[Closed] They've taken away the coffee!!

Staff not valued enough to drink nice coffee then? But visitors are? That's nice and reassuring, isn't it?

Can you not just buy your own beans and filters for the machine? Or suggest that everyone chips in for the supplies?

Coming soon to our office also, I usually just get whatever FairTrade one is on offer at the time.

no they are not even turning it on in the morning and it makes a hell of a noise when it on so everyone will know.

Might buy a little filter thingy for my desk.

Most un-impressed!

Ohh the humanity!
😉

surely it's time the workers took over the means of production?

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STRIKE ! 😡

Whats a good instant coffee then?

buy a cafetierre and a nice ground coffee.

P.S. The french would not stand for this.

our office uses those sachet machines .... vileness - only rivaled by bovril and instant

i just keep a caffietere in my drawer and a bag of grounds !

The Starbucks stuff is good. All other instant is brewed and then freeze dried. Starbucks Via is ground beans that are processed in some way to remove the insoluble bits, so that it'll mostly dissolve like instant.

It tastes just like filter coffee.

douwe egberts is the only decent instant coffee I've tried - pretty good actually and normally hate instant

Move to Cup-A-Soups instead.

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smartcafe mug?, real coffee, but as simple to make as instant

we use those mugs when camping - pretty easy to use.

they are insulated though so you're drink stays just the wrong side of bearably hot for hours if you use them indoors.

Sign the visitors' book every morning and fill your boots. Not literally.

Taking away your coffee machine. Pah - the French would burn horses in the streets for less.

the French would burn horses in the streets for [s]less[/s] lunch

There, I fixed it for you. 😉

B.A.Nana ordering one of those clever cups now 🙂 Now which beans to buy 🙂

wow, that is bad.

wifes work has cancelled the water bottle contract. Back to taking in own water

I've had one of those smartcafe mugs for a few years now, given the choice at work is between Tetley floorsweepings and wood shavings, or Nescafe burn babies while flogging the slaves blend.

It has however, resulted in my average daily coffe consumption exceeding 10 litres.

Taking away your coffee machine. Pah - the French would burn horses in the streets for less.

I love the way on the continent people sit around in charming little cafes, or outside at little tables, sipping coffee from tiny cute little cups, chatting about life, all very sedate and tranquil, whereas we huddle round the back of the car-park, clutching a polystyrene beaker containing weak watery mud, which becomes ever more diluted by the pissing rain...

Well, I've watched a few French films and that, and that's what they seem to do anyway.

Act all sleepy and lethargic when your boss is around.

Claim caffeine withdrawal symptoms and threaten a lawsuit that it was your employer that got you addicted in the first place by providing free proper coffee.

Flask of real coffee?

Wee in his [s]shoes[/s] mug

10 litres of coffee.... do you pee brown ?

Can you buy your own pods for the existing machine, would that work?

I've worked in places before now where coffee was subsidised; you paid a quid a week into the kitty towards your caffeine intake. Maybe your lot might compromise on similar?

It really is petty though. In corporate terms, how much does it cost to run a coffee machine for your staff? Not as much as the upgrades on the MD's company car, I'll bet.

good point cougar.

but what if your average bin man was drinking nice coffee subsidised by the tax payer?

EDIT: if you dont like the coffee situation, you could vote with your feet, get another job.

This is obviously a decision from someone who has no basis in economics.

Show them that

Cost of running coffee machine for staff = X

Cost of staff time * time spent making own coffee = Y

as Y > X they'd better start making coffee...

B.A.Nana Those are great, sometimes I have to go onsite to work, so I always carry mine in my bag with some grounds. Just add water 🙂

JonT I might just send that equation to my boss 😉

Oh good grief, if the worst you have to worry about at work is the calibre of your coffee, you're doing well.
They're under no obligation to provide anything more than water, which handily comes out of the tap.

It's not a case of obligation though, is it. It's a case of making staff feel valued. I suspect that the resentment and drop in morale from this little exercise will cost them more money overall.

I like good coffee - strong and black.
and when I was shown one of these in a field whilst camping I was very sceptical.

but following the instructions correctly I was quite surprised at the enjoyable flavour - no bitterness detected either.

[url= http://www.coffeeperfection.com/coffee-bags.php ]Lyons Coffee bags[/url]

no doubt I will be flamed for this... but before you do - go buy and try..
its not the most awesome coffee but it is a more than acceptable substitute to instant

There must be a reason why coffee bags haven't been part of normal life for the last 40 years, like tea bags have.

I agree fully with cougar. As most know from experience having a good coffee when you get to work absolutly starts the day off well. They could give you a breakdown of exactly how much money the company will be saving and re-investing to make employees understand the move better. Otherwise it sounds like your managers have sat around a desk penny pinching to save a few quid. The buffet syndrome, pinch lots of little bits to make one big plate.

