The awkward ones first.
If a question below reads like it was written by a sceptic, that is because it was asked by one.
Is handing something under a stall door not deeply awkward?
It is less awkward than the alternative, which is asking a stranger out loud. The confirmation screen lets the guest choose between a hand-off under the door and collection at the sink, so nobody is forced into the version they find uncomfortable. Early feedback on this specific interaction is the single most important thing a pilot measures.
What stops people ordering things as a prank?
Payment. A request is not dispatched until it is paid for, which removes the entire class of nuisance orders that plague free request systems. Fault reporting is free and therefore abusable, so repeat reports on one fixture within a short window collapse into a single ticket.
How is this different from a vending machine?
A vending machine requires you to be standing at it, which is precisely the thing the guest cannot do. The product is not the inventory. It is delivery to a location the guest cannot leave.
What data is collected about the guest?
The fixture code, the items, and payment handled by the processor. No account, no login, no email required, no location permission requested, no analytics tied to an individual. The system knows a stall made a request. It does not know who was in it, and it is designed that way because the alternative is unsellable in a restroom.
Who delivers the item?
Not settled. Venue staff, a dedicated attendant, or the existing custodial contractor are all viable and they produce different cost structures. The pilot starts with venue staff and uses measured response times to decide whether dedicated staffing pays for itself. This is the largest open question in the model and it is not being papered over.
Why is medicine listed but not orderable?
Because over-the-counter drug distribution through delivery channels is regulated differently in nearly every jurisdiction, needs sealed single-dose packaging with intact labelling, and carries liability that snacks do not. It is shown in the catalog because it is a real part of the roadmap and locked because it has not cleared review. Every financial projection excludes it.
What happens when someone reports a fixture that is fine?
Very little, and that is acceptable. False reports cost one walk-past. The reason to keep reporting frictionless is that raising the effort to report kills the true reports far faster than the false ones.
Does this work outside airports?
The mechanics work anywhere a person is temporarily stuck and cannot reach a shop: stadiums, casinos, convention centres, festivals, large office towers. Airports are first because dwell time is long, spend tolerance is high, and one operator controls every restroom in the building.
What does the venue have to integrate?
Nothing. No network, no power, no software, no POS connection. Tags go on walls and the service runs on our own stack. At the Portfolio tier the fault feed can be pushed into an existing maintenance system, but that is an option rather than a requirement.
Still sceptical? Reasonable.
Ninety days on one restroom bank settles it either way.