If you currently have office coffee services or are thinking about obtaining office coffee services, there are a few things to consider.

Is your “free” office coffee machine really free? Many coffee companies will provide offices with a “free” office coffee machine in exchange for agreeing to use their coffee service for a certain period of time. Also, many full service coffee companies have minimum order requirements that force companies to pay a monthly fee to rent the coffee machine if they don’t order the minimum amount of coffee during a given time period.

Coke, Pepsi and snack vending machines are generally free to the company because the employees buy the products from the machine. Conversely, many companies provide coffee free of charge to employees. Providing coffee as a free benefit to employees can be very expensive, therefore, many companies are looking at ways to provide the service at a reduced cost.

Using an online coffee service is often the perfect solution for businesses looking to reduce the cost of their current coffee service. The downside to an online program is that the company is responsible for purchasing the coffee equipment. However, once the coffee equipment is purchased, the company has the freedom of shopping for the best price at anytime since there are absolutely no contracts or minimum ordering requirements of any kind.

Coffee machines start at around $550 and professional installation is readily available. While a few hundred dollars may sound like a lot to spend for a coffee machine, the coffee products available online average about 30% cheaper than most “full service” companies charge.

For example, Starbucks Breakfast Blend 18ct 2.5oz box is currently $35.99 online, assuming this is about 30% less than a full service company, a company would save over $550 after only 37 boxes of coffee ordered. The savings would pay for the cost of the brewing equipment! Furthermore, shipping is free on all orders over $70.

What about all the extra work involved forgoing the full service route? If a company is already using a brewing system then there is probably someone on staff who is already responsible for pouring in the grinds and turning on the machine everyday. Most companies’ use of coffee tends to be pretty consistent year after year so the extra work involved would amount to someone ordering coffee every couple weeks and putting the supplies away, just like any other office supply.

If you’d like to find out more about online office coffee feel free to visit our website www.VendingSolutions.com, call us at 1-800-655-7564 or fill out the form.

Companies around the United States are faced with the grim reality of laying off employees or slashing overhead costs. Over the past couple months there have been announcements from firms such as Caterpillar, Target, Home Depot and Microsoft each laying off a few thousand employees.

Many of the largest companies in the U.S. and Globally that have been focused on attracting talent during the last economic boom must now refocus their efforts on preventing layoffs of their existing workforce.

While it is important for firms to cut major spending costs, there can also be a lot of money saved in eliminating smaller items from the budget as well. Many companies don’t realize the actual costs involved in providing seemingly small items to employees free of charge. A couple months ago, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported that Microsoft currently spends about $20 million dollars to provide its employees with free beverages. Later, Microsoft announced that it was cutting up to 5,000 jobs .

There is no indication that eliminating the free beverages would have saved any jobs at Microsoft but other firms may be faced between cutting overhead and eliminating employees. Choosing which costs to reduce can be a very divisive and time-consuming process. However, companies big and small can easily offload the costs of their drink and snack programs while still providing the convenience of having these products inside the office through use of vending machines.

In most cases, vending companies will install and fully service their vending machines free of charge. The machines support themselves from employees buying the products from the machines and the vendor collects the money and replenishes the products. In higher volume accounts vendors are also able to pay their clients a portion of the proceeds to cover any electrical costs from that machines or boost ancillary income.

While some companies choose to use an RFP to find vending companies, this can be a very costly and labor-intensive process since most firms don’t have employees with any past vending experience. Many firms elect to use vending management companies such as Vending Solutions to outsource their vending needs. Vending Solutions’ national network of providers are all full insured, comply with legal worker status, and comply with all industry standards set by the National Automatic Merchandising Association.

Managed vending programs are a truly hassle free way for companies to help trim their overhead costs while still providing the refreshments that their employees desire.

An economics professor of mine in college used to quote the T.A.N.S.T.A.F.L. principal: “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”  While the principal holds true in most cases, there really is such a thing as a free, fully serviced vending machine for businesses.

The most frequent question asked about our vending machine program is, “How much does it cost to have a vending machine placed at my business?” The truth is that the vending machine is installed, stocked with products and also serviced/maintained all free of charge.

Follow-up questions are oftentimes, “So what’s the catch?” or “How much do we pay for the products?”  First of all, there is no catch; the vending machines simply support themselves from the locations’ employees or visitors purchasing the products out of them.  The products are stocked in the machine at the cost of the operator who installs and maintains the machine.  The operator then collects the money when he/she stocks the vending machine and that is how we make our money.

However, not all businesses will necessarily qualify for the free vending program.  Soda machines and snack machines can cost the vending operator anywhere from fifteen hundred dollars to over five thousand dollars so there has to be enough people at a facility to create enough volume for a machine to be profitable.  The qualifications vary depending on what type of facility the machine is to be placed in.  The easiest way to determine if your business qualifies is to chat with us online, fill out the online form or call us at 1-800-655-7564 and we can discuss your options. 

Another good resource regarding our vending program can be found on our FAQ page