Your office is busy – there are more jobs to be done than anyone ever realizes, and anything you can do to streamline some of the more mundane tasks for others is a huge benefit to the entire company.
Common, ordinary things like the office coffee service are vital to your company’s ongoing success, but it is rare that anyone gives it much thought. So consider, for a moment, the humdrum world of your office break room – there is a stained old coffee pot at one end of the counter, judging by the tar in the carafe.
There’re some half-gone containers of sweetener and creamer standing on the edge of the counter, a stack of unwashed cups in the sink and of course, the telltale trash can overflowing with containers from off-site cafes where staff have run seeking refuge from their daily grind. You have the power to change that – you have the opportunity to understand all there is to choosing a great coffee service for your NYC or New Jersey office.
Cost
The first objection when you bring up changing the office coffee service is likely to be its cost. However, when you start adding up the cost of all those trips to the café around the corner to pick up a stack of coffees for a two o’clock meeting, you may find that your office would be better served by having an in-house office coffee service.
When offices utilize a coffee distributor for their break room catering needs, hot and cold beverages are available on demand, along with a raft of other tasty, useful treats and eats to satisfy momentary cravings as well as routine demands for coffee, tea, hot chocolate and water. Because the facility is available at the point of need, offices commonly see an uptick in productivity and morale as a side effect of providing an office coffee service.
So the question shouldn’t be “can we really afford an office coffee service”, but rather “can we continue to struggle along without one”.
Product Variety
Having one great supplier do it all is a great way to streamline your ordering, billing and delivery processes – but this is only possible when your office coffee service has an outstanding product portfolio. So when you are doing your investigation into the different firms that serve your area, pay very close attention to the products they offer. Odds are you will find some companies that carry a wide variety of coffee and tea, but no cold drinks. Other firms might only carry a couple really outstanding coffees but not a lot else.
Get a shortlist of the products your staff would most like to have available from an on-site coffee service and see how the office coffee suppliers stacks up against that wish list. Finding a firm who can cater to 80 percent of your staff is a huge asset – a firm who carries or can access products to satisfy everyone’s fickle palates is an amazing asset to your office!
Buy Local
It goes without saying that local suppliers know the markets. Purchasing from local experts gives you a direct line of supply from local coffee roasters and other vendors, proving your firm takes its place in the neighborhood seriously by supporting the community.
The real boon to this is finding an office coffee service like Corporate Essentials, with deep roots throughout New York City and New Jersey, because Corporate Essentials has the connections to make your investment in office culture and a great workplace environment a “double dip” that boosts the local economy.
But more than this, working with a coffee service that has a solid connection to your local area means that you never have to explain the quirks and tricks that keep things rolling for your people to your supplier – they drink the same water you do, they aren’t going to try and sell you substandard wares trucked in from a thousand miles away any more than they’re going to offer to take you out for a Chicago-style pizza during that lunch meeting you have arranged for next week.
Excellent service
There are plenty of factors you can use to separate an average office coffee service from a truly great coffee distributor. One that often goes unnoticed is the quality of service provided. When you are evaluating reviews and recommendations for coffee distributors in your area, pay attention to criticisms leveled at:
- Reliability of delivery – no company starts their business relationship by saying, “we are going to be late every other time we bring goods to your office.” But for some office coffee services in New York City, whether it is the traffic or the weather, deliveries aren’t as consistent as they could be – and the last thing you need is a service with significant delays that lead to office downtime while someone runs around the corner to get coffee for the meeting upstairs. Ask about your delivery requirements, however small or large, and a great office coffee service representative will be able to work with you to find a great solution.
- Availability of products – having a huge catalog of high-quality products is very attractive when you are choosing an office coffee vendor, but knowing which products are “seasonal” and which are always available is a key to avoiding disappointment. So again, double check those reviews and see if customers are complaining about particular products being out of stock often, and if those products are considered mission-critical to a happy workplace for your staff, discuss your requirements clearly.
- Attitude of staff – a company that takes pride in its employees is more likely to have a happy staff feel valued and empowered to ensure you and your team receives the best office coffee experiences possible. When reviewers complain about grumpy employees, rude call center representatives or otherwise poor customer service, consider the fact that everyone has bad days and discuss your concerns about customer service with your potential vendors.
Experience - Staying in business isn’t easy – but for a company that manages to provide excellent service at a reasonable price, a raft of choice for fickle consumers and links to local hero coffee roasters, business is very rewarding. Going on two decades in the office coffee service business, Corporate Essentials offers a veritable cornucopia of excellence for all your break room needs. But more than this, a coffee service that has managed to keep its head above water in the bustling business communities of New York City as well as New Jersey has to keep evolving.
Retaining a pantry of great, popular products that businesses throughout the five boroughs can depend on, but also watching the market for emerging niche products that might provide something new and exciting for office coffee service customers who enjoy sampling the variety of flavors the coffee world has to offer.
When your office is ready to experience the best of what office coffee services can offer, contact our team of experts at Corporate Essentials – we are happy to help you taste the difference.
