When your office coffee service company loses its luster, the process of finding a new provider that meets the changing needs of your unique workplace can be intimidating, but it does not have to be a task you dread.
The experts at Corporate Essentials poured close to twenty years of experience into this five-step guide to help you grind through the raft of office coffee service companies and find the office coffee service that is a great match for your needs.
1. Research the market
Research is the first step in making any informed decision and choosing an office coffee supplier is no exception. You will want to read reviews and testimonials online, ask other firms in your neighborhood for recommendations and solicit recommendations from other companies you work with who may be further afield. There is a lot to be said for word of mouth, so consider personal recommendations from colleagues and coworkers carefully.
While you are conducting your research, be sure to compare your existing office coffee supplier to the office coffee service companies you find along the way. Sometimes, looking at your existing coffee supplier’s catalog with fresh eyes can show you a way to continue working with the existing service. At the same time, you need to work with your teams and colleagues internally to draw up a blueprint of your ideal office coffee service company: what types of products do you want, what services do you need and what price can you afford.
2. Ask all the questions
When you have narrowed your potential field of office coffee service companies down to a few market leaders, you will want to start asking questions. This is a supplier you are going to entrust with one of the most critical systems in your business, and it is vital that they be able to guarantee the reliability of their service as well as the quality of their products.
Treat these conversations similar to the screening interviews you might do to weed out the mediocre applicants for positions in your back office. Make up an interview score sheet, starting with these questions:
- How long have you been in business: the longevity of an office coffee service company is a good indicator of both their customer service and product quality.
- How frequently do you update your product catalog: your staff will benefit from a variety of hot and cold beverages in line with seasonal tastes. No one wants to be stuck drinking pumpkin spice lattes in July.
- What are your minimum order requirements: this is important so that you can gauge how well the service parameters fit with the office break room habits.
- How often can we change our order: some office coffee service companies have strict regulations around the products on each order; be sure any requirements are clear and within the scope of your office’s unique coffee needs.
- Do you maintain the equipment: a great office coffee service company will be able to provide you coffee as well as the office coffee machines your employees would like to use. An important point to clarify is whether the maintenance, servicing and “emergency” repairs/replacements are covered as part of your standard office coffee service agreement.
- Can we sample products before committing: this is one of the keys to guaranteeing your satisfaction going forward. No one should be locked into a contract with an office coffee service company that provides beverages that just aren’t good enough. Great office coffee service companies are happy to share their products with you. It is a point of pride for experts like Corporate Essentials to offer the best office coffee products on the market, and we are more than happy to prove it.
3. Evaluate your options
Just like when you are recruiting new staff, you need to take the time to compare the office coffee service companies you have been considering before you “hire” one. So compare all your new-found office coffee service companies to one another, as well as your existing supplier.
More importantly, compare these companies against the standard you set for yourself in step one. In keeping with the “interview” cheat sheet you made up for step two, create a rating scale and give each of your potential office coffee service companies a score from one to 10 for each of the following points:
- Service guarantee: does the office coffee provider guarantee delivery, warrant equipment and reward customer loyalty?
- Product portfolio: is there a wide variety of high-quality products? Does the portfolio get updated monthly, quarterly, annually or not at all? Can you get more than just coffee from this service?
- Reputation: online reviews and customer recommendations.
- Personality: are the staff you encounter happy in their roles with the office coffee service they work for? Does the company have an overall presence that fits with your own business culture?
- Delivery standard: do the delivery intervals work with your schedule and available storage space?
- Flexibility: are you able to supplement your order on the fly for special occasions or seasonal beverages?
- Openness: a truly great office coffee service company will effectively wear their office coffee heart on their sleeve. Equipment trials, tasting samples and referrals from existing customers are some of the best indicators that an office coffee service is all it’s cracked up to be.
4. Test the service
There is little better than a live action “test drive” for determining how well any given product or service will work in your own environment. The same holds true when you are evaluating office coffee service companies. As we mentioned in step three: great office coffee service firms are more than willing to let you sample the products, equipment and services you and your staff will be using. It isn’t a trick, it shouldn’t cost you a penny.
If you think that seems “too good to be true”, consider this: the best office coffee service companies want happy customers. At the end of the day, staying in business as an office coffee service is all about ensuring you deliver what your clients want, when they need it, at a reasonable price.
Making sure the coffee products and equipment are a good fit for your break room is all part of the service. So accept the opportunity to sample products with open arms. Make an event of it so that people across the organization can be involved in the sampling and offer feedback. Whatever the outcome, you will be glad you did.
5. Choose wisely
By now, making the decision between your shortlisted office coffee service companies is going to be easier than you thought. This is because after following the first four steps in this process, you have eliminated the ineffective, less efficient, poor quality, restrictive terms and conditions, unreliable and generally “meh” office coffee services from your list. There is likely one obvious choice left, sometimes there are two, but the taste test should help you truly determine your coffee service champion.
When your office is ready for a taste of the best that office coffee service companies have to offer, contact the team of experts at Corporate Essentials.
