Coffee vending machines are becoming increasingly popular throughout the United States and beyond as businesses seek to reduce employee turnover rates by adding what they see as low-budget perks to the workplace.
As well as offering extra incentives to employees, vending machines enjoy high profit-margins and popularity thanks to the astronomical levels of coffee consumption in the western world.
Having a source of quick, high-quality coffee in the office is said to boost employee productivity and morale levels
Coffee vending machine benefits
- With a dedicated vending machine in close proximity to your work space, employees will no longer have to leave the building to go to Starbucks for their favorite cup of coffee. Productivity will increase significantly – for just one employee up to 60 hours of time is lost annually by the daily quarter-hour excursions.
- The availability for hot drinks in general is increased to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is particularly useful for night workers or those who work outside of traditional business hours.
- Your lunch room will also be tidier and safer because these coffee machines dispense hot coffee at a constant temperature and they also come with their own equipment like stirrers, cups and sugar supplies.
- The best models will have an integrated bean grinder to ensure the freshest coffee possible.
- Provides all of your favorite drinks including cappuccino, espresso, long black, macchiato, mochaccino (coffee with chocolate), hot chocolate, tea and even soup would you believe!
- Some coffee vending machines can provide up to 1000 cups of coffee per day for those very large companies/gatherings.
Other important considerations – do you really need one?
It may be that you don’t really need a large vending machine in your office at all. Some 12-cup coffee makers are capable of making hundreds of cups of coffee per day and although they may not be as flexible in terms of the variety of coffee produced, they will save you a lot of money in terms of start-up costs.
If you do decide to go for a 10 or 12-cup machine, consider buying a smaller, less expensive unit as a backup in case the primary unit fails for whatever reason.
Furthermore, decide whether you want the vending machine to dispense freshly made coffee or if you want the instant variety with an added tea making facility.
You should also take note of how many canisters the unit has as this will ultimately determine how many different drinks are available for purchase.
For example, a machine with two canisters will only be able to mix coffee with milk or coffee with sugar. A more advanced system that has 5, 10 or 20 canisters will be able to produce more complex drinks like cappuccino, latte and hot chocolate and be able to adjust the strength of these individual combinations also.
Obviously if money is no barrier to your purchase, you should consider a coffee vending machine that has as many customizable options as possible. We all realize that some people don’t like sugar in their coffee and some maybe lactose intolerant and don’t like milk.
The last piece of advice I can give you is to buy from a reputable dealer! The cost may put you off initially, but it will give you the best chance of a having a fully-functioning, reliable addition to your office without costly or frequent repair bills.
