We're so spoilt for choice nowadays that it can sometimes be tempting to think about giving office coffee and espresso machines like this a miss in favour of the straightforward teabag, which takes no prisoners, and requires no decision, except for how much sugar, milk, honey or whatever else you want to put into your cup of boiling water.
But perhaps we should take a second look. After all, these machines haven't just come about because we're hooked on gadgetry. The modern age cries out for ways of pleasing people with all different kinds of taste. Our workplaces are so diverse, and especially during a recession, so demanding, that we should take the prospect of choosing the beverage that's going to keep us going through the day as a welcome addition to our lives. Better that than to be brewing out of a copper pot over a bundle of sticks you've collected at five in the morning.
So with all this choice, how do we choose? Rather than draw you to particular brands, here are three tips for choosing the right kind of machine for your office - either for you to buy, or to present to your boss as a recommendation for that increased productivity which is the golden egg of all business.
1. Will the machine fit in your kitchen? Check its footprint, and make sure the machine and all associated accessories will happily find a place in your kitchen as well as your standard old fashioned kettle - which you won't abandon just in case you need to make a hot water bottle or just have some hot water handy for a drink the machine doesn't make. If you don't do this, the risk is the machine will lie dormant in your cleaning cupboard instead.
2. Does the machine offer sufficient numbers of flavours and drinks to cater not only for your staff and colleagues but also for any potential visiting clients? Make sure when choosing that you don't skimp on this detail or you may find everyone turning on the kettle instead.
3. Is it easy to procure the drinks sachets and other accessories for your machine? And are they economically priced? Make your choice, but make sure it's going to be easy to stock up, and that it's not going to cost you a fortune - otherwise, again, you'll be buying something which will soon be lying redundant.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Which office coffee maker?
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
The benefits of Office Vending Machines
The coffee and tea rota is common in many offices throughout the country as a way of sharing the job of making tea or coffee for staff. However, this can result in unnecessary arguments and hassle as many of us have experienced. One way to resolve this is for businesses to invest in vending machines to supply staff drinks. Here we look at the reason why vending machines are a popular choice for many offices in the UK.
Choosing the right vending machine is dependent upon how the business feels about drink quality, efficiency and cost. Cost is obviously the biggest decision that will determine whether a vending machine will be successful in the workplace. Cost per cup guides and length of contract provide a starting point but there are also other factors to consider before making a final decision.
Each working day, employees leave the office for at least 15 minutes to purchase hot beverages or refreshments. Yet research has shown that a quality vending machine would make them less likely to leave the workplace and would be a visible daily benefit at work.
Just think about how much time is spent by people waiting for the kettle to boil and making tea and coffee and washing up. A recent survey by Tetley Tea suggests the average time taken to make a cup of tea is 4 minutes and 27 seconds. Tea consumption rate averaged at 3 cups per day. Over the period of a year, this accumulates to considerable amount of time lost. The advantage of a vending machine is that it dispenses a drink in less than 20 seconds.
Vending machines require no need to buy milk, cleaning products and wash up dirty mugs. All it requires is a contract with a company who will look after the machine for you, service it and stock it.
With a vending machine you often get a variety of hot and cold drinks to chose from. An office will typically have people with differing tastes. Some prefer hot chocolate whilst others prefer herbal teas.
The facts are undeniable. Quality refreshments at work increase employee satisfaction and drive greater productivity. Installing Vending Machines will result in the following benefits:
• Employees Feeling Valued - when refreshments are available, employees feel their needs are recognized and respected, leading to increased satisfaction and productivity.
• Total Workplace Satisfaction - an extensive variety of the most popular brands of refreshments, state-of-the-art snack and beverage vending machines, commercial coffee makers and special promotions throughout the year gives energy to any workplace.
• Conveying the Right Image - the ideal breakroom and meeting-room environment for customers and employees leads to better relationships, higher retention and increased revenue potential.
By David John Martin
Monday, 12 January 2009
How to Really Be Sexy in Lingerie
I remember my first, and last, Erotic lingerie party with one of the largest acceptable sex shop outlets. A friend of a friend (isn't it always the way), was working for them, and a large gaggle of girls congregated at someone's house to giggle over vibrators and try on sexy corsets.
It was the games which annoyed me. I remember one which involved holding a piece of paper on your head, and trying to draw a penis onto a man. I may be prejudiced as I've always hated party games, but this seemed so juvenile, and the antithesis to being grown-up and buying sexy lingerie.
Only such events are never about maturity. My excuse for even having been to one of these parties was I was sixteen at the time. I can't imagine going to one if you're not a teenager, but I know lots of women do. Maybe they're supposed to be liberating, but sniggering over strap-ons is not liberating.
I could possibly have forgiven all of this had the underwear I ordered (yes I know - but after a few drinks everyone felt obliged) was of a decent quality. However, it wasn't, and it fell apart very quickly, and was made out of horrible materials.
Decent materials is in fact one of the most important keys to decent lingerie. It is one of the reasons why I never buy lingerie online (the other reason being I'm a size 16, and it is impossible to know what will actually look good on a website). Even if an item is described as one hundred percent silk, doesn't account for what the lace is made out of, what quality of elastic is used.
One of the keys to feeling, and looking sexy, is feeling comfortable. Unless you are a very good actress, you will never look good unless you feel good. Wearing sexy lingerie is a very tactile experience, both for the wearer and whoever you may want to share said lingerie with. Polyester is not sexy, however nice it may look, because it feels like cardboard.
I would never go to one of these parties again. Not only do I feel too old, I don't see the point. Even if one of my best female friends decided to become a representative, I would not go. I am too old to be embarrassed into playing games, and I don't find sexual aids funny. Fun, yes, but something practical, not something to giggle over.
Sexy is very different to smut. All these kind of parties do is reduce something beautiful into something seedy. Women's liberation has meant we are now allowed to talk about, and enjoy sex. However, it doesn't mean we need to be reduced to the mentality of fourteen year old boys. It should mean we are able to derive pleasure from the beautiful, tactile, sexy experience wearing good quality lingerie can evoke. Good lingerie is about feeling good about ourselves as women, and we should not denigrate this experience.
Articale By Sarah Maple.