not want to speculate about his identity.
It has since received information from members of the public following its Instagram post, but said it could not verify the information.
Press On Me has filed a police report over the incident, Mr Lim said.
Speaking to MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed that a report had been lodged and that police are looking into the matter.
Mr Lim also said that the business also informed Downtown East management after discovering the sign.
Its security team subsequently reviewed the mall’s CCTV footage and confirmed the incident, according to Mr Lim.
The person involved has not contacted Press On Me or explained why he allegedly placed the sign.
Picture courtesy of POM – Press On Me
Despite the incident, Mr Lim said the business was not looking to publicly shame or “destroy” the person involved.
Instead, they want to understand why he did it.
Mr Lim said that if it was genuinely a prank, he hoped the person would come forward and explain.
“We’re not looking to destroy a young person over one mistake.”
However, he also hoped that the teen would understand the potential consequences of his actions.
“What may be a few seconds of fun for someone can affect another person’s livelihood for days,” Mr Lim told MS News.
He said businesses are already operating in a challenging environment, making every sale important.
He added that he hoped the incident could serve as a reminder to others to think twice before interfering with another business.
“Something that may seem like a harmless prank to one person can have very real consequences for someone else.”
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Featured image courtesy of Mr Lim, owner of Press On Me and @pressonme.sg on Instagram.