Information collected by Chez Bob can only be accessed by a few of the people running it, and then will only be viewed if required. Additionally, Chez Bob attempts to minimize the amount of personal data stored.
You may at any time view a list of your past transactions by selecting the “Transactions” menu item at the Chez Bob computer. Transaction data is deleted after approximately three months to enhance privacy—the only purchase records kept longer than this are anonymized. If you wish to do so, enabling the “Privacy” option under “My Chez Bob” provides additional protection: in your transaction log, only the prices of items purchased is recorded, not their exact type.
The e-mail address you provide when creating your account may be used to contact you, such as if we notice some problem with your account or your account seems to be inactive but has a non-zero balance. Your e-mail address will never be shared with others.
If your account has a significant negative balance (you owe $5.00 or more), your account may appear on the Chez Bob Wall of Shame. If you keep your account balance positive, your account will never be displayed.
If you'd like more details of exactly what information we track, feel free to contact us.
If you're trying to purchase an item without a barcode, check the “Extra Items” menu item at the Chez Bob computer to see if the item you want is listed there. If it's not, contact Chez Bob to let us know so we can fix it.
While you can make purchases with the “Buy Other” menu item, we discourage this (where possible) since it does not allow for inventory tracking.
For the ultimate in privacy, it is possible to make cash-only purchases of items from Chez Bob. This works only with the soda machine, since only it can give out change. Without logging in, deposit money in the soda machine. Then, push a button or scan the barcode for the item you want.
We ask that you do not simply deposit cash in the cash box and walk off with an item. Doing so throws off both estimates of how much cash has been deposited and inventory estimates.
If your account goes inactive and you owe Chez Bob money—please, don't do that! Chez Bob will likely try to contact you to let you know about your debt, and to try to collect. It isn't fair to force current users of Chez Bob to pay what you owed when you left, so try not to do this!
If your account has a non-negative balance and has not been used in over a year, we may attempt to contact you to see if you'd like to keep the account open. We are happy to keep the account open as long as you wish (as long as you are still reachable). If you wish to close the account, you may transfer the remaining balance to another user or donate it to Chez Bob. If we are unable to contact you regarding your account, or if we hear no response, we may close your account and donate the remaining balance to Chez Bob.
If you are leaving and have money left in your account, you may ask for a refund of your account balance. The availability of refunds is at the discretion of Chez Bob, however, and will depend on factors such as current cash on hand, Chez Bob's financial situation, and the amount of the refund requested. Alternately, you may donate your remaining balance to Chez Bob or transfer the amount to another user's account.
The goal of Chez Bob is not to make those that run it wealthy. We aim to spend any profits from running Chez Bob in ways that will enrich the department (for example, contributing funding to events such as graduate student barbecues), or to lower prices.
Speech synthesis functionality in Chez Bob 2001 was not kept up to date during the last several operating system and hardware upgrades to the Chez Bob computer. Speech synthesis might still make a return at some point.
Make sure you wipe off any condensation on the barcode before trying to scan it. Also, try to hold the can a bit lower so that the beam hits the can at a slight angle.
Glad you asked! We have a strong preference for bills, and large ones. Coins, especially smaller than quarters, are frowned upon. Just to give you and idea, take a look at this graph:
BOB APPRECIATION FACTOR
App(D) where D is the denomination of deposit
App(D)
|
| * <--- $20 bill and greater == Friend
| of Bob!
| * <--- $10 bill == you're pretty cool
|
| * <--- $5 bill == we still like you
|
-+----*----------------------------------------------- D
| * \___ $1 bill == you're ok
| * \____ quarters == you're trying our patience
| \_____ dimes == grr...we're getting annoyed now
| * <---- nickels = please don't make us hurt you
|
|x <--- pennies (negative infinity) == use your imagination
|
Get it?
Chez bob is a volunteer effort, if you'd like to help, please contact chezbob@cs.ucsd.edu. Simple things that can be a big help are assiting with stocking and the receiving of orders. If you are interested in improving the software infrastructure we'd be more than happy to show you the ropes.