Because instant tea tastes rank whereas instant coffee is palatable to most.

That and coffee from a cafetierre/smartmug taste nowhere near as good as from a percolator/proper machine so its still not as nice as properly made coffee.

congratulations JonT,

now my boss says the following......

staff are to make any hot drinks on their own time, the morning and afternoon (15min) tea break will be reinstated however it should be noted that due to standard working hours being 8hrs, the 15min break after lunch will not be 'paid' time.

nobody is allowed to drink at their desks due to the risks to the IT equipment

further complaints or arguements may result in the provision of a kettle and fridge being investigated.

In other words, the thin end of the wedge!

Wow, your boss really knows how to increase productivity with good staff morale!

😯

Sounds like you are being treated like naughty schoolchildren. Pretty shoddy.

SOOBalias - Member

EDIT: if you dont like the coffee situation, you could vote with your feet, get another job.

I suspect SOOBalias was trolling...

So do I....in his post above he made no mention of being in the same boat as the OP.

Aero Press. Simple, makes great coffee, portable.

My condolences at the loss of your free perk. Better you make your own coffee than find a new job, eh?

How many staff are there?? You could all chip in and buy your own machine and then tell them to bollocks.... I [i]acquired[/i] one of these a few years ago and it follows me to wherever I get posted. Big bags of coffee from the cash and carry and your sorted.

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They took away our fridges, and wont provide kettels!

Think yourself lucky.

Coffee's a mug's game...

Great way to reduce productivity and morale too. If i was in the same position i know i'd find ways of getting my lost breaks back. 15min session in the loo usually works. Perhaps you should remind them that it is recommended that you have a break away from your computer and the tea break was a good way of doing this.
Work to rule. No overtime, take the full hour for lunch.

There must be a reason why coffee bags haven't been part of normal life for the last 40 years, like tea bags have.

Coffee goes off pretty swiftly after it's ground, unless it's stored correctly. This is why ground coffee is vacuum-packed and should be stored in the fridge after you've opened the pack.

With teabag-a-like coffee bags, the only way they're going to be as good as "fresh" ground coffee is if each individual bag is vacuum-sealed, which I expect would be prohibitively expensive (a theory which would be borne out by these single-use cartridge system machines).

Why do anarchists drink tea bag tea rather than the proper loose tea?

Because proper tea is theft!

IGMC

Cougar - Member

There must be a reason why coffee bags haven't been part of normal life for the last 40 years, like tea bags have.

Coffee goes off pretty swiftly after it's ground, unless it's stored correctly. This is why ground coffee is vacuum-packed and should be stored in the fridge after you've opened the pack.

With teabag-a-like coffee bags, the only way they're going to be as good as "fresh" ground coffee is if each individual bag is vacuum-sealed, which I expect would be prohibitively expensive (a theory which would be borne out by these single-use cartridge system machines).

in Tesco a box of 18 is under £3 its 18bags individually sealed, they are a touch larger than tea bags and need at least 3mins brewing time.

for 18 bags at £3 its about 17p per cup which is comparable to a decent bag of coffee that you would would push thru a cafetiere using the same brewing principle. its just more convenient and saves effort cleaning up afterwards.

Cougar - Member

Coffee goes off pretty swiftly after it's ground, unless it's stored correctly. This is why ground coffee is vacuum-packed and should be stored in the fridge after you've opened the pack.

The best material for an airtight container is ceramic or glass. Metal and plastic can impart strange flavors to the coffee, since they are both reactive materials. Ceramic and glass are not. And it is best to keep light away from the coffee, so a solid ceramic canister is better than a clear glass one.
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Interesting info, both of you. Ta.

is this your office?
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Something similar happened at the last place I worked. They altered the free coffee machines to take coinage only.

Next thing that happened? Redundancies... 😐

Argue custom and practice. As you have had free coffee provided for a period of time this has effectively become a part of your contract and cannot be withdrawn.

On the breaks one he is right IIRC - you are only 3entitled to one 15 m paid break and a unpaid lunch break in a day.

To be honest, if your business has such cashflow issues that they feel a couple of quids worth of tea/coffee is going to make/break them, and it'w worth upsetting staff over, as MrWoppit says, it sounds like they're going bust. I worked at a place that was the second largest super/mainframe/minicumputer in the world after IBM a few years ago, and still recall when they cancelled the papers for reception, and feeling it was the beginning of the end.

It was.

Oh for gods sake tj ! And you moan about the "no blame no claim" society we live in! It's coffee, not a change to a 3 day week or something. It never ceases to amaze me how overly concerned people get on here about the most insignificant things... unless of course the op is a coffee tester 🙂

maxray - sorry forgot the smiley - that was supposed to be a Dave Spart type OTT comment for comic effect