Office coffee services tips

Coffee vending. Some office coffee services vendors can equip your office with a coffee vending machine. Even though employees pay for anything they buy, it can still be very expensive to maintain. To be cost effective, coffee vending machines should only be considered by companies with 100 or more people who will access the machine daily such as hospital waiting rooms or hotel lobbies.

Seek staff input. To determine if office coffee services is right for your business, ask your employees. Find out how many of your employees would use the equipment and products, and if there are specific items they want. This not only helps you decide if it's worth the effort and expense, it shows that you value their input.

Instaservice. If there's ever a problem with the brewing equipment, the office coffee services vendor should schedule immediate repair work or order replacement equipment so you're not without coffee service for long. Also, if you think you may "outgrow" the equipment, a vendor should provide an upgrade as part of your service.

E-billing. Try to find a service that provides electronic billing and invoicing. Electronic invoicing lets you see exactly what you received and how much you paid for every item delivered. Also, electronic signature capture for each delivery can eliminate confusion about whether or not an order was delivered.

Glass or thermal containers? Thermal containers keeps coffee hot and fresh for up to eight hours, but you won't be able to see how much is left. Glass pots let you see exactly how much coffee is left, but they only keep coffee fresh for four hours and can easily crack or break.