A fast stop for milk, bread and e-commerce

The fancy new electronic kiosks that 7-Eleven is rolling out in the bay area offer plenty of convenience: check cashing down to the penny, money orders. Soon you'll even be able to pay your phone bill or buy auto insurance electronically when you stop for gas.

But there's a tradeoff in privacy. To sign up for a Vcom card to use the machine, customers have to input their driver's license number and Social Security number, among other personal data, and pose for a photo entered into the company's database.

So how does the convenience store kingpin persuade customers to take the plunge? A $5 check seems to work nicely.

7-Eleven experimented with a few other enticements, such as letting customers cash their first check free. Nothing worked as well, though, as a check, which can be redeemed only by signing up at a kiosk.

Burt Gideons, a self-employed contractor, said the check was enough of a lure for him as he signed up at a newly installed kiosk in a store at Waters and Himes avenues in Tampa. After going through the setup, including having his picture taken and confirming vital stats with a 7-Eleven rep over a phone, Gideons was sold.

"It was a piece of cake," he said, adding that he would probably become a regular user. After all, he points out, "There's 7-Elevens everywhere."

As reported earlier this month, the electronic kiosks have been installed in 10 Tampa Bay area stores so far in the early phases of a national rollout.

Jay Giesen, 7-Eleven vice president and general manager of the Vcom service, came to Tampa last week to talk about the kiosk's potential.

The company says it is exceeding its goals in Orlando, where the kiosks were first introduced. Although Vcom seeks detailed information from customers, its owners aren't quite as forthcoming. Giesen said the number of early adapters and how they're using Vcom is proprietary information.

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